The Contempt: What Lead to Thomas' Doubt

"But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe" (John 20:24-25).

            Can you imagine someone making you a promise, then not coming through on it? How would that make you feel?

We’re still in the upper room with the disciples when suddenly Jesus came in to them. He offered them peace. “Peace be unto you,” He said, and what peace it was! Here was the man they had given their lives to, they had followed Him for three and half years, and had watched Him be crucified. They were meeting together for fear of the Jews, hiding for their lives. The only problem was that Thomas was not with them. We don’t know where he was, the Bible doesn’t say, but he wasn’t where he should have been. Jesus again says to them “Peace be unto you.” He commissions them to go into all the world with the gospel message, and then breathes on them and they receive the Holy Ghost.

            Jesus leaves the room, and later Thomas returns. Can you imagine the excitement that the disciples had as they told Thomas that the Lord had appeared to them. They must have been bubbling over with the news. When they tell him, Thomas makes a contemptable statement. “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

            For a moment, think about what Thomas said. Thomas had been with Jesus for all of His earthly ministry. Thomas saw the miracles, heard the teaching, and experienced his presence. Now he makes a statement that seems impossible when he says “I will not believe.” No wonder he gets the name “doubting Thomas,” So then the question comes for us as Believers, ‘How do you get to the place of doubt’? Notice some common themes of the life of Thomas and how I believe it attributed to his doubt.

Thomas was disappointed.

Thomas felt betrayed by Jesus. He had heard the Lord promise them a kingdom (the only promise was he was talking about now but in the future after He returns.) Now Thomas felt that he had labored for the Lord for nothing.

Thomas had been disobedient.

He wasn’t in the upper room like he had been told. Perhaps he thought, 'Well, He’s gone, what’s the use of obeying Him now'? Can’t you feel what he’s feeling as he thinks he’s been lied to? This compels Thomas to steer clear of the other disciples and act in disobedience.

Thomas was discouraged.

What’s the use? There’s no need to try! It just didn’t work like He promised. How could I have been so deceived? I should have known that what He was telling us could never come to pass. After all, how could a man who was obviously dead live again?

All of this led to his biggest problem. He simply doubted what the Lord had said. “It’s all a lie!” “It’s not true.” It caused him to utter that contemptable statement:

“I will not believe.”

Have you ever gotten to the place that you really wanted to believe something that seemed impossible, but when it didn’t work out the way you thought it should, you just gave up. Maybe a parent walked out and you were left alone. Maybe a spouse left you for someone else and you felt betrayed. Perhaps an employer didn’t come through on the promotion he promised. We could go on and on. All of us have been in Thomas’ sandals at one time or another, and we probably will be there again. So, what do you do?

Trust.

You just keep trusting the God that saved you and provided for you every step along the way. Don’t give up hope now when you are in the dark. Keep believing what Jesus has promised you in His Word. An old evangelist used to always say, “Find a promise in the Bible and claim it.” At times, we’re all like Thomas; prone to be disappointed, disobedient, discouraged or doubtful. But we know that Thomas didn’t stay that way. One encounter with Christ restored the hope that He had lost and gave him the faith to move forward.