In John 20:24-29, Thomas is presented by most as a doubter. Is this correct in your view?

Question

I did accept this view as being correct for years but now I see that maybe he is a very wise man and a seeker of varified constantly consistent truth in the light. To me now if appears that he did not want to form doctrines or just accept assumed truths until he could himself npy verify. I see his words as "My Lord, and my Elohim is a possible translation which would agree with Genesis 1:1 and many other passages in the Bible

Please give it some thought and state your view of Thomas.

Thank you.

Answer 1

I personally do not consider Thomas a doubter any more than the other disciples and I will explain why using the scriptures.
There is a pattern here that all of them fit into.

John 20:25; The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord", So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."

Now notice what happened in Luke 24:9-12; Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, Johanna, Mary, the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and THEY DID NOT BELIEVE THEM.

Now also the two on the road to Emmaus in verse 33; So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together 34; saying , "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon! 35; And they told about the things that thad happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
38; And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And WHY DO DOUBTS ARISE IN YOUR HEARTS? 39; BEHOLD My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." 40; When He had said this, He showed them His hands and feet. 41; But while they STILL DID NOT BELIEVE for joy, and marveled, He said to them, Have you any food here?

Mark 16:9-14; Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, THEY DID NOT BELIEVE. After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. And they went and told it to the rest, BUT THEY DID NOT BELIEVE THEM EITHER. Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and HE REBUKED THEIR UNBELIEF AND HARDNESS OF HEART, BECAUSE THEY DID NOT BELIEVE THOSE WHO HAD SEEN HIM AFTER HE HAD RISEN.

So, you see, the others had already seen the prints of the nails in His hands and feet and had touched Him, and they were the ones rebuked by Jesus for their unbelief and their hardness of hearts because they did not believe the witness of those who had seen Him, Thomas only asked to see what the others had already seen. When Thomas said My Lord and My God, the Greek translation says The Lord of Me and the God of Me.

Not much has changed, because people still do not believe the witnesses of those who saw Him. People have changed the resurrection to say He rose as a spirit being when Jesus made it clear that He was not a spirit.
Great study question! This answer is just my understanding of it . Thx!

Answer 2

The context and grammar clearly point to the fact that Thomas doubted. Jesus directly comments about this and pronounces a blessing on future believers who have not seen him.

I agree that it is unfair that his whole ministry is characterized by this one failure. I do not know why the Holy Spirit did not include more information about Thomas in the scriptures.

The rest of the story as incredible as it may seem, is that Thomas began seeking out Jewish Communities in the former Babylonian kingdom to preach the Gospel to after 44 A.D.

The amazing thing is that geographically no other Apostle covered more territory preaching about Jesus than Thomas. He or his disciples kept heading East. By 70 A.D. he or his disciples had preached the gospel on the Island that would become Japan in time.

The Christians churches in India & China that Thomas and his disciples established were so numerous that by the 4th century a Buddhist was complaining about their number. Many gravesites from the 1st century have Christian carvings in them. Many of the most ancient temples of Buddha are old houses of prayer that were taken over during the violent years of Buddhist expansion in China & Japan.

He was a great witness for Christ.

Answer 3

I think you are right, I didn't think of it that way before.
He isn't doubting Jesus, he doesn't simply believe the words of his friends. He needs some proof, because he is a rational and skeptical kind of guy.
There is a difference between doubt and skepticism. Maybe he was the first apologist for Christianity.
Paul later said that if Christ has not been raised, then our faith is in vain.... I think Thomas helped us to see that Christ was raised in the flesh and was not just a vision or an apparition.
What did Jesus mean when he said, "blessed are they who have not seen, and yet believe?" Was he chastising Thomas, or did he acknowledge that future believers would be blessed by Thomas' insistence on finding facts? It could certainly be taken either way.........

Answer 4

Trinitarians also cite John 20:28 to support their claims. There Thomas said to Jesus: “My Lord and my God!” As shown above, there is no objection to Thomas’ referring to Jesus as a god. Such would be in harmony with the fact that Jesus, in his prehuman existence, certainly was a god, that is, a powerful, divine person. And he certainly has been that since his death and resurrection to heavenly life. Jesus even quoted from the Psalms to show that powerful humans were addressed as “gods.” (Psalm 82:1-6; John 10:34, 35) The apostle Paul noted that there were “many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords.’” (1 Corinthians 8:5) Even Satan is called “the god of this system of things.”—2 Corinthians 4:4.

Answer 5

I believe that Thomas's wish for verified truth is consistent with how most people approach faith and belief. I believe the Lord was seeking a more open-minded approach from his followers, as the truth is really so much broader than it first appears. Without the believing attitude... ie to first believe, and THEN seek verification, we would reject so much that is actually true.

Be not of little faith... but be believing.

Answer 6

I see Thomas as a man who is afraid of His own weakness, pleading to the Messiah YAHOSHUA for the assurance that will cause him to have a faith he will never abandon, though the going gets rough. (remember peter?) The Messiah did not criticize him nearly so much as He did some others.

Answer 7

I love Thomas - he has been labeled a doubter but he just asked questions, and I think he had a ton of faith.
Would you just believe if they told you someone had risen from the dead? I probably wouldn't.... but the he saw Jesus and said "My Lord and my God."

Answer 8

Jhn 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: [then] came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace [be] unto you.

Jhn 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust [it] into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

Jhn 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

Jhn 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed [are] they that have not seen, and [yet] have believed.

Thomas hard time with belief without seeing or touching or feelling the evidence is for OUR example now. It helps us understand faith better. ( God said He teaches us in parable form. )

Answer 9

As one of the Apostles that knew Jesus in the flesh he had trouble believing without seeing. I guess that is doubting based on the testimony of his associates. But as Jesus mentioned, how much more blessed are they that have not seen and yet believed.

Answer 10

I see him as a doubter. Note that Jesus did not commend him for his disbelief but rather gave what could be a rebuke.

John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.