This appeared in the June 1976 edition of "Does God Exist" published by the Donmoyer Avenue Church of Christ in South Bend, IN. I do not know who wrote it.
Of the twelve chosen disciples of Christ, only one really showed the problem of belief in a way similar to you and I today. All of the followers of Jesus had their faith problems, and some like Peter even denied Christ when placed under duress. Thomas however, demonstrated a very human weakness in his relationship with our Lord; with which many of us can relate.
Mention of Thomas in the Scriptures is spotty but a very positive account in given of Thomas in John 11. The passage is the account of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Jesus had delayed His travel to Bethany. The Jews in Judea had attempted to kill Christ on His last visit there and the disciples questioned Jesus in verse eight about the wisdom of His returning to that area. Their concern was well founded for in John 10:31 and 39 they attempt to stone Him.
Jesus was adamant in His determination to go to Bethany and in verse 14 told them they were definitely going. We can imagine the reaction that must have taken place among the disciples. If they returned to Judea they would almost certainly be killed. A great test of their faith in God and in Christ was upon them. One can almost feel the indecision and fear that existed in these men. How easy it would have been to walk away and deny Christ, assuring their own safety.
Out of this cloud of indecision stepped Thomas who said, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." Notice that Thomas expressed what we have already stated. He was convinced that to go with Christ was to face sure death. No statement of probability is made, only a simple statement of factual death. The magnitude of faith demonstrated by Thomas exceeds that of most of us today and it would see that in the eyes of Jesus, this very well may have been Thomas' finest hour.
Now let us look on into a later time in the life of Thomas. In John 20:25 we see an incident in which several of the disciples had seen the risen Christ. When they reported to Thomas that they had seen Jesus, Thomas was unable to accept their testimony. One thing many of us fail to recognize is that the disciples who saw Jesus not only saw Him but verse 20 tells us they saw the hands and side which Thomas saw alter. Thomas was asked to accept their word about what they had seen. He had to see it for himself.
In many ways Thomas stands above his contemporaries. He was a scientist who could only deal with that for which he had evidence. He would not accept testimony but had to have direct evidence. Jesus provided that evidence and met Thomas' need.
It seems to me however that another message exists in this story. Prior to the account in John 20, Thomas had been faced with many failures. His concept of the "Kingdom" had been violated. Jesus had been killed in a degrading way. Every concept he had possessed of what Jesus would do had been wrong and the accumulation of this disappointment destroyed the zeal he had demonstrated in John 11 not too many days before.
We too have disappointments. We too have our concepts of what ought to happen violated. Time and again our expectations are violated and our faith may fail as Thomas' did under stress. Jesus provided an answer to Thomas. Thomas still had to examine the evidence Christ gave. He still had a choice to make and energy to expend. We also are promised an answer to our doubts and fears. It won't be forced upon us against our will without any examination or thought on our part. It may come about through an agent of God's will; a person or book or tape or event which will fill our need. God promises us that He will providentially provide for our needs and fears and temptations.
First Corinthians 10:13: "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."
Matthew 7:7-8: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
No comments:
Post a Comment