24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 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."
Why is Thomas called the Twin? This is the second of three times that Thomas is called the Twin (John 11:16, 20:24, and 21:2). Several translations use the word Didymus instead of Twin. The explanation is very simple. Thomas is the Aramaic form of the word twin. The Greek word for twin is didumos. So, the translations that use Didymus are using a transliteration of twin. You will notice that every time Didymus or Twin is used, it is capitalized. Since the verses say he was “called” Twin or Didymus, it is used as his nickname or epithet. Eusebius states that Thomas’ name was Judas and they called him Twin to distinguish between the other two apostles named Judas.[1]
In the third century, an apocryphal book, the Acts of Thomas, was published by the Gnostics. In this book, Thomas is called Thomas Judas or Judas Thomas. In two passages he is called the twin of Jesus by a serpent then by a donkey (Act 3:31 and Act 4:39).[2] From this heretical book, all sorts of speculations developed trying to persuade early Christians that Jesus actually had a twin. Even today, there are those who use this to cast doubts upon the deity of Jesus. And this passage is really all about Jesus’ deity.
Thomas is better known to us today as “Doubting Thomas” because he didn’t believe that the other disciples had seen Jesus. Perhaps the Gnostics seized upon this passage about Thomas as a foil in their writings hoping that his moment of doubt would encourage others to doubt the veracity of Jesus’ resurrection. Gnostics completely reject Jesus’ resurrection because they believer the body is like a prison and their goal is to shed the body. So having Jesus die and then regain his body is unthinkable for them. When Thomas asks to be able to put even put his finger in to the print of the nails, the Gnostics seize on this and twist it to show that it is unbelievable for Jesus to have a physical resurrected body.
One of the big objections to Christianity today is the current scientific thinking that it is impossible for someone to come back to life. The Gnostics may believe in the supernatural and have it all wrong, but today’s culture has even eliminated the supernatural and therefore dismiss the resurrection out of hand. Jesus has only one thing to say to Gnostics and anyone else who denies his resurrection. He said it in the story of Lazarus and the rich man. “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31). In other words, people who reject the Bible and anything supernatural are not going to believe Jesus was raised from the dead. However, believing that Jesus is raised physically is crucial to the Christian faith.
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" 27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."
Day one after Jesus is raised, he makes his appearance to Mary and other women at the tomb. He appears to two disciples on the road to Damascus and then to the disciples holed up in Jerusalem. Where was he and what did he do for the next week? Here it is eight days after his first appearance to the disciples and it appears that he has not shown himself to anyone else during that time. The other Gospels don’t give us any information that helps understand what he did during this time. While Paul tells us that Jesus appeared to five hundred disciples, it could have been any time after his appearance to the disciples in this house and his ascension.
Unfortunately, the lack of information and the length of time he was missing has led some to use it as validation of their unorthodox beliefs. For instants, the Mormon faith believes that Jesus appeared to people in the Americas at some time after his resurrection. They also use John 10:16 to bolster this claim as Jesus said he had other sheep the were of a different fold. Then there are even people who speculate that Jesus had to appear to extraterrestrial aliens. These all point out how far from Christian truth we can drift when we want to answer questions that the Bible doesn’t answer.
The main point of this encounter is not to speculate on what Jesus was doing between appearances as it is to solidify the fact of his physical bodily resurrection. The doubter who asked for physical proof to be presented to his senses of seeing and touch, must be put to reset, not just for him, but for all who come after him, including the Gnostics.
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"
29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
What would you do or say if someone suddenly said to you, “My Lord and my God?” You would wonder what they had been smoking. If you were a Christian, Jew, or Muslim, you would quickly rebuke them. If you were Jewish at the time of Christ, you would have torn your clothes as a sign of extreme grief and shock at the blasphemy of the statement just as the high priest did in Matthew 26:63 as he accused Jesus of blasphemy.
Of course, Jesus didn’t tear his clothes or rebuke Thomas because he is Lord and God. Instead, he commends Thomas for believing though it is a slight rebuke for not believing the testimony of the others without seeing Jesus after his resurrection. What follows is a blessing on Christians in the following ages after Jesus’ ascension. While Thomas was blessed in his belief, Jesus makes it clear that we who have believed without seeing Jesus are more blessed. In that sense, our faith is actually stronger than Thomas’. Peter expressed it this way:
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9)
Thomas and the rest of the disciples had to see Jesus before they believed in his resurrection. But we have believed based on their testimony. When we think about that, it should fill us with an inexpressible joy. We didn’t have to see Jesus. We are not like those who won’t believe even if they did see Jesus because our faith results in salvation. We must also remember that our faith is a gift and that makes it even more reason to rejoice.
30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
The word for signs and miracles is the same in the Greek. The King James Bible uses the word miracle only in John and not in the other Gospels. Other versions are consistent in translating the word as signs. John selected only seven of Jesus’ signs to present the truth of his deity, being the Messiah, the Son of God.
Turning water
into wine (John 2:1-12).
Healing the royal
official’s son (John 4:46-54).
Healing the man
at the pool (John 5:1-11).
Feeding the 5,000
(John 6:1-15).
Walking on water
(John 6:16-21).
Healing a man
born blind (John 9:1-12).
Resurrecting Lazarus
(John 11).
Even though Jesus gave us many more signs, these are sufficient to prove that Jesus is exactly who he said he is. No one can do these things unless he is indeed God. This is exactly John’s point. He says that this is all you need to have a faith that leads to salvation. He is also saying that salvation, or eternal life, comes only through believing in Jesus. Now that we are coming near the end of the book, John is wrapping up his thesis statements from chapter one.
[1] “Thomas,” James Hastings, John Lambert, and Shailer Mathews, eds., David Smith in Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible, One-Volume Edition (New Your, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1909).
[2] M R James, trans., “The Acts of Thomas,” The Gnostic Society Library, 1994, http://gnosis.org/library/actthom.htm.
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