Job Kozhamthadam, SJ

I have always considered it a privilege and a matter of pride to have received the Catholic faith from the Apostle St Thomas himself. However, ever since I was able to think for myself one tradition about him used to disturb me constantly: The Apostle is called the “Doubting Thomas” – all through the Christian era he is almost always referred to by this dishonourable epithet. How could an apostle who travelled the farthest, braving the violent seas, having lived through diverse and strange cultures, having endured the pain of linguistic barriers, etc., for his faith in the Risen Lord could be dubbed a disbeliever in the very same Resurrection? This was the persistent puzzle my inner being simply could not reconcile with. I got an opportunity to clear up this matter when I was asked to speak on St Thomas on 3rd July 1978, just 2 months after my ordination. I decided to do a bit of independent research and study on the matter to arrive at an answer by myself. To my great surprise and joy, I came to realize that what we have in the Gospels, particularly in John, is not a Doubting Thomas, but a Daring Thomas!

Thomas in the Gospels

St Thomas the Apostle speaks at least 4 times in the Gospels, second only to Peter who was unanimously considered the spokesperson for the Apostles. It is very clear that the person emerging from these four crucial interventions is not a Doubting Thomas, but a Daring Thomas. The 4 occasions are all well-known passages in John’s Gospel 11:16, 14:5, 20:25 and 20:28. The context of the first intervention was two days after the death of Lazarus in Bethany. Jesus and His disciples were quite away from Bethany, and they had to walk the distance to reach the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. The timid, frightened disciples pleaded with Jesus and said: “It is not long since the Jews there were wanting to stone you. Are you going there again?” (John 11:8). It is at this moment the courageous words of Thomas came: “Let us also go, that we may die with Him” (John 11:16). This statement speaks for itself. Nobody can see a doubting or hesitating person, but a daring Apostle! The second instance of Thomas revealing his inner courage and self-confidence is equally striking. It was during the “Farewell Discourse after the Last Supper.” It is very clear from John’s long narrative of chapters 14-17 that the atmosphere was charged with deep feelings of sadness and anxiety. Jesus tells the sorrow-stricken and utterly puzzled apostles that He would be departing from them to prepare a place for them, and He will come back to take them to His place. He then added: “My way there is known to you” (John 14:4). The confused Apostles had absolutely no clue about what Jesus was talking about, leave alone any knowledge about the way to the new place Jesus was referring to. But none of them had the audacity to utter a word about their perplexity, except Thomas. His intervention was straight, clear and at the same time respectful: “Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (John 14:5). Once again, we see a Daring Thomas.

The third time Thomas speaks is the most important one in our context here since this is considered to be the principal rationale for attributing the epithet ‘doubting.’ Here the context is very clear. On Easter Sunday evening when the timid, frightened, confused, almost distraught disciples were inside the room, with all the doors bolted for fear of the Jews, Jesus suddenly appears to them. Of course, they had no clue whatever as to how Jesus made His entry without opening the bolted door. The important point is that Thomas was not present on this occasion, and so he had no vision of the Risen Jesus. As soon as Thomas re-joined their company, they told him: “We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas was in no mood to take the words of his companions at face value. He replied: “Unless I see the mark of the nails on His hands, unless I put my finger into the place where the nails were, and my hand into His side, I will not believe it” (Jn 20:25). There is no doubt that the conditions he put were quite elaborate and very specific, and so look like over-demanding. At the same time, it is important that he did not say that Jesus did not rise from the dead, much less that Jesus could not have done so. There was no doubt about the possibility or even occurrence of the resurrection. What he wanted was proof, reliable proof. Just the words or testimony of his confreres was not enough.

The “Doubting Apostles”

A number of questions are worth asking in this context: Was Thomas in any significant way different from the other Apostles with regard to believing in the resurrection? Was he unjustified in doubting the testimony of his fellow-apostles? With regard to the first question, it is important to note that there was hardly any difference between Thomas and his fellow-apostles. The Gospel passages of John, Luke and Mark about the resurrection bear this out. According to John, the appearance of Jesus to the Apostles took place on Easter Sunday evening. Several important events had taken place from that Sunday morning onwards. For instance, early in the morning Mary of Magdala went to the tomb of Jesus and found it empty. She rushed back to inform the Apostles about this unexpected situation and Peter and John at once ran to the tomb and found that she was right – the tomb was empty. There is no reason to believe that for them the empty tomb was evidence for the resurrection, because there was no sign of any rejoicing mentioned in John’s Gospel.

It is very surprising that history has overlooked the fact that it was the other 10 Apostle, not Thomas, who disbelieved the news about the Resurrection. For instance, Luke tells us that on the Easter Sunday morning Mary of Magdala, Joanna and Mary, the mother of James, had gone to the tomb and found it empty. But at the side of tomb they had an apparition of “two men in dazzling garments,” who told them that Jesus had risen. These women then recalled Jesus’ prediction about His death and resurrection on the third day, and they believed. They rushed to the disciples and communicated the good news. But Luke tells us that “the story appeared to them to be nonsense, and they did not believe the three women” (Lk 24:11). From this incident it is clear that all of them were “doubting disciples!” Mark also narrates a similar response from the apostles. When Mary of Magdala, to whom the Risen Jesus appeared first, told the disciples that “Jesus was alive and she had seen Him, they did not believe it (Mk 16:13).” One may pass off these passages on the plea that all these involved women reporters, and they were often downgraded as prone to easy self-deception and gullibility. But the same happened to the two men disciples who had a similar experience on their trip to Emmaus (Mk 16:13).

Further and more weighty evidence comes from the fact that Jesus Himself took the Apostles to task for their incredulity and dullness to understand the resurrection. As Mark puts it, “While the Eleven were at table he appeared to them and reproached them for their incredulity and dullness, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He was raised from the dead” (Mk 16:14). The point is very clear: The Apostles were still too human and ordinary in their thinking and response to be really convinced that Jesus was no ordinary leader or Master – He was God Himself and master of life and death. To attain this awareness they had to wait to receive the transforming power of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Till that happened what we had were “Doubting Apostles.”

The Testimony of Fellow-Apostles

Was Thomas justified in ignoring the testimony of his fellow-apostles? It is clear that the 10 Apostles were unanimous in their belief that they did witness the Risen Lord. Yet Thomas refused to go by their testimony. Given the circumstances, it seems to me that one cannot fault Thomas. For one thing, these same Apostles had pledged total allegiance to Jesus, even to His divinity, time and again, including at the time of the Last Supper and the “Farewell Discourse.” Peter even categorically affirmed: “I will lay down my life for you” (Jn 13:37). But when the crucial moment came, he not only denied any relationship with Jesus but also, as Mathew reports, “he broke into curses and declared with an oath: ‘I do not know the man’” (Mt 26:74). The other Apostles did not even dare to come anywhere close to the place, except John who remained passive and subdued. To take the words of such unreliable persons seriously, especially on a serious matter, was not very wise.

One might ask why Thomas put such stringent and specific conditions for accepting the declaration of the 10 Apostles. It was well known to all of them, including Thomas, that the disciples were sitting inside the room which was fully bolted from inside. And Jesus suddenly appears in their midst as though he needed no open door to enter. Such experience is usually associated with ghosts. It was common knowledge that the disciples were prone to seeing ghosts, as was clear from their reaction to Jesus walking on the water (Mt 14: 26). It is likely that Thomas wanted to rule out the possibility of any appearance of a ghost – he wanted to see the real Jesus who rose after the death on the cross.
All these considerations show that Thomas had good reason to doubt the words of his fellow-Apostles and demand reliable evidence for the Resurrection. Also, this is another piece of evidence that Thomas was a daring person, he was not afraid to take an independent position when there was no compelling evidence, he was not afraid to be different from the rest of the group and face its consequences.

Thomas’ Confession of Faith

Thomas’ fourth intervention has become a classic example of genuine Christian faith in Jesus Christ: “My Lord and My God” (Jn 20:28). Jesus appeared to the Apostles again exactly one week later when Thomas also was present. This time He addressed Thomas directly, and asked him to verify the reality of His Resurrection for himself. It is important to note that, unlike at the other time when Jesus rebuked the Apostles for their incredulity to believe the testimony of the women disciples, He did not fault Thomas, at least directly. The response of Thomas was equally touching. There was no attempt to justify himself; no rationalization, no blaming anyone – just a simple surrender in love, faith, humility, repentance and joy!

“My Lord and My God!” this short little sentence said it all – it came from deep within the heart and so was pregnant with deep feeling and meaning, full of resonances and overtones. It was an expression of deep and unflinching faith in the divinity of Jesus. It was an expression of unconditional commitment to the person and mission of Jesus. Indeed, for Thomas, unlike the other 10 Apostles, this personal encounter with the Risen Lord was a profound transforming experience. Many scholars consider this response of Thomas the paradigm, the best expression, of the “Profession of Faith.”

The Scientific Instinct of Thomas

For me this whole episode of Thomas’ conduct with regard to the resurrection experience is a revealer of Thomas’ innate scientific sense or temper. The characteristic mark of a scientist is that he/she takes a responsible, critical view on a new or controversial issue and goes by tangible evidence, not mere guesswork. In some of my public presentations in connection with science-religion interfacing, I have suggested that the Catholic Church make St Thomas the Apostle the patron of modern scientists, although this honour is accorded to St Albert the Great, the 13th century Dominican theologian and scholar, because of his interest in natural science. Some scholars with a scientific bent of mind have looked at the stringent conditions put by Thomas as something positive, considering it as a convincing evidence which served to remove serious doubts regarding the reality of the Resurrection. For instance Thomas Hartwell Horne (1780-1862) in his book Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures presents this view.

Conclusion

Whatever be the rationale for calling Thomas the Apostle “Doubting Thomas,” I have shown that it has hardly any scriptural foundation. Christ’s saying “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believed,” certainly emphasizes the importance of faith, but it does not imply that all those who ask for evidence for the occurrence of some extraordinary events are doubters. Thomas asked for evidence because he was “Daring Thomas,” courageous Thomas, who would not swallow views without carefully examining them, and, once convinced, was willing to stake his life on them. This is the great heritage St Thomas has gifted us with.We take pride in it and remain ever grateful to him.