Redeemed Failures, Day 10: Thomas — When Doubt Becomes Devotion

 John 20:24–29

Thomas had been given extraordinary trust. As one of the Twelve, he was not merely a follower but an appointed witness. He had heard every public teaching of Jesus and seen works that defied natural explanation. Demons cast out. Lazarus raised from the grave. He had shared in the mission himself, preaching the kingdom and healing the sick in Christ's name. Few in history have been given such spiritual privilege.

Yet on the evening of the resurrection, Thomas was not there. The others had gathered behind locked doors, only to be met by the risen Christ. When they told Thomas afterward, his reply was not joy but a line in the sand: "Unless I see the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe."

This was more than healthy caution. He was rejecting the united testimony of those who had shared in his calling and who had nothing to gain by lying. Thomas was not fulfilling his role as a witness; he was standing apart from it.

Why the Standard Was So High

Thomas's refusal was not without reason. The resurrection was no small claim, and he understood what it meant. If Jesus truly had risen, then death had been conquered, the Messiah had come, and the entire world must be told. To stake his life and ministry on such a truth, he wanted more than words. He wanted sight and touch.

However, his doubt was costly. For eight days he remained outside the joy and certainty his brothers had already entered.

Even so, Thomas gives us no picture of a gullible first-century man ready to believe anything. In him we see the modern spirit: the demand for empirical proof before trust. The apostles were no fools. They knew dead men stay dead.

Christ's Patient Answer

Thankfully, when Jesus appeared again, Thomas was there. The Lord did not meet him with scorn, but neither did He lower the bar for discipleship. He gave exactly what Thomas had demanded: the sight of His hands and side, the invitation to touch, and the call, "Do not disbelieve, but believe."

Faced with the reality of the risen Christ, Thomas's resistance crumbled. He offered one of the most surrendered confessions in Scripture: "My Lord and my God."

From Doubter to Martyr

The New Testament does not follow Thomas further, but early church tradition holds that he carried the gospel eastward, perhaps to India, and served Christ faithfully until his death.¹ The one who once refused to believe the resurrection without proof became a herald of it to the nations.

An Encouragement

Thomas's failure was real. He missed the first resurrection appearance. He refused the testimony of the other apostles. He let doubt close him off from joy. Yet Christ did not cast him aside. The risen Lord met him in mercy, gave him the proof he sought, and called him into deeper trust.

For all who have stumbled in their faith, who have stood apart or demanded more than they needed or resisted the word of God's people, Thomas's story reminds us that the Savior can restore the hesitant and make them bold. The same Lord who called Thomas back is able to call you back as well, not only to believe, but to serve Him with the rest of your life.

¹ Early Christian writers such as Ephrem the Syrian, Ambrose of Milan, and later tradition preserved in the Acts of Thomas place his missionary work in India, where he was said to have been martyred by spearing.

Enjoy all 31 devotionals in the Redeemed Failures series here —stories of grace, second chances, and the God who still restores.