The confession of Thomas

The confession of Thomas (20:24-29)

24 Thomas is singled out for special treatment because his confession provides a climactic illustration of the triumph of belief. His name is the Aramaic term for "twin," of which Didymus is the Greek equivalent (cf. John 11:16; 21:2). In some of the Syrian MSS he is called Judas Thomas and identified with "Judas, not Iscariot" of John 14:22. It seems hardly credible that two names should be used for the same man in the same context. A Syrian tradition identified Thomas with the Judas of Mark 6:3 and made him the twin brother of Jesus, a conclusion which seems impossible in the light of the Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus. In John 11:16 and 14:5 Thomas appears as a loyal, outspoken, and rather pessimistic person who was uncertain of the future but closely attached to Jesus. Much the same picture emerges from the episode presented here. He was absent from the gathering on the first day of the week, though he must have been in contact with the rest of the disciples afterwards.
25 In spite of the repeated assurances of his colleagues that Jesus had risen (elegon, "they kept saying," is the imperfect tense of repeated action), Thomas was obstinate. He was so certain of the death of Jesus that he would not credit the report of his reappearance and insisted that he would not believe unless he could actually touch Jesus' body. Thomas would be satisfied by nothing less than material evidence. His incredulity is testimony to the fact that the resurrection appearances were not illusions induced by wishful thinking.

26 "A week later" literally reads "after eight days" in the Greek text. In reckoning of a span of time, the days on both ends of the span were counted. The appearance to Thomas occurred on the evening of the Sunday one week after the Resurrection. The disciples had remained in Jerusalem during that time. On this occasion Thomas was present. He must have recovered somewhat from the original shock of Jesus' death and was willing to rejoin his old associates. It may well be that the depth of his grief and his inability to reconcile the death of Jesus with the raising of Lazarus hindered him from rejoining the others on the occasion of the previous week. The reappearance of Jesus took place under the same conditions as the previous appearance, which the disciples had described to Thomas. Therefore, he could not charge them with having fabricated their report when Jesus greeted them in the same manner as before.

27 Jesus' appeal to Thomas shows that he knew what Thomas had said to his colleagues when they told him of the first appearance. Since Jesus had not been visibly present to hear his reaction to their report, Thomas must have been startled to hear Jesus quote his very words. Jesus did not immediately upbraid him for his doubts, but he challenged him to make the test that he had suggested. Jesus' words can be translated "Stop becoming an unbeliever and become a believer." Jesus halted Thomas on the road to a despairing unbelief and offered him the positive evidence he could build an enduring faith on.

28 Thomas was disposed to believe in Jesus by his personal attachment to him, as he demonstrated previously by his resolute adherence in impending danger (11:16). Jesus may have felt that the faith of all the disciples was fragile, for he told them explicitly that the raising of Lazarus was designed to give them a solid basis for a continuing faith (11:15). Now, having been challenged to make a personal test of Jesus' reality, Thomas expressed fullest faith in him. For a Jew to call another human associate "my Lord and my God" would be almost incredible. The Jewish law was strictly monotheistic; so the deification of any man would be regarded as blasphemy (10:33). Thomas, in the light of the Resurrection, applied to Jesus the titles of Lord (kyrios) and God (theos), both of which were titles of deity.

29 Jesus' commendation of Thomas was extended to all others who, like Thomas, would place a final faith in him and who, unlike Thomas, would have no opportunity to see him in his postresurrection form. Thomas's declaration is the last assertion of personal faith recorded in this Gospel. It marks the climax of the book because it presents Christ as the risen Lord, victorious over sin, sorrow, doubt, and death. It also presents the faith that accepts not only the truth of what Jesus said but also the actuality of what he was--the Son of God. In the experience of Thomas, the writer has shown how belief comes to maturity and how it changes the entire direction of an individual life.

Statement of Purpose (20:30-31)

30-31 The last two verses of this chapter are really the conclusion of the Gospel. They summarize its strategy, subject, and purpose. The strategy is to use selected works of Jesus as "signs" (semeia) that illustrate his character, demonstrate his power, and relate him to human need. Seven of these signs have been narrated, exclusive of the final sign, the Resurrection. Each one involved a human personality and showed how the power of Jesus can be applied to human emergencies. These signs were performed in the presence of the disciples so that they were attested by sympathetic and competent witnesses as well as by those who happened to be present at the time, whether friendly or hostile to Jesus. The criteria for selection seems to be magnitude, varied individual significance, and effect both on the disciples and the public.

The signs, however, are not of primary intrinsic importance. The chief subject of the Gospel is the Lord Jesus Christ, whom the author desires to present as the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God. Christ (Gr. Christos; Heb. Masiah) means "Anointed One" and refers primarily to the deliverer appointed by God, who would come to free the nation from bondage and restore the Davidic kingdom. Jesus was given this title by the earliest disciples (1:41), but it appears seldom in the Gospel; and Jesus did not use it concerning himself because it had political implications he did not intend to fulfill at the time. He told Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world (18:36), and he made no attempt to inaugurate a revolutionary movement. "Messiah," however, did represent the deliverer from sin promised in the Old Testament as the fulfillment of the covenants with the patriarchs and David and who would consummate God's purpose for the nation and the world. At that time the Jewish nation was still looking for the Messiah; John asserts that he had already come.

The title "Son of God" appears at intervals in the text of this Gospel. John the Baptist introduced Jesus by this title (1:34); Nathanael applied it to him (1:49); and on several occasions Jesus applied it to himself (5:25; 9:35, a questionable reading; 10:36; 11:4). "Son of God" would appeal to the Gentile world rather than to the Jew, for the Gentiles did not have the same reservations about it as the Jews did. The title does not, of course, imply biological descent like that of the Greco-Roman demigods; but the metaphor of sonship expresses the unity of nature, close fellowship, and unique intimacy between Jesus and the Father. Human fatherhood and sonship are only a faint copy of the relation between God the Father and God the Son. To believe that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) and the Son of God involves the total acceptance of the revelation of God that he offers, the acknowledgment of his divine authority, and the fulfillment of the commission he entrusted to his disciples. The total scope of this belief is illustrated in the narrative of this Gospel. Its result is eternal life, a new and enduring experience of God by the believer. This conclusion ties together the three persistent themes of the Gospel: the "signs" that demonstrate Christ's nature and power; the response of "belief" that is exemplified in the crises and growth in the lives of the disciples; and the new "life" that is found in the relationship with Christ.