“I’ll believe it when I see it!” We’ve all said it at one time or another. A well-known idiom, expressing the skepticism or need of tangible proof that lies inherent within all of us. The apostle Thomas is no exception, best known as “Doubting Thomas” as a result of needing tangible proof of Christ’s resurrection. In John 20:24-29, the Sunday evening of Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus appeared to the assembled disciples, but Thomas was not present.  Upon hearing of the encounter from his friends, he replied, “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.”  

While there is no debating Thomas' display of doubt in this passage, other Biblical encounters between Thomas and Jesus show an apostle with courage and devout loyalty to Christ (cf. Jn. 11:1-6) and who was a genuine seeker of the truth (cf. Jn. 14:1-5). So what led this devoted follower of Christ into a state of doubt and disbelief in John 20?  

In a legal context, there are two types of evidence: direct and circumstantial. Direct evidence proves a fact without need for inference or assumption and is seen as more reliable. Circumstantial evidence is indirect evidence that implies something occurred but does not directly prove it, and it requires inferences and reasoning to come to a conclusion. In other words, a circumstance creates a fact, and multiple facts considered together can suggest a conclusion rather than directly proving it.

In the previous four days leading up to Thomas’ request for proof, he had endured a flurry of shocking and traumatic circumstances that created facts in his mind that were likely suggesting conclusions challenging the convictions that he had developed over the last 3 ½ years regarding Christ and his fellow disciples. Consider just a few of these circumstances:

• His Rabbi had been unjustly tortured and murdered, and His overthrow of the Roman government and establishment of an earthly kingdom, which they all expected, was now in question. 
• His friend Judas had betrayed Jesus and the rest of the group and was now dead, leaving no chance of gaining understanding or closure. Thomas was left grappling with the fact that Judas was not the man that Thomas had trusted him to be. 
• His close friend and ministry partner, Peter, had turned his back and denied even knowing Jesus, leaving Thomas wrestling in his mind if there was something Peter saw that he had failed to see for himself? 

Where had things gone so wrong? It felt like the wheels were coming off of something that Thomas had once been so sure of, leaving him to question even his own judgement and ability to discern the truth. Amidst such intense circumstantial-derived uncertainty, Thomas longed for a better, more reliable form of proof. Direct evidence is what he needed. The hope-filled ending to this encounter is that

Jesus, without condemnation or chastisement, met Thomas where he was at and provided him the direct evidence needed to restore his belief and faith.

Thomas responded with one of the strongest professions of faith given by any of the apostles on record, exclaiming, “My Lord and my God!”

Change is rapid and all around us today, both on a macro level (globally and nationally) and a micro-level (in our own communities, church, family units, and individual lives). Most of us don’t do well with change because it is circumstantial evidence that leads our minds to conclusions of uncertainty. And that uncertainty can have profound effects on our lives, ranging from taming our ability to boldly take risk, robbing us from an inner peace, or, like Thomas, creating moments or seasons of doubt in things we were once sure of.

But, unlike Thomas, God has given us something to combat uncertainty—His written Word. But the Bible is not direct evidence. It too is circumstantial evidence only capable of suggesting a conclusion, and if only read as an academic exercise will create a weak faith lacking a solid foundation of proof. Let’s be clear on why God gave us the Bible. The end goal is not belief in the Bible. It did not create us; therefore, we do not worship it. It did not die for our sins; therefore, it does not have the power to save us. The Bible is the substrate through which REAL relationship with Jesus is born and grown,

and through the transformational power of relationship with Jesus we see direct evidence in our lives and feel direct evidence in our hearts that He is real and worthy of a courageous and devoutly loyal faith.

And like Thomas, that direct evidence is what we need to create, grow, and restore true faith in our lives. Faith that Jesus is who He said He is, faith that God IS sovereign and in control, faith that is the only real antidote to the eroding power of uncertainty and doubt, faith that will bring us peace that surpasses all understanding, faith that continually invites us deeper into relationship with Him starting the whole cycle over again, and faith that will lead us to proclaim without doubt, “Jesus, my Lord and my God!”

Questions for thought:

1) Are there circumstances in your life or the world today that are causing uncertainty in your life? Have those circumstances/facts led you to any presumptuous or inaccurate conclusions that should be reconsidered in light of Him being the only Sovereign over the world?

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” -Jesus 

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

2) Do you have moments of doubt in your life that have defined you, like Thomas’ moment of doubt has defined him? Uninvited moments of circumstantial doubt do not mean that we are not courageous, devout, or steadfast in our faith. What areas of your life are you in need of Jesus’s faith-restoring power?