Thomas Archives

Everyone is familiar with Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting, The Last Supper. The painting shows the moment after Jesus revealed to His apostles that one of them would betray Him. We see each apostle’s reaction. Leonardo divided the twelve into four groups of three.

On the far right of Jesus, we see Bartholomew, James (the son of Alphaeus), and Andrew with surprised looks. Next is Peter, holding a knife that perhaps he would later use to cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. He leans over to John, the youngest apostle, who seems to have swooned, perhaps telling him to ask Jesus who the betrayer is. Judas, leaning forward between Peter and John, holds the money bag and reaches for the same loaf of bread Jesus is reaching for.

On Jesus’ left side, we see Thomas, James (the brother of Jesus), and Philip. Thomas looks to be questioning what Jesus just said about betrayal. James appears stunned, while Philip seeks clarification. On the far end of the table, we see Matthew, Jude (Thaddeus), and Simon the Zealot. Matthew and Thaddeus are looking at Simon. Did they suspect him?

Leonardo spent a lot of time walking around Milan looking for ordinary individuals to model the faces of the apostles. After all, the apostles were just ordinary people. Does the painting accurately show the real setting of the Last Supper? Probably not. The Bible says they gathered in a large above-ground room (Mark 14:18). It might have been the same place where Jesus appeared to them a week after His resurrection. The painting depicts a banquet hall with all the men seated on one side of a long table covered with a white cloth with blue stripes, and each man has a glass and a plate. In the first century, it was common to follow the Roman custom of reclining on a U-shaped arrangement of lounges called a triclinium around a small table.

Does the painting accurately show the apostles’ immediate reactions? We have no way of knowing, but it’s interesting to think about. If you were one of the apostles, how would you have reacted? Would you be shocked to learn your friend and teacher was about to be betrayed and killed? Would you want to know who the betrayer was? Could it be you?

Jesus told His apostles what was ahead to prepare them for the grief they would soon face. At the Last Supper, He also gave them the symbols of a loaf and a cup, to remind them whenever they gathered of His sacrifice — His body and blood. It also reminds us “until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26) that everything happened according to God’s plan to redeem all who accept His gift of grace through Jesus Christ.

Reference: Wikipedia.com

People often refer to him as “Doubting Thomas.” That label is inaccurate and unfair. Identifying the apostle as Thomas the doubter fails to understand his real nature. When Jesus’ life was in danger, it was Thomas who said, “Let us go die with Him” (John 11: 16). At that time, Thomas was the one full of commitment who was willing to die for his convictions about Jesus. One has to wonder why it was not Peter who was labeled as “the doubter” due to his triple denial of Christ. What we can learn from Thomas is how doubt can help a person to become a seeker of truth.

Doubt has to be confronted. When the other disciples came to Thomas with the outrageous claim that they had seen Jesus alive after his crucifixion, what do you think his reaction should have been? What would your response be? Many false Christs had risen in the world even in that day. There was good reason to question the claims. As a matter of fact, the first witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection were the women in Luke 24, and no one even among the apostles believed them.

The kind of doubt that Thomas had was a healthy skepticism. He did not back off, soft soap, or withdraw from the situation, but he openly and honestly expressed his doubt. Most people in today’s world do not explore their doubts. When they have doubts about God, Christ, the Church, or some doctrinal issue, they tend to bury their concerns. The load of unaddressed doubt can create physical illness, and it can kill us spiritually. Thomas the doubter shared his doubt with his fellow disciples and did not withdraw but became a seeker of truth.

In today’ s world, people who have doubts usually leave the Church. Keeping quiet and walking away seems like the easy way out, but it leads to stress, ignorance, isolation, and a failure to grow and mature in the faith. Thomas could have walked away. Instead, the Bible tells us that a week later, when the disciples were together, “Thomas was with them” (John 20:26). He continued to study, grow, and learn and did not discard the lessons and learning of the past.

Thomas maintained his relationships with his fellow disciples and was willing to respond to the evidence presented to him. I have often wondered if Thomas actually put his finger into the nail prints and the wound in Jesus’ side. Or was the fact that his search for evidence had been responded to enough to motivate him to say, “My Lord and my God!” Those words are not just an acceptance of evidence. They are a realization that the evidence he was seeing was going to change his life. The Bible does not tell us what happened to Thomas, but secular history says he went to India and died there teaching people in that area of the world about Jesus.

We do not know all that took place between the time that Thomas shared his doubts with his fellow disciples, and when Jesus appeared to him. It is difficult not to believe that the others tried to convince him. I think God gave us the story of Thomas the doubter and seeker of truth to let us know that doubt is a normal part of maturing as a Christian.

Unlike Thomas, we have multiple ways of resolving our doubts. Today we have evidence from history, science, scripture, and thousands of years of testimony. The purpose of the DOES GOD EXIST? ministry is to assist any seeker of truth in resolving their doubts. This website, as well as DoesGodExist.org and DoesGodExist.tv, are sources of help if you are a seeker of truth. We do not have all the answers, but sharing with others and learning from them goes a long way toward building dynamic faith.

Tag: Thomas

The Last Supper and What It Means to Us

Seeker of Truth or Thomas the Doubter