Doubting Thomas Was Not The Biggest Doubter!

Doubting Thomas Was Not The Biggest Doubter!

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, August 12, 2025 (Donate)

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “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.”

And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:24-29, NKJV

Thomas And His Doubt

My fellow Christians, when we read about the lack of faith that Thomas, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, had regarding seeing the resurrected Christ, we often think, How dull can you be?

Think about this for a moment—Thomas knew that Jesus predicted His own death and resurrection. Jesus had been put to death a week or so before in a public and horrific manner, and the disciples (and many others) were proclaiming they had seen Him resurrected. Yet Thomas still doubted.

Thomas was not convinced of the bodily resurrection unless he could touch the hands of Christ and feel where the nails had pierced Him. Jesus obliged and appeared again to the disciples—a second time—with Thomas present. Jesus, in His amazing compassion, allowed Thomas to verify that He had indeed been run through by nails.

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Thomas, amazed even more than expected, drew back and rightly proclaimed that Jesus was God. It finally clicked in Thomas’s mind who Jesus truly was.

Even after years of Jesus explaining who He was, what He came to do, and prophesying that He must be put to death and resurrected, Thomas still struggled—until this moment. Thomas realized Jesus really was who He said He was and truly did what He said He would do, showing His power over life and death. Thomas submitted and acknowledged the risen Christ as God who came in the flesh.

What Did We Just Miss?

When we read this account as Christians many years removed we often lament the stubbornness of Thomas’s belief about Christ’s resurrection. We even call someone a “doubting Thomas” if they don’t believe something today.

But I want to take note of what is going on in the background. When Thomas makes his profession of Jesus (“my Lord and my God”), the other disciples are present. Why is this so important?

Mark’s account points out that the other disciples were also having a hard time believing.

And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. (Mark 16:13-14, NKJV; emphasis added)

Luke also points out that:

So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.

And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.  But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” (Luke 24:33-41, NKJV, emphasis added)

It wasn’t just Thomas who had initial doubts. The other disciples also had the opportunity to see Christ’s hands and feet, yet they still did not believe.

Furthermore, when we come to the ascension of Jesus Christ into the heavenlies to sit at the right hand of the Father on the throne of God, we read an interesting detail. Jesus had been preaching for 40 days, and now it was His time to leave. Matthew records,

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. (Matthew 28:16-17, NKJV, emphasis added). 

Keep in mind that Thomas was among them in this instance, and we know what he believed—without question—he was no longer doubting. So take note: some of the eleven disciples still doubted. Some still struggled with unbelief, yet Thomas didn’t!

These disciples—though we don’t know which ones specifically, but definitely not Thomas—still had doubts after seeing and conversing with Jesus several times. Furthermore, they had witnessed Thomas touching the nail holes in Christ’s hands and had the opportunity themselves. Yet some still doubted. We give Thomas a lot of grief, but he did better than others!

Of course, any doubts were laid to rest with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the subsequent power that came on them at Pentecost (e.g., John 20:22; Acts 1:5-8). The Holy Spirit convicts unto belief (e.g., 1 Corinthians 12:3).

Are You A “Doubting Thomas”?

For those reading this who have not submitted to Christ and His resurrection, I would like you to consider how you may be like a “doubting Thomas.” Be honest with yourself. After all, we were all “doubting Thomases” until the Holy Spirit worked in our lives.

I want to encourage you to receive Jesus Christ as Lord. We may not be able to touch the wounds of Christ but remember what Jesus said:

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29, NKJV)

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council. 

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.