Introduction
When we think of the men Jesus called to be His disciples, we sometimes can forget they were human beings just like us. Each one of them had the incredible opportunity to follow Jesus Christ, the Son of God, on His mission while He walked this earth.

One of these men was Thomas, who gets kind of a bad rap for his doubts. To this day, and for probably many days into the future, we'll hear people called doubting Thomases simply because they are being pegged as wanting to see proof before they make a decision. It is true Thomas had his doubts—but so did all the other disciples! One thing he said that I haven't found very often in Scripture was Thomas' declaration when he saw the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Thomas saw and exclaimed, "My Lord and my God." No doubts there!

Thomas isn't mentioned often in Scripture, but there are examples for each one of us in each instance. Let's take a look at one such episode, and we'll finish this series by looking at the time when Thomas saw Jesus after the resurrection.

Thomas: Devoted to Jesus
The first time Thomas is mentioned, aside from the lists of the apostles, is in John's gospel, chapter 11. In the context, we remember Lazarus was sick and eventually died, but Jesus made a deliberate choice to return to Judea, where Lazarus, Mary, and Martha—some of the closest friends Jesus had on earth. As the gospels record, just about every time Jesus went to Judea in general, Jerusalem in particular, trouble arose. At least once, people actually took up stones so they could stone Jesus to death!

So we can imagine the shock and awe of the disciples when Jesus said, "We're going back to Judea," and the disciples replied, "Uh, Lord, uh, the Jews wanted to stone You to death, and it wasn't that long ago. Remember?" This wasn't the first time, by the way, when the disciples were not sure what to do, what direction to follow, and so forth. A year or two before, in John 6, Jesus had seen the crowds dwindle away to the point that He asked them, "Will you also go away?" (John 6:67, paraphrased).

The First Words of Thomas in Scripture
In this case, something happened in Thomas' heart. Remember these are the first words of Thomas recorded in Scripture: "Therefore, Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, 'Let us also go, so we may die with Him" (John 11:16). I've wondered for a long time why he said this. Although Scripture doesn't record what Thomas thought, we could make a few observations.

First, Thomas perhaps was one of the quiet people who didn't say much except when he had something to say. We have and need folks such as him in our day, as well, those who aren't in the spotlight (Did they ever want to be?) and simply want to follow the Lord. Thomas neither remained silent, nor did he cause a big show to break out. He just spoke one sentence, "Let's go, so we may die with Him." While the others were doing whatever they were doing, Thomas declared his devotion. Someone once remarked that Thomas already knew a life without Jesus wasn't much of a life at all.

Second, Thomas showed some spunk. Dr. John MacArthur mentioned in a radio broadcast some years ago that Thomas was showing leadership. The other disciples perhaps were ready to leave Jesus. Remember, they had been tempted to do that at least once before, and nobody stepped up to remind them of what they already knew! Thomas, as mentioned, never said much as recorded in Scripture, but he spoke up here.

Third, and it's a sad point to bring up, is that Thomas perhaps was still pessimistic. He already had said he knew death was waiting for Jesus, and instead of praying for strength, deliverance or any number of things (Did he think to speak directly to Jesus?), he gave a resigned, "Well, He's going to die, so we might as well go with Him." In all fairness, we need to remember this event took place at some time before the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit permanently came to indwell each believer. The encouragement Thomas and the others needed was available, but they didn't seem to ask for it.

Conclusion
So, devoted and perhaps depressed, Thomas and the others followed the Lord Jesus Christ to Bethany, seeing the resurrection of Lazarus, and the power Jesus had—even to raise the dead. I'm sure this helped shape Thomas' way of looking at the words of Jesus when we see the second episode in the life of Thomas.

You and I are a lot like Thomas in that we've had our times of doubt and our times of devotion to the Lord. One of the first temptations or trials the devil tried to use against Jesus was to make Him doubt whether the Father would take care of Him. After all, Jesus had fasted for 40 ays (more than a month!) and was hungry, as Matthew and Luke mention. Jesus never gave in to the devil, and we don't have to either.

Also, Jesus never condemned Thomas, even in this very difficult time in their lives. Doubt had battered the disciples. Thomas had responded with devotion, though he was depressed about the possibility of losing his life.

The lesson we can receive from this is simply: Never give up. Jesus is still in control; if we serve Him, He will bless us for all we've done for Him. God bless you all!

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