I preached this sermon on April 12, 2026, at Christ Presbyterian Church in Milford, Ohio.
The lectionary text is John 20:19-31 0 Jesus Appears to His Disciples
I am an identical twin. Danny and I are mirror twins, an even deeper level of “twinness.” I bring that up because Thomas is mentioned by name four places in the Gospel of John, and three of those times the NIV version includes, “(also known as Didymus).” Thomas, in English, Ta’oma’, in Aramaic, and Didymus, in Greek, mean “twin.” Thomas’ twin is never mentioned in the Bible though.
As close as Danny and I are, I can’t help but feel a similar connection to Thomas. I imagine you might as well.
Thomas has had some unfair press for millennia, hasn’t he? “Doubting Thomas” has become shorthand for a skeptic, someone who won’t believe something without seeing physical proof. We say the same thing in other ways: “I’ll believe it when I see it” or “seeing is believing.”
When it comes to doubt, I could be Thomas’ twin. And I’m not alone in this feeling. And Thomas isn’t alone in the Gospels with his doubts.
In fact, we don’t know that the other disciples believed in the resurrection before Jesus appeared to them behind locked doors. They heard Mary’s testimony—but John simply tells us they rejoiced when they saw Him. That suggests they, too, needed physical proof.
And across the Gospels, doubt shows up again and again. John the Baptist—who baptized Jesus and heard the voice of God—later sends messengers to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Peter walks on water, then starts sinking from his unbelief. He confesses Jesus boldly, then denies Him three times publicly. We don’t call him “Peter the Denier,” yet Thomas carries his moniker forever.
Even the great figures of the Old Testament—Moses, Elijah, Gideon, Jeremiah—questioned God.
So maybe doubt isn’t the exception. Maybe it’s part of the journey.
And that should come as a relief.
Doubt can be a normal part of the Christian experience. Let’s not celebrate doubts and allow them to loiter in our hearts—but let’s not be afraid of them either. John the Baptist took the fight to his doubt instead of allowing it to quietly linger and consume him.
Doubt is a struggling mind, looking for answers, looking for light. Unbelief, on the other hand, is a deliberate decision to reject God’s truth. Different translations present Jesus’ reply in v. 27 differently, when he said, ”Stop doubting and believe.” There are: [SLIDE]
· Do not doubt – NIV, NRSV
· Be not faithless – King James
· Do not continue in disbelief – New American Standard
· Do not continue in your unbelief – New English Translation
Each translation I listed seems to grow more intense, from doubting to unbelief.
· Doubt says, “I’m not sure.”
o Unbelief says, “I won’t trust.”
· Doubt asks questions.
o Unbelief resists answers.
· Doubt can lead you toward faith.
o Unbelief digs in against it.
I want to give Thomas credit as much as I can – give him the benefit of the doubt, if you will – but some translations aren’t kind to poor Thomas.
Let me add a comment about the other ten disciples, the ones who Jesus visited at the beginning of this passage, the day he was resurrected. Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Then He breathed the Holy Spirit onto them. John in his gospel just gave his version of the Great Commission!
The Bible passage picks up the narration a week later and Jesus appears to the same ten disciples, including Thomas this time, but they’re still hiding behind locked doors. Jesus commissioned those ten disciples, but they seemingly haven’t acted on it, haven’t gone to make disciples of all nations. And we’re picking on Thomas?
My best friend since seventh grade is a card-carrying member of The Satanic Temple (TST). He describes himself as an atheist, which would, by definition, preclude his belief in God or Satan. BTW, The Satanic Temple doesn’t believe in Satan either, so it blows my mind why it’s even in their name. His late wife was Greek Orthodox, and their wedding and her funeral I attended were in the church. He grew up in a Lutheran church. He’s been exposed, to say the least, to God, to Jesus.
Before you judge him and his membership in the TST, he’s an engineer, now retired. He loves to argue. He doesn’t care about winning. Whatever side you take, he’s going to take the opposite. If I tried to convince him that Yoko Ono shouldn’t have a Greatest Hits album he would argue. His point about carrying a card of the TST is for the argument of forcing schools to display the Ten Commandments. He would then insist on the display of the Seven Tenets of TST. Again, he’s up for the argument.
But my friend knows more about the Bible than most people, and he loves arguing the counterpoints to specific parts of the Bible that he selects. He’s helped sharpen my faith, and even helped make my messages more succinct. If my message sounds faith-filled to him, they will probably resonate with you.
I have a feeling you’re going to hear more about him from this pulpit. He may want to argue about the Bible, but he’s doing his research. He’s reading. I still want his doubts and unbelief to transform into faith and believing, and I’m glad to meet him where he is.
Where does Thomas stand in today’s passage? Is he exhibiting unbelief or showing healthy doubts?
When the others tell him they’ve seen Jesus, he refuses to accept it secondhand. He wants to see for himself. And a week later, Jesus meets him right there—in that exact place of hesitation.
Jesus doesn’t shame him.
He doesn’t exclude him.
He invites him: “Put your finger here. See my hands.”
And then comes the turning point: Jesus calls on Thomas to change his attitude, “Do not keep unbelieving, but become believing.” ”Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas doesn’t even reach out to touch Jesus. Instead, he goes straight to making one of the clearest confessions in all of Scripture, unable to speak a complete sentence:
“My Lord and my God!”
That’s how he should be remembered—not for his doubt, but for where his doubt led him.
What does that mean for us?
First, honest doubt can be a doorway to deeper faith—but only if it’s honest. Are you truly looking for answers, or avoiding them? In Jeremiah, it is written, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Seek with sincerity.
Second, you have to be willing to face and accept the answer when it comes, not dodge it. Thomas was willing. When Jesus stood before him, Thomas accepted and surrendered.
And that’s the invitation for us.
Because most of us won’t get what Thomas got. We won’t see the scars with our own eyes. And yet Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
That’s us.
If you’re wrestling with doubt, you’re not alone. We can be Thomas’ twin. Doubt doesn’t disqualify you—it can deepen you. But don’t let it linger in isolation. Take it to Christ. Bring it into the light. Ask the hard questions—and be open to the answers.
For Thomas, seeing was believing; for Christians ever since, believing is seeing.// Today it is through faith that we encounter the risen Lord and enter into a personal relationship with Him. The Gospel of John is about having a blessed, loving relationship with Jesus, and we see that through Thomas. John’s entire message can be found in this short passage.
Let’s not forget how Jesus responded to John the Baptist’s question: he was patient and gracious. He wasn’t turned off by John’s sudden doubt. He calmly answered the question and gave assurance that he was the Messiah (Luke 7:22–23). “So he replied to the messengers, ‘Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard.” No rebuke. Just reassurance.
Jesus still meets people the same way He met John the Baptist: not with anger, but with grace. Jesus meets us the same way He met Thomas: Not with rejection, but with open hands.
He meets us in our doubt—and offers us Himself.
And when He does, the only fitting response is the same one Thomas gave:
“My Lord and my God.”
Thank you, Thomas, for being our twin and showing us the way.
In Jesus’ name.
