Thomas

Thomas is not mentioned very much in the Gospels. In fact, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, he is only in the lists of the disciples. However, in the Gospel of John, he is in two important stories. When Jesus planned to return to Judea because His friend, Lazarus, was sick, the disciples warned Him that the Jew’s tried to stone Him the last time they were there. In spite of their attitude, Thomas said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:5-16). In spite of his enthusiasm on this occasion, however, when after Jesus’ crucifixion, the disciples told Thomas they had seen the risen Jesus in a meeting at which Thomas was absent, he replied he would not believe them unless he had physical proof of Jesus’ resurrection. When Jesus appeared to the disciples a second time, He asked Thomas, specifically, to touch His hands and His side. At his sudden realization of the truth. Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord and my God.” It has been observed that he was the first person to acknowledge Jesus’ divinity.

Church history tells us that the emboldened Thomas traveled the farthest distance of any disciple to evangelize those in Muziris (Cranganore) on the Kerala coast in India in 52 AD. He established seven churches in Kerala. However, when an attack was threatened in that area, Thomas left northwest India and journeyed to the Malabar coast, visiting southeast Arabia and Socotra on the way. He landed at Muziria (Paraveer) in the company a Jewish merchant, Abbanes, and from there, he preached the gospel throughout the Malabar coast and founded many churches, most of which were located on the Periyar River where there were Jewish colonies. There is some evidence that he also traveled to China and then back to India. Another tradition has him going to Paraguay, as well.

According to one tradition, Thomas stood up to an Indian king (whose wife had become a Christian) when the king pressured Thomas to make sacrifices to an idol. The tradition goes on to say that the idol shattered into pieces when Thomas was forced to approach it. The king was so angry that he ordered his high priest to kill Thomas, which he did by piercing Thomas with a spear.

Another tradition states that the Brahmins, who were alarmed at the progress of Christianity, were resolved to put Thomas to death. While Thomas was praying at a tomb, the Brahmins threw at him a shower of darts, after which one of the priests ran him through with a lance. No matter how it occurred, Thomas was speared to death for preaching the resurrected Jesus.
What made this dramatic change in doubting Thomas’ life? He would say it was the moment he saw the resurrected Jesus and put his hands in Jesus’ wounds. Now, if this was a lie, as some today argue, would any man go such long distances from his home and die in such a horrendous manner for something he knew was a lie?