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Matthew 10:3… “Philip and Bartholomew; ThomasThomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

Mark 3:18… “Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, ThomasThomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite;

Luke 6:15… “Matthew and ThomasThomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot;

He was also called Twin or Didymus, which is the Greek form of the name. Meanwhile, Thomas is the Hebrew form. Sometimes, we associate people with what they do.When it comes to Thomas, he is not known as Thomas the disciple, or Thomas the faithful, but rather “Doubting Thomas.”However, does Thomas really deserve that name?After a closer examination of the text, we might decide that “Doubting Thomas,” might be better dubbed, “Willing Thomas.”

From that saying, people say: Don’t be like Thomas, instead believe! We ignore who Thomas was and we also ignore the fact that it was Lord Jesus who selected Thomas to be an apostle. We ignore that Thomas was a man of Faith.

Thomas was willing to die with Jesus! He was willing to risk his life for the cause of the Master.

John 11:1-16… “1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.“ 4 When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

John 11:1-16… “6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again.“ 8 The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?“ 9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 "But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."

John 11:1-16… “11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.“ 12 Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.“ 13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. 15 "And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.“ 16 Then ThomasThomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Himmay die with Him."

Are we willing to say the same thing Thomas said?

Let us die with Jesus…

Are we willing to risk our lives for him?

Are we willing to forget about all of our comforts, pleasures and enjoyments and say, like Thomas: Let us die with Him?!

Philippians 1:21Philippians 1:21… For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Acts 7:59-60… “And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.“ 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Acts 12:1… “Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. 2 Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

Revelation 6:9… Revelation 6:9… “When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

Let’s say together: Thank you Thomas for your willingness to ask Jesus questions. He was not afraid of asking questions, the way many were.John 14:1… John 14:1… "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 "And where I go you know, and the way you know. 5 ThomasThomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?“ 6 Jesus said to himJesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Our perspective (2000 years after the fact) of the words of Jesus helped make it clear for us, which must have been confusing to the first century disciples.

Thomas didn’t understand, so he asked an honest question. He was not embarrassed to ask and many of the disciples did not understand the way Jesus spoke. Many of them never asked questions. Thomas was the opposite. He wanted to make sure that everything Jesus said was clear to him…

Jesus didn’t rebuke or ridicule Thomas because of his question.One of the biggest misconceptions that people sometimes have is that “questions are wrong.”Questions are one of our greatest resources for growth, knowledge, and spiritual maturity. God authorized his men to ask questions and they asked because they knew that God would answer them.

1 King 3:51 King 3:5… At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask! "Ask! What shall I give you?"Psalm 2:8Psalm 2:8… Ask of MeAsk of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.Isaiah 45:11Isaiah 45:11… Thus says the LORD, The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: "Ask MeAsk Me of things to come concerning My sons; And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.

Matthew 7:7Matthew 7:7… "AskAsk, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.Matthew 7:11Matthew 7:11……"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who askask Him!John 14:13John 14:13… "And whatever you askask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 "If you askask anything in My name, I will do it.

This is the incident that has led many people to say: I would never, ever want to be like Thomas, that man was a complete unbeliever…

Let’s be realistic, what would your reaction have been like, if you were in Thomas’ shoes? John 20:24-26 John 20:24-26 Now ThomasThomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 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.“ 26 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!“ 27 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.“ 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!“ 29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Thomas was not the only one with doubt. There were many others but for some reason, only Thomas was the center of the attention. Yes, he doubted, but his doubts helped us confirm that the resurrection of Jesus was very true indeed!Luke 24:13, 16, 19, 25Luke 24:13, 16, 19, 25… Now behold, two of them

were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. 19 And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

Note that Thomas wasn’t the only Note that Thomas wasn’t the only disciple who had to see to believe - this disciple who had to see to believe - this was not a peculiar characteristic of was not a peculiar characteristic of Thomas. Thomas. Mark 16:11Mark 16:11… And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believethey did not believe. 14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.had risen.

Luke 24:11… And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not they did not believe thembelieve them.

Thomas wanted to be sure the same way the other disciples wanted to be sure.

However, note Thomas’ reaction when presented with the truth.

John 20:26… And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

It is Thomas who teaches us that Jesus is God with a Capital G and not with a little G.It Is Thomas who teaches us that Jesus can be worshipped at any time and that we do not violate any commandment.

It is Thomas who teaches us that it is never too late to learn the truth concerning Spiritual matters.

Thomas exemplifies both love and loyalty. He was willing to go with Christ, to Jerusalem, because he could not face the prospect of life without Him. Christ needs these kind of followers today, too.

Thomas exemplifies an inquiring spirit. When puzzled by Christ’s reference to “the way,” Thomas spoke up with his question.

Today, truly honest Christians question matters of faith not because they doubt but because they yearn to know what God’s Word means.

ThomasThomas wanted what the disciples reported to be true, but, at the same time he was afraid of further disappointment. As soon as ThomasThomas saw Jesus, his doubts dissolved and he acknowledged Christ as Lord and God.

When we have doubts, we need to remain open to belief so that when Christ’s Spirit speaks to us we will be as ready as ThomasThomas to respond with faith.

Acts 1:13… Acts 1:13… And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and ThomasThomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.

Acts 2:1Acts 2:1… When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, theythey were all with one accord in one place.

In the person of Thomas, I don’t see a doubter above all others, I see a willing disciple.We have recorded for us, the response that Thomas gave with reference to the identity of Jesus. Now, it’s our turn to make a decision.Do you believe or doubt that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God?