John 20:24 says that Thomas (called Didymus) wasn't with the other disciples the first time Jesus appeared. So, the story goes on that he thinks that the group has obviously used a substance they got at a Phish concert, he doesn’t believe that Jesus is alive, and Doubting Thomas gets labeled for the next two millennium. I have some short thoughts; the fourth one being the lone real thought…
1- Didymus is a cool nickname. I’d have called him T. Didy.
2- Thomas just did what anyone with an IQ above room temperature would have done. He probably wondered how much incense the crazies inhaled at the séance. People who talk to dead people got some serious problems. He did what most of us who don’t own crystal balls would have done: thought they were nut cases.
3- Where in the world was he? After a funeral people go to someone’s house and eat potato salad and casseroles. Get with the program Didy.
4- Didymus means “twin.” Think about that. He was probably used to being confused for his brother all of his life. It stood to reason that Thomas probably thought the others were emotionally spent, saw whoever it was through tear-filled eyes, and confused a look-alike for Jesus. Him being a twin, that would have been the most logical thought.
Praise be to God that Jesus really was alive, that Christ’s death paid for my sin and satisfied God’s judgment, that now we have hope because we worship a risen Savior, and that doubters like me and Thomas can worship Jesus who is alive and powerful and merciful and loving and beyond words this Easter.
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