Thomas Said, “Let Us Also Go, That We May Die with Him”

 

To understand why Thomas said this, we need to consider what had happened beforehand.

 

John 11:5–8 “5 Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. 6 Yet when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was for two more days. 7 Then He said to His disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea.’ 8 His disciples said to Him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone You, and You are going back there?’”

 

John 10:30–33, 39–40 “30 ‘I and the Father are one.’ 31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, ‘I have shown you many good works from My Father. For which of these works are you going to stone Me?’ 33 The Jews answered, ‘We are not stoning You for a good work, but for blasphemy, because You, being a man, claim to be God.’ ... 39 Again they tried to seize Him, but He escaped from their hands. 40 He went back across the Jordan to the place where John had first been baptizing, and He stayed there.”

 

At that time, the Jews who opposed Jesus did not believe or acknowledge that He was God. They considered His words blasphemous—that is, an insult against God—and sought to stone Him to death. It was under these circumstances that Jesus, having heard that Lazarus was sick, intended to leave the place across the Jordan (Bethany beyond the Jordan; John 1:28) and return to Judea. The disciples therefore feared that Jesus might be killed if He went back to Judea. That is why Thomas, when Jesus said He was going back, told the other disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

 

Some people see this as a courageous display of loyalty on Thomas’s part. They say they had thought of him only as someone who lacked faith because he later doubted Jesus’ resurrection, but now realize there was more to him than that. However, we cannot conclude from this statement alone that Thomas had faith, because the other disciples expressed a similar willingness to die with Jesus.

 

Matthew 26:34–35 “34 Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ 35 Peter said to Him, ‘Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You.’ And all the other disciples said the same thing.”

 

In this way, Scripture clearly shows us what Jesus’ disciples were like before they received the Holy Spirit. Let us consider just a few passages.

 

Matthew 16:5–12 “5 When the disciples crossed to the other side, they had forgotten to bring bread. 6 Jesus said to them, ‘Watch out and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ 7 They discussed this among themselves, saying, ‘It is because we did not bring any bread.’ 8 Knowing this, Jesus said, ‘You of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you collected? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many large baskets you collected? 11 How is it that you do not understand that I was not talking to you about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ 12 Then they understood that He had not told them to beware of the yeast used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

 

Mark 9:30–32 “30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because He was teaching His disciples. He told them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be handed over to men, and they will kill Him. After He is killed, He will rise again on the third day.’ 32 But the disciples did not understand what He meant, and they were afraid to ask Him.”

 

Luke 24:34–38 “34 They were saying, ‘The Lord has indeed risen and has appeared to Simon!’ 35 Then the two told what had happened on the road, and how they had recognized Jesus when He broke the bread. 36 While they were talking about these things, Jesus Himself stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 37 They were startled and terrified, thinking they were seeing a spirit. 38 He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?’”

 

John 12:12–16 “12 The next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!’ 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, 15 as it is written: ‘Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.’ 16 His disciples did not understand these things at first. Only after Jesus was glorified did they remember that these things had been written about Him and that the people had done these things to Him.”

 

As these passages show, before receiving the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ disciples did not understand or fully believe His words and what He did. Thomas, one of the twelve disciples, was no exception.

 

John 14:3–7 “3 ‘And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with Me, so that you may also be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.’ 5 Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?’ 6 Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’ 7 ‘If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. From now on you know Him and have seen Him.’”

 

John 20:24–29 “24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who was called Didymus, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But Thomas said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in His hands, put my finger into the marks of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ 26 Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 27 Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believe.’ 28 Thomas answered Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29 Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”

 

Even after this happened, Thomas followed Peter back to fishing, the work they had done before.

 

John 21:1–4 “1 After these things, Jesus revealed Himself again to His disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. This is how it happened. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 As morning came, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not recognize that it was Jesus.”

 

Today, as we look at Thomas and the other disciples, we can see that they were people with human natures like ours¹. We also see how they were transformed later, when they came to know and believe the truth through the Spirit of truth. Seeing this change in them, we, too, must no longer be unbelieving, but believe. [¹Having a human nature like ours: sharing the same human feelings, weaknesses, and limitations.]

 

Acts 14:15 “‘Why are you doing these things? We, too, are human beings just like you. We are bringing you the good news so that you will turn away from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven, earth, the sea, and everything in them.’”

 

James 5:17–18 “17 Elijah was a human being just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.”

 

Mark 9:23 “Jesus said to him, ‘If You can? All things are possible for the one who believes.’”

 

Therefore, we must now die with Jesus and live again through faith in Him.

 

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

 

Amen.