“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3 NIV)
My nickname is undeserved.
I followed Jesus throughout Galilee and Judea, witnessing his teaching, his healing, and his miracles. Day after day, I was amazed at what this man—my rabbi, my Lord—could do. He knew the scriptures like no one I had ever heard and explained them in ways that opened our eyes to God’s love and grace. He’d take familiar teachings from our rabbis and turn them into profound lessons about the heart of God. Crowds flocked to him, desperate for healing from pain, suffering, and despair—and he met them with compassion. And the way he spoke about the kingdom of God—it filled you with such hope. Not everything he said was easy to grasp; sometimes I think he wondered why we didn’t understand. But his words were unlike anything we’d heard before. By the time he asked Peter who we believed he was, we all knew: he was the Messiah, the Son of the living God.
That final week in Jerusalem was a whirlwind of emotion. We celebrated his triumphal entry to shouts of “Hosanna!”, shared a tender Passover meal marked by strange words about betrayal and death, and then watched him pray with anguish in Gethsemane. And then—the unthinkable. Pilate caved to the crowd. Barabbas was released. Jesus was sentenced to be tortured and crucified. It shattered me. Overwhelmed with grief and disbelief, I walked away. No one survived Roman crucifixion. My rabbi, my friend, was gone.
I left Jerusalem and went into the countryside to escape the crushing crowds. I needed space to process, to grieve, to cry out to God. A few days later, John found me. He told me the tomb was empty. Mary had seen him. So had Cleopas and others. “Jesus is alive,” he said. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. The tomb empty? Bodies don’t just disappear. Had someone taken him? Why? Where? But John insisted the live Jesus had appeared—not just to Mary, but to the others too.
I wanted to believe. Truly. But the idea of someone rising from the dead? That’s not how the world works. Dead is dead. I thought of the fig tree Jesus cursed—it was still dead. So were my parents and grandparents. How could John be claiming Jesus was alive?
He reminded me of the resurrections we’d seen—Jairus’s daughter, the widow’s son at Nain, and Lazarus. I had forgotten. Jesus had said more than once: “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” (Mark 9:31 NIV)
Could it really be true?
I returned to Jerusalem with John and found the others. They kept saying, “We have seen the Lord!” I wanted to believe, but I couldn’t fake it. I said, “Unless I see the marks of the nails in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and my hand into his side, I will not believe.” They looked at me with compassion, but I still couldn’t find my footing.
Then—Jesus appeared.
He stood among us and said, “Peace be with you.” He looked straight at me and said, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Then he ate with us—he ate real food! Spirits don’t do that.
All I could do was fall to my knees and cry, “My Lord and my God!”
He lovingly reminded us that everything written in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to be fulfilled—and that it all pointed to him. He opened the scriptures to us in ways I can only describe as supernatural. My heart burned within me with love, awe, and unshakable hope: Jesus was alive.
The next forty days were a blur of joy and learning. He taught us so much. It felt like drinking from a firehose, as you might say today. And then, while he was blessing us, he ascended into heaven before our eyes. Ten days later, the Holy Spirit came upon us with power and fire, equipping us for the mission ahead.
And I went. I told everyone who would listen about Jesus—his teachings, his grace, his resurrection, and the forgiveness he offers. My journey eventually led me to India, where many believed and found new life in Christ.
So tell me—does that sound like someone who still doubts?
Yes, I wrestled with disbelief in those dark days. I wanted to believe what my friends were saying, but it wasn’t until Jesus himself stood before me that the pieces fell into place. Much of the world knows me as “Doubting Thomas,” but truly—I am Trusting Thomas.
Jesus,
Thank you for stories of real people with real emotions and struggles, yet real faith and conviction. Help us to believe you fully and to trust you with all we are. May our faith be strengthened as we live out your callings on our lives, and may we, like Thomas, impact the world with the Good News. In Jesus’s name we pray, AMEN.
He *said to them, “But who do you yourselves say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 16:15-17 NASB)
But Thomas, one of the twelve [disciples], who was called Didymus (the twin), was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the marks of the nails, and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.”
Eight days later His disciples were again inside the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, though the doors had been barred, and stood among them and said, “Peace to you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and put out your hand and place it in My side. Do not be unbelieving, but [stop doubting and] believe.” Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, do you now believe? Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, and favored by God] are they who did not see[Me] and yet believed [in Me].” (John 20:24-29 AMP)
Now while they were telling these things, Jesus Himself suddenly stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace be to you.” But they were startled and frightened, and thought that they were looking at a spirit . And He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why are doubts arising in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you plainly see that I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and astonishment, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They served Him a piece of broiled fish; and He took it and ate it in front of them.
Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things that are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “So it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (Luke 24:36-47 NASB)
“After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3 NIV)