This is part one of a five-week series on the raising of Lazarus. Subscribe to get the next installment in your inbox!
Everyone knows Thomas as the one who doubts the disciples' report that Jesus has risen from the dead (John 20). But he has a lesser-known cameo earlier in the gospel of John, while Jesus is encouraging the disciples to accompany him to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead:
After saying these things, [Jesus] said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." (John 11:11–16, ESV)
This concludes the first act of the narrative. The next act opens with Jesus arriving in Bethany. But why does John end the narrative this way? What is Thomas saying? What is Thomas displaying here? There are three options:
- Courageous faith?
- Despairing faith?
- No faith?
Calvin reflects a standard sentiment: Thomas is a mixed bag. He's willing to die with Jesus (good), but he lacks the confidence that Jesus urges (bad).
But J. Ramsey Michaels, in his incisive but sometimes unconventional commentary on John, takes a different route. He suggests that this is a lack of faith on Thomas's part. In fact, there are three reasons to think that Thomas is expressing a lack of faith. And this has implications for how one preaches and teaches on the raising of Lazarus.
First, Michaels' argument hinges on an ambiguity in what Thomas says. When he says, "Let us also go, that we may die with him," who is the "him" referring to? Almost everyone assumes that Thomas is referring to Jesus: "that we may die with Jesus" (because the Jewish leaders are seeking to kill Jesus). But notice who the "him" refers to in the previous verses:
Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him [Lazarus].
Lord, if he [Lazarus] has fallen asleep, he will recover.
But let us also go to him [Lazarus].
So, Michaels argues, it is actually most plausible that the "him" in Thomas's speech refers to Lazarus as well.
Notice that if Thomas is in fact referring to Lazarus, this makes his words a direct contradiction of what Jesus has just said. Jesus said: "I am going to awaken Lazarus." Thomas replies: "We are going to die along with Lazarus."
If you're not convinced by that argument, the second one (also from Michaels) is stronger. Notice that Jesus has made a big deal about the disciples needing to come along with him, so that they might believe when they see what he does. Now, it's already suspicious that Jesus seems to be implying that they lack faith (since apparently they need to believe). But if you keep reading the story, you'll find that the disciples are never mentioned again. The disciples are so prominent in the first sixteen verses, but then they drop off the map. Jesus arrives in Bethany, with no mention of the disciples. He speaks with Martha and Mary, and the disciples are nowhere to be found. He raises Lazarus before a great crowd of onlookers – but we read nothing about the disciples. Martha believes. The onlookers believe. But we never hear about the disciples believing.
Perhaps, then, Thomas and the disciples have rejected Jesus' invitation.
The third reason to think that Thomas lacks faith here comes from considering Thomas's character throughout the rest of the gospel of John. This is the first mention of Thomas in John. The next place we see him is in the upper room, asking a question that reveals a lack of understanding (14:5). And, of course, the last place we see him is when he doubts the other disciples' report that Jesus has risen from the dead.
Thomas is a known doubter. A lack of faith here in John 11 would be consistent with his character arc.
This brings us to the implications for preaching and teaching John 11. The entire chapter is probably too long and rich to tackle in one sitting. In fact, the first sixteen verses already provide plenty of material for a lesson. If Michaels is correct, however, this first act ends on a real downer with Thomas's rejection of Jesus.
But we can be encouraged that Thomas's story doesn't end here.
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."
Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:24–28, ESV)
The raising of Lazarus is only a foretaste of the power that Jesus has over death. At the end of the story, after Jesus has shown his power over death in an even greater way through his own resurrection, Thomas doubts again. But this time, Jesus pursues him. Jesus knows exactly what Thomas's faith needs, and in due time Jesus wins Thomas over.
This is part one of a five-week series on the raising of Lazarus. Subscribe with your email, or follow on Bluesky or the Fediverse to receive the next installment!