John 11:14-16
Thomas is Strong
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
John 20:24-25
Thomas Doubts Jesus and His Resurrection
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
John 6:66-69
Peter is Strong
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
John 18:15-17
15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. 16 But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in. 17 Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this Man’s disciples, are you?”
He said, “I am not.”
The mind and our thoughts and beliefs seem to be able to be strong one minute and then change in the next few days or weeks...St. Thomas and St. Peter were two of Jesus' disciples and seem as firm and strong in their faith as the other ten...Thomas says when Jesus and the other disciples are on their way to resurrect Lazarus from his death, that he was ready to die for our LORD...Peter who was ask if He wanted to leave the LORD, while a group of His followers were abandoning Him stood firm...Peter told Jesus that He has the words of eternal life, and that he and the others believed He was the Holy One of God...
Doubt is an obstacle to our faith...And God allows us to doubt...Doubt is a weakness of our flesh, it seems...But our doubts need to be changed or resolved in our minds to have and increase our faith...
Later Thomas and Peter's faith seem to leave them momentarily...Their belief in Him seemed to wane...Doubt stepped in their thoughts and they doubted and denied Him...Thomas was at the resurrection of Lazarus, and had just said he was ready to die for our LORD...Thomas got to see Jesus resurrect Lazarus...Thomas was one of many eyewitnesses to get to see Jesus bring back His good friend Lazarus...Yet, later even after the disciples told him that Jesus was resurrected -Thomas could not believe it...He could believe that Lazarus was resurrected by His Teacher, but he could not believe that the Holy One of God could be and was resurrected...Peter, to had seen most if not all of Jesus' miracles...And most of the time he stood firm in his faith...But after Jesus was arrested Peter denied Him...He denied Him, not only one, but three times...
The mind seems to have a strong faith one minute and then at other times we doubt...St. Thomas and St. Peter are two of our Great Saints and they had their doubting days...Jesus stood beside the two and forgave them of their doubts...St. Thomas and St. Peter resolved their doubts and became the Great Saints that they are...In the end Thomas and Peter were with the LORD for another forty days on earth, and now they are in heaven with them...
Sometimes we doubt...We cannot criticize Thomas and Peter because they are/were human just like us...God knows that we doubt...He is the One who created our minds...We cannot seem to quite get around these days or some days of doubt...Maybe there are exceptions but it just seems we cannot be strong in our faith each and everyday...But we need to resolve the doubts in our minds -like Thomas and Peter did...Let us take heart in St. Thomas and St. Peter and their doubting and denying because we (or at least I do) it too...Let us also take heart that we have a loving and forgiving God, who is full of grace...Let us work hard on the days we doubt and learn to resolve them...And realize that one day the mind might have greater faith than another day but work on resolving and getting back to faith -each and everyday...
What would have happened to the early church and followers and the early apostles if Peter and Thomas could not have gotten over their doubts?...The two had to get over their doubts and return to faith, because that was a part of God's plan...These two and the ten other disciples, and a Pharisee named Saul listened to the eyewitnesses of Jesus and Christianity became the religion it is today, because of their faith...