A popular apostle, famous for his proverbial doubt, which in a way makes him likeable and close to us – a figure that feels “contemporary” (John 20:19–29).

AN APOSTLE AND HIS MYSTERIOUS TWIN

We know little or nothing about his origins. He may have been a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee (John 21:2). What we do know about him comes mainly from the Gospel of John. In the Synoptic Gospels, he appears only in the list of the twelve apostles (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15).

His name, Thomas, means “double” or “twin” (from the Hebrew root Ta’am, Greek Didymus). Thomas holds a prominent place among the apostles, perhaps why the Acts and the Gospel of Thomas—4th-century apocryphal texts—were attributed to him, “important for the study of Christian origins” (Benedict XVI, 27 September 2006).

Thomas, a new Jonah?

According to tradition, Thomas was the first to bring the Gospel to India. The Christians of the state of Kerala (Malabar Coast, southern India) trace their roots to his preaching. They are the “Christians of Saint Thomas” whom the Portuguese encountered upon their arrival in India.

The Acts of Thomas describe his missionary call in a unique way (nos. 1–2). When the apostles divided up the regions of the world to evangelise, India fell to Thomas. However, he did not want to go. Jesus appeared to him in a dream to encourage him: “Do not be afraid, Thomas! My grace will be with you. You will lack nothing.” But even that wasn’t enough: not even Jesus could convince him. “Send me anywhere else, Lord. It’s just India I don’t want to go to!” Well then, the next day, Jesus… turned up on the shore and sold him as a slave to an Indian merchant and sailor who was in search of a builder (Saint Thomas is the patron saint of architects); and thus, against his will, Thomas was forced to set sail for India!…

Thomas in the Gospel of John

Thomas appears four times in the Gospel of John. His name is one of the most frequently mentioned among the apostles.

His first appearance reveals his willingness to follow Jesus even unto death, when the Master decided to return to Judea after the death of Lazarus, despite the Jews’ attempts to kill him. In light of Jesus’ resolve, Thomas encouraged the group: “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16). Here we see a generous Thomas, determined to share in his Master’s fate.

The second episode takes place during the Last Supper. Jesus tells the disciples that he is going to prepare a place for them and adds that they already know the way. Thomas, always ready to follow Jesus but also a practical man, replies: “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5). This question leads to one of the most iconic declarations from Jesus: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6).

The third episode is the one that “brands” Thomas as the “doubter” and “stubborn one”. He refuses to rely on second-hand testimony and demands to “see” and “touch” the wounds of the Crucified. Jesus concedes to this request and makes a second visit to the group in the Upper Room, this time just for Thomas—since the first appearance had already included the missionary sending and the gift of the Spirit (John 20:19–23). Faced with the risen Master, Thomas offers “the greatest and most sublime profession of faith in the entire New Testament” (Benedict XVI): “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Jesus then proclaims the final beatitude: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

The fourth mention of Thomas is simply his name in the list of the seven who go fishing with Peter (John 21:2). His inclusion alongside Peter is further evidence of his importance.

Thomas, twin of Jesus?

The name Thomas—“double” or “twin”—is particularly significant. The Gospel of John emphasises this three times (11:16; 20:24; 21:2). Being a twin is not just a “name” for him; it defines his life as a disciple and apostle. The apocryphal Acts of Thomas (which recount Thomas’s apostolic work, referring to him as “Judas Thomas”) tells us that at one point, Jesus appears as “his brother” (no. 11). Later on, through the mouth of a mare (a cousin to Balaam’s donkey! Numbers 22:28), Thomas is called the twin brother of Christ (no. 39).

This is a way of emphasising the intimacy between Jesus and this apostle. Indeed, Jesus no longer calls his disciples “servants” but “friends” (John 15:15), and after the resurrection, “brothers” (John 20:17). The category of “twin”, in a spiritual sense, further elevates the intimate communion between the disciple and Christ.

Thomas, our twin

Twins have always been a human phenomenon that provokes curiosity and stimulates the collective imagination. We too would like to know who Thomas’s twin is. In my view, it could be Nathanael (Bartholomew). In fact, Thomas’s final profession of faith mirrors Nathanael’s initial one (John 1:45–51). Moreover, their personalities and behaviour are surprisingly similar. Finally, their names appear relatively close in the list of the Twelve (Matthew 10:3 and Acts 1:13).

This mystery gives room to affirm that Thomas is “the twin of each of us” (Don Tonino Bello). Thomas comforts us in our own struggles with faith. In him we see ourselves, and through his eyes and hands, we too “see” and “touch” the body of the Risen One. A deeply compelling interpretation!…

Thomas, a “double”?

In the Bible, the most famous pair of twins is Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25:24–28), eternal rivals, representing the dichotomy and polarity of the human condition.

Could it be that Thomas (the “double”) carries within himself the antagonism of this duality? At times capable of great generosity and bold courage, and at others displaying doubt and obstinacy. Yet, when confronted with the Master, his deep identity as a believer re-emerges, and he professes his faith with readiness and conviction.

Thomas carries within him his “twin”. The apocryphal Gospel of Thomas highlights this duality: “Once you were one, but you have become two” (no. 11). “Jesus said: When you make the two into one, then you will become sons of Adam” (no. 105).

Thomas is a reflection of all of us. We too carry this “twin” within us – inflexible, fiercely opinionated, stubborn and unpredictable. We are inwardly divided.

Saint Paul reflected on this human reality of “duplication”. He too, though seemingly strong and consistent, experienced it: “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15). Paul defined the identity of the two “twins” within us: one inherited from the “old Adam”; the other from the lineage of the “new Adam”, Jesus Christ – the new creation we receive in baptism. These two realities or “creatures” coexist uneasily, sometimes in open conflict, within our hearts, threatening our personal identity and inner peace. Who has not experienced this inner tearing?

But Thomas has the courage to face this reality. He allows his dark, doubtful, and contrary side to emerge and brings it to a direct encounter with Jesus. He accepts the challenge posed by his “rebellious” inner self, which wants to see and touch… He brings it to Jesus. And in the presence of the Risen One, the “miracle” occurs: the two Thomases become one and proclaim a unified faith: “My Lord and my God!”

Unfortunately, this is not what happens to us. Our Christian communities are made up almost exclusively of “good twins”—submissive but also… passive and lifeless! These bodies lack vitality! The problem is that they are not present in their “entirety”. The energetic, instinctive part, the one that truly needs to be evangelised, doesn’t even show up to the “meeting”.

Jesus said he came for sinners, but our churches are full of “righteous” people who… feel no need for conversion! The one who needs converting—the “sinful twin”—we leave at home without worry. It’s Sunday, so he “rests” and lets the “good twin” take over. Come Monday, the twin of instincts and passions will be back in charge.

Jesus in search of Thomas

If only Jesus had many Thomases! In Sunday worship, it is especially them that the Lord comes looking for… Might they be his true “twins”?

God seeks real men and women—those who come to him as they are: sinners who “suffer” in their own flesh under the tyranny of instinct. Believers who are not ashamed to appear with their doubting, grace-resistant side. Who don’t come to “look good” in the “assembly of the faithful”, but to encounter the Divine Physician and be healed. It is these people that Jesus calls his brothers!

The world needs the witness of honest believers—those who can acknowledge their errors, doubts, and struggles, and who do not hide their “duality” behind a mask of pharisaic “respectability”.

The mission also needs disciples who are authentic—not “with twisted necks”!… Missionaries who look suffering in the face and touch, with their own hands, the wounds of today’s crucified!… Those who can be outraged by injustice, who can confront evil in the light of faith—but also with the strength and resolve of someone “whole”, complete, who reacts with head and heart, soul and “instinct”.

Thomas invites us to reconcile our inner duality in order to be reborn and enter the Kingdom!

The word of Jesus, according to the… Gospel of Thomas (nos. 22, 27):
“Jesus saw some infants being suckled. He said to his disciples:
– These infants who are being suckled are like those who will enter the Kingdom.
They said to him:
– Shall we then, as children, enter the Kingdom?
Jesus answered them:
– When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male is no longer male and the female no longer female, and when you put an eye in the place of an eye, and a hand in the place of a hand, and a foot in the place of a foot, and an image in the place of an image—then you shall enter the Kingdom!”

Fr. Manuel João Pereira Correia, mccj