I believe that inside us all there is a spark of hope which, like a keyhole, allows us to peek out from behind our locked doors of doubt and fear and confusion to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Risen Lord. We find ourselves most able to identify with Thomas because doubt is the simplest door to lock and hide behind. Human nature does not allow us to probe the possibilities beyond our present mortality. We barricade ourselves behind the doors of our minds which refuse to open to things we cannot yet understand. Modern skeptics, like the ancient sadducees, who denied the possibility of resurrection, scoff at a possibility that defies medical science and challenges us to walk by faith which would crash through our closed doors.
Scholars scour the centuries in search of physical proof.
If we could touch the wounds or see the nails that pierced him, then we would believe. So Thomas's disbelief makes the most sense to us. But certain realities which feed and strengthen our souls and spirits are matters of the heart. We believe even though we have not seen. Thomas was forced to wonder and doubt because he had been locked out of the upper room and would not accept the unanimous declaration of the others who emerged from the upper room no longer afraid, but changed.