The Beloved Disciple

I heard an interesting theory in my Christology class with Colin Brown yesterday which was new to me, and may or may not be to you.

Although the beloved disciple has traditionally been assumed to be John, there is evidence that it may in fact be none other than... Thomas. Doubting Thomas? Why?

It is interesting that in following Jesus toward Jerusalem, Thomas is recorded as saying, "Let us go with him that we may die with him." Seeing this devotion to Jesus, is it hard to imagine that he was the only disciple to be with the women at the crucifixion?

And following the resurrection, when Jesus appears to the disciples, isn't it interesting that Thomas is the only one not present? Well, if Thomas was a faithful Jew as we ought to expect, then it would make sense that he had to be absent, for he would isolated while observing his period of purification after having come in contact with a dead body.

And this also explains why he would say, "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." He did not say this because he is a "Doubting Thomas," but because he was the only disciple who actually saw Jesus pierced and dead.

Now if this is the case, then poor Thomas has been maligned and his character unfairly stigmatized for two thousand years. Not only that, but even more ironically, perhaps the gospel of John would be more appropriately entitled, yep, you guessed it: The Gospel of Thomas.

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