A Story Retold: “Doubting Thomas”

JOHNNY: Hey, guys, thanks for meeting here. It’s a tough scene out there. Jimmy, did you lock the doors?

JIMMY: They’re locked.

JOHNNY: Are we all here?

JIMMY: Not Thomas. I haven’t seen him for a while. I hope they didn’t get him, too. I can’t believe all that’s happened these last few.

MATT: Hey, that door’s locked! You can’t come in here!

PETE: Wait a minute, Matt—that’s Jesus!

MATT: Hey, knock it off, alright? I can see in this lantern light as good as you and there’s no way it’s—Hey, Jesus!

JESUS: Peace to you.

PETE: Whoa, man, this is crazy.

JESUS holding out his hands, showing them his side: Check it out.

MATT: Hey, I can’t believe this. This is just too surreal. Wooo-hooo!

PETE rubbing his eyes: I believe this is happening, but there’s no freaking way this is real.

JESUS: Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.

JIMMY: Send us? Where to, Jesus?

JESUS taking deep breath and breathing onto them: Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive them, they are not forgiven. Gotta go—poof!

MATT: Hey, this door is still locked. How’d he get out of here?

JOHNNY: I think that’s obvious. Where’s my notebook?

PETE: Man. Oh boy!

JIMMY: I wish Thomas would’ve seen this. He’ll never believe it.

JOHNNY: Hush! I hear someone. Look out the key hole, there, and see who it is.

THOMAS knocking: It’s me, Thomas. Let me in.

JIMMY: Who? Thomas? Thomas isn’t here.

THOMAS: No, I’m Thomas. Open up! You think I can just walk through the door or something?

JIMMY: It’s Thomas! Thomas, get in here, quick! We saw Jesus!

THOMAS: Whatever. What?

PETE: Jesus, man. We saw him. He came in here and was like, ‘Peace, yo.’

JOHNNY: Really, Thomas, it all happened just like that. I even wrote it down.

THOMAS: ‘Peace, yo’? Right. Too bad, honeys. You’ve all been cooped up in this room too long. Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I’ll never believe that. You can write that down, too, Johnny.

JOHNNY: Guys—uh, Jimmy, is that door locked?

JIMMY: Right on, Johnny.

JOHNNY: Listen, guys, it’s been eight days since we saw Jesus, and—.”

THOMAS: Would you just cut the ‘We saw Jesus’ baloney and talk like you haven’t left reality behind?

JESUS entering through the door: Peace to you.

THOMAS: Oh. My. God.

PETE to THOMAS: See, man? See what we were meaning and believing? Dude! Check it out, Thomas!

JESUS: Thomas, take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.

THOMAS: My Master! My God!

JESUS: So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.

THOMAS: Grab a pen! Write this down! This is way cool!

JOHNNY grabbing his pen and notebook: Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.

JESUS: Peace out, ya’ll.