"Let us also go, that we may die with Him." (John 11:16 RSV)

This passage intrigued me, since the first time I read it, especially when read in its context, like here. On the surface, it seems to be a noble, even heroic, testimony to the truth of Jesus' mission and the apostles willingness to die for it. However, when read in the context of the remainder of Gospel accounts, we hear that "they all left him and fled" (Mark 14:50, NAB). It is, plainly, a fair assumption that "all" included Thomas. Additionally, when we read John 11:16 in light of St. Thomas' (the Apostle) later interaction with the Glorified, Risen Christ (John 20:24-28), I think, it is apparent that St. Thomas the Apostle did not clearly understand the implication and ramification of his statement in John 10:16.
It seems to me most people. even today, skim over this text without giving it much practical consideration. In Luke 9:23, Jesus is reported to have said "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me". This is in contrast to another reference to taking up one's cross (Mark 8:34), which omits the adjective daily, in the Greek text. It seems that, for the sake of consistency, the adjective (daily) should be explicate our understanding of Mark 8:34. Maybe St. Thomas the Apostle thought of one famous, heroic stand with Jesus, in which they would triumph and vanquish their opponents, when he suggested following Jesus. Jesus, though, shows us another picture of what St. Thomas' word should mean. The secret to followings looks, to me, that it lies in the constant or daily battles and temptations that we face. The victory appears to be through the struggles; similar to Hemingway's fisherman. On a more personal note, one of the biggest stumbling blocks between Christianity and myself is the flippant or, more tragically, doctrinal airbrushing that Christians give to this call to martyrdom. It is clear, to me, that Christ wants the reality of self-sacrifice to innundate the life of the believer, not merely be an accident of heritage. This call that St. Thomas the Apostle made needs to be heeded daily and dictate ALL actions that a Christian's life; speech, dress, mannerism, etc. Jesus himself tells us what the proper response to this call is in Luke 9,
"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?"
In summary, Jesus is NOT a get-out-of-hell-free card! Also, see an entry from another blog on the same topic here.