The Marks

So That You Might Believe…

4.12.26 [John 20:19-31] River of Life (2nd Sunday of Easter)

Peace to you who have not yet seen but still believe. Amen. 

Have you ever met someone who knew someone famous? Truth is, they don’t even have to be really famous. Recognizable is enough. If you’ve ever met someone who knew someone famous or recognizable, it typically doesn’t take long until they do “the name drop”. Did you know that I know so-and-so? If you recognize the name, if your curiosity is remotely piqued, they’ve got you hooked.  

And you’re happy to take the bait. Because you’re curious. You want to know more about that person and maybe pick up a little anecdote that others wouldn’t know. That’s why biographies are so popular. We want a fuller picture of these influential figures. We love to get behind the scenes. It’s interesting to find out more. 

It’s interesting to learn that Oprah Winfrey was actually named after Orpah from the book of Ruth, but her family members couldn’t pronounce it correctly. It’s fascinating to learn that at 11 years old, Elvis Presley really wanted a rifle for his birthday, but got a guitar instead. Or that Albert Einstein didn’t say his first word until he was three and didn’t start talking in complete sentences until 5.  Or that Martin Luther King’s I have a dream line was ad-libbed. We love little stories about famous people. And no one is more famous than Jesus. 

Imagine for a moment, you got to meet one of Jesus’ disciples. What would you ask them? We would want to know everything, right? We would want to know about his family, his appearance, his voice, and his personality. Did he have any hobbies? Did he ever tell jokes? Did he have a favorite food? A favorite place?

Now, you and I know that these things aren’t critical, but we are curious. We want to know more about our Lord and Savior. We yearn for a fuller picture. John’s Gospel gives us more but not this. 

The first three Gospels are collectively called the synoptic Gospels because they see Jesus from the same point of view. Most of the stories are the same or very similar. There are a few differences in order or details but it’s like a choir singing from the same sheet music. 

But John is different. Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written around 20-30 years after Jesus died, rose, and ascended into heaven. John was written around 90 A.D, almost 60 years after John witnessed these things. James, Peter, and Paul had already been martyred. 

But John was still alive. And before he met Jesus face-to-face again, he recorded some of what he saw and heard. John was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write with precision and purpose about the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. 

But he didn’t tell us more about his mother or his childhood, his looks or his personality. Instead, John provides private conversations and powerful signs to show us that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. 

John is the only Gospel to include the miracle of turning water into wine and raising Lazarus from the dead.. In John, we hear Jesus interact with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman at the well. John doesn’t tell us about the Lord’s Supper, but he does tell us that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet that night. So many of Jesus’ most loved illustrations are found only in John’s Gospel. Jesus is Jn. 6:35 the bread of life, Jn. 9:5 the light of the world, Jn. 10:14 the good shepherd, Jn. 11:25 the resurrection and the life, Jn. 14:6 the way, the truth, and the life, and Jn. 15:5 the true vine. You know these titles because of the Holy Spirit’s work through John. 

You might think that the fact that we know as much about the life and death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is really remarkable. But really, it is miraculous. It is nothing less than the work of God that we know what Jesus said when he was talking with Nicodemus or what we see and hear here in John 20.  

John freely admits that even though he believed that Jesus rose from the dead, he was hiding because, along with the other disciples, he was still afraid of the Jewish leaders who crucified Jesus. Not just once, but twice. John acknowledges that his friend, Thomas, flatly refused to believe any of them when they told him that they had seen the Lord. John even tells us that Thomas threw down the gauntlet and declared Jn. 20:25 Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. It’s not a great look. But it’s real. It’s the truth. And it’s where we find ourselves from time to time. 

There are times we crave a sign from above. Maybe we are about to make a big life decision. Marriage, job change, moving, a big financial decision or when or where to retire. Isn’t there a part of us that would like a sign from above directing us? 

It’s good for us to want God’s guidance. But it’s not like God has left us to our own devices. God has given us clear and specific guidance— he exhorts us to do good or warns us not to live wickedly. But do we obey?  

He tells us to rest one day a week and meditate on his Word, but we’re too busy for that. He tells us to train our children up in the Lord, but we think it’s a mistake to be too pushy when it comes to spiritual matters. He tells us to marry someone who shares our faith, yet for many, it’s not even on their radar. He tells us to forgive as we’ve been forgiven, but we nurse grudges and act as if forgiving is foolishness. He tells us to warn someone when they’re living in unrepentant sin, but we tell ourselves it’s none of our business. He tells us not to worry about tomorrow, but to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and to cast every care upon him in prayer. Yet even Christians treat anxiety as merely a psychological problem and not a deep spiritual issue. Why should God give us a sign from on high when we’ve ignored him so often? 

There are times when we feel like we desperately need miraculous intervention. It might be a financial catastrophe, but most often it’s our health or some relationship. We cry out to God to move and act powerfully. And we should. But we must be careful not to put God to the test, thinking or saying that he must move and act as we have said or we will no longer believe in him.

Thomas seems to border on that. And when Jesus appears a week later, he repeats his greeting of Peace and admonishes Thomas. Jesus heard all Thomas demanded. He rolls through the whole list. Jn. 20:27 See the nail marks in my hands. Put your finger here. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Thomas heard Jesus promise to rise from the dead. He had heard from those who had seen Jesus in his glorified and resurrected flesh. He could have gone to the tomb to verify that it was empty. Instead, he made demands. God, in his mercy, met those demands, but he also reprimanded Thomas. Jn. 20:27 Stop doubting and believe. 

And then he offered a word of blessing. Jn. 20:29 Thomas, you believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. 

Do you know who Jesus is speaking about? It’s you and me! 

There are moments in life when we long for what Thomas received. We want the sign. We want the tangible, miraculous intervention. 

We want God to move and to act in a way that we think will eliminate all our questions and doubts. We don’t need that. We have his Word and we have his gift of the Holy Spirit—faith in God!

That is better than seeing the signs or witnessing the miracles. 

Many saw Jesus’ powerful signs and did not believe. They saw him heal the sick and they complained that he did so on the Sabbath. They saw him cast out demons and they suspected he was in league with Satan. They saw him raise Lazarus back to life and they decided Jesus and Lazarus needed to be put to death. They saw the empty tomb and they paid off the Roman soldiers to peddle a story about how the disciples stole his body. Without faith, signs are insufficient and even miracles are dismissed. 

But God has given you faith. You believe that Jesus is the Christ, the living Son of God, and you have life in his name. You do not need a sign. You may want that, but you don’t need it because you already have his trustworthy Word. You do not need God to miraculously intervene in your life, because he already has intervened on your behalf by living as you could not, dying as you deserved, and rising from the dead victoriously. You believe and you have life in his name.   

So in moments when you feel like you need a sign or a miracle, you have something greater. Peace. You have peace when you are at a major crossroads in life, because God has given you direction in his Word and also the promise that I AM with you always. You have peace when sin wreaks havoc in your relationships. You have the fortitude to rebuke and the power to forgive in Jesus. You have peace when it would take a miracle to put things back to normal, because Jesus has promised that nothing can separate you from his love and that one day he will redeem your body and all of his creation. 

That’s what John reminds us of at the end of our reading. So many want to know the people who knew the famous people personally because they want to know about the missing pieces of their lives. God didn’t inspire John to write about those missing pieces. 

The Holy Spirit carried John along so that he could write about the peace that is missing from our lives and how Jesus is the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, the Prince of Peace, who is the Son of God. And now that we know him, now that we trust he is the One that God has promised, we have life and peace in his name. Amen.