Do Not Doubt, Only Believe

Intro

Throughout history, there is a long list of men and women who are misunderstood, under-appreciated, maligned, or maybe even have their entire image based on one event, not the whole of their character and actions

Even the movie, Field of Dreams, talks about two of these types of players from baseball history

Shoeless Joe Jackson: His affiliation with the 1919 Black Sox scandal in baseball covers over the whole of his career. He did take the bribe of $5000… but also batted .375 with 6 RBIs, 5 runs scored, 4 extra base hits, and 5 outfield assists on defense

But certainly that one event hangs over his head and is the reason he is not in the Hall of Fame

But consider this quote from Babe Ruth

“I copied (Shoeless Joe) Jackson’s style because I thought he was the greatest hitter I had even seen, the greatest natural hitter I ever saw. He’s the guy who made me a hitter.”

Then there is Ty Cobb: In the movie he is depicted as a pretty awful guy that no one likes

And that is consistent with most historical views of Cobb as violent and racist

But there is some evidence that many of the stories about him were either made up or greatly exaggerated by a ghostwriter

Point is, history can often remember a guy in a way that is unfair or, at the least, misunderstood

Transition

This morning, as we turn to John 20, verses 24-31, we are going to read about one particular guy who, by nature of his nickname, is one of the most mis-characterized people in Bible history

Doubting Thomas - the nickname tells you everything you need to know

But I believe there is much more to Thomas that serves as an invitation to us to not doubt, but only believe

With that, please turn in your Bibles to John 20

Scripture Reading: John 20:24-29

John 20:24–29 ESV

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “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.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Pray

Recap

Tell me if you have heard this story before: The disciples are gathered together on a Sunday behind locked doors when the resurrected Jesus appears in their midst and his first words to them are “Peace be with you”

Only this time, there is one disciple present who was notably absent the previous Sunday: Thomas

When Thomas was told by the rest that they had seen the risen Jesus, he responded that he would only believe if he got to see Jesus himself

To see and touch the scars in his hands and in his side

Hence the idea of him doubting… but hold that thought for a few minutes

Jesus appears in their midst and says, “Peace be with you”

Then Jesus turns to Thomas and invites him to touch and see the wounds, the scars

To which Thomas replies, “My Lord and my God”

Jesus then honors Thomas’ declaration of faith and follows up with a blessing upon those who would believe even without having seen the resurrected Jesus with their own eyes

Who Was Thomas?

So let’s ask: Who was Thomas?

And the reality is, we know very little

Matthew, Mark, and Luke each mention Thomas only one time in their gospels: in their list of the disciples

So we can confidently conclude he was one of the 12

John mentions Thomas four times

Twice earlier in John, here in our passage for today, and in the next passage in John 21

That’s it, though maybe you have heard of the gnostic book, The Gospel of Thomas

That book was discovered by farmers in Nag Hammadi, Egypt in 1945

And it alleges secret teachings of Jesus, but since no one had ever heard of it before 1945, hard to argue it is authentic and the church has never recognized it as authoritative

Let’s then look at the two references to Thomas earlier in the gospel of John

John 11:16 “So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.””

That sounds more fatalistic than anything

“Well, I am following Jesus. So if he is going to die, then I guess we go and die with him”

John 14:5 “Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?””

Which brings us back to my earlier statement that I believe that Thomas is one of the most mis-characterized people in the Bible

Doubting Thomas is an unfortunate nickname

It paints him as always questioning, never able to trust

I believe that he was more fatalistic than doubting

I believe he was more trying to protect his own heart from further sadness and pain than doubting

Thomas was a disciple committed to following Jesus, but at the moment, the prospects were looking pretty bleak

For Thomas, the cup wasn’t even half empty, it was mostly empty

A Tale of Two Weeks

Back to our text, let’s look again at verses 24-26

John 20:24–26 “Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “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.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them.”

Jesus had met with the disciples

They had seen him alive

They had received his words of peace

But not Thomas - he wasn’t there

Of course, in their excitement, the disciples couldn’t wait to tell Thomas, but he responds with “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”

Then it is a week later - 8 days according to the text - the following Sunday

Jews typically used inclusive counting where you count the start day and end day

That’s very different from us because when typically do not count the start day when we are counting days

But here’s the deal: this is a tale of two very different weeks

What was the week like for the other disciples?

That week was probably surreal

Excitement, passion, “did that really happen?!?!?”

Their faith was strengthened and their spirits were exploding in joy

Jesus was alive and they had seen him!

And what was that week like for Thomas?

We don’t know why Thomas wasn’t there the first time, but it created a chasm for him

A chasm relationally because he had missed out

And a chasm spiritually because he was left in his sadness and sorrow

Thomas had heard that Jesus was alive

In a week that all the others were being strengthened in faith, he was unraveling inside

I’m sure there was some FOMO

But even more, there was a sense of loss and sadness, of turmoil

Jesus Meets Thomas

And it is there, at that emotionally vulnerable place, that Jesus meets Thomas

Really, I imagine the wondering from all of them

Last Sunday we were in a locked room and Jesus just appeared to us

But we haven’t seen him since

Is he going to show up again?

And again, it is there, at that specific place, that Jesus meets the disciples… that Jesus meets Thomas

If Thomas was experiencing FOMO, then Jesus’ first words start to break that

“Peace be with you”

How many times that week had Thomas heard one of the other disciples recite those words?

They were resting in the peace of Jesus… and Thomas was not

So the first thing Jesus says, just as he did the week prior, were words of peace

Then Jesus turns to Thomas directly… but gently

John 20:27 “Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.””

This is so beautiful

Notice that Jesus never condemns Thomas

He never said he was weak in faith, he never scolds Thomas for doubting

He never tells Thomas that he was wrong to want to see and touch the scars

Instead, he invites Thomas to come closer, he invites Thomas to see and to touch

As he breathed peace upon the disciples in the last passage, so also here he draws Thomas near

Full of kindness and gentleness

He invites Thomas to be free of those burdens, free of his pessimism, free of his fatalism, free of his inclination toward self-protection

He calls Thomas to “do not disbelieve, but believe”

Jesus honors his questions… never condemning him for his weaknesses but calling him to believe

“My Lord and my God”

Look at verse 28 to see what comes next

John 20:28 “Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!””

Notice that there is no record that Jesus ever did reach out and touch Jesus

Maybe he did, but the Bible never tells us

But when he heard Jesus invite him to touch and see, when he saw the scars on the risen body, and when he heard the call to believe, that’s exactly what Thomas did

And he responds with one of the greatest testimonies ever given, “My Lord and my God”

He had known Jesus for years

But now he saw and believed that Jesus was the Lord and the one true God!

Thomas… and You and Me

Thomas gets painted as this doubter, unable to see what is right in front of him

I think that is unfortunate because as soon as he saw the resurrected Jesus, he responded with one of the greatest declarations of faith in the Bible, “My Lord and my God”

And it is unfortunate because is discourages us from our honest reservations as well

Three quick things that we can learn from Thomas:

First, the need to be in community

We don’t know why Thomas missed that previous Sunday, but he missed a lot

And there is a reminder for us of the need to be in community

We use the word “belong” for a reason - we need to belong

Thomas spent a week feeling like he didn’t belong, like he was all alone

And as a result, Thomas struggled to let the exuberant joy and testimony of others to uphold him in his doubts and sadness

We have identified a few phrases of what we aspire to be as a church

One of them is that we desire to be an interdependent community - here is how we say it

We need one another. In pouring his saving grace upon us and indwelling us with the Holy Spirit, we are called to be part of the body of Christ for edification, encouragement, and support. We believe spiritual formation happens best in the context of relationships. We also believe that it is a privilege to be strong when another is weak and to have others be strong for us and hold us up when we are weak or hurting until that day when there will be no more tears or suffering forever in the New Creation.

Thomas spent a week wrestling instead of in joy because he had not allowed his fellow believers’ faith to be strong and hold him up while he was weak

Second, Jesus honors our wrestling and uncertainty

Jesus did not scold Thomas for saying he would only believe if he could see and touch the wounds of Jesus

Instead, Jesus met Thomas in that place with kindness and gentleness

Even so, Jesus invites us to bring our wrestling and uncertainty to him

There is nothing you could be thinking, no doubt too big, no pain too painful, that Jesus will push you away

If anything, the promise of the Scriptures is the opposite

Jesus will meet you in them

Consider the promise of Matthew 12:20

Matthew 12:20 “a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench,”

With gentle words, tender touch, and scars from his own suffering, Jesus will meet you

Where, right now, are you like Thomas, needing Jesus to meet you?

And third, the declaration of praise

When Jesus met Thomas, there was only one response for Thomas: worship

He immediately declared, “My Lord and my God”

And that is the call for us as well

When we believe in Jesus, we are to worship him

We are to joyfully declare, “My Lord and my God”

Instead of looking down on Doubting Thomas, may Thomas be a guide for us to grasp how the resurrected Jesus will meet us in our sadness and sorrows and doubts and how we are to respond in faith

Conclusion: Blessing

Which brings us to our conclusion for this morning, because now Jesus’ words turn from Thomas to us

Verse 29

John 20:29 “Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.””

Thomas saw the scars on Jesus’ hands and on his side

Not so for us - we may get to see Jesus face to face and get to look on those scars one day in the New Creation

The Bible is a book of blessings, such as in Numbers 6

Numbers 6:24–26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

We end every service with words of blessing, of which I most typically recite from 2 Cor 13:14

2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

But here, in John 20, in a special blessing just for us - those who would believe without the benefit of seeing the resurrected Jesus

And what are these blessings?

Let me close with words from a fellow PCA pastor in his commentary on this passage

Jesus insisted to Thomas that if you believe without having seen him, you will be blessed. What are these blessings? They include the blessings received by anyone who has ever believed: your sins will be forgiven, you will receive the free gift of eternal life, you will be accepted into God’s embrace as a dearly beloved child, you will be delivered from the judgment that is to come, you will be raised in a glorious body like the resurrected body of Christ, you will have power to lead a holy and spiritually peaceful life, and you will be blessed to be used by God as a witness for the salvation of others. These blessings and more will be yours by making Thomas’s confession your own, acclaiming Jesus as “my Lord and my God!” If you have done this, then you can marvel at the truth that Jesus’ final gospel blessing was a benediction spoken over you: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Phillips, R. D. (2014). John (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.; 1st ed., Vol. 2, p. 683). P&R Publishing.

Pray