Doubting Thomas

Doub%ng Thomas John 20:24-29 April 19, 2020 Have you ever struggled to believe when it comes to ma6ers of faith? Has doubt ever dogged your mind to the point that you weren’t certain what is true about Jesus? Do you find it difficult to believe that Jesus rose from dead? If so, you’re not alone. Even many Christ-followers, if fully candid, would tell you that doubt has been an adversary at some point in their spiritual journey. Those who say otherwise are most likely either abnormal or lying. Is doubt wrong? How does God feel about doubt? When are we most likely to encounter doubt? How can doubt be overcome? These are some of the quesKons we’re going to address today as part of our current sermon series, Journey to Easter and Beyond. We’re going to invesKgate someone who was quite close to Jesus who struggled with doubt. His name? Thomas. For centuries, he has been known as “doub0ng Thomas.” Who was this doubKng disciple? Thomas was one of the 12 men Jesus chose to be his closest followers. It’s likely that Thomas was a twin. Why do we think this? It’s because Thomas was also known as Didymus. Didymus is the Greek word for twin (John 11:16, 20:24, 21:2). The name Thomas also means twin in Aramaic, the common language of the masses in Israel in Bible Kmes. Although all four Gospel writers menKon Thomas, John is the only biographer who records some of Thomas’ words. History could have just as easily given this disciple the nickname, Thomas the Brave. In one of the three NT passages where Thomas’ words are recorded, we see him choosing to follow Jesus, even at great personal risk. In John 11:6 when Jesus told his disciples he wanted to go to the home of Lazarus in Bethany, we see Thomas demonstrate extreme loyalty to Jesus in the face of danger. Bethany was only 2 miles from Jerusalem where the Jewish religious leaders were plo\ng to kill Jesus. Thomas said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too so that we may die with him.” (John 11:16b CSB). While these words may have expressed pessimism, they also voiced courage and strong allegiance to Jesus. Today’s focal passage takes place one week a]er the resurrecKon of Jesus. 7 days earlier, the risen Lord had suddenly appeared to the other 10 disciples. He had had shown them the nail wounds in his hands and side (Luke 24:39-41). He had also eaten some fish (Luke 24: 41-43) to show them that he was not a ghost or a spirit. But for some unknown reason, Thomas had not been there (John 20:24). He had not seen the risen Jesus. Doub0ng Thomas 2 We learn in today’s passage that when the other 10 disciples reconnected with Thomas and told him they had seen Jesus alive, he refused to believe it. He wanted proof. He said, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25 CSB) Thomas had an inquisiKve nature. In John 14, we learn that Jesus had spoken to his disciples and told them that soon he would be leaving to go to his Father to prepare a place where they could be with him forever. Jesus told them that they knew the way to where he was going. Thomas replied, “Lord . . . we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5 CSB). Thomas was not afraid to ask quesKons and to express skepKcism. Thomas’ doubt was not the same as a worldly opposiKon to the truth of God. Thomas demonstrated a genuine quest to know and understand the truth. Sincere faith allows for invesKgaKon and honest evaluaKon. Sincere faith does not ask you to check your brains at the door. Many Christ-followers have had run-ins with doubt. Doubt is no stranger to me. During my young adult years, I experienced a Kme of wrestling with my faith. I had grown up in a faithfilled home with parents whose belief in Jesus was strong. But I needed to own my own faith. I needed to know that I believed in Jesus and his resurrecKon, not because of my parents’ and grandparents’ belief, but because I had examined all the evidence and had come to my own conclusions about Jesus idenKty and the events of the first Easter. I asked hard quesKons. I researched the evidence for believing the Bible to be trustworthy. I studied the arguments for and against the resurrecKon of Jesus being the most plausible and reasonable explanaKon for the empty tomb and the birth of a faith movement that literally revoluKonized the world. What did God think about my doubt? How did Jesus respond to Thomas’ doubt? Jesus met Thomas at the point of his need. Rather than starKng with a rebuke for his unbelief, Jesus provided the evidence that Thomas needed to believe. He said, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side (John 20:27 CSB). Doubt is not wrong or a sin unless its focused on opposing God. God has created us as humans with a sense of curiosity, with a desire to understand, with an insaKable hunger for truth. Like Thomas, we can be honest with Jesus about our doubts and quesKons. Jesus understands our struggles. Like he did for Thomas, Jesus is quite capable of strengthening our faith. When are we most suscepKble to doubt? O]en, it’s a]er facing a significant loss. Thomas had just experienced a catastrophic loss. The spiritual teacher to whom he had devoted the past Doub0ng Thomas 3 three year of his life to emulate, the one for whom he had given up everything to follow, the one he and fellow disciples had hoped to be God’s Messiah, was dead. His friend, Jesus, had been brutally executed on a cross like a common criminal just a few days earlier. Thomas’ dream of a king like David who would rule Israel, conquer the naKons, and free him and his fellow Israelites from Roman oppression and tyranny had been dashed to pieces. Like Thomas, when we face tragedy or loss, our brokenness and heartache can open us to the assault of doubt. Where is God right now? Doesn’t he see my situa0on? Doesn’t he feel my pain? Why did God allow this to happen? Jesus doesn’t always answer our why quesKons. In his heavenly wisdom, he leaves some quesKons to be answered unKl we see him face-to-face. But like he did with Thomas, he does show up and meet us at the point of our need. Where is God when we experience heartbreak and pain in our lives?. He’s right in the middle of it. Heb. 4:15 tells us that Jesus is a high priest who empathizes with our weaknesses, with our humanness. Psalm 23 tells us that the Lord is a shepherd who walks with us through our pain, comforKng us, soothing our fears, reassuring us of his love and presence. It’s worthwhile to note at this point that Thomas’ doubt had been given wings through isolaKon. There’s li6le doubt that if he had been present seven days earlier with the other disciples when Jesus first appeared to them, his doubt would have been silenced. Jesus never designed our faith to flourish in isolaKon from others. Lone Ranger ChrisKans o]en become doubt-filled ChrisKans. It’s so important that we are connected to other believers to be encouraged by each other’s stories and our shared experiences. This is one of the reasons we place such emphasis in our church family on small groups. Small groups provide us a place to belong and for our faith to flourish. God meant for the church to be an instrument of encouragement and healing in our faith journey. A wonderful example of this can be found in a story related by William R. White in his book, Stories for the Journey. White shares the story of Hans, a European seminary professor devastated by the death of his wife, Enid. Hans was so overcome with sorrow that he lost his appeKte and didn't want to leave the house. Out of concern, the seminary president, along with three other professors, paid Hans a visit. The grieving professor confessed that he was struggling with doubt. "I’m no longer able to pray to God," he admi6ed to his colleagues. "In fact, I’m not certain I believe in God anymore." A]er a moment of silence, the seminary president said, "Then we will believe for you. We will pray for you." The four men conKnued to meet daily for prayer, asking God to restore the gi] of faith to their friend. Some months later, as the four friends gathered for prayer with Hans, he smiled and said, "It’s no longer necessary for you to pray for me. Today I’d like you to pray with me." Doub0ng Thomas 4 The seminary president and professors were there for Hans when he was swamped by doubt. Through their presence and prayers, they encouraged him, just as Jesus encouraged Thomas, Stop doub0ng and believe. (John 20:27c NIV) What was the result of Jesus meeKng Thomas at the point of his need? Faith sprung up like a fountain within him. Thomas’ doubt was transformed into faith that Jesus had, indeed, risen from the dead. And not only that, in that same instant, he recognized that Jesus was not just a great teacher, a prophet, or other holy man, he recognized that Jesus is God. Thomas’ renewed faith led him to exclaim, “My Lord and My God” (John 20:28 CSB). The revelaKon of Jesus’ idenKty had dawned within Thomas’ spirit. Faith has become full-grown when its holder recognizes and acknowledges that Jesus is both master and creator. On November 8, 1991, another doubter came to the same conclusion as Thomas. Lee Strobel, the legal editor of the Chicago Tribune and an avowed atheist made a decision to receive Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour. A Yale Law school graduate, Lee was a hardened, outspoken skepKc when it came to the Bible, Jesus, and God. But Lee’s world was rocked when his agnosKc wife, Leslie, became a Christfollower. Lee expected her to become weird, but to his complete surprise, the new version of Leslie took him by surprise. Lee writes about Leslie, “I saw posi0ve changes in her values, in her character, in the way she related to me and the children. It was winsome; and it was aUrac0ve; and it made me want to check things out. So, I went to church one day…mainly to see if I could get her out of this cult that she had goUen involved in.” Lee spent the next year and nine months pu\ng his legal training and experience in journalisKc research to work invesKgaKng whether or not there was any credibility to ChrisKanity—or any other faith system. Through his research, Leel came to the conclusion that it would require more faith for him to conKnue being an atheist, than it would for him to follow Jesus and become a ChrisKan. He says, and I quote, “To be an atheist I would have to swim upstream against this torrent of evidence poin0ng toward the truth of Jesus Christ. And I couldn’t do that. I was trained in journalism and law to respond to truth.” Like Thomas, Jesus met Lee at the point of his need. He needed to see the transforming effects of faith. He needed access to credible informaKon demonstraKng that believing in Jesus and the resurrecKon does not require a blind leap off a cliff of intellectual suicide. Jesus supplied both through a changed wife and through research originally intended to debunk ChrisKanity. Both the Apostle Thomas and Lee Strobel were transformed from doubt to faith as Jesus met them at the point of their need and they acknowledged him as both Lord and God. Doub0ng Thomas 5 NoKce that Jesus doesn’t correct Thomas when he exclaims, “My Lord and My God!” Jesus receives Thomas’ worship. In fact, in response to Thomas declaraKon of faith, Jesus has a message for Thomas and a message for you and me. First, Jesus commends Thomas for responding to the evidence that’s been presented. He says, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. In other words, Thomas, I’ve provided the evidence you desired: physical proof of my resurrec0on. I’m glad this evidence has led you to place your faith in me as the risen Lord. But Jesus also has a message for you and me. He says, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” In other words, those who choose to believe in me who haven’t seen me with their physical eyes will experience a special joy and fulfillment. They will experience a life-giving faith that is every bit as real as that experienced by Thomas. Like the Apostle Thomas, has doubt sidelined you in your spiritual journey? Like me, are you wrestling to own a faith that is yours and not that of a parent or friend? Like Professor Hans, has tragedy or heartache depleted your faith, causing you to wonder if God really sees, if he really cares, perhaps to the brink of losing your faith? Like Lee Stobel, are you a hardened skepKc, or even an avowed atheist that has previously been convinced that ChrisKans have lost their brains? Wherever you may be on your spiritual journey, Jesus today comes to meet you at the point of your need. Like he did with Thomas, he says to you, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doub0ng and believe. God says in Rom 10:11, Whoever believes in Him [Jesus] will not be disappointed. (Rom 10:13 NASB). Will you respond to Jesus’s invitaKon to release your doubt to him and respond to him right now in faith? If you do, your life will never be the same. Like Thomas, you will say to Jesus, My Lord and my God!