Thomas Gets a Bad Wrap

Common English Bible Chapter 20

19 It was still the first day of the week. That evening, while the disciples were behind closed doors because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you don’t forgive them, they aren’t forgiven.”

Jesus appears to Thomas and the disciples

24 Thomas, the one called Didymus, one of the Twelve, wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger in the wounds left by the nails, and put my hand into his side, I won’t believe.”

26 After eight days his disciples were again in a house and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus entered and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand into my side. No more disbelief. Believe!”

28 Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Jesus replied, “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.”

30 Then Jesus did many other miraculous signs in his disciples’ presence, signs that aren’t recorded in this scroll. 31 But these things are written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son, and that believing, you will have life in his name.

Introduction: Wrongly Accused

I don’t know why, maybe because of the pandemic I’ve watched almost the entire internet, but lately I’ve been getting back in to an old show CSI.

The show follows these nerdy scientists who help solve crimes.

Subsequent versions of the show get more and more outlandish, and slightly awesome with the sunglasses and screaming music, but the original was pretty nerdy at the start.

One of my favorite types of CSI episodes is when someone has been wrongly accused, and the CSI team has to prove they’re innocent.

It’s one thing to find the killer, it’s another thing to help someone who was accused of being something they’re not.

Today, I think we as a church are going to look at a story of someone wrongly accused.

If you went in to any church in America and read the story we just read, there would be two words that would come to mind:

Doubting Thomas.

But I would actually argue today that Thomas gets a bad wrap.

To be sure, there is a lot of doubt going on in this story, but I don’t think it’s Thomas.

Maybe, in fact, it’s us!

Let’s explore a little bit deeper.

Bible Breakdown

Timing is Everything

This is a season of Easter in the church calendar.

Even though a week has passed for us, it’s important to notice the first words of this text: The first day of the week.

This is still Easter Sunday

The same day that Mary told them the body was snatched.

The same day that John and Peter had a race.

The same day that Mary saw the gardener.

The same day that Jesus sent Mary to proclaim good news.

It’s that day.

In John’s telling of the resurrection story, none of these disciples has seen the resurrected Jesus yet.

Why are they behind locked doors?

So put yourself in the shoes of the disciples.

The last time they saw Jesus, he was hanging on a cross.

He was killed for being an insurrectionist, and they were pretty well publicly known to hang with him.

It doesn’t take long to arrive at the conclusion that if you’re going to stamp out an insurrection, you ought to take out the leader and the leaders followers.

So the disciples are hiding.

They are together at least, but they’re stuck inside their house.

The doors are locked, because they’re afraid that these Jewish leaders are out there looking for them.

In fact, they’re probably pretty certain of it.

They are afraid for their very lives, and so they are in hiding.

Shalom and Apostello

John leaves out a lot of details that I wish he would expand upon.

The resurrected Jesus suddenly shows up among them, even through locked doors.

And yet, John is clear that this isn’t a ghost.

Jesus walks in and shows these disciples his hands and his side.

He’s a physical, flesh and blood, living person, who has been raised from the dead.

And we can get stuck on the metaphysics of this, but that’ll be for another time. What Jesus has to say to these disciples is kind of important.

Jesus has two words for these disciples to address their fears:

First he shows up and says “Peace be with you.”

This one is so important that he actually says it twice in this first appearance.

The word in Greek is Erene, but the Hebrew word that Jesus would have said to them is “Shalom.”

Shalom is a word meaning not just the absence of conflict, but rather a sense of wholeness, wellbeing, and everything being set right.

I don’t know about you, but I need it to be absolutely central to my faith that when I am scared, or worried, or angry, or anxious, that Jesus has it in him to show up and say “Peace be with you.”

And I appreciate too that it’s so important to Jesus that he’s willing to say it twice, because let’s be honest, I’m not usually listening the first time around, am I?

But then Jesus talks a little bit about the mission.

As the Father has sent me, so I send you.

The Greek word for “sent” here is Apostello.

It’s the same word for Apostles, or sent ones.

And while it’s a super quick line that might be easy to pass over, it’s so important.

Remember that Jesus encounters these disciples in a locked room, afraid to go out because the Jewish leaders are out to get them.

So Jesus comes to calm our fears and to offer us peace, sure.

But Jesus also wants these disciples to get out there.

GO!

Here’s the Holy Spirit to go with you!

And oh by the way while you’re out there, the mission is not about

Getting more converts

Condemning people who aren’t part of the movement

Padding your numbers.

The mission is in fact about forgiveness.

Telling people that their mistakes are not held against them.

Telling people that God is on their side.

Telling people that their sins can be and are forgiven.

Sending that same peace and healing out in to the world.

That’s the mission.

Jesus comes to speak peace to these fearful disciples, and to give them the mission to get outside of these locked doors and out in to the world.

Which brings us to Thomas.

Thomas is *not* afraid!

Remember that this is the same day as Easter.

When I read this story growing up, I don’t know why but I always imagined that Thomas was out grocery shopping or taking his kids to soccer practice or sitting in a PTA meeting, just kind of out there living his normal work a day life.

But John is telling us a different story:

If the disciples are locked in this room because they’re afraid for their very lives, what does it tell us that Thomas wasn’t there?

Thomas wasn’t afraid.

Thomas wasn’t afraid to be out in public

Thomas wasn’t afraid to be associated with Jesus.

Thomas wasn’t afraid that someone might take his life.

It’s impossible to know what Thomas was out there in the world doing:

Maybe he was already living in to that mission of Jesus, to go out in to the world.

Maybe he was picking up his old life, getting back to normal.

Or…here’s what I think is most likely…he was out looking for Jesus.

Mary had come back that morning and told the disciples that she had seen Jesus out in the world.

So while the rest of the disciples are huddled in a locked room in fear, it’s not hard for me to imagine Thomas getting out in the city and looking high and low for his resurrected Lord.

Either way, John is making it clear that Thomas is in a different place from the disciples.

They are locked inside, he’s out and about.

They’re worried that people are going to come and kill them, he doesn’t seem to care.

They need Jesus to send them, he’s already on his way.

Thomas wants to experience what the disciples already have.

Some time later, the disciples catch up with Thomas and tell them the story.

How Jesus showed up in the middle of a locked room.

How Jesus said “peace be with you.”

How Jesus sent them out into the world as Apostles.

How Jesus…showed them his hands and his sides.

Let’s not forget, that Jesus offered this freely to the disciples in that first meeting without being asked.

Now here the tone can change how we read a passage.

You can read Thomas as a doubter:

You’re nuts! I don’t believe you, and I won’t until I’m able to see and feel and have evidence.

Or you can read Thomas as desperate for an encounter with Jesus.

You mean you guys got to touch and see and hear and feel? I am not on the team until I get to experience what you do.

I’m not ready to have my hopes up right now…

I’ve been out here searching for him, and coming up empty.

I have heard these stories from Mary, and now you guys, but I can’d handle another disappointment.

So I’ll come with you, but I’m going to guard my heart a little bit on the way.

All the evidence you need to read this text the second way comes in this second encounter with Jesus:

Thomas Doesn’t Need to Put Hands on or In.

The scene repeats itself.

The disciples, this time with Thomas in tow, have locked themselves in a house.

Wait…what?

Didn’t Jesus come and speak peace to them?

Didn’t Jesus come and give them the Holy Spirit?

Didn’t Jesus specifically give them instructions to leave, to go, to be sent?

And now they’re in a locked room again?

How strange…these disciples have recieved everything Thomas is looking for, but they’re still unwilling to live as Easter Apostles, sent by Christ.

All of a sudden, Jesus shows up in the middle of the locked room.

Jesus offers for a third time in this story the gift of Shalom.

And then Jesus offers Thomas everything he’s been looking for.

Go ahead! Put your finger here and see my hands.

Do not doubt, but believe.

And Thomas…doesn’t need to.

Thomas immediately replies “My Lord and My God!”

He doesn’t need proof.

He knows the Lord he’s been looking so hard for when he sees him.

And Jesus changes the subject a little bit.

Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not see and yet have come to believe.

Do We Believe?

Now we need to remember that John’s gospel would have been written about 50-60 years after Jesus resurrection.

At this point, there are lots of folks in this new Church movement.

Some of them, like John, would have had the blessing of getting to see Jesus before his ascension, but I’m betting at this point a whole bunch of them haven’t.

And so John points out that this story is aimed right at them, and for that matter, right at you and I.

The reason this story exists in the first place?

So that we may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing we may have life in his name.

Put it another way?

Come to believe that Jesus speaks peace over our worries, our doubts, our fears, and our anxieties.

And believe it enough that we may live the life of a sent people.

Sent in Jesus name out beyond the locked doors and fears of our day.

Application

The Church of the Locked Doors

Anyone who is a member of the “We had twins” survivors guild knows exactly how hard it is to manage two newborns at the same time.

When he was a baby, Joshy really loved the dog’s water dish.

And what kid wouldn’t?

One time in particular, I remember I was home with the boys while Sarah was working.

Joshy really wanted to be in the water dish.

So I picked him up, walked him in to the living room, and set him on the couch.

I turned and looked at Julian for exactly this long:

And then turned back to find that Joshy had gotten off the couch, crawled back in to the kitchen, and was face first down in the water dish.

It happens that fast.

One of the commentators I was reading this week said that this is what happens to the disciples, and the church after them, for centuries.

They meet in a locked room.

Jesus comes and says “You shouldn’t be afraid to get out there.”

The next time we see them they’re in a locked room again.

And especially in the western Church, we sure do love meeting in our locked rooms, don’t we?

We love building incredibly nice places of worship.

We love inviting other people to our programs and events.

We love being an attraction to the rest of the world.

And those things can all be good...

Unless they’re coming from a place where we don’t want to get outside of our comfort zones, and so we keep retreating behind our locked doors.

Unless they’re coming because we can’t stand the thought of being Christians out in the world.

Unless they’re coming from a posture of fear.

Because Jesus has something to say about fear.

A People of Peace

Three times Jesus says in this story the same line: Peace be with you.

Saints, I don’t know about you, but in this season...

of a global pandemic

of ceaseless political bitterness

of friends and loved ones leaving us too soon.

of premature twins fighting for their lives

of churches trying to make sense of the shifting culture around us

I could use some peace.

And I have to believe that if Jesus is willing to show up and offer peace to his disciples three times in a row, then the resurrected Jesus is offering it to us as well.

Peace when the world doesn’t make sense.

Peace when things seem darker than they’ve ever felt before.

Peace when you don’t think you can take another single step forward

And peace when you’ve convinced yourself that you’re stronger than you are.

Peace when everything lines up

And peace when everything falls apart.

Peace when you’re chasing after Jesus

And peace when you need him to repeat peace because you were too distracted to hear it the first time.

Peace.

I am forever trying to dig in to what it means to be a Christian in this world, on what kind of people we are.

Clearly, we are meant to be a people of peace.

Apostles

And more than that, we are not called to be a people of peace for ourselves alone.

We are called to be Apostles, to be sent ones.

As the Father has sent Jesus, so Jesus is sending us.

It is not enough for us to be a church that sits behind our locked doors and invites Pancake and Washington to join us.

We have been sent to Pancake and Washington to speak forgiveness and peace to the world.

Maybe I’d ask it this way:

Who in your life right now isn’t here, but needs a word of peace?

Who in your life right now isn’t here, but needs a word of forgiveness?

Who in your life right now is out there desperately searching for Jesus while you’ve been blessed to see his hands and side?

Who can you go out and find?

I’ve said before, nothing will scare a group of Presbyterians quite like being asked to go out and talk about their faith.

Believe me, I know.

But Jesus has already offered us peace.

Perhaps, just perhaps, it’s time to face our fears and live in to our sent calling.

So my friends, do not doubt.

Do not doubt the peace of Christ in seasons of uncertainty.

Do not doubt that the peace of Christ is stronger than our fears.

Do not doubt our ability to be a sent church, reaching out to the community around us.

And do not doubt that the risen Christ has set us free from sin and death.

Should we forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven, because we stand forgiven ourselves.

And let’s go a bit easier on Thomas!