John 20:24-29 – I Doubt it
Today we are continuing our series on what happened AFTER Jesus rose from the dead. Who was affected? How did their lives change? What difference does the risen Lord make in people’s lives? Why does the Resurrection matter? Today we are in John 20:24-29, and we are reading about a guy named Thomas. You have probably heard of Thomas by the reputation that the church has carried on through the years... Doubting Thomas. Let’s read John 20:24-29.
I read this week about a guy named Vseslav of Polotsk. He was born almost 1000 years ago, and ruled the city of Polotsk in the eastern European country of Belarus. His reign was quite uneventful except for building a large cathedral. There are a few interesting legends, though. He was also known as Vseslav the Sorcerer or Vseslav the Seer. What I get a kick out of, though, is his other nickname: Vseslav the Werewolf. The legend was he could turn into a werewolf. Belerus issued a commemorative coin in 2005 with an image of Vseslav in the foreground, and an image of a wolf in the background. For a ruler of a city for 57 years, it’s unfortunate that history best knows him as a werewolf.
History has not been kind to the reputation of Thomas either, and I think that’s a tragedy. If the truth be told, we are all a lot like Thomas. In the next few minutes, I’d like us to look at Thomas’ life, and gain encouragement for our own walks of faith.
Now, Thomas was one of Jesus’ disciples. And he was not half-hearted about it. In John 11, Jesus said that they should return to the hill country of Judea, in order to raise Lazarus from the dead. The disciples objected to that, because the last time they were in the area, Jesus was nearly arrested. But Thomas, in 11:16, said, “Let’s go and die with Jesus.” Maybe that was a little pessimistic, but it wasn’t half-hearted. That was not about lack of faith, or doubt; it was devotion.
Later, in Jesus’ last week, He was telling His disciples that there was a place for them, and they would be with Him there. Thomas asked Him, “How can we go be with You if we don’t know where You’re going?” That’s not doubt. That’s lack of understanding. That’s not fully realizing what Jesus’ plans are, but that’s not doubt. That’s a sincere desire to follow Jesus.
Within 18 hours of saying this, Jesus would die a horrible death. All His disciples scattered, and fell short of complete devotion to Him, including Thomas. On the third day, Sunday, the 1st day of the week, Jesus rose again. The grave could not keep Him, death could not hold Him, and hell could not contain Him. By His death and resurrection, Jesus defeated sin, death, and hell, and we have freedom to follow God in a way we never had before.
Then, Jesus started making appearances to His followers. On that 1st day, He appeared to Mary Magdalene, and then other women, and then Peter, and then 2 disciples on a road, and to His disciples behind locked doors. Well, except for Thomas. We don’t know where he was that night, or why he was not with His fellow disciples, but he wasn’t there.
Later, he found out about it. The others told him that Jesus was alive. And Thomas didn’t believe them. He said, “Look… unless I see for myself, and touch His hands, and touch His side, I won’t believe. Case closed.”
And at this point, we always say that Thomas doubted Jesus. I don’t think so. He didn’t doubt Jesus, so much, as he doubted what others were saying about Jesus. Yes, Jesus had said He would die, and rise again, but no-one really believed it or understood it at the time. All of them needed to see Jesus to believe, except maybe John.
It’s not so much that Thomas doubted Jesus as he doubted others. How many of you doubted the words of Harold Camping, who said that the end of the world was starting yesterday? All of you, right? No-one really seriously believed that yesterday was the beginning of the end. But how many of you doubt that Jesus is ever going to come back? Exactly. It’s not that you are doubting that Jesus will return, but you’re doubting people’s theories about it. That’s the same of Thomas. He didn’t believe everything he heard about Jesus, and neither do you… neither should you. Doubting someone’s opinion or understanding of Jesus is not the same as doubting Jesus Himself.
But still… sometimes we do doubt, though, don’t we? We can’t understand someone’s objections, and their suspicions trickle into our minds, too. We’re afraid of getting labelled a heretic or an apostate if we verbalize our thoughts. Maybe we begin to doubt the Bible, but maybe we’re doubting our understanding of it.
I knew one student at Bible college who had always been told that the Rapture would happen before the 7 years of tribulation... as most of us grew up thinking. This person never had a doubt about it. But when they went to a theology class, in which the professor told them that there are other ways of looking at it, they were crushed. All they had believed for years was shaken. They thought, “If it’s possible that there are other ways of looking at this, what else do I believe that might be seen in a different way?” It shook the very core of their faith. But through it all, they gained a personal faith, not one belonging to their parents, but their own.
Myself, I don’t enjoy bursting others’ theological bubbles, shooting down arguments that don’t matter much in living for God daily. So I don’t go around verbalizing all my opinions on Genesis or Revelation – how it all began, or how it’s going to end. But I do know that I trust God, and I believe His word. And I lot of what I believe was borne out of doubting what the Bible seemed to be saying, or how people interpreted it.
Listen: I don’t think all doubt is bad. Not all doubt is harmful. Doubts which are left unattended can fester and grow, and can tear you apart. But you may have to doubt the faith of your parents in order to experience God yourself. I grew up with a Catholic mother and a non-professing father. In order for me to be here, I had to doubt what I grew up believing. And at some point, I doubted what my church taught me about things. And I’ve doubted what I learned in Bible college. And I’ve doubted what I’ve learned since. Please… give yourself permission to doubt. Because here is what I see in this passage about how Jesus deals with doubting disciples.
The 1st way Jesus dealt with a doubting disciple is this: He knew them. Thomas had said, “Unless I see Him and touch Him, I won’t believe.” And when Jesus showed up, look at what He said: “Put your finger here in My side. See My hands. See the hole where the spear went it. Go ahead… touch it.”
Jesus knew Thomas. He knew what Thomas had asked for. He knew what it would take for Thomas to believe. Listen… this is important. Jesus knows your doubts. He knows where you struggle in your faith. He knows where you are stumbling. He knows what’s tripping you up. He knows you are doubting what you hear in church or Sunday school.
So admit it. Just say it. Lord, I’m having trouble believing that You are the only way. I struggle with believing that You rose from the dead. I believe that hell exists, but it’s troubling me. Lord, You know that I want to take all of Genesis literally, but it seems to argue with what everybody else says. Lord, You see my doubts. Help me!
I believe that God respects honesty. Proverbs 16:13 says, “Kings take pleasure in honest lips.” Of course God does too. And I also believe that if you seek God, you’ll find Him. Deuteronomy 4:49 says, “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” I believe that if you honestly admit where you struggle with doubts, but you really want to know God in spite of them, He will lead you to a place where you will be content with the answers.
In fact, the 2nd way Jesus dealt with a doubting disciple is this: He invited them. Come here! Come look at me. Stretch out your finger. Touch me! I can stand up to scrutiny, Jesus said. So don’t hide your doubts. Let Him know. And be willing to seek some answers about them. Josh McDowell is an excellent author to help you with a lot of doubts, and so is Lee Strobel. Ask around. Ask me. Ask God. Lord, this used to make sense to me, but I don’t buy it anymore. Help me!
And He will. 1 Chronicles 28:9 says, “If you seek Him, He will be found by you.” He also says in Malachi 3:10 – “Test me in this.” Go ahead. See if I don’t answer your questions. See if I can’t help you get rid of doubts. See if I can’t open your mind and make the faith make a little more sense again. I mean, after all, it IS faith. You won’t get all your questions answered, but He is more than able to wash away your doubts.
And the 3rd way Jesus dealt with a doubting disciple is this: He welcomed them. He didn’t really scold Thomas for doubting. Oh, you’re so stupid. After all I’ve done, you nitwit… you don’t get it. No, Jesus simply said, “Stop doubting.” The phrasing there is literally, “Stop becoming an unbeliever.” Yes, doubts will lead you away if you don’t check up on them.
But doubts, once they are resolved, will make you stronger afterwards. Once you’ve read and prayed and studied and sought God, the doubts vanish, and you are left with a more rock-solid faith. Jesus doesn’t mind your doubts. He is big enough to handle your questions and your fears. His ego is not so fragile that the honest seeking by one of His children ruins His day. No! He might grow impatient with people who don’t want to believe, but believers who struggle with doubt do not try His patience.
Like the man who said to Jesus, “I believe; help me overcome my unbelief”, pray and be honest. Lord, I trust You, but there are things that don’t make sense to me. Help me work them out, help me reach a point where I’m OK with the answers I have, help me in my quest to follow you with all my heart and mind.
Kathy Escobar, a pastor in Denver, Colorado, wrote a prayer that she called The Doubter’s Prayer. I’d like to share it with you. God, sometimes I’m not sure. I don’t understand. I can’t understand. I don’t know what I’m supposed to understand. I am trying to let go. Trying to hold on. Learning. Growing. Stretching. Leaving. Coming. Going. What do I leave behind? What do I move toward? God, grow my faith, whatever that means. Not in man, not in systems, not in what-someone-else-tells-me-I-am-supposed-to-believe, but in You. The living God. The one who heals. The one who reveals. The one who restores. The one who turns the ways of this world upside down. The one who calls me to mercy and justice and love. The one who stirs us to move. Yeah, that’s all I really want. More of You in me. More of You in us. Amen.”
