Believe!

John 20:19-31 (NLT)

¹⁹That evening, on the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! "Peace be with you," he said. ²⁰As he spoke, he held out his hands for them to see, and he showed them his side. They were filled with joy when they saw their Lord! ²¹He spoke to them again and said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." ²²Then he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven. If you refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven."

²⁴One of the disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. ²⁵They told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he replied, "I won't believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side."

²⁶Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. He said, "Peace be with you." ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe!"

²⁸"My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed.

²⁹Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven't seen me and believe anyway."

³⁰Jesus' disciples saw him do many other miraculous signs besides the ones recorded in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life.

Most of you that know me know that I love sports and am a huge Illinois fan. When I drive to North Park each day I listen to The Score 670 on the radio. The Score is an all sports radio station that analyzes and discusses sports all day long. On Friday morning I was listening to the Score when I shockingly heard that Dee Brown and Luther Head, two of the Illinois basketball team’s best players had very high temperatures as the result of food poisoning that they got at a restaurant in St. Louis. Being the dedicated Illini fan that I am, I nearly drove off of the road. On Friday mornings I play basketball with some guys at the seminary so the first thing I told them was what I heard on the radio. They were as surprised as I was.

So after my first class, I used my break to get onto the internet and find out more information. I could not find anything though. Not one article. Not on ESPN, CNN, nowhere. I was a little confused but I continued to fret over the Illini’s chances on Saturday without these two players. By the end of the day I was pretty sure they would not have a chance to win Saturday’s game against Louisville. So I got in my car to drive home at the end of the day to hear what the folks on the Score had to say about the upcoming game and the food poisoning. Nothing. No mention of it. They talked about Illinois, but no one brought up the incident. Then. A light bulb finally turned on in my head. It was April 1. April Fool’s Day and I had just been made a fool of for the entire day. It was merely a joke perpetuated by one of the morning commentators. (Pause)

Aren’t we all a little afraid of being made a fool? It is no wonder that we are so skeptical about certain things?

We are a culture that needs to see it to believe it. You know I had a friend that I played basketball with when I was in high school. We played all four years together. He used to tell me all the time that he could dunk the basketball. Yet in all the years that I had played basketball with him I had never seen him dunk it. Not in a game. Not in practice. Never. We gave him such a hard time. We repeatedly told him he could not dunk it and to quit telling us he could. Then one day at practice my senior year, he had a break away and he went up for what I assumed would be a lay up . . . and sure enough he dunked it. I had no choice now but to believe him because I had seen it.

How would we have reacted if we had heard from friends of Jesus’ resurrection? How do we react today when we hear of Jesus’ resurrection?

It is easy to read this story about the disciples and Thomas and point fingers at them for their unbelief. Isn’t it fairly convenient to say well of course the apostles believed. . . Jesus appeared to them and showed them the marks of his crucifixion. I am confident that we are just as skeptical, though.

Perhaps you can relate to these words modified from a poem by a Dallas seminarian:

Let me meet you on the mountain, Lord,
Just once.
You wouldn't have to burn a whole bush.
Just a few smoking branches
And I would surely be ...your Moses.

Let me meet you on the water, Lord,
Just once.
It wouldn't have to be on the Kishwaukee River.
Just on a puddle after a Spring rain
And I would surely be...your Peter.

Let me meet you on the road, Lord,
Just once.
You wouldn't have to blind me on Interstate 88.
Just a few bright lights on the way to church
And I would surely be...your Paul.

Let me meet you, Lord,
Just once.
Anywhere. Anytime.
Just meeting you in the Word is so hard sometimes
Must I always be...your Thomas?

We all have doubts. Even the apostles. . . Jesus’ chosen followers had doubts. Christ calls us to overcome these doubts, though. He calls us to Believe in the resurrection. To believe in what he did for us on the cross. To believe in what he overcame when he left the tomb.

But what does it mean to believe?

Presbyterian missionary John G. Paton sailed to the South Sea Islands in 1858. For a while, he served on the small island of Aniwa where his life was constantly in danger from murderers and cannibals.

One of Paton’s primary goals was to create a translation of the Bible that the natives could read, but Paton could not find a word in the native language for the word “believe”. Trying to translate the encounter of Paul with the Philippian jailer in Acts 16, Paton came to the verse, “What must I do to be saved?”

When Paton got to that verse and tried to translate the word “believe,” he finally settled upon this: “Lean your whole weight upon the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.” Isn’t that what it means to believe in Jesus? To lean your whole weight upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s take a little closer look at the passage in John that we just read. I think you will find that the disciples struggled to lean their whole weight upon the Lord Jesus Christ too. Immediately before Jesus’ appearing to his disciples and eventually to Thomas, Mary Magdelene went to Jesus’ tomb and found it empty. Mary ran back and told Peter and another disciple that the tomb was empty and they checked it out too. Sure enough the tomb was empty. All that was left were his burial linens.

Jesus then appears to Mary Magdelene and tells her to go tell the disciples that He is alive. So she does. Mary Magdelene went to the disciples and told them what she had found. The tomb was empty. That Jesus was alive.

But did the disciples go and search after Jesus? Did they rush out to find him? No. It wasn’t that they did not trust in Mary’s words, it was simply that they had seen Jesus die on the cross and were skeptical that he could be alive. So they locked themselves in a room because they were scared of the Jewish leaders and did nothing. They had narrowly escaped arrest with Jesus in Gethsemane; they realized that as the disciples of one who was regarded as a dangerous agitator they would be under suspicion; and they were probably consulting together on how best to withdraw from the city without attracting the notice of the temple police or Roman authorities. The doors were locked because they were afraid that the Jews would send police for them as they had for Jesus.

I think we miss a lot from this passage when we refer to this story as all about the Doubting Thomas. Thomas wasn’t the only one doubting here. They were all doubting. They were all unbelieving.

But the message of this passage is less about doubt, than it is about how to believe. The disciples should have been able to believe in the resurrection when Mary Magdelene told them that Jesus was alive. And Thomas should have been able to believe in the resurrection when the disciples told him that Jesus was alive. Their limitations on God and on Jesus were too large. They were skeptical that he could have risen from the dead.

Jesus did not give up on them though. Jesus desired for them to believe and thus appeared to them showing his wounds and explaining to them that he was alive.

For the disciples, Jesus appears in the locked room with them. Can you imagine how crazy this must have been. Jesus did not use the door; he just appeared. Here are the disciples sitting in a locked room, scared, and likely discussing the reports of Mary Magdelene. They are asking themselves how could Jesus be alive when they all watched as he died on the cross. As they are talking, Jesus appears in the room. They had to think he was going to scold them for their unbelief but he simply says “peace be with you.” This was and still is the everyday greeting of Jews in Palestine. The disciples had to be shocked. At first they probably thought they were seeing a ghost. But Jesus shows them his wounds to convince them of his identity and the Bible says they were overjoyed. The promise of Jesus, made to them in the Upper Room, that he would come to them and turn their grief into joy was now fulfilled. The disciples were now overjoyed, not only to see him again, but also to realize that he was undefeated by death and that his claims were validated. Their leader, their master, their friend was alive.

Thomas was not there when Jesus appeared to the disciples so they told him about what had happened. And as the disciples had been skeptical of Mary Magdelene’s report, Thomas was skeptical of the disciples’. The bible describes Thomas as a loyal, outspoken, and rather pessimistic person who was uncertain of the future but closely attached to Jesus. To the disciples’ descriptions of what they had seen, Thomas says, “whatever.” Unless I see it I will not believe it. Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger in where the nails were, and put my hand into his side. I will not believe.

Aren’t these just the types of things that we would probably say? It is easy to relate to Thomas’ comments.

So what happens? Well a week later Thomas is in the locked room with the disciples and Jesus appears to them exactly as he had earlier and exactly how the disciples had described to Thomas. Jesus looks at Thomas and says, “put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side.”

This had to be shocking to Thomas. Not only did Jesus just appear in the room but he knew exactly what Thomas said he needed in order to believe. Jesus then says. “DON’T BE FAITHLESS ANY LONGER. BELIEVE!” Literally Jesus says, “Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Stop doubting and believe. Jesus took Thomas from despairing unbelief and offered him the positive evidence on which he could build an enduring faith. Jesus reveals that the risen Lord and the crucified are one.

Thomas’ response is particularly important in this passage too. Thomas says, “My Lord and my God.” Not master, not leader, not merely Lord, BUT my God. Nobody had previously addressed Jesus like this. The most notorious doubter did not simply acknowledge that Jesus had risen from the dead, but expresses that he is indeed God. Thomas recognizes that Jesus and God the father are one. Jesus was God and should be addressed in the language of adoring worship. Jesus had come into the world to fulfill the Father’s purpose – to speak his words, to do his works, and lay down his life for the salvation of humans; now he expected them to continue his work in his absence by delivering his message.

Jesus goes on to say, “you believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven't seen me and believe anyway.” In this blessing, John reminds everyone – the first readers of his gospel who were one generation removed from these resurrection appearances, and all later readers, no matter how many centuries removed – that knowledge of and relationship with Jesus is not limited to his first disciples. As bold as Jesus’ gesture to Thomas was when he showed up and told him he could put his fingers in Jesus’ wounds, Jesus’ care for the faith of those who come after Thomas, who will not see, is equally without limit and measure.

In this passage, Jesus urges Thomas to move from a position of unbelief to belief. This story does not focus on skepticism, but on the grounds of faith. On what it means to believe.

The truth of Scripture lies in its power to make the presence of God in Jesus available to the faith community in each successive generation. We are asked to take our own step of faith. From unbelief to belief. All of those of us who were not witnesses to the resurrection and life of Christ are called blessed for our faith without seeing. But to be called blessed we must truly believe. We must overcome our doubts and come to God in faith.

We cannot simply say that we believe in Jesus, but must be willing to put our full trust in him. To allow him to carry us across life’s obstacles. If we say that we believe, but fail to trust him when things are scary or difficult our faith is weak. Belief requires action. We must rely on Christ’s promises and let go of control of our life.

Perhaps you have heard the story of Blondin, a famous tightrope walker who lived in the latter part of the 19^th Century. Once Blondin strung a tightrope across the Niagara Falls. Thousands of curious onlookers had gathered to watch Blondin walk the tightrope from the Canadian to the American side of the falls. Thousands cheered his name as he stepped on the high rope.

Silencing the crowd, Blondin said to them, “I am going to walk across the Niagara Falls on the tightrope, but this time I will carry someone on my shoulders. Do you believe in me?

“We believe! We Believe!” shouted the excited crowd.

“Then which of you will be the lucky person to have Blondin carry him across the falls?” Blondin asked.

Heavy silence fell over the crowd. But in a few minutes one of the onlookers moved slowly toward Blondin, climbed up on his shoulders, and had the thrill of his life as Blondin carried him safely across to the American side of the falls.

All the people agreed that they believed Blondin could do it, but only one man believed in Blondin enough to trust him.

Do we believe in Jesus enough to give up control and let him carry our life on his shoulders? Are we skeptical of the truth contained in the Scriptures? Do we let doubt prohibit us from living boldly for God? Do we lock ourselves in a room that protects us from spreading God’s message because we are afraid Jesus won’t live up to his promises?

God calls us to be believers. To trust in the reports of the eye witnesses to the resurrection. To lean our whole weight upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we pray, let us ask that God give us the strength and faith to overcome our doubts and put our trust in him. To allow God to carry us on his shoulders over the struggles and temptations of this life.

Lord, help us to be believers. Believers that trust in your goodness and holiness. Help us to overcome our doubts and lean our whole weight upon you. Give us the strength to relinquish control over our lives and to allow you to carry us through life’s difficulties. We pray this in your name. Amen.