Disciples Who Doubt
John 20:19-29
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
Rev. Dr. David C. Wright
April 26, 2009
Well, let’s get something out of the way right at the beginning. I know now that some of you have actually seen me, you are wondering, “After a one-year, nationwide-search, couldn’t the Pastoral Nominating Committee find a full-size pastor anywhere?” You should know that when I began my ministry I stood a full 6'4" in height. That’s right. But over the years, as I prepared to pray at events or deliver a few remarks, the host would often whisper to me, “Pastor, please be short,”... and that accounts for my current height!
This whole search process is an interesting one. Pastoral Nominating Committees try to present their churches in the best possible light. And, of course, so do candidates. Both churches and candidates have to provide references, but you can be sure that neither of us provide disgruntled parishioners on our lists! So trying to discern the whole truth about a church or a candidate can be challenging. And discerning the truth was a challenge for Thomas in our Scripture lesson this morning. This passage, found in John 20, is an appropriate one for the season following Easter, as it begins late on Easter Sunday. Remember that there was still a great deal of confusion at that time. The disciples were devastated following Jesus’ hideous death, and fearful that they might be next. But now Jesus’ body was missing and there were rumors that he had risen from the dead. We pick up the story in verse 19. 19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
Wow! Things sure turned around fast, didn’t they? Jesus appeared to them, showing them the wounds in his hands and side to demonstrate that it was really him. Then he commissioned them. The story continues. “But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, 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 the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’”
Thomas often gets a bad rap for his doubt. I remember singing a song in Sunday School which cautioned us not to be a “doubting Thomas.” But he was only asking for the same evidence that the other disciples had already been given! And Thomas was no spiritual slacker. Just a few days before he encouraged the other disciples to go with Jesus to the home of Lazarus in Bethany even if it meant they’d die with him. Besides, Thomas had good reason to doubt. First of all the very idea of someone rising from the dead seemed extremely unlikely. And the witnesses who were reporting this news to Thomas were not exceptionally reliable people. Peter was known for saying anything that came into his head and then changing his mind later. The brothers, James and John, (called the “Sons of Thunder”) were best known for their tempers and fights over which of them was more important. And, several of these witnesses were fisherman! And we all know how fishermen are prone to exaggeration! “That fish was this big!”
At any rate, Thomas had his doubts. And some of us have our doubts, too, don’t we? A recent poll featured in Newsweek magazine found that the percentage of Americans who identify themselves as atheists or agnostics has quadrupled in the last 10 years. There are more atheists and agnostics in this country than there are Presbyterians! Why is this? In my experience there are two things that fuel the doubts that people have about Christian faith.
First, there are intellectual problems. These can be honest questions of people in search of the truth. For example, “If God is good and all-powerful, then how can there be evil in the world? Doesn’t science and evolution contradict biblical teaching about creation? Of the many religions in the world, isn’t it arrogant to claim that Christianity is the only true religion, that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation? And, did God really order the ancient Israelites to wipe out entire civilizations, including men, women, and children?” These are honest, difficult questions that cause some people to doubt Christianity.
Almost all of us have such questions from time to time. And I think that’s OK! Because after we’ve worked through such questions, we can emerge with an even stronger faith. And it is possible to work through these questions. Most of them have been around for centuries and they haven’t toppled Christianity yet! Some of the greatest minds in the world have worked on them and can help us to work through them. I’ve listed several books in your bulletin which deal with such questions.
I would also remind you that any philosophical or religious system answers some questions and leaves others unanswered. Sometimes we get the idea that only those who believe in Christianity have unanswered questions. But even atheists are left with some very difficult questions. For example, “Why is there something instead of nothing? How did everything we know get here? There must be some kind of first cause. What was it? Where did matter come from? Why do all cultures and peoples throughout all history have a sense of morality? Where does that come from?” You see, all of us have difficult, unanswered questions whether we’re Christians or not.
Christian writer Os Guiness likes to talk about keyhole theology. We’re all trying to figure out the grand scheme of things, but if we’re honest, we know that our view of these things is as if we’re looking through a keyhole. We don’t see the whole picture! We just get glimpses here and there about what God is up to. There is far more that we can’t see, than we can see. All of us are working to answer profound questions about life with very limited data. At any rate, some people have doubts about Christianity prompted by honest, difficult questions that are hard to answer.
Other people’s doubts may present themselves as honest intellectual questions, but they’re really fueled by emotional and spiritual issues. For example, someone who’s experienced deep hurts may have difficulty trusting anyone, including God. Or, they may have counted on God at some point in their life and God disappointed them. Phillip Yancey wrote a whole book on that subject called Disappointment with God. Our disappointment with God or others may make it hard for us to believe and trust God. We may ask intellectual questions, but the real issue is trust.
Others may have control issues. Most of us do! We like to think that we can figure things out for ourselves. That we’re strong and smart enough that we don’t really need to use God as a crutch. That we know best how to run our own lives, and we’d prefer that God didn’t stick his nose in them and tell us what to do and what not to do. The Bible calls that pride, and it underlies the doubt of many people, who refuse to believe so that they can maintain control over their lives. Still other people refuse to seriously address their doubts, so that they won’t have to commit to anything, because they fear commitment.
We all know people who question or disparage Christian faith whenever they get the chance. And we suspect that for some of them, even if we could satisfactorily answer every question they have, they still wouldn’t believe! That’s because doubts which are fueled by issues like trust or control are different from honest intellectual questions.
Each of us comes to a point where we’ve got the best answers we’re going to get to our questions. Then we decide if we can make a “leap of faith” so we can believe and put our trust in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said that we only need a small amount of faith- the size of a mustard seed. Just enough faith to act on. Do you have enough faith to act?
Well, let’s get back to poor Thomas! 26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 27Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ 28Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’
Notice how Jesus responds to Thomas. Jesus already knows all about his doubts, but he doesn’t condemn him. He isn’t angry or shocked by his doubts. In fact, he offers to accommodate Thomas’ doubts, inviting him to probe the wounds in his hands and side. Jesus isn’t put off by Thomas’ doubts, he just invites him to believe!
This past Christmas, my wife Bonnie bought us a navigation system- a Garmin GPS. My son programmed it so that the voice it uses sounds like a woman with a British accent. We’ve enjoyed using it, but there have been times when I have refused to believe the directions she was giving us. “Turn right now!” she’ll say, after warning us well in advance that the turn was coming. But sometimes her instructions don’t make sense to me and I ignore them, even though we invested a good bit of money to get her advice! This drives Bonnie crazy! Anyway, after I’ve ignored her advice, I half expect the voice on the navigation system to scold me- “You twit! Where do you think you’re going?” But she doesn’t do that. She simply says, “Recalculating,” and gives me new directions from my new position.
That’s sort of how Jesus responded to Thomas and how Jesus responds to us with our honest questions and doubts. He doesn’t attack us or reject us. He accepts us and invites us to continue the journey with him. It’s about grace, not judgment.
And Thomas does respond to that grace. “My Lord and my God,” he exclaims, which is one of the strongest statements of faith found anywhere in the New Testament. Thomas acknowledges Jesus’ identity as God in the flesh, and submits to Jesus’ authority over his personal life when he declares him to be “my Lord.” Thomas chooses to believe, in spite of his previous doubts, and Jesus welcomes him.
Now we should point out that for many of us, dealing with our doubts is not a one-time thing. We may settle our doubts for now, but then something happens to us or a new question occurs at a vulnerable time and we’re tossed right back into doubting all over again. And I think some of us just have temperaments which are more prone to skepticism than others. But over time, we learn that doubting is a natural part of our faith life. So we don’t need to panic. Instead we can explore the issues, talk with Christians more knowledgeable than we are, and pray for God to help us, trusting that God will reassure us in his time.
Many of you have seen Susan Boyle recently on TV or the YouTube clips. Susan was a contestant on the British version of American Idol. In England, where auditions for the judges take place in front of an audience. Susan is 47 years old, unemployed, and about as frumpy as you can imagine. Before she sang, the judges asked her a few questions and could barely contain their skepticism about her, smirking as she shared her desire to be a professional singer. But when she began to sing “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables it was absolutely magic. The audience was screaming with delight after each phrase she sang and the judges were near tears. Had they given into their initial skepticism and refused to listen to her sing, they would have missed an extraordinary opportunity for a truly joyful experience.
And so it is with faith in Jesus. While doubts are normal, don’t give in to your skepticism. Have enough faith to act and you will find that walking with Jesus in your life is an adventure you don’t want to miss, filled with excitement and purpose and joy.
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