Dealing With Doubt Series

Last week, we spoke about how Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection, when they were gathered behind locked doors. In the midst of their fear and anxiety, Jesus told the disciples not to be afraid, revealing himself to them and assuring them that He is alive and well. However, not all of them believed it right away when they learned about the risen Christ but doubted the reality of this supernatural event. In fact, it is quite possible to be a believer in Jesus for some time but still struggle with doubts about your faith. But what I want to make clear is that doubting whether it is intellectual, emotional, or spiritual is a normal part of the Christian life. Doubting doesn’t make me a second-class Christian or automatically mean that I am rejecting my Christian faith.

Doubt is rather a hesitancy to believe in or fully follow the risen Messiah because there are deep uncertainties in my heart that need to be resolved.

As Warren Wiersbe puts it, doubt says, “I cannot believe! There are too many problems!” Unbelief says, “I will not believe unless you give me the evidence I ask for!” In fact, in the Greek text, there is a double negative: “I positively will not believe!” The question is: How should we handle doubt or help others handle theirs? We are going to take a look at this next passage in John chapter 20, 24 through 31 where Jesus helped Thomas overcome serious doubts by inviting Him to take a closer look at the truth.

John 20:24-31

24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:24-31 ESV).

As we were going through this passage, we could see three types of faith here.

Lack of faith

Saving faith

Living faith

This is the only account about Thomas in the four gospels. Other parallel passages from the other gospels that refer to the encounter of the risen Jesus with the disciples, are (for those who are interested in doing further research):

- Mark 16:14-20

- Luke 24:36-49

Let's look at our first point:

1. Lack of Faith

When we first take a look at our passage for today, we are able to see a contrast between someone who will “not believe until”...versus someone who will “never believe even if…”. In v. 24 we learn that Thomas wasn’t among the disciples when Jesus appeared for the first time to the rest of the disciples after his resurrection. We are not sure why he chose to be by himself, but, even when all the fellow disciples had already informed Thomas about their encounter with the risen Jesus (v. 25), Thomas is unwilling to accept their report by mere faith, uttering his desire to place his hands on Jesus’ wounds. Unless he is able to do so, he states he won’t believe that Jesus is alive.

Of course, one must state that Thomas’ lack of faith can’t be compared to the attitude of the Pharisees and Scribes depicted in the four gospels, as they, even with all the signs, refused to believe at all. Thomas on the other hand wanted to believe, even though he poses certain conditions to do so. Because he stayed home, he missed out on the initial joy and excitement the other disciples were able to experience. He missed seeing Jesus Christ, hearing His words of peace, and receiving His commission and gift of spiritual life. He had to endure a week of fear and unbelief when he could have been experiencing joy and peace! Remember Thomas when you are tempted to stay home from church. You never know what special blessing you might miss! But let’s give him credit for showing up the next week.