Jesus Encounters An Agnostic

b. Again, belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not a matter of a lack of proof or evidence, rather, it is a problem with the human heart. Thomas has a very troubled heart. I think it is an emotional response to the pain and hurt he experienced at the Savior’s death. I think in some way he personally felt betrayed and he allowed the grief to be too much for him and he turned his back on all the evidence. Illust: In 35 yrs of pastoring I have seen essentially 2 responses to tragedy: 1. Rejection of God. 2. Clinging to God. Illust: For 70 yrs. of life my grandfather held God at arms-length because his only brother had died @15 yrs from a brain tumor. Yet God was not done with that stubborn old man, and after the death of my grandmother, he desperately reached out to and clung hold of Christ until his death several years later.

B. Jesus Affirms the Truth that Unbelief, Not Evidence, is the Real Obstacle to Faith in His Resurrection.

1. Notice Jesus’ Statement as He once again enters the Upper Room.

a. V. 26 – “Peace be with you!” Here Jesus does it again! Glorified body is not constrained by the laws of nature. One moment Jesus is not there and the next He is! Now, I am sure it was still shocking for the rest of the disciples, but I personally think this statement is specifically for Thomas: “Peace be with you.” Why? Agnostics and atheists have lives that are filled with anger, fear, depression, doubt and discouragement. Chris, how do you know that? The terror of an eternal nothingness upon death, the meaninglessness and purposelessness of my existence, the randomness of chance of would crush my soul.

b. Illust: The great English philosopher GK Chesterton once addressed this when he said: “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. Rather it has been found difficult and left untried.” Thomas is still in a place of doubt, but if this resurrection is real it is going to change his life. Same is true for you and me today.

2. Jesus Invites Thomas to examine the evidence of His resurrection. V. 27

a. Read v. 27. Jesus challenges the once doubtful Thomas to examine the evidence! Look at the evidence friend. Only One Person was ever scarred for your salvation! Only One Person ever lived a perfect, sinless life. Only one Person raised Himself bodily from the grave! Take time to ponder the evidence for Christ’s Resurrection and it’s application. Thomas sees Jesus! Jesus pours out grace not scorn upon Thomas. But the rebuke stemmed from love. It didn’t negate the abundant grace that Thomas experienced. We don’t know whether Thomas actually did it. At that point, he didn’t need to touch Jesus, because He knew that He really was alive.

b. Illust: Years ago the British agnostic Thomas Huxley had to leave early one morning to go from one speaking assignment to another, so he got into a horse-drawn taxi to go from his hotel to the train station. He assumed that the hotel doorman had told the taxi that they were to go to the train station. So when he got in, he simply said to the driver, “Drive fast.” Off they went. After a short while, Huxley, who was familiar with the area, realized that they were actually going in the opposite direction from the train station. He yelled to the driver, “Do you know where you’re going?” Without looking back, the driver replied, “No, sir, but I’m driving very fast!” Obviously, it doesn’t do much good to go fast if you’re going in the wrong direction! Yet, many people are like that. They’re going full speed, but they haven’t stopped to evaluate where they ought to be going. They haven’t examined the evidence. Before you know it, life has whizzed by, but you haven’t spent it aimed in the right direction.