Luke 23:36-49 – Doubting Disciples
Charles Swindoll in his book Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back tells the story of a farmer who wanted to impress his hunting buddies. To impress them, he bought the smartest, most expensive hunting dog he could find. He trained this dog to do things no other dog on earth could do---impossible feats that would surely amaze anyone. Then he invited the neighbors to go duck hunting with him. After a long patient wait in the boat a group of ducks flew over and the hunters were able to make a few hits. Several ducks fell in the water. "Go get ‘em!" shouted the proud owner to his magnificent dog. The dog leaped out of the boat, walked on the water, and picked up a bird and returned to the boat. As soon as he dropped the duck in the boat he trotted off across the water again and grabbed another duck and brought it back to the boat. The owner beamed with pride as his wonderful dog walked across the water and retrieved each of the birds one by one. Unable to resist the opportunity to brag a bit he asked his fellow hunters, "Do you notice anything unusual about my dog?” One of them rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Yes," he finally said. "Come to think of it, I do! That silly dog doesn’t know how to swim does he?"
Sometimes it seems there’s a cynic or a critic in each of us. We often want to burst someone’s bubble, rather than let them live in their blissful ignorance. We focus on the negative – why something can’t happen – instead of the positive – why something can or could happen. We play what we call the devil’s advocate, as if Satan needed a lawyer to help bail him out.
Today and next Sunday we will look at doubt. What is it that turns faith into criticism, that turns simple trust into cynicism? Our bible passage today looks at Jesus’ 5th appearance to His followers after His resurrection. His first was to Mary Magdalene; then to several women. He appeared to Peter sometime Easter Sunday afternoon, and then to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, a town outside of Jerusalem. These two disciples, Cleopas and perhaps his wife Mary, came back and told the rest of the disciples (except Thomas, as John writes) that they had just seen the risen Jesus. We pick up our story in Luke 24:36-49.
Let’s be honest: what would you have done in that situation? If you just came back from a funeral, and you were in your house mourning, and some of the pall bearers ran in the house and said that the dead guy just came back to life? You’d probably think you were in a horror movie, right?
It’s fairly normal to scoff at what sounds impossible. Even though Jesus had told them that He would come back to life again, they either didn’t take Him literally or they didn’t understand Him. And when they did see Him, they thought He was just a ghost or a spirit, not real.
Do we ever see Jesus that way? Even as Christians, do our doubts get in the way of true faith? I’ve met a lot of Christians – I’ve even been that Christian, for that matter – to whom Jesus seems far away, just a ghost in a daydream. He’s there, yes, but there’s so much blocking the way. So much doesn’t seem to make sense – so many arguments against the existence of God, or the possibility of a resurrection, or whether Jesus was ever real, or whether you can trust in the Bible. So many things to make you doubt whether or not all that you’ve heard is real or worth believing in. Is that you today? Do you have so many struggles intellectually that a simple faith seems impossible to find?
Well, how does Jesus treat people with doubt? We know He rewards those with faith, but how does Jesus respond to people who have a hard time believing? Christ appeared to those first disciples to bring and show two things, and He might just want to show you the same.
The first thing that Jesus wanted to bring his doubting disciples, his faith-challenged followers, was peace (v36). As the people were hiding out, with doors locked out of fear, as John 19:23 tells us, Jesus instantly appeared. They were hiding out in fear, fear of what others might say or accuse them of. Is that much different for us? Too many of us live in fear of what others will say or accuse us of. The Bible says that the fear of men is a snare; it catches us, immobilizes us, holds us back. What the people needed to know was that things would be OK. God was in control. There was nothing to fear from people because obviously, God sees who we are in secret.
Well, Jesus not only said the word peace but delivered it too. How? By showing the reality of the resurrection. He appeared to them to show that He really had risen from the dead. It wasn’t just stories told by someone else; the reality of new life could be seen and experienced by anyone.
And some of you wonder if you are the only one in the world, at least in this church, to have a hard time believing the resurrection account. Dead people don’t generally come back. “Am I the only one who has a difficult time with this?” No, probably not. But if you are honest with yourself, if you do your homework, if you take time, if you sincerely seek the Lord, He will lead you to the truth.
Folks, the resurrection story is believable. You can believe in the death of Jesus. You can believe in the empty tomb. You can believe in the appearances Jesus made afterwards. It still takes a certain amount of faith to accept it as your own, but it’s like riding a bike. According the laws of physics it’s possible. According to the reports of others it’s possible. You can even watch others doing it, proving it’s possible. But to embrace it as your own requires one last step. It’s not a matter of checking your brains at the door. It’s a matter of accepting what can be believed.
And to you who are struggling, Jesus brings peace. He wants to be more than a ghost or a spirit, some far-off deity or system of beliefs. He wants to take your troubles and doubts (v38). He wants to be real in your life (v39). He wants to spend time with you (v42-43). And He wants to use the Bible to explain Himself to you (v44-45). The debilitating doubts and fluctuating feelings that have held you back from serving Him completely, honestly, sincerely for so long, He wants to deal with.
But He wants to take you further as well. Jesus appeared behind locked doors to bring two things to His disciples: peace and purpose.
Peace He brought, by showing them the reality of the resurrection. Purpose He brought, by showing them the wellspring of witnessing. How His message would spread to the world. God’s purpose for his followers is not just to clean us up but to send us out as well.
V46-47 tie the 2 together. Jesus used the message of the OT to explain what had just happened. There’s certainly something to be said about using current events to explain what the Bible says, and vice versa for that matter. Then He went on to explain the responsibility that His followers have to get that message out. But we are not alone. Jesus didn’t just tell us what to do and then leave us high and dry. He said there was a power for us to do it. To live the Christian life in a way that people want what we show them we have. To live over sin without hypocrisy or judgementalism. To reflect the live and death and resurrected life of our Master.
Certainly there is more for each of us than what we are doing right now. There must be more that you can do to show someone that God loves them, to show that they matter to God. Can you do acts of service, not as a replacement for witnessing but a tactic to do it? Can you tell someone to their face that they need Jesus to change them and clean them? What about helping someone overcome their intellectual questions by sitting down and explaining difficult issues with them? What about just sharing what Jesus has done in your life? How about inviting others to church?
And then there’s simply going to someone and telling them you’re sorry for all the things you’ve hurt them with, or vice versa, letting go of a grudge and putting the past behind you. The ways to show God’s love are as many as the stars in the sky.
Bob Briggs says: “A free flowing river purifies itself and is alive with life. So also is the Christian who becomes involved with others in sharing the Gospel. That Christian will discover the reason for his or her existence. Being involved in the ministry of a witness is essential to finding the fulfillment we desire as humans.” Christ came to give us purpose, but too many live to please ourselves, as if our own happiness or comfort is most important.
You see, Jesus doesn’t want to deal with your doubts for your own good. Jesus didn’t just show up behind locked doors, into the doubts and fears of his followers, just for their own sake. He said, “Look at me. Believe in me. Let me erase your doubts. Let me deal with your heartaches. Let me get in to where you won’t let people look. Let me get in to where you retreat. Let me lift you out of the cage you let yourself get in.” Then He said, “And when you’re convinced, let me go with you to share this with others. It’s too good to keep to yourselves.”
It was 1818 in France, and Louis, a 9-year-old boy, was sitting in his father’s workshop. The father was a harness-maker and the boy loved to watch his father work the leather. “Someday Father,” said Louis, “I want to be a harness-maker, just like you.”
“Why not start now?” said the father. He took a piece of leather and drew a design on it. “Now, my son,” he said, “take the hole-puncher and a hammer and follow this design, but be careful that you don’t hit your hand.”
Excited, the boy began to work, but when he hit the hole-puncher, it flew out of his hand and pierced his eye! He lost the sight of that eye immediately. Later, sight in the other eye failed. Louis was now totally blind. A few years later, Louis was sitting in the family garden when a friend handed him a pine cone. As he ran his sensitive fingers over the cone, an idea came to him. He became enthusiastic and began to create an alphabet of raised dots on paper so that the blind could feel and interpret what was written. Thus, Louis Braille opened up a whole new world for the blind—all because of an accident!
Folks, God wants to turn your doubts and fears and spin them into usefulness. Will you let Him into your locked doors into open doors of service to others? Will you let Him open your eyes so that He can use you to open others’ eyes? Will you let Him speak peace and purpose into your doors of doubt?
