John 20:24-29 – From Doubting to Doing
Harriet, the church gossip and self-appointed supervisor of the church’s morals, kept sticking her nose into other people’s business. Several residents were unappreciative of her activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence.
She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his pickup truck parked all afternoon in front of the town’s only bar. She commented to George and others that everyone seeing it there would know that he was an alcoholic.
George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and then just walked away. He said nothing. Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Harriet’s house and left it there all night.
Sometimes sight is not the best sense to use in order to determine what is real and what is not. Our eyes cannot always determine truth. Something may look real and not be, like George and Harriet; but something else may not be seen at all but be very real, like the air you breathe. And it requires faith to turn doubts into action.
We look today at Thomas, from John 20:24-29. This is Jesus’ 6th appearance after His resurrection, exactly one week later. The rumors had been flying, but many people still claimed to have seen Him, including most of His disciples. Except Thomas. Thomas had not been around when Jesus appeared to the other disciples behind locked doors 7 days before. We don’t know where Thomas was that first day. Perhaps due to fear, depression, disillusionment, discouragement, withdrawal seemed to be his only method of dealing with the supposed loss of his friend and master, Jesus.
Folks, let me tell you: when you get depressed, where do you go? Do you run from others? Do you hide? Do you get away from it all? Do you pretend it’s not happening? Or do you get with others who could help you? Folks, it’s OK to hurt, to bleed. It’s OK to be depressed from time to time. It’s OK to not be perfect, or functioning perfectly 100% of the time. You certainly don’t need to escape from reality for long periods of time when you’re hurt. Let’s be a kind of church that people can turn to in troubles, not run away from.
So the disciples told Thomas afterwards: v25a. But Thomas was not ready to get over hurting that easily. As much as he wanted to believe, he could not simply accept the accounts of others without proof: v25b. We look back and scoff. We look back and say, “How could he not believe? Jesus told him He would rise from the dead? All his buddies had seen Him? Thomas was a fool for not believing.” Oh?
The world is full of people who behave the same way, even among Christian circles: “I will not believe unless…”
- We want the Church to be a place filled with perfect and holy people so that we can believe in it, and believe there is goodness in the world.
- We want the minister to preach eloquent sermons so that the gospel can make sense to us.
- We want our lives to be free of suffering and pain so that we can believe in the goodness of God.
- We want God to answer our prayers so that we can keep on believing God is interested in our lives.
- We want to have religious experiences of Jesus and of the Spirit so that we can prove that God’s presence is real and that therefore God himself is real.
- We want the Gospel, the Church, the Bible, even other Christians, to keep on giving us proofs, proofs, proofs, proofs!
You have to understand one thing about Thomas. He probably does not deserve the nickname of “Doubter”. There are 3 pictures of Thomas in the gospel of John. The first one, John 11, tells us that he was willing to follow Jesus, even if that meant dying with Him. The second one, John 14, shows that Thomas was willing to ask the question: How can we follow you if we don’t know where you are going? That is, we want to follow you, but aren’t sure how. Folks, these are not statements made by a doubter. These are statements made by a follower. Thomas was, above all, a follower of Jesus. But in the course of events, he became discouraged. And he needed more than what others were saying in order to have faith again.
What about you? Are you discouraged? In your walk with the Lord, has something happened to bring doubts into your mind? Are you looking for proof of Jesus’ love, of God’s power, of the Spirit’s usefulness in your life?
Well, the good news is, even as Thomas was looking for proof, proof came looking for him. V26. Behind closed, locked doors of fear, Jesus once again appeared. He met the confused and frustrated followers where they were at, not simply waiting for them to rise to His level. And something very encouraging: v27. Jesus looked right at Thomas, the one who loved Jesus but got lost in doubts, and singled him out. Folks, if you are lost, Jesus is looking for you. The Bible says He would leave the 99 to find the lost 1. If you were the only one who needed it, He would come looking for you.
Jesus said, “Friend, what will it take to cause you to believe? What must I do to end those doubts in your mind? What will it take to bring you back to faith and allegiance to me?” So what will it take? What must Jesus do to help you to believe again? To take you past the words of others? Past the locked doors of discouragement and doubt? What has He got to do to show you that He is real and alive and absolutely filled with love for you, no matter who you are or where you’ve been? What does He have to do to show you that He cares for you, and wants to lift you up out of the pigpen you’re in today?
Folks, Jesus wants to show up in your life. He wants to be as real to you as the person you’re sitting beside. He wants you to know that you matter to God. You are of infinite importance, and if you are really seeking Him, He will go to no end to prove that to you. If you’re a scoffer, wanting to prove everyone wrong, it’s amazing how He will let you delight in your ignorance. But if you are seeking Him, seeking help, seeking a way out, seeking an end to your broken heart, He will show you what He did for you. He will take you to the cross, where He suffered the torture for you. He will take you to His nail-scarred hands, and say, “This I did for you.” He will take you to the hole in His side, where blood flowed from His pierced heart, and water flowed from His pierced pericardium, the sac of liquid surrounding the heart, and say, “My heart was broken because of your disobedience, but I will make your heart whole and fulfilled.”
And when Thomas saw all that Jesus was offering to Him, he believed. He cried out: v28. He said, “My master and my Maker.” He said, “All I have I give to you, because You gave it to me first.” You see, Thomas wasn’t a doubter – he just wanted something to believe in. He wasn’t content with what others said – he had to experience it himself. He wanted to use his eyes to see what he could commit his life to. He wanted to be sure of what he wanted to commit his life to.
And Jesus wants to do the same for you. He wants to show up behind the closed doors of your life, and say, “See how I died for you,” and then call you to live for Him, a life fuller and more abundant, more prosperous and useful. He wants to take you past the doubts in your life that hold you back from serving Him with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul and all your strength. He is calling you to a cause bigger than yourself. The risen Lord Jesus is calling you to new life following Him. And if you don’t live with a passion and purpose, meaning and fulfillment, you haven’t found all that Jesus died to give you.
Folks, what will it take for you to trust Him in faith in all issues in your life: financial, emotional, spiritual, sexual, relational, or marital?
What will it take for you to believe that you matter to God? What will it take for you to believe that if people do not find Jesus on earth, they will go to hell? What will it take for you to believe that God made you to be included in the process to bring them back to Him? What will it take for you to believe that church is not a matter of do’s and don’ts but of relationship? What will it take for you to believe that God loves you just exactly the way you are, but loves you too much to let you stay that way? What will it take for you to believe that He wants to take you further in your walk instead of letting you stagnate like maybe you’ve been doing for too long? What will it take for you to believe that there’s more for you than coming week after week, festering in that critical nature, judging all that happens here, sitting back waiting to be entertained? What will it take for you to believe that you’re more like a doubting Thomas than a following Thomas?
Today I am calling you to deeper walk of faith. I am calling you to step up in faith. Trust His Word on all levels. Take Him at His Word. He is calling you to fall in love with Him. And He’s calling you to do all you can for as long as you can to help others fall in love with Him. The Bible verse on front of the bulletins tells us that where the river flows, everything will live. Jesus is calling you to live, and to help others find life also. Are you alive? Do you have that life? Do you need that life? Do you want that life? Today I am calling you to step out and embrace by faith the life that Jesus gives to those who know Him well. Will you believe? V29: "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
