“Doubting Thomas” (John 20:19-31)

John 20:19-31

   

Pastor Tom Johnson, April 3, 2016

Thomas missed church last Sunday. That is what our reading tells us. The 10 other disciples gathered together the first day of the week. They locked and secured the doors because they feared a raid at any time—to be arrested and taken away just as they did to Jesus just days before. What did Thomas miss the previous Sunday? The resurrected Jesus! Jesus walked right through the locked doors in his glorified body! He said, “Shalom—peace be with you.” He showed them the marks in his hands where the nails pieced him. He displayed the wound in his side from the spear the soldier used to confirm he was dead. This is the Messiah who was pierced for our transgressions. This is the King of kings from whom blood and water poured out for the forgiveness of sins. Just as God breathed life into the nostrils of Adam to become a living being, Jesus breathes new life into the disciples’ nostrils with the Holy Spirit. He empowers them and commissions them to carry on his ministry of forgiveness. Thomas not only missed a prayerful gathering the previous Sunday. He missed an encounter with the eternal Son of God in his miraculous, glorified body—a body that still proclaimed his triumph over death. Thomas missed being encouraged and commissioned by the Messiah himself.

We call Thomas “Doubting Thomas.” Maybe he is regretful Thomas—or Johnny come lately Thomas. He is certainly cynical Thomas. “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—or, I will never believe.” He is tactile Thomas. It is not enough to see and believe. He wants to see and touch to verify that he is truly the resurrected Christ and not some apparition or ghost. He is wagering Thomas. His bet is that unless God grants him an opportunity for a personal encounter, he will never believe.

What I like about Thomas—besides his very fashionable name—is that he has the courage and honesty to speak truth. And he does so from his heart. Thomas says he will not believe unless he sees and touches Jesus. It encourages me that I have permission to admit my own doubts, cynicism, and bargaining with God. There have been times when I also entertained the idea that some clever first century Israelites came up with the Jesus myth. It’s okay for us to confess our anxiety about being truly alone in the universe. We are to cast all our cares upon God. That includes our admission that our faith is struggling, weak, or even on its last leg. And here is some good news: we are not saved by our faith that we conjure up on our own. We are saved through faith that God gives, faith that he strengthens, and faith that he nurtures. Faith is a gift. It’s okay to admit our cynicism. If you feel like you have been burned before, you are not alone. Think about Thomas: he saw the Messiah he trusted betrayed by one of the other disciples, thrown under the bus by the religious authorities, and violently killed by the Roman authority. It is sometimes difficult to learn to trust again. We have been let down personally, politically, and religiously. And like Thomas, we build a protective wall around us to prevent anyone from getting in. “Unless I am proven otherwise, I will not believe.”

“Unless my demand is met to see, touch Jesus’ body,” Thomas bargains with God, “I will never believe.” It is wise advice to never say never to God. Or if you do, expect God to defy our oaths. There are two reasons for this: First, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God” and, second, God has a sense of humor. It’s Sunday again. Thomas is there with the other disciples behind locked doors. And Jesus shows up again in his glorified body—his body that walks through walls and appears out of thin air. “Shalom—peace be with you,” Jesus says again. Then he turns to Thomas, and tells him to stick his fingers in the wounds where the nails pierced him. He invites him to put his hand where the spear pierced his side.

Jesus knows about Thomas’ wager. He calls him at his bluff. Because Thomas sees but never touches. And he says one of the greatest confessions of faith ever uttered: “My Lord and my God!” He sees with his eyes but does not touch with his fingers or his hands. Thomas loses his own bet. And Jesus, with his wry and gracious sense of humor, does not do what he does to win an argument. He does so to win a soul. And so he promises to graciously, lovingly, and humorously win the souls of the world. That is the way it works in the Kingdom of God, Jesus says. We walk by faith, not by sight. Those that follow will be blessed even though they do not see the resurrected Christ. We have life in his name—the strong name of Jesus who forgives, wins over, encourages, and gives assurane of eternal life.