John 20:24-31 (NIV)
24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not
with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples
told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks
in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and
put my hand into his side, I will not believe
it."
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with
them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace
be with you!" 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here;
see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting
and believe."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed;
blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which
are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have
life in his name.
It’s been said that “there is no such thing
as bad publicity.”
This morning, in the first of our series on People Jesus
Touched, we’re going to look at the disciple Thomas—a
man who just might question that statement!
Thomas AKA—“Doubting Thomas”!
You know—he was the one who wouldn’t believe
in Jesus’ resurrection. He was the one who questioned
when he should have believed.
But, as is often the case, the whole story isn’t quite
so straightforward—quite so simple. Indeed, if we look
at the Scriptural accounts of Thomas we might be led to be
a bit more sympathetic. John’s Gospel gives us the
best clues about Thomas. John highlights our friend on
three separate occasions.
In Chapter 11, John tells us of Jesus and the disciples
hearing of the death of their friend, Lazarus. As Jesus
prepared to go to Lazarus, Thomas came to the fore and said, “Let
us (meaning the disciples) also go, that we might die with
Him” (meaning Jesus).
Clearly Thomas saw Jesus’ return to Bethany as dangerous.
Yet Thomas showed courage in rallying the others to go
along. With his Lord, Thomas was ready to take on anything
or anyone.
We also see here a hint of pessimism in Thomas’ character.
He’s pessimistic in that he expects the worst. He spoke
of the worst possible scenario—death for Jesus and
death for the disciples. We don’t see any hope, on
his part, that the trip would go well. Not hope for the
best but expectation of the worst.
So, in Chapter 11, we are shown Thomas’ courage
and pessimism.
In Chapter 14, John sheds some more light upon Thomas.
Here Jesus told the disciples that He must go away. He
predicted
His death. Thomas responded to this frightening thought
with these words, “Lord, we don’t know
where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Thomas was searching, seeking, questioning.
How could Jesus leave them?
Where was He going?
What would they do without Him?
Thomas couldn’t relate to the possibility that Jesus
wouldn’t be with them. Thomas couldn’t pick
up on the symbolism.
Here we find Thomas to be a very concrete, practical person.
And so, if Jesus was there, he was okay.
If Thomas could be involved in a concrete way, he was fine.
If Jesus was going off to Bethany with danger awaiting,
let’s all go and face whatever comes.
But if Jesus was going away to some place Thomas couldn’t
fathom, then just hold on a minute!
Thomas’ pessimistic, practical nature came to the
fore when the One who held his life together—his Lord—was
taken away. More than simply taken away—Jesus was crucified—dead
and buried.
Given his mindset is it any wonder that Thomas balked when
told that Jesus was alive again? Thomas needed a practical,
real witness of his own, rather than the excited assurances
of others.
So in Chapter 20, after the supposed resurrection, Thomas
made his demands known—his demands that needed to
be met if he was to believe.
To see the nail marks.
To put his finger in the holes.
To place his hand in Jesus’ side where the spear
had left its mark.
If his demands weren’t met, Thomas couldn’t
believe.
Certainly, there’s doubt here. But I think we can
see that it was fuelled by the kind of person Thomas was
and the situation he found himself in. This wasn’t
doubt born of simple stubbornness or lack of interest. It
wasn’t that Thomas wouldn’t believe. It was that
Thomas couldn’t believe. This was doubt born of fear
and loss and grief—not arrogance.
Jesus knew that.
Jesus understood.
Jesus’ response?
It wasn’t a response of anger.
It wasn’t a rebuke.
It wasn’t a put down.
Instead the Lord came to Thomas and met every one of his
demands gently, beautifully and graciously.
“Put your finger here,” Jesus said.
“ See my hands.”
“ Place your hand in my side.”
“Do these things—these things you need to do—do
them and believe.”
There are lots of people like Thomas. People who want to
believe. People who know there’s something to this
thing called faith but something else seems to get in the
way. Perhaps it’s a practical nature—or a pessimistic
view of life—or some baggage from the past.
How can we be of help when people are searching for Christ’s
truth?
As always we turn to Christ. We learn from the Lord. Jesus’ attitude
and actions speak to us.
Jesus’ attitude was one of acceptance and love. He
came to Thomas with understanding. He came to Thomas where
Thomas was at—not where others thought Thomas should
be.
It’s so easy to pass judgement on others because they
see things differently or need different experiences to come
to grips with various aspects of life. People don’t
relate to the same things in the same ways. What makes
perfect sense to one person leaves another person in a
mental fog.
Love and acceptance bridge those kinds of gaps better than
anything else.
When it comes to faith, we come in different ways to Christ.
We can show love to others by not trying to cram them into
our faith experience box.
Perhaps someone is searching for the truth about God but
is also very angry with the Church in which they were brought
up. Are we able to see that, for them, God may equal that
Church? All the talk about God being love is drowned out
by conflicted memories. Are we able to let them be themselves—have
their feelings—relate their experiences without getting
defensive? Are we able to let God defend Himself?
Perhaps someone is searching for God but has no knowledge
of the Christian jargon we use. Phrases like “faith
journey”, “relationship with Christ”, “accepting
Christ as Saviour,” really mean nothing to them.
They haven’t been given the definitions. They’re
operating from a different dictionary. Are we willing
to recognize that? Are we ready to adjust our words
to everyday,
common English to make ourselves understood?
Acceptance and love means we try to understand and relate
to where the other person is. That takes lots of time—lots
of patience—lots of listening.
Minister and author, Chuck Swindoll, once found himself
with too many commitments in too few days. He got nervous
and tense about it. He was doing everything at break neck
speed. Before long, things around the home started reflecting
the patter of his hurry-up style.
He distinctly remembers after supper one evening, the words
of his younger daughter, Colleen. She wanted to tell him
something important that had happened to her at school that
day.
She began hurriedly, 'Daddy, I wanna tell you somethin' and
I'll tell you really fast.'
Suddenly realizing her frustration, he answered, 'Honey,
you can tell me—and you don't have to tell me really
fast. Say it slowly."
He never forgot her answer: she said, 'Then listen slowly.'"
Understanding takes lots of time—lots of patience—lots
of listening—listening slowly.
We also can learn from Jesus’ actions. Thomas needed
concrete evidence to help him. Jesus provided concrete
evidence.
Many people today feel faith and Christianity are all philosophy
and theory. They don’t want to hear what Christ did—they
want to see what Christians do. We need constant reminders
that Christianity is something lived—lived concretely.
Many who shun Christianity do so because they’ve
seen Christians act in ways that deserve shunning.
As we live our faith out concretely, we meet all kinds of
people. People who are searching—people who are listening—people
who are watching. We provide evidence of our faith by the
way we live our lives. Faith plus action equals Christian
living. Talking about God isn’t enough. God must
show through in our lives.
We aren’t just people who believe in Christ—we
are people who represent Christ to the world. We are ambassadors
of our Lord. That’s a 24-7 commitment.
Many people are questioning and searching for God. In Christ
we know and experience God in a unique and special way. In
Christ we are to live according to that knowledge and experience.
That’s one of the reasons we are asking various community
agencies to come and speak to us. Whether they are Christian
or secular based the point is they are making an important
difference in our community for those in need. They need
our support. An important part of our commitment to live
as disciples is to show our concern and offer our help—to
Herizon House and other community service organizations.
Please take some time today to learn more about Herizon
House and how you can be of help.
A grandmother and a little girl whose face was sprinkled
with bright red freckles were waiting in line to get their
cheeks painted by a local artist who was decorating them
with tiger paws.
"
You've got so many freckles, there's no place to paint!" a
boy in the line shouted. Embarrassed, the little girl dropped
her head.
Her grandmother knelt down next to her. "I love your
freckles," she said.
"
Not me," the girl replied.
"
Well, when I was a little girl I always wanted freckles",
Grandma said, tracing her finger across the child's cheek. "Freckles
are beautiful!"
The girl looked up. "Really?"
"
Of course," said the grandmother. "Why, just
name me one thing that's prettier than freckles."
The little girl peered into the old woman's smiling face. "Wrinkles," she
answered softly.
One person’s freckle—one person’s wrinkle—one
person’s doubt—one person’s search—is
another person’s opportunity—an opportunity to
show acceptance and love— an opportunity to find out
about needs in our community— an opportunity to show
our faith in action.
(1629)
© The Rev. Dennis Cook, St. Timothy’s Presbyterian
Church, Ajax, ON, Canada
