Weeping, Fear, and Skepticism: When We Doubt / are Skeptical

April 7

Read: John 20:11-29

Weeping, Fear, and Skepticism:

When We Doubt / are Skeptical

When Jesus arose from the grave his first three stops were to one who was weeping, ones who were afraid, and to one in particular who was skeptical and seeking proof. I don’t know about you, but it is comforting to me to see our savior meeting his brothers and sisters where they are in this world. I can relate to all of these characters in one way or another. There are times in life when one’s eyes are filled with tears of sadness… times when we are scared about what is going on around us… times of fear regarding what the future holds… and even times that we doubt the messages of goodness that others tell - we are hungry for PROOF that God is indeed real and good! The RISEN and LIVING Jesus meets God’s people in every one of those circumstances.

“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (v. 24,25)

Thomas gets a bad wrap. People call him “doubting Thomas”. But is that fair? is that even correct? Thomas seems like the only one of the disciples not holed up in a room in fear which is why he wasn’t there the first time Jesus showed up! Why don’t we call him “brave Thomas”? Or “unafraid Thomas”? The truth is, Thomas is like most of us… he longs to experience the risen Lord. I don’t blame Thomas for “not believing” until he experiences Jesus as ALIVE in a way that is real and tangible to him. I don’t blame others either.

I don’t think it is wrong for us to want to experience Jesus. All Thomas was asking was this: if Jesus is REALLY alive, in the way and manner you are saying he is TRULY ALIVE, then I want to experience it for myself. I want to put my hands in his wounds. I want to know it is actually him… JESUS. This is not an evil “doubting” or a malicious “skepticism”… it is not wrong to want to experience Jesus the way that we are being told we can experience Jesus! If what we say win Sunday is true - then we shouldn’t be mad when people ask to see it on Monday… in real life… in the midst of REAL situations. How often do we speak about Jesus, and then get frustrated when people want to be able to experience him the way that we are speaking about him?

What is crazy is that Jesus does not give us any indication that he is angry, disappointed, or frustrated with Thomas. In fact, Jesus shows up again and reveals himself to Thomas! Look at Jesus’ words to Thomas:

“Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (v.29)

I know that we often read this comment with a condescending tone (you know, because more often than not we are taught that Jesus is perpetually frustrated with the disciples; eye-roll) but what if it is more a statement of fact? Jesus is telling Thomas and us that there WILL BE an entire category of followers… true believers… who will not have the privilege to experience Jesus the way that Thomas does. Jesus is not saying that longing to experience him in the way that he is currently making himself known and available is a bad thing, he is simply saying it won’t always be this way! This goes along with many of his previous warnings that he will not always be with them in a bodily form. (cf. Matt 26:11, John 14,16) We - as humans - do not get to set the terms for how we experience Christ, BUT there is NOTHING WRONG with longing to experience Jesus on the terms HE has given us and told us about. I think it is SAD that followers of Jesus expect SO LITTLE actual interaction with or experience in reality of what they Jesus himself tells us in his word! (If you doubt this phenomenon, just go back and read John 1:50,51, 14:12-14, etc.)

Jesus loves to meet the “skeptic” who longs to experience the reality of who he is! Jesus is not frustrated with or ashamed of the one who seeks to experience him. Jesus knows that right now - as it currently stands - we do not get to experience him by “seeing him” the way that Thomas did. This does not mean he is unwilling or unable to reveal himself in other powerful and REAL ways. As long as people are made to feel “bad” (or as if they are “lacking faith”) because they are eager to “see for themselves” I think they will miss out on experiencing Jesus in powerful ways which STRENGTHEN their “belief”. You SHOULD expect Jesus to show up and he will. The word of God contains many promises and pathways that declare Jesus is indeed WITH US NOW. It is not wrong to want to experience his presence in ways that are “real” to us, it is simply that those ways are shaped by him and how the Son of God is being revealed to us NOW. So here is to BRAVE THOMAS who was unafraid and wild enough to believe that a LIVING SAVIOR would come close enough to him that he could touch him! It is wild to think that Mary was not allowed to hug him… but Thomas was allowed to touch his wounds. Jesus lets Thomas come closer to him than anyone else in the story since his resurrection! Love you guys. - JDP