We Are All Like Thomas
I suspect that none of us would want to be remembered for one of our weakest moments. Can you imagine if for all time someone attached a label to you that you could never shake? Clumsy Carolyn, Dumb Doug, Rude Rita, Selfish Sam. That would stink wouldn’t it? We’d probably protest, “C’mon, I did some good things too; don’t stick me with that for the rest of eternity.” Unfortunately, that is what happened to the apostle Thomas. People familiar with the Bible, when they hear the name Thomas tend to think, “Sure, Doubting Thomas.”
April 7, 2013
John 20:19-31, We Are All Like Thomas
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
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Even commentators paint Thomas with this broad brush and hear his few other comments in the Gospel of John through the unflattering filter of doubt, pessimism or sarcasm. Thomas is most remembered because he was slow to believe anything without sufficient evidence. Outside of the lists of the names of the disciples, Thomas is mentioned four other times in the New Testament. In John 11, when Jesus says he is going to Bethany, just outside Jerusalem to “wake up” Lazarus, regardless of the danger such a trip represents, Thomas is the one who has the courage to say (John 11:16), “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” In John 14:1-6 when Jesus is explaining to the disciples that he was about to go to his Father’s house and suggested that they knew “the way” he was going, Thomas the patron saint of the puzzled, confused, and slow to understand asked honestly, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going, how can we know the way?” Rather than criticizing Thomas for being a little slow, we should thank him for his willingness to ask questions when he doesn’t understand. If he hadn’t, we wouldn’t have one of Jesus’ best known quotes, John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Thomas is best known for what happened after Jesus’ resurrection. According to the fourth Gospel, Jesus appeared to the disciples Easter Sunday evening, but Thomas was not with them at the time. When they told Thomas they had seen Jesus, he didn’t believe them. Thomas believed only when he had enough evidence to convince him that an astounding miracle had occurred. Listen to John 20:19-31,
“19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “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.”
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
I think that we’re all like Thomas. Doubting is not unique to Thomas. None of the other disciples believed Mary Magdalene when she said she’d seen Jesus that first Easter morning. They were in the shock of grief. I’m sure the disciples had not wanted to consider what life would be like without Jesus. Most of us don’t want to think about what life will be like without someone we love. Whenever we do think about it, or when it happens to us, we may become gripped by fear. What would or will life be like for me without him or her? Locked in a room perhaps the disciples were pondering what life would be like for them without Jesus and what did this empty tomb news mean? They also were afraid wondering if they were next on the crucifixion hit list. All the gospels agree the disciples abandoned Jesus at the end. They didn’t expect to see him again regardless of everything he said to them. Note the sudden and surprising nature of these encounters with the disciples. Jesus intrudes into their midst. They don’t make him present. They weren’t praying he’d show up. They didn’t have an extra place set at the table. They’re frightened when Jesus appears. John indicates it’s only after Jesus showed them his hands and side that the disciples believed and were overjoyed.
Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” The risen Christ gives them his peace three times, each time followed by a message. The first time Jesus says, “Peace be with you,” he shows them his hands and side. Peace has a high price. He shows his wounds so that his friends know that the one who lives is also the one who was slain. Peace describes the new relationship with God secured through the obedience, righteousness, and death of Jesus for those who respond in trust and faith. Romans 5:1, says, “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Peace is a relationship not only with God but with other people. According to Hebrews 12:14, we are to “Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 13:11, encourages us to “live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
The first thing we need when we’re frightened is peace. There are times when all of us are afraid, but how we respond in the face of fear distinguishes us as Christians. Henry Ward Beecher wrote, “Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.” Jesus enters a room locked by fear and the power of his life drives away fear and brings faith & peace. Jesus is present in a new resurrected body which bears the wounds that resulted from his offer of forgiveness and peace with God.
Jesus says to the disciples a second time, “Peace be with you – as the Father has sent me so I send you.” The peace of Christ not only comes at a high price, it comes with an expectation of service. God sent Jesus into the world. Jesus sends his followers into the world. Jesus expects his church to speak, teach, heal, love, and to forgive in his name and on his behalf. Jesus is trusting his church to carry on his work and the church is dependent on Jesus. Without Jesus the church has no message and no power. The empowerment of the disciples, which enables them to carry on the mission of Jesus in the world, comes from the Holy Spirit, given by Jesus himself. The gift of the Spirit in John resembles Genesis 2:7 where God breathed into man and Ezekiel 37 where the Spirit of God moved over the dry and lifeless bones. God’s Spirit makes new life possible. God sent Jesus to love, heal, and forgive. In John 20, Jesus is instructing the disciples to go out and love, heal, and forgive in his name by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Think about it, this has been quite a day for the disciples. It began with the report of an empty tomb and word that Mary had seen the Lord. Now the rest of the disciples appear to be freed from the fear and doubt that had caused them to lock themselves up. They have seen the risen Lord. Thanks to the peace and forgiveness of Christ they’ve changed from a defeated group to an excited team. Rather than sitting around feeling sorry for themselves, Jesus himself has given them work to do. They’re to carry on his mission of reconciling human beings to God and to one another. What a day! The only problem is Thomas missed it all. Has that ever happened to you? Everyone else has a great or unbelievable experience and you missed it? Then they all tell you, “It was awesome, you should have been there!”
Thomas loved Jesus and maybe he wasn’t with the other disciples Easter evening the first time Jesus appeared because he wanted some time alone with his grief. Madeleine L’Engle wrote, “Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys.” Thomas has experienced a tragedy, he is about to experience a sudden, startling joy because for Thomas and for us, Jesus comes again a week later and says for the third time (John 20:26b-27), “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” We’re told the doors of the room were shut, but they are no longer locked in fear. For Thomas and for us, without believing there is a lack of peace. We are all like Thomas because he opens the door for all of us who were not there the first time to personally see, hear, and even touch Jesus after he rose from the dead.
The Gospel of John is the last of the Gospels to be written and the words spoken by Jesus in John 20 provide the transition from the life of Jesus to the story being lived out by the community of faith toward the end of the first century. They are those, like us, who have not seen yet believe and are blessed. Like the first disciples, rather than doubting or being fearful, we also are to live in confidence and faith. Pamela Reeve wrote the following about what Faith is…“The conviction of realities I cannot see or feel. Allowing God to straighten the record when false things have been said about me. Doing the right thing regardless of the consequences, knowing God will turn the ultimate effect to good. Remembering that in the kingdom of God everything is based on promise, not on feeling. Rejecting the feeling of panic when things seem out of control. Recognizing that God is the Lord of time when my idea of timing doesn’t agree with His. Depending on the fact that God is love, not on my ability to figure out WHY, in the midst of smashed hopes, reversal, or tragedy. Realizing that I am useful to God not in spite of my scars but because of them. Letting go of that which God is asking me for. Keeping on keeping on when I am dog-tired, discouraged, disillusioned, deserted, dusty dry- cast on His strength alone. Accepting the fact that God knows better than I do what is ultimately good for me. Living with the unexplained. Praising God through my tears when my sun is eclipsed. Walking before God, not before my friends.
Speaking the truth in love even at the cost of position or relationship.”
A briefer way of saying that is we need to learn to feed our faith and starve our doubts. Even when our worst fears are realized as they were for the disciples when Jesus was crucified, there is a peace that Christ can give to those who believe. Jesus is the key that unlocks the doors of fear and despair. Blaise Pascal wrote, “In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t.” That doesn’t necessarily mean Christ will change our circumstances, but his presence can change our attitude and perspective on our circumstances. Martin Luther King, Jr said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
Thomas’s response to Jesus is, “My Lord and my God.” This is the conclusion that John’s Gospel hopes we all will reach when we consider all that Jesus said and did. Christ brings peace and he gives us the Holy Spirit for power and guidance, but he only gives peace and the power of the Spirit to those who believe. The whole purpose of the Gospel of John is expressed in verses 30-31. It is written so that you, (insert your own name here), may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing ___________ may have life in his name. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Whoever would approach God must believe that God exists and that God rewards those who seek him.”
Prayer: Faithful Christ, we confess to You that our faith waivers and falls short. We allow doubts and fears to enter our lives and control our choices. We doubt the goodness of our brothers and sisters. We doubt our own ability to be of any help or hope to the world. We doubt the basics of our faith, that forgiveness is available, and that we through Christ also have the power and grace to forgive others. Christ, forgive us for our doubts and fears. Forgive us when we hold back instead of letting go. Draw us away from the path of sin into your path of hope, reconciliation and faithfulness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Blessing: “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15.