Sermon Title: Blessed Are Those Who Doubt and Still Believe

Sermon Text: John 20:

Sermon Date: April 15, 2007

If you were asked about the disciple Thomas, you would of course remember him as “Doubting Thomas.” The one who saw Jesus standing in front of him and still didn’t believe it was Jesus, the Messiah; Jesus, the one he had journeyed with for three years; Jesus, the one who died and was put into a tomb. No, he didn’t believe, even when everyone else did.

You may be interested to know that in the first three gospels we are told absolutely nothing at all about Thomas. It is only in John's Gospel that he emerges as a distinct personality, but even then there are only 155 words about him. There is not a lot about this disciple in the Bible but there is more than one description.
When Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem the disciples thought that it would be certain death for all of them. Surprisingly, it was Thomas who said that they should all go so that they could die with him. It was a courageous statement, yet we don't remember him for that.

We also fail to point out that in this story of Thomas' doubt we have the one place in the all the Gospels where the Divinity of Christ is bluntly and unequivocally stated.
It is interesting, is it not, that the story that gives Thomas his infamous nickname, is the same story that has Thomas making an earth shattering confession of faith? Look at his confession, "My Lord, and my God." Not teacher. Not Lord. Not Messiah. But God! It is the only place where Jesus is called God without qualification of any kind. It is uttered with conviction as if Thomas was simply recognizing a fact, just as 2 + 2 = 4, and the sun is in the sky. You are my Lord and my God! These are certainly not the words of a doubter.

I wonder where Thomas was when the other disciples had first seen Jesus. Was he off in solitude grieving? Or hiding in fear of being discovered as a disciple of Jesus? Regardless of the reason, he missed that first appearance, yet he wasn’t totally left out. The story isn’t over yet – not for Thomas and certainly not for us. We can learn a lot from Thomas even there are only 155 words. (www.sermonillustrations.com)

One of the beautiful things that happens here is that Jesus didn’t blame Thomas. He doesn’t offer forgiveness because he hasn’t done anything that Jesus doesn’t understand.

Does Jesus want to be recognized immediately by Thomas? Does he want Thomas to recognize him without the benefit of proof? Sure, but we wouldn’t resonate with him the same if he had.

We have trouble identifying with Judas who betrayed Jesus because we can’t imagine ourselves doing that. We have some understanding with Peter because we might have denied even knowing Jesus if our lives were on the line, but we hope not. However we can fully identify with Thomas because if Jesus walked in here right now, we wouldn’t recognize him either.

Of course we have an excuse. We don’t know what he looks like. The millions of pictures out there have no basis of fact behind them. The picture we have in the lounge looks like a Jesus who grew up in California, not Israel. So how could we recognize Jesus?

So Jesus can’t blame us either. We have an airtight excuse, don’t we?

Another thing we can learn from Thomas is that the most endearing things in life can never be proven.

Imagine if you will what Thomas’ life must have been like following that moment. Can you see him falling to his knees, calling out to his Lord and God? Can’t you see him lying awake that night playing the tape over again and again in his head…..”He’s alive! He’s alive! He is God! And I didn’t believe but now I do.”

Jesus says that he wishes that we would believe with proof but in this case the proof is what Thomas needed. And Jesus was willing to give him what he needed. Yet for us, several thousand years later, it can be just a story, words on a printed page, without faith. But for Thomas it was an earth-shattering moment. He stood there looking at the proof.

But what proof do we actually have that Jesus rose from a tomb? What proof do we actually have that Jesus actually existed at all? Sure, historians say he existed but who alive today saw him? Talked to him? Put a hand into his side and touched the scars on his hands? Who?

Around 33% of Americans say they attend church or temple once a week. Another 10% say they attend almost every week and yet another 10% say they attend once a month. My cynical self says those numbers are high but still it says that 53% of Americans think they should be in worship, worshiping a God who exists without proof. (Gallup Polls, March 26-29, 2007)

Are we all delusional? Of course that is a possibility, but it is far more likely that we have found that we can live without the proof because God is real in our lives and we want more of what we have already found. We have found that faith in God and Jesus Christ offers us the life-changing experience that Thomas felt.

And some of us know the difference in our lives when we don’t believe. Others, many in fact, have never known a life with believing in God. You have gone to church every Sunday, taught Sunday school or been a deacon. You have never had a time in your life when you didn’t believe in God, not one. God’s existence has never been an issue for you.

However HOW God works may have been. I know that that is where my doubts come in. Not whether God exists but how God works in the world today. And if I am not careful I can spend a lot time obsessing about how God works than if God exists. My doubting Thomas side comes out too.

There have been a lot of discussions this past week about Don Imus, the well-known, formerly employed, radio personality. I say “formerly employed” because on the air recently he called the Rutger’s women’s basketball team a very bad word. You’ve heard it on the television so I don’t need to go there.

He didn’t call these young women this negative word because they had been arrested for prostitution the night before. In fact they had been playing against Tennessee in the women’s championship ballgame so they had nothing to warrant his negativity. But it is his style apparently and this time the words got away from him. And it cost him dearly.

What does doubt have to do with this? Thomas isn’t doubting the existence of God in the big picture. He is doubting the presence of God in that moment.

We do that a lot, you know. We doubt the presence of God in the moment.

When we think about the God we love and the God who loves us we must never doubt that God loves everyone else too. If you really believe in God, you cannot doubt that God cares as much for all of us as God does for you. You are the center of God’s universe but so is everyone else. And one can argue about freedom of speech, but don’t think for a moment that God’s heart wasn’t hurting when these bright young women were slurred on national radio and television. Don’t think God’s heart doesn’t hurt every time a rap song does the same thing. Don’t think God’s heart doesn’t hurt every time we say something negative about someone’s race or their gender or sexual orientation or financial situation. This battle cannot end with Don Imus because it didn’t start with him.

We must move beyond doubt into faith. Doubt isn’t a terrible place to visit but you don’t want to move in there. Don’t let doubt in Jesus and God’s desire for us to live in harmony take over your beliefs.

Should Imus be forgiven for his actions, particularly since he asked for forgiveness? Absolutely. And as I understand it, the Rutger’s team has accepted his apology and are now working on forgiving him. And it will come. But there are consequences for our actions when we hurt others. Fortunately for us the wonderful grace of Jesus will be with us during the earthly consequences. Never doubt that either.