On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So 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.”
A 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!” Then 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.”Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But 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. (John 20:19-31)
“I will rise.” Isn’t that an awesome song? It brings tears to my eyes. A beautiful choir. A packed church. Powerful words: “I will rise when he calls my name; no more sorrow, no more pain. I will rise on eagles’ wings; before my God, fall on my knees and rise. I will rise.” Yes!
But then you look around you today. There’s no choir, unless you count your dog barking. No beautiful church. Actually, for a lot of us, there’s no people at all. It’s just you. And you wonder: Is that really true? “I will rise! No more sorrow, no more pain…” That’s sure hard to believe when you’re sitting all alone, isn’t it? Instead, there’s doubts… Maybe you’re with family. What a blessing! Your spouse next to you. Your children asking how much longer until the service is over… Family is a blessing! But let’s be honest. It’s not easy to be altogether. All day. You don’t want this to last forever. Nothing is good enough to last forever! So is heaven? There’s doubts…
On Easter, we celebrated Jesus’ victory. But COVID-19 is sure putting up a pretty good fight. “I will rise!” Those words seem so far away, don’t they? Maybe even too good to be true. You’re stuck at home. Not rising. Not even going to the store. “I will rise?” Really? There’s doubts…
That sounds a lot like Easter. If being in lockdown last Sunday didn’t feel like Easter, we’ve got it all wrong. That’s exactly what Easter was like! “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews…” Those disciples were in lockdown. Like a self-quarantine! They didn’t even get to watch a service online. That first Easter was really a day of doubts. Remember how that day went? Some women got up early and went to the tomb, but an angel told them Jesus had risen. Really? Mary Magdalene ran back to tell the disciples, but they didn’t believe her. How could they? Peter and John ran to the tomb, but there was nobody there. Rumors were flying. It was so hard to know what to believe.
Then the reports started to change. People actually saw Jesus. Did they really? Who knew? Mary Magdalene saw and talked with Jesus outside his tomb. Jesus appeared to those women as they returned to their homes. Jesus appeared to Peter and to two men on the road to Emmaus. So it was time for a party, right? Pull out the ham… Except they couldn’t eat ham. So steaks on the grill! No. There was none of that. It was all too much to believe. It was too good to be true.
So do you know how Easter really looked? Like a pandemic. The disciples were locked in a room in fear. Nobody went out. Nobody went in. Nobody knew what would happen next. Locked in your house on Easter? Maybe that’s how it should be! Easter was a day of doubts.
And there was this big elephant in the room. Not a real elephant. A big problem that no one wanted to talk about. Remember what the disciples had done the last time they were with Jesus? They abandoned him. When Jesus was arrested, they all fled. When Jesus needed them most, they turned their backs on him. So how do you think those disciples felt? Ashamed! You know that feeling. That crushing weight of guilt. You just want to disappear. You want to make it go away. But you can’t. Even if Jesus had been raised from the dead, what would Jesus want with them? They were the last people on earth to deserve anything good. They were sinful. So unbelievably sinful. What would Jesus do to them? Easter was a day of doubts.
Do you have doubts too? It’s okay to admit it. Often we Christians don’t want anyone to know the doubts we hide inside. But they’re there, aren’t they? “I will rise when he calls my name…” Are you sure? It sounds great in a packed church. But when you’re sitting at home trying not to take another drink, is that really true? When you have time to think, I know your sins haunt you too. All the times you’ve abandoned Jesus. That feeling of shame that you just can’t shake. You wish you could go back and do it over again. But you can’t! We’re sinful. So unbelievably sinful.
If we’re being honest about our doubts, can I share one of mine? It’s hard for me to comprehend eternity. Don’t get me wrong, going to heaven sounds good! It’s the forever part that gets me. Nothing seems good enough to last forever, does it? Do I really want to live forever? When the devil sees an opening, the doubts begin to swirl. What happens? Your heart begins to pound. You get dizzy. Hot. Your stomach tightens. Doubt is such a powerful force, isn’t it? It even affects our bodies. I can’t speak for you, but my doubts about Jesus and heaven rob me of peace.
So what would Jesus say? He tells us! “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them…” What did he say to those doubters? “What’s your problem? Why don’t you believe? I’ve had it with you guys!” Nope. “Jesus stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’” If you’re doubting today, Jesus brings you peace. Peace for the doubting. When Jesus said those simple words, “Peace be with you,” I bet hearts stopped pounding. Relief flooded their anxious bodies. There was no mention of their sin. No mention of their doubt. Just “peace be with you.”
“After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.” Jesus came to take every doubt away. So “he showed them his hands and side.” The same hands that were nailed for them. Right there! The same side that was pierced for them. Right there! The same body that had died for them had risen for them too. It was true! It was really true! “The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” Can you imagine their joy? Just like Jesus had promised. On the night before he died, Jesus had promised, “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:22). It was true! “No one will take away your joy.”
Here’s what that peace from Jesus was based on. Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you….Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgiven them, they are not forgiven.” What does Jesus’ peace depend on? The forgiveness of sins! This is what Christianity is all about. Not some “world peace.” Not the absence of sickness or suffering in our lives. Jesus’ peace comes from forgiveness. Abandoning Jesus? Forgiven. Doubting Jesus? Forgiven. Not just for them. For everyone who believes in Jesus. This was to be the disciples’ message to the world—peace through the forgiveness of sins. Those disciples were the perfect ones to share it. They had tested the product. They knew the peace of forgiveness.
I bet they were ready to set the world on fire! But then they couldn’t even convince their friend Thomas. “Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So 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.’” Sound familiar? “I’ll believe it when I see it!” Heard that one? Said that one? Far from setting the world on fire, those disciples couldn’t even get one friend to believe them! Being a Christian is hard, isn’t it? When other people don’t believe, our doubts come right back.
But Jesus wasn’t done. The next Sunday evening, everybody was in the same place. Back on lockdown. This time, Thomas was with them. Jesus appeared again. What would you expect him to say to Thomas? “What’s your problem? Why don’t you believe? I’ve had it with you!” We’ve been through this before, remember? So you know what Jesus said: “Peace be with you!” Not only that, but remember Thomas’ demand to touch Jesus? Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Have you ever seen a person’s mouth hanging open? That must have been Thomas! He said, “My Lord and my God!” Suddenly, everything was clear. “This guy who just rose from the dead, appeared through a locked door, and promised me complete forgiveness and peace… This has to be God!” That’s what Jesus wants. For you. For me. For every person on earth. Jesus doesn’t want there to be any doubt. He is risen. He is risen indeed! Thomas saw Jesus. Thomas got it! Christian tradition tells us that this same “doubting Thomas” traveled further as a Christian missionary than any of the other disciples. He is said to have gone all the way to India, where he died for his faith in Jesus. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Jesus brings peace to the doubting!
But I didn’t see Jesus. Did you? No? You know what? You’re so blessed! Really? Jesus said to those disciples: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Salvation doesn’t depend on seeing Jesus. Salvation depends on believing in Jesus. Actually, Jesus praises your faith because by God’s grace you believe in Jesus without seeing him at all. I know that your life might not look great. I know that the doubts seem so real. But remember this, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
There were two men who decided to cross the Grand Canyon. One man had a ton of faith. He strung a piece of dental floss across the Grand Canyon and tied it on each end. He was sure he could walk right across on that piece of floss. Do you think he made it? No way! He had a lot of faith, but he trusted in the wrong thing—a piece of floss! The other man had the tiniest faith imaginable. He was so scared. He decided to cross the Grand Canyon on a solid steel bridge with steel beams and a concrete deck stretching all the way across. Even with that, he was still scared. So he got down on his hands and knees and crawled across inch by inch. Do you think he made it? Of course! Because it’s not the size of the faith that saves, it’s the size of your Savior.
John ends our story of doubt with these powerful words: “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.” This is what Christianity is all about. Salvation by faith. By believing in Jesus. Jesus is so good. Jesus is so strong. Jesus appears to you in God’s Word over and over and over again and says, “Peace be with you.” Whenever you doubt, its not about the size of your faith. It’s about the size of your Savior. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. By believing you have life in his name!
That means that when the struggles continue, when the lockdown goes on, when the devil still pesters, when the doubts still come, you can still say with faith, “I will rise when he calls my name; no more sorrow, no more pain. I will rise on eagles’ wings; before my God, fall on my knees and rise. I will rise.” You will rise! Jesus brings peace for the doubting. Amen!
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