Doubting Scott

John 20:25-29

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Kids will argue about the strangest things, won’t they? I’d be willing to bet that on any playground in America, there’s an argument going on going something like this.

“My dad’s so strong that I saw him lift up an entire house.”

“Nuh-uh. That’s impossible.”

“I saw him do it. Really?”

“Well, then prove it.”

As silly as that sounds in the moment, it feels very real to those children, doesn’t it? On one hand, the child isn’t crazy for having faith in his father. In his mind, his father can literally do anything, right? But on the other hand, the kid he’s arguing with he isn’t crazy either, because he wants proof to prove this outlandish claim. In our text today, we have a situation just like this in the Gospel of John, where the disciples tell Thomas that Christ has risen from the dead. And Thomas says,

“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.” (John 20:25)

In essence, this interaction is like the two kids in the playground shouting prove it! I’m guessing that if we were in Thomas’s shoes, we’d be saying the exact same thing. And then eight days later, Jesus appears to the disciples and to Thomas, and the first thing he says is, peace be with you. But the next thing he does is approach Thomas and say,

“Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (John 20:27)

And Thomas replies, my Lord and my God. (John 20:28)

And Jesus later says,

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

Now I think we’d all like to believe that we would be one of the ones who would believe without seeing. Right? But the reality is, is that if you and I were at this, in this room that day, it’s very likely that account would be about you and me. They would call me Doubting Scott. And the reality is, is we’re all guilty of that same doubt in our lives. We all doubt the resurrected power of Jesus when we can’t clearly see him. Sometimes we doubt him when we receive that cancer diagnosis, or when our marriage is struggling, or when our prayers go seemingly unanswered, or when we lose our job, or when our child gets sick, and maybe we don’t say it in the same way that Thomas did, but with our thoughts and our sins, we proclaim that I won’t believe it unless I see it.

But notice that Jesus doesn’t rebuke Thomas for having doubts or questions. No, he comes to Thomas with his word, his comforting word of peace. And he says, place your hand into my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. And although we don’t get to place our hands into the side of Jesus the same way Thomas did, Jesus is still approaching you in the same way he approached Thomas through his comforting word, the word that attests that he appeared over 500 people after he rose from the dead and engaged all of their senses to prove to them that he really was the resurrected Christ, the same Christ they had seen crucified on a cross only a few days earlier.

And those people were so moved by what they saw and sensed with all of their senses that Jesus was truly alive. They went around the world proclaiming in an outlandish way that my God is so strong that he raised Jesus from the dead. And today, Christ is proving his resurrection to you today through His Word, through your baptism, and through Holy Communion. He’s engaging all of your senses to prove to you that he really did rise from the dead. And if he really did rise from the dead, then you can have full comfort and confidence and conviction that your sins are truly forgiven, that you too will rise again, just as Jesus did on the last day. And don’t you doubt it.

So may the grace of our risen Lord Jesus Christ. Guard and keep your heart in undoubting belief and faith and obedience to him. Amen.