Sermon
March 22, 2020 Doubting Thomas John 20:19-31
We have seen in the last few weeks Jesus enter Jerusalem, be crucified on a cross and rise from the dead. We all know what Jesus did for us, but this week's readings are asking if we believe. Do we need to see as Thomas needed to see or is our faith strong enough that we can believe without seeing?
There are many signs . Jesus dies on the cross without his legs being broken which was usually done to speed up the person being crucified's death. Jesus is the Paschal Lamb. The Passover lambs' legs were not to be broken.
Then there is Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin. Nicodemus visits Jesus at night because it is believed that he was afraid to meet Jesus during the day when he might be seen, but Nicodemus knew that Jesus was from God. No one could perform the miracles Jesus was doing if God was not with him. He recognized Jesus as the Messiah and spoke up for Jesus when the Sanhedrin met to decide how to get rid of Jesus. Of
course, he was overruled, but it changed Nicodemus. It made Nicodemus question why the Sanhedrin was attempting to get rid of Jesus.
After Jesus death we see Nicodemus helping Joseph of Arimathea anoint Jesus body with fine oils and spices and wrap him in linen cloths. Joseph was a rich man and Nikodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin. They buried Jesus as they would bury a king.
In John 20 we see Jesus appearing to the disciples who are in a locked room. Jesus shows them the wounds on his hands and feet. How did he appear in a locked room? Would the disciples have believed Jesus as the risen Messiah if they hadn't seen Him the first time he appeared?
Thomas doubted because he wasn't there and didn't see Jesus the first time he appeared, but why? He had seen the miracles Jesus performed . He had followed Jesus for the past three years along with the other disciples. He totally believed in Jesus and what Jesus had done, but why would he doubt what the others were telling him now? Thomas was a doubter, but his doubts had a purpose. He doubted because he wanted to know the truth. It is hard to explain, but "Thomas did not idolize
his doubts. In other words, he gladly believed when given reasons to do so. He expressed his doubts fully and had his doubts answered completely. He did not doubt that Jesus was the Messiah, and he didn't doubt the miracles he had seen. He was doubting how someone he had just buried could have come into a locked room. I think all of us would have doubted what others were telling us if that had been our experience. Doubting was only his way of responding. That is not how he lived his life. In John 11:16 Thomas says, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." He didn't hesitate to believe and follow Jesus.
The apostles and people of the time were so lucky to have seen Jesus. To have walked with him and they were able to make the choice to believe in him or not. The question is, how do we believe in him and have the faith to follow him like the apostles did? We have the Bible and the witnesses' writings of the times. The nuns used to tell us that the Bible was written by men but inspired by God.
We also have the Holy Spirit. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three in one. The Trinity. Jesus is the Holy Spirit. If we believe in the Father and the Son, then we cannot hesitate to believe in the Spirit. Jesus told the disciples
that they would be receiving someone that would help them after he was gone. 40 days after Easter we celebrate Pentecost. The descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and all who believed in him. Jesus is with us all the time if we have the faith to believe. John 3:16 says it all. " For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Thomas may have been called a doubter, but he followed Jesus and believed in everything that Jesus did. We just need to be like Thomas to have eternal life.