The Eyes of Doubt

Wes Terry

Through Their Eyes • Sermon • Submitted a month ago • Presented a month ago

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INTRODUCTION:

This morning is Easter Sunday. As such, you might’ve guessed the topic of today’s message: the resurrection.

Last week we said Jesus’ death on the cross is central to understanding the Christian Gospel. It’s not an understatement.

Everything about forgiveness, peace, joy, contentment, all of the Christian virtues rightly framed and joyfully embodied - it only makes sense when understood through the death of Jesus’ on the cross.

The cross is a BIG DEAL.

But if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then his crucifixion is sad but irrelevant.

The cross may be central to understanding the Gospel but the resurrection is central as to whether or not it’s TRUE.

The resurrection VALIDATES that Jesus is the Son of God and his audacious claims are true.

It’s not just ME who believes this. The apostle Paul said, “If Christ has not been raised then we are still dead in our tresspasses and most of all to be pitied by men.” (1 Cor 15:17, 19)

Everything rises and falls on the resurrection of Jesus.

If Jesus really rose then we need to take him seriously.

If Jesus didn’t rise then why are we wasting our time?

Did Jesus Rise?

So what do you think? “Did Jesus really rise from the dead?” Some would said yes. Some would say no. And some would say, “I’m not sure.”

People have always broken into those three groups.

Today, we live in a culture that is becoming increasingly skeptical.

“Christianity” is becoming more popular. Jesus’ ethics, moral teachings and philosophy people are quick to exploit.

But loving and following Jesus as the risen son of God is just as unpopular today as it has ever been. Evangelical has become a curse word not because of their politics so much as their religious convictions.

It no surprise then to discover that many Christians struggle with doubt.

Maybe you’re one of those people. It’s okay if you are. I was one of those people.

The longer you let those doubts linger the more debilitating they become.

We aren’t the first generation to struggle with this news. Even Jesus’ FIRST disciples struggled to believe.

So what are you to do with your doubts? Thats’ the topic of today’s message in John 20.

Set The Table

We left off last week in John 19 looking at the crucifixion of Jesus through The Eyes of Grief.

This week we’re going to look at the resurrection of Jesus through The Eyes of Doubt.”

For those of you new to the story let me give you a little bit of context.

Jesus had spent three years teaching and preaching about God’s kingdom. According to Jesus, God’s kingdom was greater and stronger than the kingdom of this world.

Jesus also claimed to be the King of this Kingdom. The promised Messiah from the OT, prophesied to overthrow the oppressors of God’s people and rule forever from David’s throne.

As you might imagine this upset some very powerful and important people.

When Jesus got popular they got worried and conspired together to kill him.

The method of execution? Crucifixion by the Romans.

Jesus’ disciples didn’t see this coming even through he had warned them repeatedly.

So when Jesus IS arrested, the disciples scatter, hiding in fear of what was about to happen.

Everybody scattered except a handful: John, Jesus’ mother, Mary Magdalene and a few other family members watch his execution with tears.

Read the Text

After Jesus dies, Joseph and Nicodemus bury him in a tomb. (John 19:38)

We pick up our passage in John 20:1

John 20:1–2 CSB

1 On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she went running to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said to them, “They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him!”

Mary Magdalene was one of the only disciples (besides John) who stayed with Jesus through to the end but even she doesn’t immediately assume Jesus is risen from the dead.

She assumed somebody else had stolen the body. So Peter and John get up to investigate.

John gets there first and sees the linen cloths lying on the ground. Peter also goes in and sees the same.

John 20:7–9 CSB

7 The wrapping that had been on his head was not lying with the linen cloths but was folded up in a separate place by itself. 8 The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, then also went in, saw, and believed. 9 For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead.

The Anatomy of Doubt

So right away you see a contrast between John who believes and Mary and Peter who are struggling to believe.

The reason they “didn’t believe” is because they “didn’t yet understand the Scripture.”

This leads us to first reason why many people struggle with doubt.

Facts > Understanding

We doubt because of a gap between the facts and our understanding.

The problem with Peter and Mary wasn’t the absence of any evidence. They had the evidence of

an empty tomb,

Messianic prophecies and

Jesus’ own predictions during his earthly ministry.

But that evidence didn’t do them any good because they hadn’t yet pieced it all together.

Many people disbelieve the resurrection for similar reasons. It just doesn’t make sense to them because it doesn’t naturally fit with the way they think.

Such was the case for Mary and so she stays behind grieving at the tomb of Jesus.

Two angles show up and ask her why she’s crying. She replies, “Because they’ve taken away my Lord and I don’t know where they’ve put him.”

Having said that she turns around and Jesus is standing right in front of her. At first she mistakes him for someone else but when she hears Jesus call her by name she runs to embrace him.

Mary transitions from a posture of doubt to a posture of faith.

John 20:18 CSB

18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what he had said to her.

We know from the other Gospel accounts that not all of the disciples believed Mary at first.

But it wasn’t just Mary they refused to believe.

In Luke’s Gospel Jesus appears to two disciples on the Road to Emmaus.

They also struggled to fit the resurrection into their current model of thinking but couldn’t do it.

It wasn’t until Jesus began to explain from the Scriptures how these things were to be so.

Like Mary, when they hear they news they run to tell the other disciples only to hear that he had appeared to Simon Peter and also to Mary Magdalene as well!

Experience > Expectations

So you’ve got a handful of resurrection believers and a room full of resurrection DOUBTERS.

They are struggling to believe and have locked themselves in a room because of fear of what was about to happen.

Why? Because THEY didn’t experience what the others did.

Which leads to the second big reason why people struggle with doubt.

We doubt because of a gap between our expectations and our experience.

They expected Jesus to overthrow their Roman oppressors not be executed by them.

They expected God’s kingdom to come down and for them to sit on thrones a Jesus’ right hand.

They expected people to respond to Jesus with humility and submission, gratitude and love.

Instead they shouted crucify him, crucify him, crucify him.

So those unmet expectations left them feeling anxious and afraid.

They’re locked in a room thinking “if they killed Jesus what are they about to do to us?”

In fact, I’m guessing they were probably shushing these people who said Jesus DID appear to them because they were trying to pour water on this movement and not gasoline.

Maybe they thought they were hallucinating or smoking or drunk out of their minds.

Whatever the particulars they were struggling with doubt.

What About You?

What about you? Why do you struggle with doubt? Are you like Mary and Peter in that it doesn’t really fit in with the way you think?

Or are you like the other disciples in a locked room unable to entertain the possibility of resurrection because it’s offensive to the way that you feel?

A lot of people struggle with doubt but they don’t always think about WHY. It’s important to do.

Because once you know why you’re struggling with doubt you can begin to take steps to address it.

Jesus’ Responds to Doubt

I think Jesus knew exactly why each person was struggling which is why he responds to everyone by showing up after dinner.

John 20:19–21 CSB

19 When it was evening on that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.”

Jesus does two things here. He addresses their intellectual doubt with evidence and their emotional doubts with an assurance.

I love those those four words. “Peace be with you.” Notice Jesus says it twice for dramatic effect.

So often, our struggle with doubt produces anxiety in our life. If we can’t have certainty with ABC how can we have certainty about XYZ?

If we’re not careful we start to question everything and become skeptical of everyone.

Into that anxious heart Jesus speaks four powerful words: Peace Be With You.

Jesus doesn’t just respond to our doubt with a demonstration of evidence but an assurance of peace.

The gap between their understanding and the facts Jesus addressed with physical evidence.

The gap between their experience and their expectation Jesus addressed an an assurance of peace.

The peace of God is what a doubting heart needs to most.

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.

After assuring them of his resurrection he breaths on them to receive the Holy Spirit and commissions them to go and make disciples. (John 19:21-23)

John does love his “summary statements.”

Dealing With Doubt

One disciple, however, wasn’t present during all of these events. Jesus did not appear to him personally. He wasn’t present when Jesus appeared to all of the disciples corporately.

That disciples’s name is Thomas. We know him today as “doubting Thomas.”

John 20:24–25 CSB

24 But Thomas (called “Twin”), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples were telling him, “We’ve seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

You’ve gotta feel for Thomas because it seems as though everybody is in on the news except for him.

The reason he didn’t believe - from his perspective - is because he didn’t get to see or experience what everybody else got to see and experience.

It’s like John is giving us a sliding scale of faith in this chapter.

John believes immediately - even without seeing.

Peter and Mary Mag believe quickly as soon as they see they Lord and understand.

The Emmas disciples believe slowly as Jesus appears in the flesh and unpacks all of the scriptures.

The Jerusalem disciples believe eventually after dismissing the eyewitness testimony and requiring a personal appearance of Jesus.

Begrudging Believers

Thomas is what I call a “begrudging believer.”

To begrudge someone is to be envious because you didn’t have the same experience of joy or favor that they did.

That’s why Thomas gives these demands: “unless I see Him with my own eyes, and touch the nail makes and spear hole with my own hands - I will not believe.”

Some of you may be a “begrudging believer.”

You see all these Christians filled with joy and contentment. They testify to you about the genuineness of their faith and the life transforming power of Jesus.

But you just can’t buy it because your life is nothing like their life. Jesus hasn’t done for you what he’s done for them.

Here’s the good news. Even to begrudging believers Jesus is gracious and kind.

John 20:26–29 CSB

26 A week later his disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be faithless, but believe.” 28 Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

Even to begrudging believers Jesus is gracious and kind.

So if that’s you this morning there’s a sense in which even you can come to believe in Jesus.

God is not willing that ANY would perish but that ALL would come to repentance.

He doesn’t respond to doubt with anger or bitterness or judgment.

He responds to doubt with EVIDENCE and an ASSURANCE of PEACE.

Learning From Thomas

So what can we learn from Thomas so that Jesus might change OUR relationship with doubt?

I see at least 3 things from this passage.

This passage helps us understand where we should doubt, how we should doubt and when we should doubt. How, when and where. Let’s start with where.

Process In Community

If you’re struggling with doubt - whether your a Christian or total skeptic - the best way to get your questions answered is to raise them in the context of a Christian faith community.

Embrace your doubt in the context of a faith community.

Thomas wasn’t present when Jesus appeared to the disciples the first time.

But noice Thomas IS present when Jesus appears the second time.

SEVEN days go by before Jesus addresses Thomas’ doubt but Thomas never leaves.

Process your doubt in a Christian faith community

I know many people who struggle with doubt and their assumption is “If I’m doubting I can’t come to church.” If I’m doubting God must be mad at me or want nothing to do with me.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Doubting your faith is natural and inevitable.

Not only is it natural I think doubt is even HELPFUL. Doubt can be a friend to faith not an enemy.

A faith without any doubt is like a body without any antibodies. Without antibodies our immune system would be shot. We’d never be able to locate and neutralize bacteria and nasty viruses. That’s what doubt does for our faith. It locates the weak spots in our worldview. Compromised structures that need support and remedy in our faith.

If you never doubted you’d never have the opportunity to make your faith healthy and strong. So don’t apologize for your doubt. Just don’t isolate yourself WHEN you doubt.

Doubt your faith in the context of community because

they may just have the answers your looking for…

certain questions are only answered from inside the circle…

seeds of doubt become destructive when processed all alone.

You’re not nearly as smart and unbiased as you think you are.

Our church will always be a safe place for you to question your faith. I’d much rather you ask your questions HERE and NOW than later and somewhere else.

Understand As Alternative Commitment

The second thing we can understand from Thomas is the nature of doubt. There’s no such thing as “agnostic doubt.” Doubt is never neutral and unbiased.

Just like believers have reasons for their faith. Doubters have their reasons as well.

That’s just how the human heart works. We’re all putting our roots down into something. We’re just not always aware of what that something is.

Another way to say it: faith is never created it’s transferred.

Doubt exposes where our faith commitments already lay.

Doubt is just faith by another name. You’re doubting THAT because you already believe THIS.

So Question your doubts as an alternative faith commitment.

You used to trust THIS as being true but now you’re wondering if THIS is true instead.

Go back to the story of Mary and the empty tomb. Her default assumption was “somebody stole the body.” Why? Because she had already decided “resurrection isn’t in the cards.”

Because her roots were dug deep into that soil she wasn’t even open to the reality of an alternative.

Jesus had mentioned the reality of a resurrection. Jesus had even raised somebody else from the dead. But Mary wasn’t able to see that evidence because she never stopped to question the reasons for her unbelief.

The same was true for Peter. The same was true for the disciples on the road to Emmaus. The same is now true for Thomas.

Your Alternative?

If it was true for them then it’s true for you. You have reasons for why you’re struggling to believe. Have you ever examined them?

Maybe you’re doubting the resurrection of Jesus because you think “I’m actually better at being Lord of my life.” Many people believe that. Have you ever probed the evidence? How’s you’re life working out right now?

Maybe people doubt the resurrection because miracles don’t happen. Really? Do you have good reasons to believe the universe is only material and there’s nothing metaphysical. There are actually some pretty big holes in that worldview as well.

The only way to doubt Christianity fairly is to discern the alternate beliefs supporting your doubts and then ask yourself what reason do I have to believe this? How do you know your belief is true?

It would be inconsistent of you to require more justification for Christian belief than you do for your own sub-beliefs which are motivating your doubts.

It’s easy to tear something down and assume anything else would be better. But usually people never stop to examine what those “greener pastures” entail.

This is important for two reasons:

It forces you to examine your biases.

It changes the way you look at the evidence.

It leaves you open to alternative explanations.

Which is the third thing we can learn from Thomas.

Suspend Unreasonable Conditions

We must embrace our doubts within a Christian faith community. Question our doubts as alternative faith commitments.

Which then enables us to suspend our doubts that have unreasonable faith conditions.

Thomas demanded “unless I see Jesus and physically touch the nail holes/spear holes.”

When Jesus appears he invites Thomas to do just that. But Thomas declines and declares Jesus as Lord and God.

Why? Because those expectations were unrealistic. They don’t even make sense in light of the reality of Jesus’ resurrection.

Likewise, some of our unrealistic demands are the result of our own arrogance and blindness than they are needed requirements for justified belief.

I know people who refuse to believe in Jesus’ resurrection because of factors that have little to do with the question of resurrection.

Some people refuse to believe in Jesus because of his teachings about sex and marriage.

Some refuse to believe in Jesus because of the suffering they’ve experienced or seen in the world.

Some refuse because believing in Jesus would cost them relationally or financially or socially.

There are a host of bad and unreasonable conditions for why people refuse to believe.

What’s your reason? In light of the historical evidence for Jesus’ resurrection, is it reasonable or unreasonable.

Dealing With The Facts

Because Jesus of Nazareth existed in human history, the question of his resurrection is a question of history. It either did or did not happen.

If it didn’t happen, then Jesus’ teachings are largely irrelevant and Jesus himself was misguided, insane or a very bad person.

If Jesus DID rise from the dead, then his claims about God’s kingdom are much more likely to be true.

What will YOU do with the facts?

There’s a core of 5 historical facts (I mention them almost every Easter.) These are facts that historians generally agree upon whether they are skeptical, friendly or foe to the Christian faith.

Jesus died by crucifixion by the Romans.

The tomb of Jesus was found empty.

The disciples of Jesus believed & preached his resurrection from the dead.

Each of those three facts are present in our passage this morning.

The remaining two facts of history are the unlikely conversions of the Apostle Paul (who hated Christianity and tried to destroy it) and James the brother of Jesus who thought his bro was crazy until seeing him alive from the dead.

Jesus appeared physically to them. Jesus appears in dreams and vision to many Muslims today.

What more evidence would be required for you to believe?

John closes his chapter saying John 20:30-31

John 20:30–31 CSB

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Life in His Name

When it comes to the resurrection you’re not just rejecting an idea. You’re rejecting a person and the new life that is in his name.

Putting your faith in Jesus entails more than just subscribing to an ethical philosophy or association with some denomination or club.

When you put your faith in Jesus you’re giving yourself to a person.

The Christian faith isn’t about a set of ideas. It’s about a personal relationship with the Living God who came into the world so that you might have life in his name.

I don’t know how you would describe the quality of your life right now. I know Jesus can take what is and make it better. Will you believe him?

You might say, “Yeah but what about my doubt?” Your doubt doesn’t have to be an enemy of your faith.

Unless your doubts pertain to the actual TRUTH of the resurrection or coherence of the Gospel, they’re irrelevant to the decision that faces us today.

Questions of heaven and hell and sexuality and even Biblical inspiration. These all from FROM your conviction on this central issue.

Did JESUS RISE? If he did, will you believe?

You’re faith doesn’t have to be strong to save you. Faith is just a connection to God’s power.

A light switch doesn’t have to be big and powerful to turn on the light. It just needs to connect the wire with the source of power.

If believe enough to flip the switch and yield your heart, God will do the work of saving your soul.

You’re faith doesn’t have to be strong. Just properly placed.

Will you put your faith in Jesus? If so, there’s new life for you in his name!

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