People don’t rise from the dead. People die. They die all the time. We are accustomed to daily news reports of accidents or tragedies that took place, and one of the most commonly reported details in such cases is the number of those dead. Sadly, mass shootings have been a regular occurrence this year so far. We may not be shocked to hear that there’s been another shooting, but we do look immediately to see how many died. Headlines and news stories report people dying. They don’t, however, report people rising from the dead.
That being the case, we ought not be the least bit surprised by the reaction of Thomas at the news of the resurrected Jesus appearing to the disciples. Dying, sure – that was normal. Everyone died. Word had even spread that Jesus had died. But rising from the dead is not normal, so when this completely abnormal event was reported to Thomas, of course he doubted. Let’s not pretend we would have done otherwise.
Doubt is most likely in situations that are most unlikely, right? In other words, when there is not a very high probability or likelihood of something taking place, doubt is quite common. Not too long ago when the lottery jackpot kept rising and no one kept winning, I did something I rarely do – I bought a couple of tickets. Do you suppose I had a high level of confidence that I was going to win? Absolutely not, but it’s a fun way to teach my kids that lottery tickets are an absolutely horrible method of financial planning for your retirement. Winning the lottery is reality-based reason to doubt – the likelihood of a person winning is extremely low – especially when the jackpot is high and more tickets are sold! The same could be said of aspirations to play professional sports or fly into space. The likelihood of some things happening is statistically so low that there are reality-based reasons to doubt.
But there is another cause of our doubt. It isn’t always just reality-based; sometimes it’s brain-based. When my mind is made up that something isn’t going to happen and I drum up enough doubt to derail it, or to see to it that a thing never even gets a chance in the first place, that’s a different kind of doubt. “I have been single this long, so I doubt I’ll ever get married.” “I can’t put thoughts to words like this author can, so I could never write a book.” “I’m not a strong enough Christian to serve in my church.” Regardless of what the reality of these situations is, the doubt isn’t based on overwhelming external evidence or statistics or probabilities – it isn’t reality-based, but brain-based. There is something to it when we tell others, “It’s just in your head.” So very often, doubt is, too. It’s just in our head, and as long as we let it take up space there, it will leave us limited.
Of these two types of doubt, reality-based and brain-based, which do you attribute to Thomas? When the disciples ecstatically announced that they had seen the risen Jesus, and Thomas responded, “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” (John 20:25), was his doubt based on reality or was it just in his head? Wouldn’t we be inclined to presume his doubt was reality-based? Remember, dead people don’t rise! Not only is it statistically unlikely – it’s impossible! So it would seem Thomas’s doubts were reality-based.
Jesus’ resurrection, though, is different. While resurrections in general are not only improbable, but impossible, not only was Jesus’ resurrection possible; it was also predicted! The prophets Isaiah (ch. 9) and Micah (ch. 5) had both predicted that the Messiah’s rule would never end. It would be eternal. Therefore, the Messiah would have to live forever; death could not be the end. Psalms 16 and 22, Jonah, and Isaiah (ch. 53) also make reference to death and rising or living again. Since David died, such references could not be to him alone, but to the Messiah who would not be abandoned to the grave, who would live to see his offspring. The resurrection, while not explicitly stated in the Old Testament, was clearly taught nonetheless.
And Thomas didn’t just have the Old Testament. He also had the words of Jesus himself. Jesus had predicted both clearly and directly on numerous different occasions that he would die and three days later rise again (clear enough, in fact, that even his enemies accused him of making such a claim!). So Thomas also had the words directly from the source!
And Thomas didn’t just have the words of Jesus – though even those would have been more than adequate! He also had the words of the other disciples. Perhaps if one or two had made such a claim, it might be easier to doubt. But all of them agreed. These were people Thomas trusted and respected. They were his friends. They saw Jesus – alive!
So in light of all of the evidence, was Thomas’s doubt in fact reality-based, or brain-based? Think of a similar situation. Suppose tomorrow a headline reveals that a doctor discovered the cure for cancer. Based on reality, you would have reason to doubt. We can’t cure cancer, after all, we can only treat it. But in addition to his claim, he also provides evidence of his studies and work. And on top of that he provides case studies of real-life people whose cancer has been cured, and their friends and witnesses who attest to it! Reality-based doubt suddenly falls by the wayside when a previous reality changes. So it was with Jesus’ resurrection. Dead people don’t rise. Until Jesus did. Any doubt about it at that point was no longer reality-based, but brain based. It was all in Thomas’s head.
Let’s shift now from Thomas’s doubts to yours. From where do most of your doubts stem? Are they based in reality or in your own brain?
Take our theological doubts. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Christian or not – there are plenty of teachings and concepts and characteristics about God that leave us doubting from time to time… even the event that is the reason for this season of the church year and the focus of this series: the Resurrection. There are times when we are pondering our relationship with God and doubts arise as to whether or not Jesus did rise. And, while we’re at it, let’s be totally honest and go back a step further – there are even times we doubt if God exists. There, I said it – do you feel better? Now those might be the big ones, but they’re just the tip of our theological doubts. Ever doubted the Trinity? Ever doubted Creation? Ever doubted that in respect to our roles as men and women, God actually did create us differently, and that it’s a good thing? Ever doubt that there’s a hell… or even a heaven? You’re not alone.
But I don’t know how much of a comfort that is. See, you’re not alone because every doubt you and I have about God can be traced all the way back to the same seed of doubt planted in the Garden of Even. Tragically, it sprouted immediately into sin. Satan introduced doubt into Eve’s mind when he asked, “Did God really say you couldn’t eat the fruit?” (Gen. 3). Just as surely as that doubt snowballed into sin, so today it is no different. Our doubts about God aren’t merely the stuff of innocent ignorance, but rather willful rebellion. Doubts about God are natural for a human race that despises being beneath anyone else, that wants no one over us, no one controlling us, no one the boss of us. But even that false impression we have of God isn’t from God himself, but from his enemy. The relationship Adam & Eve first had with God was nothing like what Satan tries to sell us today! It was beautiful! Harmonious! No bossing or controlling – only perfect love seen for what it truly was! Before the Fall, when Adam & Eve had enjoyed the holy image of God, there was no doubt, because there was only perfect understanding. But where sin reigns in this world, doubt abounds.
So we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place. Do we give in to doubt, keep our heads stuck in the sand about the reality of our doubts being indicative of our sinful nature and its ultimate destination of hell, or in repentance do we trade in our doubts for trust? Do I trust that my sin – all of it, including every ounce of doubt – has been forgiven? Do I believe that my doubts, while common to us all and which would rightly condemn us all, have been dealt with and disallowed as inadmissible evidence against me because of Good Friday and Easter Sunday? Do I believe that my gracious God actually wants to replace my crippling doubts with concrete trust in him? Do I believe that the Resurrection truly does help me see all of this? Do I believe that a former way of life that was riddled with doubt can give way to a life full of faith, of confident trust in a compassionate, gracious, forgiving God? Do I believe it can make a difference living a life that is secure and assured, not in self, but in my resurrected Savior and his promises? If you believe these things – when you believe these things, you experience the exact blessings Jesus promised to Thomas when he appeared to him a week later and said, “Peace be with you! Stop doubting and believe… blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (cf. v.26-28). As the Holy Spirit increasingly replaces your doubts with his trust, blessings will multiply in your life.
Finally, whether reality-based or brain-based, we doubt on a daily basis. But… we also trust on a daily basis. Every bite of food you eat, you are trusting that you’ll swallow it without choking. Every time you obey a traffic light, you trust others will do the same and not collide into you. Every time you follow the doctor’s orders and the directions on the pill bottle, you trust that doing so will be good for you. When you go to bed at night, you trust you will wake up in the morning. Everything I just mentioned amounts to a fraction of the times we exercise trust each day, and they all have this in common: not one of them is 100% reliable! Your personal experience has taught you that! Yet we still live daily placing our trust in these trivial activities. So what do you suppose happens when we place our trust completely in the one who is 100% reliable, in the God who has never failed to follow through with a promise, who has always had the best eternal interest of his people on his heart and mind, who went to the lengths he did to put you at peace? Friends, now as much as ever, it is time for us to leave Thomas and his doubts behind and let the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead help us see that our doubts are unfounded. Christ is risen, he is risen indeed!