Our Beliefs : Sermons : Sermon Archive - 2004 : April 18, 2004
The Risen Christ Dispels All Doubt
Easter 2
Doubt has been the enemy of believers from the beginning, ever since sin has been around. In fact, many commentators on Genesis chapter 3 have said that doubt was the first sin ever to be committed by a human being. In the Garden of Eden, Satan lied to Eve to get her to doubt that what God said was true. And ever since, doubt has been a formidable opponent of believers. Doubt took hold of Thomas in our text, and it didn't let go until Jesus himself dispelled that doubt. We, too, can have doubt in our lives: doubt in God's promises, doubt in God's presence in our lives, maybe even doubt in something as essential to our faith as the resurrection. This morning, Jesus, the Risen Christ, comes to us in his Word to dispel all our doubts as he strengthens us through his Word.
Doubt. Where does it come from? It seems that we might be sailing along through this life with every confidence in God and his Word, but then suddenly we hit something that gives us a little bit of doubt. It is as if we are the captain of a ship sailing through rocky waters with a great and well-trained and experienced crew. Nothing gives us fear -- except one thing: a dense fog. You might be the best captain of any ship that ever sailed with the best crew that ever climbed aboard a ship, but that won't help a bit if you can't see a foot in front of your face. When a ship goes through a dense fog, it is at the mercy of wherever the wind and the waves want to take it. Doubt is like that fog: it comes when we least expect it, and there is nothing that we ourselves can do about it.
The Apostle Thomas ventured into that fog of doubt after Jesus died. Even when his fellow disciples were telling him that they had seen Jesus alive and had spoken to him, Thomas would not believe it -- he needed proof. He couldn't just blindly believe that Jesus was alive. Then we might ask ourselves: Is the Christian faith simply a blind faith, trusting in something that we simply must believe but with no real visible evidence to back it up? Even Jesus' own words might seem to indicate that our faith is blind when he told Thomas in verse 29: "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." We are among those who have not seen and yet have believed. We never saw Jesus perform even one miracle. We never saw him rise from the dead. We never touched his wounds. How do we know Jesus really did rise from the dead or do anything else the Bible says he did? How do we know that Jesus actually is the person he claims to be: our Savior? These are the questions that might attack us when we venture into the fog of doubt. But let's witness how the risen Christ in our text dispels all doubt.
First, we see that Thomas certainly had some doubts about Jesus being alive. In verse 25 he tells the other disciples, "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." Thomas wanted proof. Jesus appeared to the other disciples on Easter evening when Thomas was not there. They told him that they had actually seen Jesus alive with their own eyes. But Thomas needed to see and touch Jesus with his own eyes and hands before he would believe such good news.
How ridiculous! Even after all the disciples had said and all the women had said about seeing the Lord alive, Thomas doubted that it was true. Even though Jesus himself had said a number of times that he would rise from the dead, Thomas would not believe it. He wanted Jesus to meet him on his own terms. He basically wanted Jesus to jump through a bunch of hoops just like a circus animal in order for him to believe. But amazingly, Jesus did for Thomas what he wanted and needed -- he appeared to him personally and physically to show him personally that he was alive. We read, "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.' " Jesus didn't have to do that. But he did. He was basically going down to Thomas' level and meeting the terms that the unbelieving Thomas had set. He showed himself to the disciples a week after Easter specifically for Thomas' benefit. But should that surprise us? Jesus had already died for the world to save every sinful human being from sin, but now he wanted to assure Thomas that he had saved Thomas as well. Christ's visible presence dispelled all Thomas' sinful doubt because it showed that sin and death and hell were no match for Christ -- he rose from death to show that he had conquered all our enemies and our sins were forgiven. Thomas was sailing on that ship of doubt and not able to see one inch in front of his face. Steering would have been no use to him because he had no idea where to go. So Jesus came and took hold of the steering wheel of that ship himself and steered it safely out of harm's way and into safe and sunny skies once again. And what was Thomas' response? He said, "My Lord and my God!" What a fitting response. Thomas knew exactly what this meant for him and he knew exactly who Jesus was. He gives one of the clearest testimonies in Scripture that Jesus is indeed God himself and our Lord and Savior. And as our Lord and God and Savior, the risen Christ dispels all our doubts as he comes to us in his Word. As a result, the risen Christ also strengthens us through the Word, as well as the sacraments.
Jesus showed Thomas that the Christian faith is not merely a blind faith based on no physical or historical evidence. But the Christian faith is based on the very real and risen Christ. That had meaning for Thomas just as it has tremendous meaning for us today. We, too, might sometimes have our doubts about some of the things the Bible tells us. Did Jesus really raise Lazarus from the dead, or was Lazarus just in some kind of a coma and merely thought to be dead? Modern unbelieving skeptics will tell you that Lazarus was in some kind of a coma, and they will come up with all kinds of excuses and reasoning for why the Biblical account isn't and can't be true. The devil tempts us to sail into a fog in which we start to doubt what the Bible says. Or we might be going through a particularly tough time in our life and we are tempted to think that maybe God just isn't there with us, even though he says he always is. Things might get so bad that we might start to think that nothing the Bible says is true. It's only a book after all. Do you see what just happened? The devil took control of our ship, and he guided it into a dense fog of doubt. He wants to keep you in that fog until you hit some rocks and your ship is lost for eternity because your doubt has given way to unbelief. If we doubt one thing in Scripture, maybe then we will also doubt something as important as whether Jesus' death can actually cover the worst sin we've ever committed. The devil has us sailing among the rocks in the fog -- a very dangerous place to be. And if the devil has us there, it's not too far before we doubt whether Jesus is even our Savior at all.
Notice what Jesus did for Thomas. He shows him that his faith is not blind. Jesus personally showed Thomas that he had risen and that showed Thomas that all his sins were forgiven when Jesus died on the cross. Jesus came personally to you as well through the Holy Spirit's working when you were baptized. And God used a visible element of water to help us see God's grace in baptism. But not only did Jesus lead you to faith, he also keeps you in the faith through the Lord's Supper where again he comes to you visibly to show you your forgiveness through his sacrifice for sins once for all. And Jesus also comes to you every day to reassure you of your forgiveness through his Word. There is no doubt about it. God loves you -- he sent his own Son to live in your place and to die the death you deserved to prove it to you. How do we know that it's true? Because everything the Bible says is true. Everything the prophets said would happen, did happen. Everything Jesus said would happen, did happen, including his rising from the dead victoriously on the third day. God's Word itself assures you that it's all true. The Apostle John wanted his readers to be absolutely convinced that Jesus was God's Son and their Savior by his closing words in our text: "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."
What is our response to the free gift of eternal life that Jesus has given to us? The same as that of Thomas: we proclaim that Jesus is our Lord and our God in everything we think, say or do. Whenever you start to sail into the fog of doubt, realize that there is nothing you can do on your own to sail out of that doubt and reach safety. Instead seek the assurance of God's forgiveness in his sacraments and his Holy Word. Jesus will shine through the gloom of doubt and steer you safely to safe waters of his Word throughout this life, and he will steer you eventually to the shores of heaven. The risen Christ expels all your doubt. Amen.
