This is the first of six studies that will focus on some common questions that people might have. This study will focus on doubt, and it important that we start here because arguably, doubt undergirds the rest of the studies - if God were in control, why does the world look like that? Can I trust God and His word? If God were good, why do I suffer? If God has saved His people, why do they still suck - which is really another way of saying why is the church disappointing and why are our relationships even in church still broken?
Not only is doubt pervasive, but doubt left unaddressed is a dangerous thing. It festers and spreads.
The goal of this study is simple — that we, like Thomas, may believe that Jesus is the Christ. John himself tells us plainly.
(A) Doubts of a Disappointed Skeptic: Brokenness behind disbelief (John 20:24-25)
We find ourselves midway through Jesus’ glorious revelation to many after His resurrection. By this point, Jesus was crucified, died, legs were not broken but side was pierced instead, wrapped and embalmed in 75 pounds of spice, laid to rest in a tomb, 3 days passed, rose, appeared to Mary, to Simon Peter and another disciple, saw and believed, told the rest of the disciples, appeared to Mary herself, appeared to the disciples — all but Thomas.
If you have not heard this account before, this is the record of Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, exactly as he had foretold. We will talk a bit more about why all this was necessary in a bit, but safe to say that this account is what all of Christianity and the millenia of saints have based their faith and salvation and lives on — it is an important account to know. But back to our question -
You can almost imagine how Thomas felt — one commentator pointed out that he was the only disciple apart from Judas Iscariot to not have seen Jesus — not exactly the best company to be in. But let us imagine and infer some things Thomas might have been feeling and experiencing.
Thomas had spent 3 years with Jesus, sitting under his teaching, hearing him declare he was the Messiah, God’s own son, come to save and redeem His people. Yet he saw for himself, Jesus hung, crucified, dead on a cross. A mangled body with blood and wounds. Can you imagine the letdown he might have felt? You who were a great teacher, who healed others, who brought alive the dead, yet you too have fallen. You were supposed to save us all!
You can almost imagine why he was not with the rest of the disciples when Jesus appeared — perhaps he would have been too upset, perhaps he did not want to deal with anything or anyone, perhaps he just wanted to be alone. Understandable, and in terms we’re familiar with. There’s a tiny application point here — that when we suffer and are disappointed, it is not a good idea to withdraw from brothers and sisters.
It is against this backdrop that our account happens.
We see how Thomas was skeptical, and there were a few things that he was skeptical to be specific: the eyewitness accounts of his 10 brothers, the account of Mary Magdalene, the claim that Jesus’ body was actually missing, and ultimately, the amazingly good news that Jesus was alive.
With what we talked about earlier, you can almost empathise with Thomas — what do you mean I am the only one who hasn’t seen Jesus? What do you mean you all saw him? What do you mean he was right here? Why have I been excluded? What do you mean the body is gone? What do you mean he’s alive?
Perhaps the news was too good for him to believe it was true.
We can understand why Thomas was so skeptical. After all that disappointment and heartbreak, dare I hope? Dare I believe that Jesus isn’t dead? No, no - I need to see this for myself before I am convinced - and with that he exclaims “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.”
It is important for us to take a step back and see what is going on here. Two observations for us. Firstly, these are not the doubts of a philosophical skeptic, or of a scholar. Thomas was a Torah-believing, God-fearing, law-abiding Jew. He knew the promises of the prophets, he knew them well. D.A. Carson sums this up well: “This is the doubt of someone who has suffered massive religious disappointment and doesn’t want to be had. He doesn’t want to be snookered again. He really had high hopes for this Jesus. There’s a huge part of him that admires and respects, reverences, everything he has known about this Jesus, yet his hopes are in the tomb with Jesus.”
You can hear the heartache behind Thomas’ disbelief - I’ve been tricked once, please, never again. I can’t do this again. Perhaps some of us feel the same way, or perhaps we know someone who feels this way — I’ve believed this Christian thing all my life, my parents forced it down my throat, but I have lived life and found this to be pointless. My pastor and my youth group promised me everything I ever wanted, I just need to tithe and be regular and pray and have faith - but things still don’t go my way, people still fall sick and die — what happened to being victorious in Jesus? What happened to being blessed? Perhaps we feel we have been let down by our Lord. Perhaps we have been lied to about what the Lord promises.
Regardless, this word is for us. If you are wrestling with some form of doubt, can I challenge you to peel back to reveal what might be behind the doubts you have? What lies behind your questions? Perhaps pain and hurt and disappointment, perhaps pride and arrogance, perhaps fear of being wrong. It is a good idea for us to be clear about why we doubt as we look to address it.
Secondly, consider: Thomas is clear - I want to know, without a doubt, that the Jesus you all saw is the same Jesus I saw on the cross. The same Jesus who hung there writhing in pain, the same Jesus with the wounds - I want to feel the wounds. Who knows if he had a twin, who knows if it was some trick - I want to know without a shadow of doubt. In all of this we should see that plainly, even Jesus’ own disciple had doubts - so no, we should not be surprised when we ourselves struggle with such doubts. Perhaps it is helpful to see that these same doubts that we might have are doubts that have been answered, by Jesus Himself. I pray that that gives us some encouragement.
Jon Bloom puts it well — Thomas’ doubts may have been humanly understandable, but they were not commendable. They were sinful, as is all unbelief (Romans 14:23). Yet, Jesus was not in a hurry to relieve Thomas’s doubts. He let Thomas stew in his own unbelieving words uncomfortably alone in the midst of a joyful fellowship of believers for eight awkward days. Is this you today? Take heart!
(B) Revelation of a Real Saviour: True and sure, tender and entreating, firm and corrective (John 20:26-29)
The setup for this scene is almost identical to that in John 20:19 — doors locked, Jesus came and stood among them, and said “Peace be with you.” John 20:19 tells us that the doors were locked for they feared the Jews — the same Jews who were against Jesus, who were after Him and His followers. And perhaps that persisted. We do not know for sure — perhaps even the fact that Jesus was alive did not give them the courage to be bold. This is something for us to think about as we struggle with doubt and fear.
A side note as well — some commentators think Jesus phased through the door like a spirit or a ghost, but the whole point of this account, and indeed Thomas’ demands, was that Jesus had an actual, physical, resurrected body. Jesus had a body and was not like a ghost or spirit. Perhaps the point here is not so much how He got there though, but that He appeared to them again and this time to Thomas as well. Jesus is all powerful and can do things we cannot fathom - like appearing in a room behind locked doors. He is one who came back from the dead after all.
He says two things. To all, Jesus says, “Peace be with you” (John 20:26). Can you imagine the comfort the disciples must have felt? Perhaps some of them were starting to doubt themselves too, perhaps some were still antsy about their status as Jesus’ followers, perhaps some were anxiously planning what to do next. They now receive a greeting — Peace be with you — from the master, the Lord of all. Jesus does not wait for His disciples to get their act together or to settle down. Jesus appears before them so that they may know Him, be assured in Him, that they may love Him and trust Him. Jesus’ simple being there and greeting them is a grace to them. He did not scold them etc. Praise God that He is not one who simply sits back, waiting for His disciples to perform.
Then to Thomas, He says, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. (Jn 20:27)” Imagine their shock when Jesus repeats to Thomas exactly what he demanded. Imagine Thomas’ jaw drop, the shame he felt for doubting, the rush of relief and comfort and let down of the anxiety and nervousness of being on edge. Imagine the rush of joy he might have felt to see his crucified saviour before him, exactly as he demanded — but with such tenderness and care!
Our section header summarises our saviour as “true and sure, tender and entreating”. These are words I have pulled from other parts of the Bible, but surely describe this sweet exchange accurately. The image of doubting Thomas with his heart and mind in a bundle of fear and anger, but also of anticipation and hopeful longing, and Jesus coming to him and speaking to him specifically.
Friends, what a comfort it is that our Lord meets us where we are, in our brokenness, fear, sin, anxiety, tiredness, and even our petulant demands of Him. This is the same image of the father who runs out to the prodigal son — he entreats him and welcomes him back in his loving embrace. We have such a Saviour, who does not wait for us to get right with Him, but who runs out and comes alongside us and gives us exactly what we need. Do we believe we have such a saviour in Jesus?
How does Thomas respond to Jesus, and what does he confess in saying this? We see our doubting Thomas just melt away before his Master. Thomas’ immediate response was not to touch His master to verify with his own hands the wounds, which he so clearly demanded before. Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28).
We see the heartbreak and sadness of the disappointed skeptic melt away, and in response he proclaims two things: My Lord and my God!
Nowhere else in the gospel of John do we see such a grand proclamation. The doubting Thomas who said he would never believe without seeing and touching his Lord is the same Thomas with the highest and clearest proclamation of Jesus’ Lordship. He was not merely addressing Jesus as master out of respect. He was worshipping and acknowledging Jesus as Lord God, as John describes in John 1. In this short exchange, we see the dots connect for Thomas -- if Jesus is truly risen from the dead, if He has truly overcome death as He said He would — this is the son that Isaiah was talking about in Isaiah 9, this is the suffering servant, smitten and stricken in Isaiah 53. All the promises connected, and Thomas is left in wonder and amazement.
I wonder if we, with the same knowledge, if not even more, are struck with the same awe that Thomas had. I wonder if all our doubts and fears and worries melt away the same way Thomas’ did when he came to realise just who his master was. Friends, have we grown cold towards the wonder and amazing truth that Jesus is Lord? Have we grown busy with our little lives and marriages and HDBS and holidays and careers and children that we have forgotten that Jesus is our Lord and our God? Perhaps we once knew such wonder and awe and amazement, but that’s fizzled out as life has gotten busy. Friends, can I encourage us to hold fast to the gospel, as Paul exhorts us to? In your young adulthood, do not be tempted by the devil to be content with anything less than Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. (Jn 20:29)” It is easy to read this as admonishment, and perhaps there is truth there. Jesus is certainly firm and seeks to correct that behaviour.
But what’s important to see here is that Thomas is not blamed, nor is he made any less. Jesus does not say greater are those who have not seen and yet have believed. We are so ready to assign and assume value and grades to the strength or size of Thomas’ faith. That is not what Jesus does. And what great comfort that is — we are not blamed or somehow downgraded by the fact that we doubt, but there is so much more.
Jesus says “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”. The implication might not be that those who have not seen and yet have believed are greater, but a plain reading surely tells us that there is a difference. One commentator put it well - “[the implication is that those who had not yet seen Jesus but still believed in his resurrection are more blessed.]
Why? Because those saints relied on their eyes of faith more than the eyes in their heads — and faith- seeing, in this age, results in more joy than eye-seeing.”
Jesus speaks of two kinds of seeing: eye or faith seeing. Yet one of these is better than the other. Jesus wants us to not have to see to believe. Jesus assumes and presumes that the way we believe and know Him is not by touching and feeling Him in person.
This is why Peter, Thomas’ fellow eyewitness, later wrote, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8–9).”
This gives us a bit of insight into the purpose of Thomas’ account, which we’ll get into in our last section. But if anything else, this tells us that Jesus expects the primary way that people believe in Him is not through a first-hand seeing and feeling account. Instead, the expectation is that people would know that Jesus has risen and is Lord over all through the accounts of his apostles.
And if you have not seen and yet have believed, your joy is deeper, fuller, more full of glory. Jesus is referring to saints and believers like us here — those who have not seen Him firsthand, but believe in Him. Our joy is deeper, fuller and more full of glory. Such is the outcome of our faith.
(C) Goal of the Gospel: That by believing we may have life in Jesus’ name (John 20:30-31)
John steps out of the narrative to give us his purpose for writing this book (John 20:29-31).
John’s note here tells us something really important. The purpose of this account of Thomas, along with everything else that he has written in this book, is “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” We covered this big idea at the start of this study, and here we are again.
Thomas is not shamed for his doubt, although the world certainly ran with his nickname. This is not John’s way of one-upping another disciple by recording this account either. Instead, Thomas is made an example to show us how Jesus has chosen to reveal Himself to us — through His disciples’ written accounts of who He is and what He did. John’s gospel is not simply about the signs and miracles of a great man. John’s gospel is about Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, who was with God in the beginning. It is so that we may know Him and believe in Him, and have life in His name.
Here is a simple implication for us to consider. How many of us are waiting for some writing in the sky to tell us that Jesus is Lord? How many of us are praying for a dream, a vision, a whisper, a feeling, a sign — if only God would reveal Himself and His will for me this way! Things would be so much easier, so much clearer.
Our Lord does not laugh at you if you have such thoughts. Our Lord is tender and loving, and in His mercy He condescends to meet us where we are. Friends, why are you waiting on writing in the sky or a dream, when God has sent His own son Jesus to die on the cross for you, that you may be saved? To our doubt, to our brokenness, into our sin, into our haughtiness and pride, Jesus dies on the cross so that we may be saved. How much clearer a sign can we be given? How much more can we ask for than His son?
And he says here so clearly in John 20: this is how you know I am the Christ. Through my disciples’ written word about my life, death and resurrection. This is how you know I am the son of God. Believe that I am risen, believe that I have overcome sin and death for you, have faith that you are counted righteous through Jesus Christ our Lord. By believing, you may have life in Jesus’ name.
This is the glorious gospel, this is the wonderful news that we can have such full blessedness and joy in — this is the good news that we can cling to. Do we know it? Do we speak of it? I pray we do. This is the best thing we can do for a friend — to tell them of this Jesus! Why else would we talk about other things?
For those who are struggling, doubt comes from any number of places and stories. Friend, our God is not so far off that He does not hear your cries. We have seen today that He meets us where we are, in our sin, and delivers us from evil. The serpent that whispers doubt in our ear is the same serpent who whispered doubt in Eve’s ear in the garden of Eden “did God really say…” - and this same serpent has been crushed. Jesus has overcome sin and death through his death and resurrection. We can believe the truth, and not the lie, that we are free in Jesus -- if only we would believe.
What lie are you struggling to put down? What truth can you see from here, that truly helps us in our doubt?
As Romans 8:31-38 encourages us, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
How has Jesus revealed Himself to us in our day, and what is our response to Him? How should our response to Jesus change and shape our lives and decisions?