Victory Fellowship
BTCS - Hope Is Here: Week 4 – Hope for the Doubter
October 10, 2021 – Scripture: John 20:24-29
Intro: Today is the final week of our series, Hope Is Here. It has been so encouraging to gather as a church and uncover all the ways that we find home in our relationship with Jesus Christ and our relationships with one another. The first week we learned that there is hope for the weary because we don’t have to carry our burdens on our own. The second week, we discovered that there is hope for the broken because forgiveness is offered to us in love. The third week, we recognized that there is hope for the underdog because with God we can do anything. This final week we deal with one of the hardest places to find hope. Is there hope for the doubter?
If you are willing to see it, there is evidence that Jesus has risen from the dead and is at work in the world today. Jesus is not afraid of my doubt and will meet us right where we are. We should have the courage to trust that Jesus has overcome death and be open enough to look for evidence all around.
When life gets tough, it is easy to doubt that things can get better. The disciples had watched their friend be crucified and buried in a tomb, and they were devastated. Even though others had claimed to see Jesus resurrected from the dead, Thomas did not want to get his hopes up, only to be disappointed again. He doubted their story. It was not until Thomas saw the scars on Jesus’ hands and side that he was filled with hope again.
Some of us have experienced such tragedy and pain that we too struggle with doubt. We need to know that Jesus has overcome death and, if we have eyes to see it, is active in our lives today. The Church must become a place that is safe for those who have doubts. The evidence for God is best revealed when it is lived out in a faith-filled community.
Illustration: Have you ever heard a piece of information that you had a hard time believing was true? Maybe it seemed so outlandish that it made you doubt. Maybe it was too good to be true and so it made you skeptical. I want to pose some questions to you, and I need you to decide if you trust it or doubt it. If you trust it, put your hand in the air. If you doubt it, keep your hand down.
Did you know that every day, on average, 11 banks are robbed in the U.S.? Trust it or doubt it? It’s true!
Did you know you are more likely to be stung by a bee in windy weather? Trust it or doubt it? It’s false.
Did you know they have square watermelons in Japan because they stack better? Trust it or doubt it? It’s true.
Did you know penguins can smell toothpaste from a mile away? Trust it or doubt it? It’s false.
It’s hard to tell what to trust and what to doubt.
Doubt has become a common occurrence for many of us within our culture today. There are people that we know well who have failed us, and it causes us to doubt. There is so much false information shared on social media that it may cause us to doubt everything. This past season of Covid-19 has caused many to doubt because we may wonder where God is in the middle of it. Seeing a world that is full of hurt and pain can make some doubt whether God is indeed good. People doubt for all kinds of reasons. I would argue that the problem is not the doubt itself, but rather, how we handle our doubt. Mishandled skepticism often results in a lack of hope.
We certainly are not alone in this struggle. After Jesus’ crucifixion, his friends were heartbroken because their hopes and dreams of a new and better world under the rule of God’s kingdom had seemingly ended. It was not until Jesus miraculously began to show up in his resurrected form that word started to spread among the disciples that perhaps Jesus was alive! There was one disciple, named Thomas, who refused to believe.
Thomas gets a bad rap in the Church as some kind of grumpy old cynic. However, if we are truthful, Thomas comes to this place of skepticism and doubt honestly. He just experienced his mentor of three years being brutally killed on a cross. The thought of getting his hopes up about a resurrection that would defy all logic may have been just too hard to wrap his mind around. He was more than likely looking to protect himself from further pain. Thomas says that he will not believe unless he sees evidence in front of his eyes that he can see and touch.
WE DOUBT TO PROTECT OURSELVES
Truthfully, we are a lot like Thomas. The doubt that we often express is a way of keeping ourselves from getting our hopes up that things in our life can improve, that God can answer our prayers, or that God loves us. Thomas did not want to believe that Jesus was alive because he did not want to be let down. We often do not want to believe and hope because we are afraid that God will not come through.
Illustration: Think about it: What is the first thing we say when we are given good news? We respond with, “No way,” or, “You have got to be kidding me.” We respond first with doubt because we want to protect ourselves.
A week after Thomas tells the others that he refuses to believe their reports, he and the disciples find themselves together in a locked room, when suddenly the source of hope arrives.
Without much explanation, Jesus, in the flesh, shows up in this locked room with the disciples. They must have been shocked to the core. In fact, the first words Jesus speaks to them are “peace be with you,” perhaps to let them know that they did not have to be afraid.
Whom does he speak to first? Thomas. The doubter. The one who refused to believe that he was alive. Notice how he addresses him. Jesus does not reprimand him for his doubt.
He does not ridicule him for needing proof. No, he invites Thomas to see for himself. He says, “Put your fingers in the scars in my hands and side.”
JESUS IS NOT AFRAID OF OUR DOUBT
There are many in the church today who are struggling with their faith. They have lost hope that Jesus is who they thought he was. The usual response to those in the church who doubt is to shame them or to shun them. I believe Jesus’ response would be much different. I believe he would welcome the questions. He would welcome the conversation. I think this is because he knows that honest doubt will find honest answers.
So how should the Church respond to those who have doubts in a way that would be on par with Jesus’ response to Thomas?
First, the Church should listen to those who doubt for what they are not saying as much as what they are saying. Where does the doubt come from? Where is the hurt? Where is the pain? Where is the struggle? You show me a congregation who is willing to listen, and I will show you a church that is providing hope to the hopeless.
Second, the Church should empathize & express compassion. When people let themselves feel others’ hurt, pain, and struggle, then they are better equipped to meet that need and build a bridge back to faith and hope. Jesus was not afraid of Thomas’ doubts. We should not be afraid of other people’s doubts either. We go from being full of doubt to being full of hope when we find out people care about us enough to walk with us and love us.
Thomas touches Jesus’ hands and side; where there once were wounds, there now are scars. A reminder of the pain, but proof of the resurrection. This is all Thomas needs. He recognizes that if Jesus can overcome death and the grave, then he surely must be Lord and God. This disciple who was the greatest doubter now becomes the disciple who makes the greatest and truest claim of who Jesus is. Jesus is certainly thankful for Thomas’ faith in this passage, but guess whom Jesus is thinking about…you and me. He is thinking about those who would be blessed for believing in his resurrection power and divine hope without seeing.
WE FAIL TO DOUBT WHEN WE TRUST THE SOURCE
Thomas had first-hand evidence that came directly from the source. This caused his doubts to melt away. Our doubts can turn to hope when we too go directly to the source and find that Jesus is trustworthy. The scriptures are full of first-hand accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. The Church throughout history has seen the power of Jesus in miraculous ways. There is testimony all around us of people who have found Jesus to be very real. When Jesus is the source of our hope, we don’t have to be crippled by doubt. Even when we feel our faith waver or our confidence shake, knowing Jesus helps us press on.
Story: Robert Louis Stevenson, one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century, writes of one of his excursions to the South Sea Islands where the ship encountered a terrible storm. In the belly of the ship, the passengers grew frightened and worried that the ship would be lost. They were filled with doubts about their safety.
One of the men finally ventured out into the wind and rain and scurried to the upper deck, where he saw the captain quietly pacing the bridge. With a tranquil and undisturbed face, he looked out across the sea and gave orders for handling the ship. He turned to the man and smiled.
The man made his way back to the cabin where the other passengers were huddled together in fear. In response to their questions, he comforted them by saying, “I have seen the captain’s face and all is well.”
When we recognize that Jesus is here with us in the middle of our doubts, we discover that hope is here. All we need to do is look into the face of Christ and see that all is well.
PRAYER
SONG: It is Well with My Soul #363
John 20:24-29 NLT
24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. 25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” 26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” 28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. 29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me”
