“Forgive my unbelief.” This was the cry of a father in the gospel of Mark who doubted Jesus’ ability to cast a spirit out of his son. In the presence of Jesus, the father suddenly felt convicted for his unbelief. There was a time in Western culture not too long ago where “unbelief” was a state of mind for which to apologize. In the not so distant past, there was a Western expectation of belief in the God of the Bible and of Jesus as the savior. Even those who did not trust Christ for salvation, carried a bit of cultural guilt for not believing. That time has past. In many corners of the Western world in the 21st century, people may be more tempted to apologize for belief than unbelief.
Why has unbelief become such a popular position? How might you open the door for evangelism with an atheist?
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,[a] was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “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.”
John 20:24-25
John helps us to understand that Thomas was not with the Twelve when they saw Jesus. The Twelve is obviously a proper term referring to Jesus’ closest disciples, in spite of the fact that they were only eleven at this time. Thomas was not with the others. They bore witness to the fact that they had seen Jesus, but Thomas was skeptical.
Thomas wanted evidence. Contrary to skeptics in modern culture who suggest that Jesus’ followers were easily duped, the idea of resurrection from the dead was just as impossible to believe in the first century as it is today. Thomas could not take the word of others when he knew that Jesus had died. Thomas needed irrefutable evidence that the savior who had hung on a cross had also rose from the grave.
It is unfortunate that Thomas has been labeled with a negative nickname for doing exactly what any sane-minded human being would have done when told that a dead man was now alive. Perhaps instead of “doubting” Thomas, he should be called “the realist” or “wise Thomas.” Thomas did not say he would never believe, only that he wouldn’t believe without proof. Thomas was rational and reasonable. In fact, Thomas’s reasonableness and doubt makes him a very credible witness to the resurrection of Jesus.
How might you respond to someone who claims that they would never follow Jesus without some proof of the resurrection?
Engage the culture
Thomas was only prompted to question the resurrection because he was told about the resurrection. Unless someone had argued for the resurrection, the thought of resurrection would never have entered Thomas’s mind. Likewise, for many of your non-believing friends, relatives, and co-workers, they are not active in their unbelief. For them, the things of the Lord never cross their mind. Sundays are not for church, Sundays are for baseball or washing cars or going to the lake. The thoughts of Christianity are far from them. They don’t hate the church or Jesus, but they don’t think about the church any more than Thomas thought about resurrection. Everything changed for Thomas when he was presented with a story. What stories can you tell that might cause your unbelieving friends, relatives, and co-workers to wrestle with the truths of the risen Christ the way that Thomas did?
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although 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 see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:26-28
Eight days passed. Because the starting day was also included in counting days among first century Jews, eight days later would have been the Sunday following Easter. The feast of unleavened bread or Passover had passed and the disciples would soon be returning to their home. Surely Thomas’s skepticism was growing stronger every day. If Jesus were alive he would have seen him by now. But it was not just Thomas’s skepticism that was problematic, the disciples were living in fear. Their Master had been killed, they saw him, but then they didn’t see him anymore and now they feared that the bloodlust of the Jewish leaders may turn against them.
The doors were locked. This is an important fact in John’s narrative as it illustrates two realities. First, the disciples were afraid. They had locked the door because they were afraid of the Jews. Second, the fact that the doors were locked illustrates the super-human resurrected body of Jesus. Incredibly though locked doors could keep away those who may have sought their lives, locked doors were no match for the Savior who brought hope. In the midst of their fear, Jesus arrived with a message, “Peace be with you.” Jesus, the savior who drives away fear, came to the disciples to dispel their fears once more and he came in spite of the fact that the disciples had locked the door. Jesus would not be kept from his followers.
Jesus walked through locked doors to get to his disciples. How has someone showed you the love of Christ by forcing their way through doors you had “locked” to keep people out?
Jesus came to drive away the fear of the disciples, but he also came to drive away the doubt of Thomas. Notice that Jesus did not rebuke Thomas. Jesus revealed himself to Thomas and implored him, “do not disbelieve, but believe.” The call to follow Jesus is the call to repent and believe. In Thomas’s case, the two were wrapped up in one. Thomas’s sin was his disbelief. To believe in the resurrected Christ was to turn from his sin.
When a sinner sees Jesus for who he is, a decision is required. When a non-believer is confronted with the fact of Jesus’s resurrection she cannot choose to be neutral. She is if faced with a decision to believe or to continue in disbelief. As followers of Christ in an increasingly secular world, we have a responsibility to confront people with the risen Christ. We have a responsibility to share the stories of Christ and his love that will draw people to a point of decision.
Jesus also met Thomas at the point of his need. For Thomas to believe, Thomas needed proof—a specific kind of proof. Though Jesus does not present himself bodily to people today, he still meets people at the point of their need. He has given everything that people need to believe. According to Romans 1, even the natural world is filled with evidences of Christ’s love and character.
In the middle of your struggle and need today, look for Jesus. He might be waiting for you at the end of your rope.
Photo by Rui Silvestre on Unsplash
