A Living Hope John 20:19-31 Easter is a great day to be a preacher. If you can t preach on Easter, you may want to reconsider your calling. But what about the week after Easter? Typically, the crowd is not as large. The enthusiasm has receded. For some, the faith that seemed contagious last week is now shadowed by doubts that come from the return of the challenges and the uncertainties that are present in our lives. We may say, Believing seemed so clear last Sunday. But what does it mean today? One of the central words in the Christian tradition is the word faith. But we use that word in a variety of ways. For example, we talk about the Christian faith. In that case, we are talking about the system of belief that Christians embrace. To define the Christian faith, we may point to things like the Apostles Creed or to our Articles of Faith. But New Testament faith is more than just a set of propositions that an individual affirms. The unique aspect of Christian discipleship is that it flows out of relationship with a living person who invites us into fellowship with Him. That this is a stretch for some people is an understatement. How does one believe in what cannot be seen? How is it possible to have a relationship with an individual with whom no one in this room has ever come into physical contact? It is not a new question. When the disciples gathered on that Sunday evening following Jesus death, they were behind locked doors out of their fear of the authorities who had executed Jesus. But suddenly, John tells us, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you! After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord (John 20:19-20). I. There was one disciple who was absent that evening, however. We read his story a few verses later: Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord! But he said to them, 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. To be fair, Thomas was no more skeptical than the other disciples until they saw Jesus for themselves. The fact that his story is included is a source of encouragement because Thomas represents the response of many others even down to today maybe even a few that are here this morning. Let s consider some facts as John presents them to us. First, Thomas had heard the other disciples testimony. The next time that they saw him, whether it was later that evening or in the coming days, they told Thomas that they had seen the Lord. The second fact is simply this Thomas had not experienced the risen Christ. He had the testimony of the other disciples, but that is all that He had. He had their word and their word alone. The third fact affirmed by John is that Thomas had concluded that the testimony of the others was false. These were people that Thomas knew well. He had spent the previous three years with them. They had traveled together. They had ministered together. Thomas knew these people better than he knew anyone outside of his own family. Still, when he heard their testimony, he did not believe them. Did he think that they were lying? Maybe but what motivation would they have for lying? Given their grief and despair, it would have been clear that none of them would have attempted a practical joke. To say that it wouldn t have been funny would have been an understatement! No, it seems unlikely that Thomas thought that they were lying. What then? Did he think that they were hallucinating? That is a hypothesis that has been offered by others down through the centuries. But any psychologist will tell you that hallucinations happen to individuals, not to 1
groups. Yet, all ten of the other disciples confirmed to Thomas that they saw the same thing. Besides, the disciples were fearful, doubtful and in despair after the crucifixion. People who hallucinate need a fertile mind of expectancy or anticipation. Given the mental state to which all of the Gospels attest, the disciples were not good candidates for hallucination. Well then, maybe the other disciples just talked themselves into the Resurrection. Maybe this was just an extreme example of Groupthink. But Thomas knew these guys. He knew that there was more than one hardhead in the group. Think of Peter or of James and John who were known as the sons of thunder. These guys had rarely agreed on anything let alone agreeing on something so preposterous. So if it seems unlikely that Thomas thought that the others were lying and if mass hallucination or groupthink would not have been reasonable possibilities, why then did Thomas conclude that the testimony was false? Could it be that he feared the implications of belief? Is it possible that he did not want to go out on the limb of hope? We know that Thomas tended toward pessimism by his nature. In John 11, when Jesus headed toward Jerusalem in response to the death of Lazarus, Thomas had said, Let us also go, that we may die with Him. Thomas and the others had escaped death themselves. But Thomas had been correct in his assessment of the danger for his Master. In effect, the crucifixion of Jesus had confirmed all of Thomas fear and apprehension. If what the other disciples were saying was true, however, then Thomas had to make some radical alterations in his view of things. If Jesus was alive, then Jesus had not been defeated after all. If Jesus was alive, then death did not have the final word. If Jesus was alive, then the lives of Thomas and the others could never be the same. If Thomas believed, he would have to let go of his pessimism and doubt. He would have to begin to look at the world in an entirely different way. He would have to begin to behave in an entirely different way. And maybe Thomas just wasn t ready to do that. One week later, John tells us that the disciples were together again. This time Thomas was with them. Once again, though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and once more offered peace to them. Then Jesus turned to Thomas. He met Thomas on the terms the skeptical disciple had set. Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. It wasn t so much a rebuke as it was a statement of empowerment. Jesus was saying that Thomas didn t have to continue in his skepticism. He could now lay it aside and enter fully into a life of Resurrection faith and power. At that moment, the skepticism of Thomas came to an end. My Lord and my God, He exclaimed. Thomas had not been present on Easter Sunday. But now Easter had come to him! II. It is a wonderful story. But Jesus appearance to Thomas did not mean the end of the challenge in proclaiming that Jesus had been raised. The disciples would have been naïve to say, OK, great! Thomas is now convinced. Now everybody will believe us! Jesus knew that He would soon be returning to His Father and that the option of a physical appearance would no longer be available. So, in response to Thomas affirmation, Jesus said, Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29). Years later, the apostle Peter seemed to have Jesus words in mind when he was writing to a group of Gentile converts who were living in the Roman provinces in the area that is today s Turkey. Listen to how he opens his message to them beginning in 1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These 2
have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Notice the situation that these readers were facing. First, they had heard the testimony of Peter and others of the resurrection of Jesus. It s impossible to overstate the place that the resurrection played in the preaching and teaching of the early church and for Peter in particular. On the day of Pentecost, Peter had stood in front of the crowd in Jerusalem and said, God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear (Acts 2:32-33). Without the resurrection, the apostles would not have had a message to share. Now, in writing to these Christians, Peter reminds them that in his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. But Peter also acknowledges the fact that these Gentile believers had not experienced the risen Christ in the same way that he had experienced Him. They had not witnessed what Peter had witnessed. He recognizes the level of faith that they have exercised. Though you have not seen him, he writes, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him... (v. 8). He also recognizes that they were suffering in the face of trials. In verse 6, he refers to the fact that they may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. The reality of suffering is a theme to which Peter returns several times in this letter. Here s the thing that strikes me on this Sunday after Easter. Thomas, as we ve seen, had his reasons for doubting the testimony of the other disciples. The Christians to whom Peter writes were in a different situation. But they had their own barriers to overcome in believing the testimony they had received. Peter doesn t specify the trials that they were facing. He does indicate that there were different kinds. Some, undoubtedly, were facing persecution because of their faith. Others may have been dealing with situations and circumstances that were troubling and painful. Peter says that these trials have purpose in proving the genuine character of their faith and that their response to their trials would point others to Christ. But that didn t entirely remove the challenge to believe in Jesus triumph over sin and death in the middle of suffering. But this is where Peter s words are meaningful. Listen once more. In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The new life made possible by the resurrection of Jesus is described as living hope. Let s unpack that a little bit. Hope is one of the key words in the New Testament. It s a word that indicates a positive expectation of something that we do not yet possess. When you have hope, you have confidence in a brighter and better future. We all know, however, that hope by itself is vulnerable. Life can bring circumstances that quickly dash our hopes. Suffering and adversity and hardship can bring us to a place of hopelessness. But Peter reminds these Christians that they had been given more than hope alone. Their hope was not tied to their circumstances. Their hope was not simply a matter of believing in a brighter future. Their hope was tied to an event that had already taken place the resurrection of Jesus. In one sense, they looked forward to the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. But in another, they were already receiving the goal of their faith, the salvation of their souls. In other words, their hope wasn t something that they could only look forward to in the future. It was something in which they could rejoice in the present because the Spirit and the power of the risen Christ were already at work in their lives as they experienced His presence even in the middle of their trials. Theirs was a living hope! 3
III. So, what does all of this mean for us? What, exactly, is the situation that we face? Well, like Thomas and like the Gentile believers to whom Peter writes we have heard the testimony of those who were witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus. The apostle Paul says it this way: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and the appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve (1 Cor. 15:3-5). When we read the testimony of those who witnessed the resurrection, it s difficult to deny that something happened that day. A group of demoralized, fearful people was transformed into the most dynamic movement the world has ever seen. It s hard to explain that away. It s also true, however, that like Thomas and the Gentiles to whom Peter wrote, we have not experienced the risen Christ. We were not given the opportunity to put our fingers where the nails were and to feel the wound in His side. So, the question is, How are we to believe? How are we to get beyond the doubts and the questions that are an understandable part of our approach to faith? First, we need to listen to the testimony. Obviously, that means listening to the accounts in the New Testament. But we also need to listen to the testimony of those who have experienced the power of the new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. One of the reasons we gather for worship each week and in smaller groups on a regular basis is to hear again the story of Jesus but also to hear each other s testimonies of God s grace and faithfulness in our lives. It s impossible to embrace faith in isolation. As John Wesley frequently observed, The Christian religion is a social religion. He meant that our faith is one that requires community. Second, we need to examine the evidence. Honest questions are not a threat to genuine faith. It s significant that Jesus did not rebuke Thomas for his 4 demands. He granted his request to examine the evidence. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has not spread for the last two thousand years because of a lack of challenges and questions. But, as Jesus said to Thomas, there does come a point when we must make a decision. When the moment was right, Jesus said to Thomas, Stop doubting and believe. That was not a rebuke. It was an invitation. We will always have some unanswered questions. Even when some of our questions are answered, life raises new ones in their place. At some point, we must embrace hope in the middle of our questions the living hope that Peter affirmed in his letter. While we have our questions, we can live in confidence that, someday, all of our questions will be answered because the power of the Spirit of Jesus is already at work in us and the people around us. Part of this living hope is the inheritance of which we are beneficiaries. It is, Peter says, an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. It is kept in heaven for us. In other words, the inheritance that is ours in Christ is not subject to the forces of loss and decay that are inescapable in the material world. Peter is telling us that the resurrection of Jesus is not just a story to be believed or not believed. It is life to be embraced and lived. We have been born into this living hope! I. Thomas Situation A. He had heard the other disciples B. He had not the risen Christ C. He concluded that the testimony of the others was II. The Situation Faced By Peter s Readers (1 Pet. 1:3-9) A. They had heard the B. They had not the risen Christ C. They were in the face of trials III. Our Situation A. We have heard the B. We have not the risen Christ
C. The Question: How are we to? 1. to the testimony 2. the evidence 3. Embrace in the middle of our questions 4. Live in our 5