I Cannot Believe! John 20:24-31
Although the ‘Da Vinci Code’ has become a very popular book, it does contain many fallacies about the nature of faith. At one point, the main character Robert is talking to Sophie,
“Sophie, every faith in the world is based on fabrications. That is the definition of faith - acceptance of that which we imagine to be true, that which we cannot prove.”
There are others today who say that we have to switch off our minds if we are to have a faith. The message of the Bible is the very opposite – faith is based on reason.
The episode when Jesus appeared to doubting Thomas has much to teach the modern world.
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 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."26 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!" 27 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."
28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 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.
Thomas doubts what the other disciples have experienced, he demands first hand evidence. There is something attractive about this approach. He does not want to be duped. There is too much at stake here.
How much evidence is needed?
Yet the real question is how much evidence is necessary for faith. There are some who will not commit themselves to Christ however much evidence they are supplied with. This is surely the point of this story. Thomas is being unreasonable.
The other disciples had told Thomas that they had seen the resurrected Lord Jesus. By not accepting what they said he was making them all out to be liars. Was that reasonable?
Thomas had lived with Jesus for three years. He had heard what he had taught and had witnessed the miracles he had done. He had experienced first hand the feeding of the five thousand. He had witnessed the raising of Lazarus from the dead, after he had been in a tomb for four days. He had seen so much of Jesus’ life. What was it that prevented him believing in Jesus? Was it really reasonable on the grounds that he had been informed of this final miracle second hand?
The real answer as to whether such doubt is reasonable can be judged on how a person reacts to other areas of faith. So when someone goes to his doctor with a chest infection, does he doubt the prescription of antibiotics he is given? When he buys food from the supermarket does he doubt the safety of that food. These are all actions of faith. As the consequences of following God will be more far-reaching, it is reasonable that the evidence required should be greater. Yet if you ask most people for the evidence they have for their religious beliefs the usual reply is very lightweight. Those who have rejected Jesus can seldom explain why. It is as if most important decisions in life are not dependant on truth but on emotion or background.
Thomas had not only known Jesus well but he had also witnessed his execution. They had talked about all the details. When he was clearly dead the Roman soldiers had speared his side and out had come that blood and water.
He knew that the tomb where they had laid his embalmed body was now empty and that the grave clothes had been left just where his body had been – just as if he had passed out through them. It clearly could not have been the wrong tomb. Would all the disciples and the women have made the same mistake? Would the Roman soldiers who had guarded the tomb have also got this wrong? Wouldn’t the Jewish leaders have rushed to produce the body of Jesus if that had been possible?
Jesus’ followers were clearly excited about seeing the risen Christ. And it wasn’t only the disciples. The women had seen him. Cleopas and his companion had walked to Emmaus with him. Later over 500 people were to see him at one time. 1 Was it reasonable to think that they were either lying or were all hallucinated? Hallucinations affect individuals not groups. And their descriptions of the risen Christ were so real. He had talked with them, eaten meals with them and remonstrated with them. There was no vagueness about these ‘appearances’.
Surely all this evidence should have led him to believe. Perhaps there was something else that prevented him following Jesus. Perhaps he did not want Jesus to be his Lord. Perhaps he still cherished his independence from God. If there were such a bias then this would be very hard to overcome.
Decisions based on faith are regularly needed in life
A patient of mine was having problems with abdominal pains. He was also feeling weak and tests confirmed that he was anaemic. A barium enema x-ray showed that he had a cancer in the transverse colon. There was no evidence that this cancer had spread. He required an operation. All this evidence was discussed in detail with the patient and his wife. Yet making the decision to have that operation was not easy. Yes he knew about the pains and the weakness. But he had not felt a lump in his abdomen. He had to act on faith. He found it so hard to do this. Could there be a mistake – in spite of all the evidence? He therefore had an endoscopy, which was not really necessary, where a flexible telescope was passed up the bowel to look at the tumour and take photographs and biopsies of it. The photographs showed this malignant growth and a few days later the pathologist confirmed that the biopsies showed a malignant growth. It had not been that pleasant to have this test but he had persevered with it because he wanted to be sure. However he still found it difficult to agree to having an operation. In the end his family persuaded him. The operation went well and six years later he is thrilled that he made that decision. He acted on faith based on evidence.
Real faith is not a blind leap but trust in someone for whom there is good evidence. Sometimes disbelief is unreasonable.
Jesus commands that we believe because he loves us
When Jesus appeared to the disciples in the upper room he first says to those present, ‘Peace to you’. How easy it is to forget that the God who created this world and put us in it actually loves us. He wants what is best for us. He wants our characters to become more like that of God. He wants us to be with him in eternity. He longs for us to have peace.
This is why he commands Thomas to believe. Thomas’s refusal to trust Jesus was unreasonable and therefore Jesus rebukes him for this – “Stop doubting and believe”. Jesus gives Thomas yet further evidence, he shows him the nail holes in his hands and the spear hole in his side. It is possible that someone could come up with another explanation for these wounds but all the evidence together meant it was time to make a decision and God was reasonable in expecting this.
Thomas, at last makes that reasonable decision. He says to Jesus,
"My Lord and my God!"
This was not just an intellectual decision. Conviction alone is not enough. Thomas recognises that Jesus is God’s king who has been sent to earth to bring us back to God but there is more in his response than this. Martin Luther, the church reformer, said that Christianity consists of personal pronouns. Many religious people can say
“Jesus is Lord and God.”
This however does not make them Christians. Only the true Christian can honestly say,
“Jesus is my Lord and my God.”
A Christian is someone who has made a personal commitment to be Christ’s person here on earth, it is a personal surrender to him as my Lord and my Saviour. Nothing less will satisfy God.
Why should we believe today?
Jesus made it very clear that it is not necessary to see him personally in order to trust him. He went further, to say that those who believe in him who have not seen him are particularly blessed. This must mean ‘blessed by God’. The basis of belief has never changed. All people are called to believe in Christ because of the evidence. This evidence is scientific, historical and subjective.
John himself was one of those who was commissioned by Jesus to make a record of what he did and said. The other New Testament writers did the same. Thus Luke begins his record of the gospel about Jesus as follows,
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled] among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. Luke 1:1-4
John and his colleagues recorded their evidence about Jesus so that we, their readers could be sure of the facts and also put our trust in him. It is by believing that we are given eternal life.
The purpose of the church is to testify about Jesus, to tell the world how people can get right with God, and then how to live to please God. This is the whole thrust of John’s record of the gospel. It is an evangelistic book. First hand evidence about Jesus is recorded in order that people may believe in Jesus, so that they can receive eternal life.
EVIDENCE LEADS TO BELIEF AND LIFE
“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book, but these are written (i.e. evidence is given) that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31
We do have enough evidence. The decision is now a moral one. The question is not can we believe but will we believe. Will we acknowledge that we need Jesus?
We cannot procrastinate for ever. We cannot keep looking for yet more evidence. God knows our motives. Jesus says to all of us, just as he said to Thomas,
“Stop doubting and believe.” John 20:27
I finally became a Christian when I was a student at university. A friend had invited me to several talks about the gospel and I was impressed. I had previously given lip service to the Christian doctrines but now the Lord Jesus confronted me. He wanted to be Lord of my life. A friend had organised a tea and had invited several of us in the college. He also invited an American called George Verwer to give a talk. This made me think and I returned to my room and actually knelt down and prayed. It was a big decision I had to make. I knew I ought to be a Christian but the thought kept coming to my mind,
“What will others think?”
I am now so grateful that the Lord helped me to think straight. This is the prayer I finally said,
“Lord, thank you that you are real and that you love me in spite of my attempts to live independently of you. Please will you accept me as one of your people. Will you forgive all that I have done that had displeased you. Please give me your Spirit to enable me to keep going, living for you and with you for the rest of my life, until I join you in eternity. Thankyou so much for your promises.”
Like Thomas, I had started a new life as a Christian.
1 Corinthians 15:6
