Tuesday, January 6, 2015

From Doubt to Faith-The Climax of John's Gospel


A couple of years ago we began a series in the book of John that I affectionately titled, “Things are More than they Seem.” We have discovered in our study that this is true of life, who we are as human beings, and what we know of Jesus Christ. In fact, John’s expressed purpose in writing this gospel has involved demonstrating that when it comes to Jesus, things are more than they seem. Today, all of the pieces come together in John 20:24-29 and in a dramatic and highly personal scene, the climax of this lengthy literary work is presented in all of its glory. In this passage an unlikely individual who is late to the party is used to demonstrate what true faith looks like, and the voice of a skeptic is called upon to vocalize some of the most compelling theological truths. Let us take a close look at this passage by means of three circumstances that work together to make the case John has been working on for the last 19 chapters.
 

CIRCUMSTANCE #1: Doubt Drives a Wedge-20:24-25

Jesus’ post-resurrection manifestations we took a look at last week would have been life-changing for anyone in attendance. His miraculous appearance had to of had a lasting impact on the disciples who witnessed His presence, observed His scars, and felt His breath. However, not everyone was in attendance in John 20:19-23. In fact, at least one disciple was somewhere else, “but Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came” (20:24). Though we are not told where Thomas was when everyone had the benefit of witnessing the risen Christ, his “coming up to speed” episode allows for one of the greatest Christological confessions recorded and sets the stage for the climax of John’s Gospel.

Once Thomas is joined together with the other ten disciples, all of them share the great news of Jesus’ resurrection with him, “so the other disciples were saying to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’…” (20:25a). This short testimony lets us know that at least initially, the disciples did share the message Jesus instructed them to publicize (However, as we will soon learn, their obedience only went so far). This news, although simple, is profound and would have been shocking to Thomas. First, the statement necessarily means that not one, two, or three, but at least TEN of Thomas’ closest confidants claimed to have witnessed the same miracle (that is pretty compelling evidence of the miracle’s legitimacy). Second, that Jesus was risen from the dead means that all of their worries and fears about following a man who had just been crucified had no basis. Their most profound grief would have been remedied into vivacious victory if what they said was true. Third, their reference to Jesus as “Lord” means that these men at least claimed to believe that Jesus had authority and that this authority was confirmed in His resurrection. Quite a learning curve for Thomas to navigate through in order to catch up with His contemporaries.

Remember, Thomas did not have the experience the others shared of seeing Jesus and investigating His scars. Though people traditionally give Thomas a hard time, it is healthy to remember that he is a step behind everyone else (exactly where the other disciples were after hearing the initial news from Mary Magdalene). How did they respond when they first heard the news? They locked themselves in a room out of fear instead of proudly proclaiming Jesus’ victory!  Poor Thomas gets a bad rap; however, he is just as doubtful as his colleagues were before they saw Jesus alive.

 “But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” (20:25b). Apparently, Thomas thinks the disciples may have seen a ghost (the Middle East during the first century was very superstitious). In fact, this would not have been the first time Jesus was mistaken to be a ghost, nor would it be the last time that people demanded confirmation of Jesus’ identity (see Matt. 14:26; John 21:4, etc.).

Ultimately, Thomas wants concrete evidence, the same kind of evidence that his fellow disciples enjoyed in John 20:19-23. Surely, Jesus, if His body was truly raised would have some sort of physical continuity with the Jesus who was crucified (i.e. scars in appropriate areas) (Carson, 656). However, for the time being, Thomas has not yet seen what He needs to see to make this quantum leap from skepticism to faith. Because of this, I imagine it drove an incredible wedge between him and his friends. Imagine being the odd one out in this situation. All of your closest buddies are enjoying the victory of hope and life and you are stuck wondering by yourself in a corner if any of this is true. Thomas was an outcast in his doubt and would remain this was for no less than 8 days.

Before we continue on this journey it is important to recognize the significance of the disciples’ experience and Thomas’ demand. Shortly after Jesus would ascend, the roots of Gnosticism were planted, saying that Jesus only appeared to be human (the heresy of Docetism, from dokeo, “to seem”) (Kostenberger, Zondervan Illustrated 190). However, John here and in talking about Jesus’ incarnation earlier (1:14) makes every effort to demonstrate that Jesus both “came in the flesh” and rose in the flesh (albeit a glorified flesh). In fact, in later letters to the churches, John continues this theme (1 John 4:2-3; 2 John 7).

1 John 4:2-3-“This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

2 John 7-“I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

That Jesus rose bodily from the dead means that our bodies have a future resurrection to look forward to when we are glorified and become “like” Christ. Had Jesus not been risen bodily, this doctrine would be nonsensical and full-blown Platonism is confirmed.

CIRCUMSTANCE #2: Revelation Creates an Opportunity-20:26-27

Interestingly, the very same scenario is created a week later that existed before Thomas emerged on the scene, only this time, Thomas is in attendance-- “after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you’…” (20:26). The time reference of “eight days” is an idiomatic was of saying “a week later” putting this episode on the newly crowned “Lord’s Day.” However, instead of celebrating and sharing openly the news they have to share, it is obvious in this text that they have not done well to keep their new resolutions (see John 20:19-23 –resolutions include 1. Being a person of peace, 2. Being a person of action, 3. Being a person who shares). Instead, there they are hiding out for fear of the Jewish authorities behind locked doors…AGAIN! INSPITE OF THE EXPERIENCE THEY ALL SHARED! You might see why Thomas was unconvinced by the disciple’s message. To Thomas, their fearful behavior may have validated his skepticism.

Regardless of their faithlessness, Jesus, out of sheer grace, appears miraculously again and shares the same message, “Peace be with you” (20:26). I imagine the tenor of His voice implied “I SAID (a week ago) PEACE be with you” (not fear or hesitation). The idea here, again, is that because Jesus is alive, there is no reason to fear, no justification for being idle, and not cause for silence. 

After making His familiar declaration on the whole bunch, Jesus narrows His focus on Thomas and makes an example out of Him, “…Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here you hand and put it into My side;…” (20:27a). Though Jesus did not need to justify Himself in this way, He humbly offers His body to Thomas in this way for Thomas’ benefit, putting obvious revelation on the lowest shelf imaginable.

Here, Thomas is awarded the opportunity he asked for earlier—a thorough examination of Jesus’ wounds. Jesus’ allowance of Thomas’ empirical investigation is His way of reaching into Thomas’ skepticism in an effort to bring Him to a point of faith. In fact, following His invitation to Thomas, He calls for Thomas’ belief. 

“…and do not be unbelieving, but believing” (20:27b). There are several ways to translate this amazing invitation. Some translations render this “do not be unbelieving, but believing” while others render it, “do not be an unbeliever, but a believer.” However, no matter how you understand it, one things is certain, by taking up Thomas’ challenge, Jesus proves that he hears His disciples even when he is not physically present, and removes all possible grounds for unbelief (Carson, 657).

Jesus’ presentation of evidence to Thomas is indicative of what He and the Bible has done on a far more general scale. Thousands of corresponding copies of early manuscripts with no doctrinal differences make the Bible one of the most thoroughly vetted and consistent pieces of literature—even in modern day translations. Similarly, secular historical scholars agree that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the most exhaustively evidenced events in all of history. These and countless other proofs demonstrate God’s willingness to offer evidence of Himself in manageable bites for even the most juvenile skeptic on the lowest epistemic shelf. The myriad of presentations all cry out the same message, “and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” (John 20:24-29)

Ultimately, these two circumstances lay the groundwork for the climax of John’s Gospel.

CIRCUMSTANCE #3: Belief brings Salvation-20:28-29

We are not told whether Thomas actually took Jesus up on His offer to insert His fingers into the Savior’s wounds or not. In fact, the text seems to suggest that the sight of Jesus and His invitation was enough to bring Thomas out of doubt and into profound reverence.  

The entire series we have been working through in this amazing gospel has been called “Things are More than they Seem” and it is here that this principle is realized when it comes to Jesus Christ.  Circumstances in Thomas’ life bring him here to a point of belief that Jesus is not just a man, not just a teacher, not just a miracle worker, not just a prophet, not just a good role model—HE IS GOD HIMSELF MADE FLESH and Thomas’ declaration of this is the climax of this gospel, “Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’…” (20:28). In a gospel that has done its best to demonstrate that Jesus is God, here is where we see one skeptic’s journey from disbelief to deep conviction in the face of overwhelming evidence.

His statement is important for several reasons. First, it is an explicit declaration of Jesus’ lordship and therefore His equality to God the Father. Because Thomas calls Jesus “Lord” and “God,” he is claiming that Jesus is equal to God—He is God made flesh. Anything other than this conviction falls short of true Christianity. Second, his statement is profoundly personal, “My Lord and my God!” It is one thing to say that Jesus has the authority of God and another thing entirely to subject oneself to that authority. That Thomas claims Jesus as his Lord and God means that he is surrendering his life to Christ and entering into a personal relationship with Him.

 In this statement we see a beautiful depiction of salvation. Romans 10:9-10 explains salvation this way, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Thomas, after witnessing Jesus’ death personally and coming to grips with His resurrection declares that Jesus is Lord verbally, demonstrating what is already true in his heart. Because of this, Thomas is transformed from a lonely doubter to a faithful follower. Calling him a “doubting Thomas” now is not accurate in the least. Thomas may have doubted before; however, he ended up being a faithful follower. In fact, how is this for “doubting Thomas”—Thomas (Didymus) according to historical accounts traveled further than any other apostle with the news of Jesus Christ, making his way all the way to southern India where he was eventually speared by a pagan priest for refusing worship to an idol. I’d say that Thomas’ life adds to the mound of evidence for the legitimacy of Jesus and the reality of His resurrection. Not many would travel to the end of the world and give up there life for someone they believed was dead, especially if they used to be a skeptic.

Jesus responds to Thomas’ declaration by saying, “…’because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed’…”(20:29). Although many understand the first part of Jesus’ response as a word of rebuke, it is important to point out that Thomas’ faith far exceeded his colleagues at this point. We will discover in the next couple of weeks that the rest of the disciples were not yet where Thomas was. In fact, the one who was lagging behind the others earlier now stood out front! Therefore, it is better to interpret Jesus’ words as a confirmation of Thomas’ saving faith posed as a question in an effort to introduce the main thrust of John’s Gospel (located in the second part of verse 29).

“Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” (20:29). In other words, Jesus says, blessed are those who will come long after I leave the earth and reach the same conclusion Thomas reached—that I am their Lord and their God. With this statement, Jesus breaks the fourth wall and stares down anyone who picks up this book, letting them know how they can have real life. Real life is bestowed on those who in light of the evidence provided in God’s Word, creation, and experiences reach the inevitable conclusion that Jesus is Lord and in response surrender their lives to Him. Blessed are these!

So What?

When it comes to Jesus, things are more than they seem. Jesus is Lord and God! Do you believe this? Those who doubt this (believing anything less of Christ) drive a wedge between them and God, leaving them in a stubborn state of disbelief. These know nothing of God, ultimately have no hope, and enjoy a mediocre and altogether meaningless life.  Perhaps it is time that you examine the evidence and see for yourself. The Bible is the most trustworthy document known to man with the most compelling and exhaustively evidenced events (events that carry with them eternal implications). Its characters (like Thomas) were historical people who were really changed in profound ways and in many cases gave their lives proclaiming that Jesus rose from the grave! If this is true and Jesus really did rise as numerous sources support from secular historians of the first century, then everything Jesus said and did is confirmed. When all Jesus said and did is added up, it leads to one conclusion—Jesus is Lord and God! Is it not about time you recognize the futility of your skepticism and faithfully follow Jesus saying along with “faithful” Thomas, “My Lord and my God?”

For those who have voiced this confession, is it not time we live accordingly? Our Savior is alive from the dead! Why should we not lay down our lives spreading this message? Let us take our cue from the one we call a doubter and put our feet and hands where our mouth is! Do not let you inactivity in the kingdom building project and your silence fluff the pillows in the living room of skepticism. Because things are more than they seem.

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