Releasing and Sending the Doubtful and Fearful

John 20:19-31

 

Sermon

 Hobart, April 17th, 1999

© Phil Hopwood

 

 

 

Scripture Readings:

OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE:

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, O God,
for in you I take refuge.
2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing."
3 As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those will increase
who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood
or take up their names on my lips.
5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
11 You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand

 

NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE:

John 20:19-31

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
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.

 

 INTRODUCTION:

  1. "Doubt AND FEAR"

    1. Doubt AND FEAR ARE TWO ENEMIES MOST OF US FACE IN OUR LIVES:
      1. Doubt is taught to us from an early age.
      2. At some point an older child tells us a lie
        1. But once we discovered that we had been told an untruth the seeds of doubt were planted.
        2. The next time they told us something we questioned whether it was true: we doubted.
      3. Worse still is when our parents or someone else we respect, tells us something we later discover to be untrue
    2. Doubt is necessary for survival in this world.
      1. If we believed everything we were told, we would soon be in trouble.
        1. So if someone tells us their product is better than another we question their word.
        2. If someone comes to our door selling TV’s or videos cheap, we tend to question if they are legitimate
          1. If we don’t we could end up being prosecuted for receiving stolen goods
        3. If a politician promises something before an election we tend to view it with some doubt
      2. We have all been lied to, so out of self defense we distrust; we doubt.
      3. Doubt may be necessary in this world, but it is also dangerous.
        1. Doubt may save us from believing a lie,
        2. but it can also keep us from believing the truth.
      4. How many times has a person in a bad situation been told,
        1. "Take my hand; I can lead you out. Trust me."
        2. And because they doubted, they perished.
      5. But worst of all doubt about ultimate things creates spiritual turmoil and pain.
        1. Doubt can be like a whirlpool that threatens to pull a person under.
        2. A person who doesn't know what to believe about God and the meaning of life is like one who is alone and lost.
    3. FEAR:
      1. There some similarities between doubt and fear.
        1. We learn both when we are youn
        2. Fear also has healthy and unhealthy dimensions
          1. It is good to fear those things which hurt and harm
          2. But very often our fears are unfounded, and fear imprisons us
          3. And we are held back from opportunities and benefits,
      2. One universal result of fear, is that we lack peace in our lives because of our fears, real or imagined
    4. In our passage we see both fear and doubt:

      5. John 20:19 a

      19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews

      1. Here we see the disciples, locked in a room fearful and deathly afraid that if they ventured out the Jews would recognise them and attack and perhaps kill them.
      2. What happens next?

      John 20:19-21

      19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

      21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

    5. What has happened here? What is the solution that brings peace to replace their fear?
      1. Jesus and the Holy Spirit!
      2. This peace is not a tangible present that is handed over......it is the peace that comes from being in the "presense" of Jesus!! Read a comment from a minister the other day in which he said,

        3. I came across a car accident with the victim lying on the road and I went over to hold her hand while we waited for the ambulance. Afterwards I received a note saying "Thanks for staying with me on the road. Your presense brought much peace to me. I wasn't afraid after you held my hand.

      3. This is the Peace of the Presence of Jesus!!

      The risen Christ came to his disciples in the midst of their turmoil and fear. He came in the midst of their doubt and their sense of having failed both him and their own selves and said to them: "Peace be with you."

      And when he said this he showed them his wounds - the holes in his hands and in his side - as if to say:

      See these wounds - feel them and know that it is all right to hurt. Pain comes to us all - I was hurt as all people are hurt - but that pain and that hurt no longer has dominion over me - I live - as I said I would. I told you that I would suffer - and that you, if you followed me, would also suffer - but I told you too that after passing through various trials and tests -that pain and even death itself would lose its power - its power over me and its power over those who believe in me.

      The three times that Jesus offers his peace to his disciples in today's reading - it is done in close connection with the wounds of crucifixion. The enemies of peace had already done their worst to him. They had made cowards and liars of his followers and had mocked his own words and actions. They had humiliated him in the city streets. The had violated his flesh and robbed him of his life. But their war against him failed. On the evening of the first day of the week he came to his disciples and showed them that he lived despite the worst that could happen.

      The peace that Jesus offers can be described as the confidence his followers are able to take from his resurrected appearance. His return on that first day of the week signalled the fact that his life and promises will endure. His "peace be with you" was more than a greeting to be followed by another good-bye. It was the declaration of a persistent fact. Because Jesus lives nothing can separate his followers from him and from life in him.

      The disciples realized this fact and in realizing it received the peace that Jesus offered - the peace that only Jesus could offer - for without him they would have been left to continue alone in the darkness and fear of their locked room.

      The confidence that the disciples received when Jesus came and said to them "peace be with you" is demonstrated in the response of the disciples to his appearance. Peace showed itself in their rejoicing - and in Thomas' confession of faith - "My Lord, and my God."

      And peace showed itself - confidence showed itself - inner security showed itself - later when the disciples left that room and went into the world to proclaim the love and forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ - the risen Lord.

      But my friends - notice that none of the external circumstances of the disciples changed when they received and accepted the peace that Christ offered them.

      They believed in him - they had confidence in him - they knew that nothing could separate them from God's love after he appeared to them - but they still had to face the same situation they faced before he broke into the room they had locked because of their fear. They still had to face authorities. They still had to risk going out on the streets, they still had deal with the crowds who had mocked and crucified Jesus. They still had to face trials and tribulations - as do we.

      Peace be with you - is the word of Jesus to us.

      Peace be with you and blessed are you when you have not seen, as the disciples saw, and yet have come to believe.

      Blessed are you - not because life will be plain sailing for you, Blessed are you - not because you will always want to smile and will never have to suffer.

      But blessed are you because you have linked yourself to a power greater than yours; to a power that wants to sustain you and will sustain you, to the power that raised Jesus from the dead, to the power that will bring you to the inheritance that Jesus has won for us, that inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith.

    6. The presence of Jesus gives us peace
      1. And with him at our side, deeply in our lives, we go forth in peace, out of our fearful locked up lives, and into the world to share the good news of this peace Jesus gives!

     

  2. Besides fear, we also see DOUBT

    3. John 20:24-25

    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."

    1. The prime example of doubt in the Bible is Thomas.
      1. We often call him "Doubting Thomas," but he is no different from us.
      2. We all doubt as he did.
        1. Under the same circumstances we would doubt too.
        2. Thomas had been gone when Jesus appeared that first Sunday, and so he didn’t see him that first time.
        3. When he came back everyone was excited and were saying that Jesus was alive, but he’d missed out.
    2. Consider this from Thomas' point of view.
      1. He had seen Jesus crucified.
        1. The Romans had nailed him to a cross. And he knew that when the Romans set out to kill someone they finished the job.
      2. First the women and then the rest were saying that Jesus was alive.
        1. The physical evidence was clear.
        2. Jesus had died.
        3. He was pronounced dead and the certificate had been signed.
      3. It was obvious that the disciples were the victims of some kind of group hysteria.
        1. Their grief had driven first the women and then the men into the delusion that Jesus was still alive.
      4. We can't blame Thomas for doubting the resurrection.
        1. The other disciples had doubted before they saw Jesus.
        2. Under the same circumstances we would doubt.
          1. It would be natural.
      5. When someone tells us something unbelievable, no matter how much we normally trust that person, we doubt.
        1. So people, all people, doubt what they are told about Jesus.
        2. We can understand then, why Thomas doubted.
      6. And we should acknowledge that we are more like him than we may like to admit.
        1. Then we should try to learn from him.
    When I was young I went to church with my family, which included Sunday School, every Sunday, just about without fail. In grade 4, a boy in my class from the rough end of town blurted out for some reason, and I can to this day remember exactly who it was, and the room and the words; he said in a gruff and rapid statement, "I don’t believe in God or Jesus!"
    This was a great shock to me. Not the possibility that God or Jesus didn’t exist, that I had no doubt about, but that anyone would doubt they did was what shocked me.
    It wasn’t until I was in my teens, and had been exposed to a lot of questions and doubts, especially the great debate of the 60’s and 70’s, on the "God is dead" issue, that I too started to wonder and have my doubts whether God did really exist.
    And at that time, not many of the churches, and none that I knew of, were helping address those doubts and fundamental questions.
    I wonder how many of us have been through similar times of challenge to our faith? I wonder how many haven’t been?

    I think therefore, that most of us have at times been in the same shoes as Thomas. And the solution to our doubts is the same as the solution for Thomas.

     

  3. JESUS’ SOLUTION FOR DOUBT

    4. John 20:19-31

    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.

    1. AS Jesus HAD appeared the WEEK BEFORE TO THE other Apostless he NOW appears to THEM AGAIN ALONG WITH Thomas.
      1. He came to help the disciples with their fear
      2. And he came to help Thomas overcome his doubt
    2. This is what the Resurrected Jesus does for us!
      1. He comes to us wherever we are locked up, discouraged, doubting or fearful, and he releases us from those problems that keep us from going out and with inner peace, and confidence to go out and do his work that he has given us
    3. Doubting Thomas had doubted that Jesus was even alive.
      1. But Jesus came and changed Thomas
        1. God took the prime example of doubt and turned him into an example of belief.
      2. In the end "Believing Thomas" confessed that Jesus was "My Lord and my God".
        1. This was perhaps the strongest and fullest statement of faith than anyone had made to that point
        2. Thomas is acknowledging that Jesus was his living Master and King, the one he was going to follow as the Lord of His life
          1. He was confessing him as God, his God, real and alive.

     

  4. APPLICATION: We are all doubting Thomases

    1. We all doubt, especially concerning religious matters.
      1. Perhaps we doubt that we are saved.
      2. "Do I trust enough?
      3. Was I really converted when I was baptised?
      4. Is my faith enough or is there something I need to do?"
      5. Does God really hear my prayers?
      6. Perhaps we doubt the Bible or the way people interpret it.
        1. And we think, "Maybe God really isn't loving.
        2. Maybe someone made it all up.
        3. Maybe there is no God."
      7. Or maybe like Thomas we doubt the resurrection.
        1. "Maybe Jesus didn't raise from the dead. Maybe he was just a good man who is dead."
        2. And sometimes writers and so called experts make our doubts worse.
    2. We learn two very important things about doubt from "Doubting Thomas" and "Believing Thomas."
      1. First of all, doubt is part of the human condition.
        1. Don't blame Thomas or yourself for doubting.
        2. We all doubt and at times that doubt is even necessary.
        3. Jesus understood Thomas’s human proclivity to doubt, and he understand ours.
      2. We need to face our doubts
        1. It's not so much that a person doubts as much as what one does with the doubt!! Yes, I may doubt my wife's love for me when she does so and so......but its only it's when I bring those doubts into our conversation that our faith and love for each other is strengthened.
          1. If we have doubts, we need to go to God with them, and not pretend they aren’t there
      3. Third, God can turn doubt into belief.
        1. God took Thomas, the prime example of doubt, and turned him into a prime example of belief.
        2. Doubt is necessary: without it we would believe every lie people tell us.
        3. But we don't have to let doubt rob us of the joy God is offering us.
      4. Jesus appeared to the disciples to take their fear away, and it was this same close presence, this face to face relationship that took away Thomas’s doubts
        1. And he ministered to me to give me faith and peace when I needed it and I’m sure he has done that for you in the past, and will do it now and in the future.
      5. Helen Keller wrote something very profound on the topic of doubt in our Christian lives;

        6. It need not discourage us if we are full of doubts. Healthy questions keep faith dynamic. Unless we start with doubts we cannot have a deep-rooted faith. One who believes lightly and unthinkingly has not much of a belief. He who has a faith which is not to be shaken has won it through blood and tears—has worked his way from doubt to truth as one who reaches a clearing through a thicket of brambles and thorns. HELEN ADAMS KELLER (1880–1968)

        Modest doubt is call’d The beacon of the wise. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564–1616)

      6. God can take the turmoil of doubt and transform it into the peace of faith.
    3. The key to overcoming doubt and fear is clear and simple;
      1. We need to be close to Jesus, we need his love, his assurance, his guidance, his assurance and strength
      2. He comes to be with us, to remove our doubts and fears through his presence in our lives

      When you really see Jesus, I defy you to doubt him. OSWALD CHAMBERS (1874–1917)

    4. Jesus even had us in mind at the time, when he said in

      5. 29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

    5. Jesus doesn’t come visibly to be with us, but he does promise to be with us. How can we experience the presence of Jesus that takes away our doubts and questions, and our fears?

      6. Every step toward Christ kills a doubt. Every thought, word, and deed for him carries you away from discouragement.

      THEODORE LEDYARD CUYLER (1822–1909)

      1. Pray and talk with him, draw close to God, come boldly before the throne of grace, knowing that God hears, and cares, and will comfort us, teach us, and help remove our doubts and fears
      2. Study God’s word
        1. In it we are given answers to our questions and doubts
        2. In it we are given reason for hope and peace, and led out of fear
      3. Through coming face to face with Jesus, Thomas’s doubts and fears were conquered, and he went out just as Jesus told him and the others, to become a totally dedicated servant of the gospel
      4. In fact history tells us that he went to India and there died a martyrs death, killed by natives who peeled his skin off...... so he was a person of COMMITMENT even to death

      John 20:30-31

      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.

    6. It is so important that we keep reading and hearing the word of God, because it contains all that we need to know about Jesus and the love God has for us, the love that casts out fear and doubt.
      1. Fellowship through worship services and small groups are also a way in which we experience the presence of Jesus and learn from his word.
      2. And through his presence and his Word he helps us with our fears and doubts, day by day
    7. So whenever we are fearful, or Doubting, let’s
      1. Call on God, let’s get into Jesus presence, let’s ask for His Spirit, and lets go to his word, and spend time with his people;
      2. Because in these ways, Jesus will come into our locked rooms and comfort and enlighten our hearts and minds and send us out again to do his will

       

    8. PRAYER
    9. Concluding Scripture:
      1. They are the words Jesus spoke to his disciples just before he went out to the Garden of Gethsemane and onward from there to his cross and his death…

        2. John 14:23-27

        23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

        25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

         

 

Acknowledgment: Some material adapted from Rev. Richard J. Fairchild, Sermon, April 1999

        SONG SUGGESTIONS:

        Praise Him! Praise Him!

        The Solid Rock

        All Heaven Declares

        I’ll Never Leave You (Hymn 300)

        By His Grace

        I Will Run To You

        The Lord is My Strength

        Wounded Soldier Vineyard Tape 1

        I Will Sing the Wondrous Story

        Let The Peace of God Reign

        Power of Your Love

 

 

 

 

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