To See / Based on John 20:19-31 / Delivered on April 28, 2019 at CCH in Hudson WI
Hymns: Trust and Obey, My Faith Looks Up to Thee, Because He Lives
John 20:19-31
19 It was still the first day of the week. That evening, while the disciples were behind closed doors because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.”
20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy.
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.”
22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you don’t forgive them, they aren’t forgiven.”
24 Thomas, the one called Didymus, one of the Twelve, wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger in the wounds left by the nails, and put my hand into his side, I won’t believe.”
26 After eight days his disciples were again in a house and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus entered and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.”
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand into my side. No more disbelief. Believe!”
28 Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus replied, “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.”
30 Then Jesus did many other miraculous signs in his disciples’ presence, signs that aren’t recorded in this scroll.
31 But these things are written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son, and that believing, you will have life in his name.
Good morning. I am Darci Strutt McQuiston, one of the Lay Servants of the United Methodist Church up on the hill from here. It is my joy to be with you all on this second Sunday of Easter. There are six Sundays of Easter so we’re continuing to celebrate.
The scripture for today gives us the term, “Doubting Thomas”, as in “Don’t be a Doubting Thomas, believe me!” I’m going to be exploring the scripture with these three ideas:
What it means to see
What it means to believe
What actions should result
What it means to see
We use the word “see” in many ways in conversation. One way is to describe something coming into our brains through our eyes. I can see you sitting in front of me. Another way is to imply suspending judgement until something is proven. A person that doesn’t quite believe something may say, “We’ll just wait and see about that.” Yet another way it is used is as a statement of understanding or knowing, as in a person finally understanding what someone is talking about and saying, “Oh, now I see what you mean!”
Our passage today could have used all three ways of using the word “see”.
25 The other disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger in the wounds left by the nails, and put my hand into his side, I won’t believe.”
Thomas just wanted to have what the other ten Disciples had. He wanted to experience Jesus coming into the room with his own eyes. For all he knew the other Disciples in their grief had just experienced a mass hallucination! He desired what any scientist would – proof. The other ten were shown Jesus hands and side.
20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy.
Notice is said, “when”, which to me says they didn’t fully believe until they saw.
Thomas didn’t say they were crazy. He took a wait and see attitude. He needed more proof. Jesus brought that proof just a week later.
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand into my side. No more disbelief. Believe!”
28 Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”
The scripture didn’t say Thomas took a moment to touch Jesus. Seeing was enough for him to know it was true.
Yet did they fully understand? Did they “see” what Jesus was asking?
What it means to believe
29 Jesus replied, “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.”
As I was researching the scripture for today a pastor referenced a passage from John Irving’s novel “A Prayer for Owen Meany.” Owen had been asked about the meaning of belief. He pointed to a granite statue of Mary Magdalene as the sun set. After it was fully dark, and the statue was no longer visible, he asked his friend if the statue is still there. The conversation goes back and forth with Owen pushing for proof he had no doubts. “You absolutely know she’s there even though you can’t see her? His friend finally screams “Yes!” Then Owen replies “Well, now you know how I feel about God. I can’t see him but I absolutely know he is there.”
Both Owen and his friend had seen the statue before it got dark, but I think the point was the level of knowing without being able to currently see. To be considered “blessed” or “happy” you would need to trust those eye witnesses testimony about the statue being there without seeing it yourself. It requires you to trust the messenger and believe through hearing instead of seeing.
We’re on this planet about two thousand years late to be able to talk to the disciples personally, but we can still experience their words through scripture.
30 Then Jesus did many other miraculous signs in his disciples’ presence, signs that aren’t recorded in this scroll.
31 But these things are written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son, and that believing, you will have life in his name.
We have the words of eye witnesses within the scriptures. These are men that died for their unwavering belief. We also have the Holy Spirit to guide and bring things to mind. We are called to believe like we had seen him ourselves that day.
What actions should result
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.”
22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you don’t forgive them, they aren’t forgiven.”
I personally don’t think this was asking the disciples to be judges over others. Rather, it was a directive to spread the good news that peoples sins had already been forgiven. If the people weren’t told they were forgiven, then they would continue to live with their sin keeping them from God.
Jesus death and resurrection unlocked the chains of sin, but people need to be told their chain is unlocked before they know to take it off. Jesus was sent to tell us God loves and forgives us. Now that job is being passed down officially to His followers.
Years ago, our church would hold a four-hour Good Friday service in which each of Jesus final words were given a 30-minute segment of reflection. One year I delivered the segment on Jesus asking his disciple John to care for his mother Mary. I researched each of the disciples to learn why John was the one chosen to care for Mary. It turned out that every other disciple was martyred. John was the only one that would live and be able to care for Mary.
I don’t know if John was spared from martyrdom because he took responsibility for Mary, or if Jesus gave him the responsibility because he knew John would live. All I know is that every other disciple died still proclaiming the message Jesus asked them to spread. Their belief was absolute even when facing death.
We have their words. The purpose of these words is so we can come to believe. We can’t see with our eyes, but we can see with our understanding. Jesus died for us and lives for us, and we have life in His name.
Now our task is to respond to Jesus call to go into the world just as He was sent. We are called to share the good news that God has adopted us as children and loves us beyond measure. We are called to share the good news that God has already forgiven our sin, so we don’t need to feel separated from Him anymore.
Psalm 103:11-12
11 because as high as heaven is above the earth,
that’s how large God’s faithful love is for those who honor him.
12 As far as east is from west—
that’s how far God has removed our sin from us.
Our brothers and sisters won’t know this good news until we tell them. God did the forgiving. Our job is to tell each other that it is true. We save each other by telling each other that God already saved us. We are in this together.
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.”
This isn't a solo journey! The prayer of confession in the Methodist tradition ends with the minister saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven” and then the congregation responds back to the leader, “In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.” In that way both the leader and the congregation receive the word of forgiveness from each other.
So, on this second Sunday of Easter I pray we can have our faith strengthened by the wittiness of the first disciples. Receive the peace that Jesus proclaimed as well as his direction, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” His message is one of love and forgiveness, and we need to share it.
Amen
