I. The Devil's Zillow 00:00
…that my wife and I are looking for a place to live. And it’s one of these great things, right, because we don’t have a victim story about this. Some people are like, “Man, I just couldn’t afford to pay, so the landlord kicked me out.” We get to celebrate the fact that we’re moving, because the bishop’s daughter Jessica and her husband Preston are coming back to live here. So praise God, right? At least we started on a good note. But then, you know who interfered? The Devil’s Zillow. And so for the past few weeks we’ve had this war within ourselves, where we know God has a place for us, and the Devil’s Zillow is telling us, “No, he doesn’t.” And so we’re just praying and believing that God’s going to show up for us.
But I bring that up because I’m listening to Doubting Thomas, right? That poor guy who gets this really bad rap. And part of me wants to tell God, “I’ll believe it when I see it. When I open the door to this house I’m going to live in, when I put my furniture in, then I’ll believe it.” And so I have to remind myself: Jesus says to Thomas, “Blessed are those who believe without seeing” (John 20.29). So that’s what we’re working on this morning.
It’s fun to bring this up now, because we’re not going to be able to get to it once we get into this story. But there’s a great blessing for each of us in this room, because if you’re a Christian today, you’re one who believes without seeing. That’s what Jesus was saying, right? It was for us that Jesus said that to Thomas, not to make Thomas feel bad, because he knew thousands of years of Christians would read that passage and say, “Lord, I believe without seeing.” Blessed are you. You’re all blessed. So we’re going to start on that note, and we’re going to jump into our Gospel once again, John chapter 20, verse 19.
II. Peace Be with You 01:51
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. John 20.19–20
So this is a fascinating start to our Easter story, right? There are other stories we read last week, but we’re still in the Easter season, so we haven’t moved past that day. We’re exploring Easter Day. So let’s get our timeline right. Later on that day, Jesus has shown up to John and Peter. He’s shown up to Mary Magdalene. He’s shown up to these people, and they’re starting to hear rumblings. And yet these people are locked in a room for fear of the Jews. Interesting. So they’ve heard that maybe something good is happening, and their response is, “We’d better lock the doors. Who knows what’s going to happen now?” Right? And maybe they’re thinking, “Oh, if this rumor gets out that we stole the body of Jesus” (because that was the rumor, we hear later, the rumor told about Jesus), “then maybe the Jews are going to come for us, and we’ll be crucified like Jesus.” And so they’re living in this terror, in this fear.
Maybe you’ve had a time where God promised you something, and it felt like it died on a cross, and you were in that moment in fear. You were in that moment saying, “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I just lost my job. I just lost my home. I just lost my wife,” whatever it is. Maybe you’re living in fear. The story of Easter is that there’s no situation where the risen Christ cannot walk in and say, “Peace to you,” in the midst of that time. And so wherever your fear is, that’s where the risen Christ wants to walk in and declare peace to you.
III. Shalom Be with You 02:54
Now let me just say this. Peace does not mean that slight euphoria you get when you sit down on your couch with a slice of pizza and a beer, or a glass of wine, and you’re turning on the latest episode of Yellowstone, or whatever it is people watch these days. That’s not what we’re talking about when we talk about peace. It’s nice, it’s fine, but that’s not what God’s saying. Because, do you know, that slice of pizza, that beer, that TV show, that’s not enough peace to face the cross. These men just lost their most beloved Lord, the one they thought was the Messiah, brutally murdered. They’re not in the mood for peace, man. They’re not in the mood for that. They need something more important.
And don’t you know, although the language has been watered down over the centuries, Jesus said something more than just “peace,” man. He said, “Shalom be to you.” What does shalom mean? Well, shalom’s more like our Fire Nights we’ve been having recently, where people are standing and worshiping God together in right relationship with him, and people are being set free, people are weeping as they encounter the love of God. That is shalom. It’s restoration, it’s healing, it’s wholeness, it’s freedom, and it’s peace, the peace which surpasses all understanding (Phil 4.7).
Shalom is when you’ve done a particularly difficult job to the glory of God, and it works out well, and somebody’s blessed because of it. That’s shalom. It’s an active idea. Shalom is a prodigal son coming home and being restored in right relationship. Shalom doesn’t mean a lack of conflict or struggle. Don’t you know, those guys Jesus said “Peace to you” to: that’s the word he gives them at the same time that Jesus knows the majority of them will be beaten and killed the same way he is. They’re going to need a little bit more than our weak idea of a lack of conflict. They need shalom. They need to carry the presence of Christ wherever they go, to speak healing, wholeness, restoration.
IV. Running Towards the Danger 05:09
I heard this podcast with this author, J.K. Rowling. You may have heard of her. She wrote these books called Harry Potter, right? And she was doing this podcast (the subject’s really not important), but she said one thing that jumped out at me. She said, “Well, I just hope that everyone can be authentic and comfortable in who they are.” Who cares whether you can be authentic or comfortable? You know who’s authentic and comfortable? Someone who’s comatose, with drugs flowing into their body making them feel good about themselves. That is comfortable and authentic. We are called for more than that.
And at the same time I was listening to that podcast, I encountered this video online. It was the body cam footage of the police officers who responded to the Nashville shooting. I don’t recommend that you go out and watch it, right? Content warning. Maybe it’s something you feel compelled to do. It is hard to watch. But there was something in it that changed the way I viewed the world, seeing that. It was these officers who ran towards the danger. There are evil men and women in the world. There are evil things in the world. But then there are good men who run towards those evil things to protect the innocent, the teachers, the children.
And just seeing them… It was fourteen minutes from the 911 call to the shooter being taken out. And you’re watching this, and they’re clearing the building. They’re going into each room, and they’re talking to each other, trying to figure out where the shooter is. And they hear the sound of gunshots, and everything in you says, “Run away from that.” And immediately they say, “Where is that? Let’s go.” That is shalom. And what I mean by that is: shalom is responding rightly, responding the way Christ would. What did Jesus say? “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15.13). And these men in that moment were willing to lay down their lives to protect the innocent and the broken.
When Jesus says, “Shalom be with you,” he means: go out into that broken world, confront the evil, bring in the presence of the risen Christ. Set the captives free, heal the lame, heal the sick, raise the dead. That’s shalom. That’s the kingdom of God. So peace be with you this morning. Shalom be with you. Let all of your life be healed, restored. Let the evil in this world be encountered by the light of Christ within you, and be changed.
They weren’t comfortable, those police officers running into that building. They weren’t being authentic. Their authentic human expression is to run away from danger. They were denying themselves, taking up their cross, and following our Lord. I don’t want to make more of this than there is, but there’s nothing I was more impressed by than watching that footage of these brave men and women running towards the danger.
V. He Showed Them His Hands and His Side 08:41
Back to our story, in a similarly horrific situation. Jesus has been brutally murdered on a cross, and the response of these men was to run and hide. And so in the midst of that, they’re also dealing with their own shame, their own fear, their own brokenheartedness. And what does Jesus say? “I can’t believe you weren’t with me when I went to the cross”? No. He says, “Shalom be with you. That very shame and fear and guilt you’re wrestling with: come, look, I took it in my hands and in my side. I’ve taken your brokenness into my body, and eternally your healing will come because of these wounds.”
Holy cow! We have a God… well, not holy cow. Holy Jesus! We have a God who bears our wounds eternally. We were talking about how in our songs we’re talking about the victory that was already won for us, and we can do all this, and all authority and everything, right? Why? Because he has the wounds. Every darkness, every tragedy, everything has been taken out on the body of God our Savior, and he has borne them. He bore them into death, and then he bore them into resurrection, that we might know that no matter how wounded you are this day, there is healing and resurrection for you. There’s not a wound you have that God has not borne, that God does not have healing for.
What are his wounds? They’re this mark of our sin on the body of God. They’re God taking our sin and transforming it, by his love and mercy, into our redemption. In his mercy, his love for us is evidenced in his wounds.
VI. Doughty Thomas 09:56
So let’s get to Thomas. I’m not going to talk about the Holy Spirit and the sending out today; we don’t have time. But we’re going to jump into another story, of Thomas, who unfortunately wasn’t there.
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” John 20.24–25
Why wasn’t Thomas with them when Jesus came? Who knows, right? Maybe he was out getting coffee and donuts. Maybe it was something simple and innocent. But I will say that where Jesus shows up is where the body of Christ, the Church, gathers. That’s where Jesus shows up. You’ll want to be there.
Now, who is Thomas, this Doubting Thomas, this punch line in the story of Jesus’ resurrection? He’s the last one of the disciples to accept that Jesus has risen. Well, let’s look at where we see Thomas elsewhere. In John chapter 11, verse 14, Lazarus has been sick, and Jesus said, “We’re not going to go see Lazarus in Judea.” And all the disciples said, “Wow, Jesus is so wise, because the people in Judea want to kill him. Usually he just walks right into that situation. Jesus is learning to be wise and to avoid danger.” That’s what the disciples are saying, right? They’re thinking, “Wow, Jesus, you’re not going to go to Judea, even though your friend is sick, because you’re afraid you’re going to get killed.” And they’re probably thinking, “Thank God.” And then Jesus says, “We’ve got to go now to Judea.” And he says, “You know, Lazarus is sleeping.” And they’re like, “Well, if he’s sleeping, he’s going to get better. Let’s not go to the place where they want to kill us.”
14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” John 11.14–16
That’s not doubting Thomas. That’s doughty Thomas. And half the room says, “What does doughty mean?” Okay, it means brave and persistent. It made me happy to put that somewhere in here. The point is, that is not Thomas the doubter. That’s Thomas the “let’s go die with Jesus”: “If he wants to go, let’s go. We’ll die with him.”
VII. Why Do We Doubt? 13:27
So what happened, that he didn’t believe? Because what I see in Thomas, the one other time we hear him talk, he says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14.5). What’s the context here? Jesus said, “I’m going to leave you, but don’t worry, I’m preparing a place for you.” And Thomas goes, “But Lord, how can we follow you? We don’t know the way.” And then Jesus dies. What is Thomas thinking? Well, I’ll tell you this: his heart’s broken. He put all of his eggs in this basket. He was willing to die with Jesus. He said, “I’ll follow you. Where do we go? Show us the way.” And then Jesus died, and he thought, “My Lord is dead.” And because of that heartbreak, he doubted.
Why do we doubt? Well, let me just tell you, it’s not intellectual, because there’s an answer to any question you can ask. Somewhere there’s a book that will tell you; there’s an answer. God is truth incarnate. There’s an answer to your intellectual doubts. But I think we all know that the reason we doubt is an emotional, spiritual issue. I think there are many people in this room who doubt the word of God. I think that because I doubt the word of God. And why? Because we’ve been disappointed. Because we haven’t seen what we thought we would see. Because our Lord died, or the promise he gave us didn’t come to pass. And slowly, through that heartbreak, if you don’t deal with it, doubt comes in.
Thomas, in fact, had intellectual reasons to believe. Ten of the disciples had seen Jesus and touched his wounds, and they say, “We saw him. He is alive. He is resurrected from the dead.” And still Thomas said, “I will not. I’m not going to get duped by this.” We even see that, right? He says, “Even if I see him, I have to actually touch him to believe.” He’s heartbroken, and he’s not willing to have hope again.
VIII. Do Not Disbelieve, but Believe 15:55
So what’s Jesus’ response to Thomas the doubter?
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although 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, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” John 20.26–27
Once again, Jesus does exactly the opposite of what any of us would do: “Thomas, why do you doubt me?” So many times in the Scripture Jesus says, “O you of little faith.” But you know what Jesus saw in Thomas? He saw a broken man, a brokenhearted man, whose heart was sick with grief, so that he couldn’t see the truth of the resurrection. And so he came to him and said, “Look at me. It is true. I am alive. Touch, see.” And of course, Jesus’ compassion prompts Thomas’s response, as Thomas falls to his knees and answers, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20.28).
There are people in here who have been heartbroken over hopes that were never realized, promises that haven’t been fulfilled, relationships that have crumbled. And those heartbreaks have been allowed to build a wall of cynicism and doubt. But Jesus stands before you today, saying, “Put your hands in my wounds. I was there in your brokenness. I bore the same wounds that you bore, and yet I have transformed them. I am alive, and I have healing for you today. I have faith for you today. I have resurrection for you today.”
That’s why I like Thomas. I would have done the same thing. When I decide I’m going to do something, I am all in. But that also means when something doesn’t go my way, I am all out. I’ve seen it several times. I get all in on something: “This is the way it will be. This is the way it’s going to be.” And it fails, and oh man, my heart gets broken, because I’m a dreamer. That’s what I love: the good things of the world, the things God does, the plans he has. And when it falls apart, I get heartbroken. And too often, instead of running to God and saying, “God, what happened?” I just curl up around it, and I let that become a wound that I bear. And that wound produces doubt. And the next time I want to dream, my dreams are a little smaller. My dreams are a little more practical. My dreams are a little bit more in my control.
I think that happens to a lot of us, and God wants to break that off of you today. God wants to set you free to see the wondrous things he can do in your life. God wants to heal you. God wants to bring shalom into your life. Shalom believes for bigger things. The right way to view God is as the King and Creator of all the universe, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Ps 50.10). And there’s nothing you’re facing that he has not already bought and paid for on the cross, and empowered you by his resurrection.
IX. My Lord and My God 18:28
So as we end our sermon today, I wanted to read this quote about Thomas and this declaration, “My Lord and my God,” which is the climax of John’s Gospel. It’s the first time we see that declaration of Jesus’ divinity so starkly. And in fact, all of our doctrine on the incarnation is informed by this idea, that Thomas the doubter fell before him and said, “My Lord and my God.” So let’s read this together. Well, you don’t have to read it, but you can read it up on the screens as I read it for you:
“My Lord and my God!” Herein is condensed into one burning utterance from the worried heart of humanity the slowly gathering conclusion which had been steadily inwrought in the mind of his disciples by all the teachings of the Savior. It was at last spontaneous and exultant. These words are the climax of the entire Gospel. Every narrative points on to this unchallenged utterance. From the wedding at Cana to the raising of Lazarus, from the testimony of the Baptist to the awe-filled tones of intercessory prayer, every discourse, every miracle, points on to this superlative conclusion, not breathed in loving accents by the enthusiastic Mary, not sounded forth by the rock-like apostle, not whispered in awestruck affection by the beloved disciple, but wrung from the broken heart of the man who had said, “Let us go, that we may die with him;” of him who cried, “We know not whither thou goest: how can we know the way?” of him who had said, “Unless I see the print of the nails, I will not believe.”
Let’s pray.
Lord, I pray that you would take every burden we are holding on to, every wound we will not let you see; that you would open us up, and that you would heal us and empower us, that we might walk forth with that declaration on our lips: “My Lord and my God.” I pray that you’d reveal yourself and your power, reveal yourself in your love, and empower us to bring that light into a broken and dying world. In Jesus’ name, amen.