WEBVTT 00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:04.940 Incredibly blessed this week to have an amazing Maundy Thursday service with Church of the Resurrection. 00:00:05.620 --> 00:00:11.000 We had a Good Friday service here where we reflected on the meaning of the cross. 00:00:11.740 --> 00:00:16.719 Last night some of us were out until the early hours of the morning celebrating the Easter Vigil, 00:00:16.780 --> 00:00:19.359 a great tradition in the church and in our church. 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:25.440 And it all culminates here, the celebration at Easter Sunday, the high point of the Christian year. 00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:27.660 And so what a blessing to be together. 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:34.740 I want to take a few minutes now as we open the Word to look at a man named Thomas. 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:38.179 Frankly, I think Thomas has gotten a bad rap. 00:00:39.420 --> 00:00:43.740 I think history has been very unfair to Thomas. 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:52.120 And maybe this is because I'm named after him, but I'm sympathetic to Thomas. 00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:58.879 Of all that Thomas was and all that Thomas did, history has immortalized him as the doubting Thomas, 00:00:58.979 --> 00:01:01.780 which is always said with a kind of negative connotation. 00:01:02.559 --> 00:01:04.799 And I think that's unfair for a lot of reasons. 00:01:04.900 --> 00:01:12.579 I think it's unfair because, in fact, what we'll see in this passage is Thomas comes to faith in the resurrection. 00:01:12.579 --> 00:01:19.120 And then he makes one of the most powerful declarations of faith in Jesus that we have anywhere recorded in Scripture, 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:22.560 when he calls Jesus, my Lord and my God. 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:26.799 It's a clear recognition of Jesus' lordship and his divinity. 00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:28.700 It comes from Thomas. 00:01:28.700 --> 00:01:35.879 And then church history and tradition tells us that after this, Thomas became one of the church's first missionaries. 00:01:36.200 --> 00:01:42.379 And that he took the gospel all the way down into the subcontinent of India, where he was eventually martyred. 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:47.320 So I'm not sure that it's fair to just call him a doubting Thomas. 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:48.820 You know, I'm kind of sympathetic. 00:01:49.300 --> 00:01:56.180 Maybe it's the name thing, or maybe it's the fact that I've also always struggled with doubt. 00:01:56.180 --> 00:02:01.900 And so what I want to do now is to vindicate Thomas. 00:02:02.660 --> 00:02:05.140 And I want to do that by vindicating doubt. 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:10.800 Because I think, like Thomas, doubt has gotten a bad rap in church history. 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:16.340 And so hopefully we're going to change that by looking at John chapter 20, verses 19 to 31. 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:18.340 We're going to see three things about doubt. 00:02:18.980 --> 00:02:19.939 Doubt is inevitable. 00:02:21.379 --> 00:02:22.879 It's unavoidable. It's inevitable. 00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:25.180 Two, doubt can be valuable. 00:02:26.180 --> 00:02:31.280 And then three, knowing those two things, how do we deal with doubt? 00:02:31.719 --> 00:02:35.180 What role can it play in the life of a believing person? 00:02:35.879 --> 00:02:37.300 Those are our points. Let's pray. 00:02:39.060 --> 00:02:41.240 Lord, we thank you for your word. 00:02:42.460 --> 00:02:47.500 But honestly, Lord, apart from your resurrection, your word would be nothing. 00:02:47.500 --> 00:02:53.159 That we don't believe in your resurrection because of your word. 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:55.180 We believe in your word because of the resurrection. 00:02:56.199 --> 00:02:59.280 Our entire faith hinges on this great truth. 00:02:59.379 --> 00:03:03.719 And so as we open your word, we pray that because you are living, Lord, 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:06.259 because you are alive and because you are present, 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:10.240 that you would illuminate your word through your Holy Spirit 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:13.580 and enable us to see you for who you really are in the flesh, 00:03:14.040 --> 00:03:15.580 our Lord and our God, Jesus Christ. 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:17.640 And it's in your name that we pray. Amen. 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:21.600 So let's get into the story. 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:24.120 The first thing I want to consider is the fact that doubt is inevitable. 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:28.060 If you were following along a moment ago when we read the gospel, 00:03:28.060 --> 00:03:33.539 the disciples are assembled together and the door is shut and locked. 00:03:33.979 --> 00:03:35.259 And this is after the resurrection. 00:03:35.960 --> 00:03:40.900 And to their great surprise and awe, the resurrected Jesus appears in their midst. 00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:45.539 And he shows them his hands and he shows them his side. 00:03:45.699 --> 00:03:50.800 And he then blesses them and pronounces peace to them. 00:03:51.099 --> 00:03:56.099 And then he breathes on them and fills them with the Holy Spirit. 00:03:56.099 --> 00:03:59.919 And then he says, as the Father sent me, so I am sending you. 00:04:00.060 --> 00:04:04.419 He is commissioning them to go from being disciples to being apostles, 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:06.599 which literally means the sent ones. 00:04:06.939 --> 00:04:09.259 I'm sending you out now to be my witnesses. 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:14.340 I'm giving you authority to lead and to oversee the church in my name. 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:15.180 This is what's happening. 00:04:16.620 --> 00:04:18.860 But one person is conspicuously absent. 00:04:19.159 --> 00:04:20.079 Thomas is not there. 00:04:20.180 --> 00:04:20.899 We don't know why. 00:04:20.980 --> 00:04:23.439 We can read into it, but it would be all speculation. 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:28.279 And so the disciples all come to Thomas and they say, 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:30.019 I can't believe you weren't there. 00:04:30.579 --> 00:04:31.379 Jesus appeared. 00:04:32.019 --> 00:04:33.040 We have seen the Lord. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:35.819 And what does Thomas very famously say? 00:04:36.839 --> 00:04:42.639 Well, lest I see the wounds, lest I touch them, lest I put my hand into his side, 00:04:42.779 --> 00:04:44.079 I will never believe. 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:49.120 So then eight days later, the disciples are together again. 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:50.959 The door is locked again. 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:53.379 And nevertheless, Jesus appears in their midst. 00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:56.899 And immediately, Jesus turns to Thomas and says, 00:04:57.419 --> 00:04:59.060 Here, touch my wounds. 00:04:59.339 --> 00:05:00.579 Put your hand in my side. 00:05:01.599 --> 00:05:04.819 And then he says to Thomas those very famous words, 00:05:05.659 --> 00:05:08.439 Do not disbelieve, but believe. 00:05:09.139 --> 00:05:11.779 Do not disbelieve, but believe. 00:05:11.779 --> 00:05:14.019 Now, I want to be clear on the wording. 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:16.239 The reason is this. 00:05:16.459 --> 00:05:20.019 Often we read this and we read it in our minds as Jesus saying, 00:05:20.500 --> 00:05:22.399 Don't doubt, but believe. 00:05:22.799 --> 00:05:24.519 Don't have doubt, but believe. 00:05:25.099 --> 00:05:29.459 And I think that we read it that way because maybe some of us grew up in families or churches 00:05:29.459 --> 00:05:31.519 where that was the message when it came to doubt. 00:05:31.739 --> 00:05:34.839 Or maybe we grew up in families and churches because we've misread the text. 00:05:34.919 --> 00:05:37.259 I'm not sure which is the chicken and which is the egg. 00:05:37.259 --> 00:05:43.920 But in any case, I know that some of us grew up in a believing culture where doubt was a negative. 00:05:45.420 --> 00:05:50.959 If you doubt, it is evidence that you are of weak faith or of weak character or of weak commitment. 00:05:51.899 --> 00:05:54.740 And if you asked questions, that was seen as a negative. 00:05:54.899 --> 00:05:58.639 And you were expected to believe what you were taught and don't ask questions. 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:00.199 No questions allowed. 00:06:00.819 --> 00:06:01.259 Believe it. 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:01.819 Accept it. 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:03.519 Doubt is a negative thing. 00:06:03.519 --> 00:06:03.959 Doubt is a negative thing. 00:06:03.959 --> 00:06:07.959 And so it's easy to read this passage with that kind of lens on. 00:06:08.299 --> 00:06:09.680 But I want to be clear on this. 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:11.259 That is not what Jesus is saying. 00:06:12.259 --> 00:06:13.120 How do we know? 00:06:13.799 --> 00:06:19.039 Well, there are four words in Koine Greek that can all be translated as doubt in the New Testament. 00:06:19.819 --> 00:06:21.579 You know which word shows up here? 00:06:22.859 --> 00:06:24.740 Not a single one of those words. 00:06:25.560 --> 00:06:32.000 The word that is actually used by Jesus is a word that means an active rejection of the faith. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:34.319 It's being unfaithful. 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:40.240 So what Jesus is actually literally saying is to Thomas, he's saying, don't become unfaithful. 00:06:40.980 --> 00:06:42.060 Become faithful. 00:06:42.819 --> 00:06:45.579 So Thomas is in a state of indecision. 00:06:46.060 --> 00:06:47.300 The jury is still out. 00:06:47.540 --> 00:06:49.100 And Jesus is making an appeal to him. 00:06:49.379 --> 00:06:51.339 Don't decide to reject this. 00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:53.379 Decide to accept it. 00:06:53.699 --> 00:06:54.540 Make that choice. 00:06:55.019 --> 00:06:56.139 Now, why is that important? 00:06:56.139 --> 00:07:00.800 Well, when it concerns the topic of doubt, it's very important. 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:03.199 Because here's the reality of doubt. 00:07:04.279 --> 00:07:10.519 Whether I choose to believe in something like the resurrection, or I choose not to believe in something like the resurrection, 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:15.259 regardless of what choice I make, doubt will be a part of that choice. 00:07:16.779 --> 00:07:19.419 Because doubt is always there. 00:07:19.420 --> 00:07:27.400 When you're dealing with something like the existence of God, or the resurrection of Jesus, that is not empirically verifiable, 00:07:28.220 --> 00:07:32.200 ultimately you're making a decision that is a faith choice. 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:34.340 You can't prove it. 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:41.460 And so it takes an equal amount of faith to say it didn't happen, as it does to say it did happen. 00:07:41.459 --> 00:07:45.180 But both are going to be laced with doubt. 00:07:46.599 --> 00:07:49.219 And this is a very important thing for us to understand, 00:07:49.359 --> 00:07:54.060 that those people in life who are believers, who have chosen to put their faith in Jesus Christ, 00:07:54.439 --> 00:07:56.500 will always be haunted by doubt. 00:07:57.399 --> 00:08:01.019 Because frankly, we live in a culture that undermines faith. 00:08:01.779 --> 00:08:02.000 Right? 00:08:02.060 --> 00:08:03.339 It undermines belief. 00:08:03.939 --> 00:08:07.639 We live in a very materialistic culture, where a lot of people just take for granted, 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:11.279 they say there's no such thing as the supernatural, no such thing as God, 00:08:11.459 --> 00:08:13.899 no such thing as resurrection, miracles don't happen. 00:08:15.659 --> 00:08:18.259 And so faith, belief is constantly undermined. 00:08:18.859 --> 00:08:21.219 But here's the thing that we don't often think about. 00:08:21.779 --> 00:08:24.719 And maybe some of you are here, and you wouldn't consider yourself to be a believer, 00:08:24.919 --> 00:08:26.959 and you can see whether or not this is true of you. 00:08:27.679 --> 00:08:31.219 But just as believers are haunted by doubt, maybe this isn't true, 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:34.220 unbelievers are also haunted by doubt. 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:36.039 Maybe this is true. 00:08:37.439 --> 00:08:38.419 Maybe it is true. 00:08:38.419 --> 00:08:43.019 Maybe, just maybe, just maybe, there is a God. 00:08:43.819 --> 00:08:46.879 Maybe, just maybe, I was created for a purpose. 00:08:47.079 --> 00:08:50.019 Maybe, just maybe, there's a being out there who loves me. 00:08:50.740 --> 00:08:53.559 And that possibility is terrifying to some people. 00:08:54.199 --> 00:08:58.659 Maybe I've rejected a God who actually desires a relationship with me, 00:08:58.719 --> 00:09:01.539 who actually has an opinion about the choices that I make. 00:09:01.539 --> 00:09:06.439 Right, I love the quote from Thomas Nagel, who's an atheist philosopher at NYU, 00:09:06.439 --> 00:09:09.299 who writes about being haunted by belief. 00:09:09.819 --> 00:09:10.259 He says, 00:09:10.759 --> 00:09:12.659 I want atheism to be true. 00:09:13.439 --> 00:09:16.379 And it made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent 00:09:16.379 --> 00:09:19.279 and well-informed people I know are religious believers. 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:21.000 Right, she says, 00:09:21.099 --> 00:09:23.019 I want, I want there to be no God, 00:09:23.079 --> 00:09:25.579 but then I look around and these are these people that I respect, 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:26.939 who are thoughtful and well-read, 00:09:27.159 --> 00:09:27.980 and they believe. 00:09:28.620 --> 00:09:29.519 And what if it's true? 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:33.799 Right, so either way you go, doubt is going to be a part of it. 00:09:33.899 --> 00:09:35.379 Choose to believe, choose not to believe, 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:36.899 you're going to doubt either way. 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:39.439 Which leads to the second point. 00:09:40.179 --> 00:09:41.279 Doubt is not only inevitable, 00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:44.799 but doubt can be very, very valuable. 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:46.220 Very valuable. 00:09:47.259 --> 00:09:49.559 Now before we talk about how doubt can be valuable, 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:50.639 we need to differentiate, 00:09:50.840 --> 00:09:52.139 because there are different kinds of doubt. 00:09:52.699 --> 00:09:52.879 Right? 00:09:53.559 --> 00:09:54.620 Different kinds of doubt. 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:55.500 For instance, 00:09:56.740 --> 00:09:58.139 we live in a culture, 00:09:58.139 --> 00:10:00.360 the prevailing culture in D.C. 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:06.980 would consider cynicism to be a kind of fashionable characteristic. 00:10:08.019 --> 00:10:09.139 You know, if you are a cynic, 00:10:09.199 --> 00:10:11.639 if you're the kind of person who always sees through things, 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:13.299 you're always punching holes in things, 00:10:13.379 --> 00:10:14.860 you're always deconstructing things, 00:10:15.139 --> 00:10:16.319 you're never believing anything, 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:17.679 you're always questioning everything, 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:21.000 that is seen as a form of intellectual sophistication. 00:10:21.559 --> 00:10:22.600 But in many cases, 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:26.659 it's a shortcut to the appearance of intellectual sophistication, 00:10:26.659 --> 00:10:30.000 because it's not necessarily based on an enormous amount of thought, 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:32.079 reading, research, things like that. 00:10:32.779 --> 00:10:36.459 We do it because we want other people to think that we're intelligent and not naive. 00:10:37.259 --> 00:10:38.039 And so in our culture, 00:10:38.139 --> 00:10:41.399 it is very prized to come across as cynical. 00:10:42.039 --> 00:10:42.879 So you see, it's interesting. 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:44.519 Some people live in religious communities 00:10:44.519 --> 00:10:45.139 where doubt, 00:10:45.259 --> 00:10:46.139 any shred of doubt, 00:10:46.199 --> 00:10:47.199 is seen as a bad thing. 00:10:48.199 --> 00:10:49.659 Other people live in very cynical communities 00:10:49.659 --> 00:10:52.379 where anything but doubt 00:10:52.379 --> 00:10:54.459 is seen as a very negative thing. 00:10:55.579 --> 00:10:55.699 Right? 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:56.939 But that isn't true doubt. 00:10:57.079 --> 00:11:00.719 That's just trying to appear intellectually sophisticated. 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:03.459 You know, doubt makes me seem intelligent. 00:11:04.439 --> 00:11:06.500 There's also a kind of doubt 00:11:06.500 --> 00:11:07.659 that is not very valuable, 00:11:08.120 --> 00:11:11.379 where doubt is used as a form of moral license. 00:11:12.539 --> 00:11:14.360 The atheist Aldous Huxley, 00:11:14.939 --> 00:11:15.720 in his book, 00:11:15.819 --> 00:11:16.480 Ends and Means, 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:17.659 famously says this. 00:11:17.659 --> 00:11:18.919 He says, 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:22.159 I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:25.939 and consequently assumed that it had none. 00:11:26.839 --> 00:11:27.559 For myself, 00:11:27.699 --> 00:11:29.319 as no doubt for most of my friends, 00:11:29.699 --> 00:11:31.480 the philosophy of meaninglessness 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:34.480 was essentially an instrument of liberation 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:37.500 from a certain system of morality. 00:11:39.019 --> 00:11:40.279 Now, do you understand what he's saying? 00:11:40.299 --> 00:11:41.439 He's being profoundly honest 00:11:41.439 --> 00:11:43.360 in a way that probably most of us would not be. 00:11:43.779 --> 00:11:44.299 He's saying, 00:11:44.299 --> 00:11:46.559 as long as I don't believe anything, 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:49.239 I don't have to be accountable to anything. 00:11:50.419 --> 00:11:50.539 You know, 00:11:50.579 --> 00:11:52.500 as long as I believe that the world and life 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:53.419 and all of this is meaningless, 00:11:53.639 --> 00:11:54.619 I can do what I want 00:11:54.619 --> 00:11:55.939 and I don't ever have to justify, 00:11:56.579 --> 00:11:56.979 explain, 00:11:57.139 --> 00:11:58.359 or give an account for my choices. 00:11:59.599 --> 00:11:59.959 And so, 00:12:00.059 --> 00:12:01.759 it's doubt as a means to the end 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:03.000 of total moral license, 00:12:03.159 --> 00:12:04.899 living an unaccountable life. 00:12:06.339 --> 00:12:07.599 And I would strongly suggest 00:12:07.599 --> 00:12:09.239 that's not a very helpful form of doubt. 00:12:09.339 --> 00:12:11.239 It's not really an honest form of doubt. 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:13.379 And then what I want to suggest 00:12:13.379 --> 00:12:15.440 is that Thomas is actually showing us 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:16.919 a very different kind of doubt, 00:12:17.220 --> 00:12:18.860 a very valuable kind of doubt. 00:12:19.820 --> 00:12:21.580 Can you think of the other references 00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:23.139 that we have in Scripture to Thomas? 00:12:23.779 --> 00:12:24.460 There's only a couple. 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:26.159 We don't know much. 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:26.539 You know, 00:12:26.580 --> 00:12:27.580 you kind of try to build 00:12:27.580 --> 00:12:30.460 a kind of profile of somebody biblically, 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:32.019 and you just kind of pull, 00:12:32.060 --> 00:12:33.560 you have to pull in whatever you can 00:12:33.560 --> 00:12:34.680 from what we know. 00:12:34.740 --> 00:12:35.720 We don't have a lot on Thomas, 00:12:35.820 --> 00:12:36.960 so most of it is speculation. 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:40.500 There's only two other references 00:12:40.500 --> 00:12:42.500 to anything that Thomas says. 00:12:44.280 --> 00:12:45.519 You know what one of them is, though? 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:48.040 It's earlier in John's Gospel. 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:49.879 Jesus is talking about the fact 00:12:49.879 --> 00:12:51.620 that he is going to go to Jerusalem 00:12:51.620 --> 00:12:53.540 and will likely die there. 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:56.160 And Thomas is the one 00:12:56.160 --> 00:12:57.259 who speaks up and says, 00:12:57.639 --> 00:12:59.240 well, I'm going to go with you. 00:13:00.019 --> 00:13:01.900 And even if that means that I die, 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:02.519 I'm going. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:05.460 So what you see in Thomas is this, 00:13:05.560 --> 00:13:06.840 he's not this aloof, 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:07.940 distant, skeptic, 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:09.139 kind of jury still out 00:13:09.139 --> 00:13:10.340 on what does he think about Jesus. 00:13:11.340 --> 00:13:12.540 Thomas is a man who said, 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:13.700 if you're going to Jerusalem 00:13:13.700 --> 00:13:14.700 and if you're going to die, 00:13:14.900 --> 00:13:16.060 then I'm going to be right there with you, 00:13:16.180 --> 00:13:17.360 even if it means that I die. 00:13:18.440 --> 00:13:19.480 And what we see in Thomas 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:20.960 is this man who's profoundly 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:22.300 devoted to Jesus, 00:13:22.420 --> 00:13:23.840 willing to put his life on the line 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:25.240 to continue to follow Jesus, 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:26.580 regardless of what it means. 00:13:27.900 --> 00:13:30.060 So if that is true of Thomas, 00:13:30.060 --> 00:13:31.440 then how do you imagine 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:33.800 the cross impacted him? 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:34.240 Right? 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:38.179 All of the hopes and the dreams 00:13:38.179 --> 00:13:41.059 that they had penned on Jesus. 00:13:41.539 --> 00:13:43.339 All of the hopes that Jesus 00:13:43.339 --> 00:13:44.579 would finally be the king 00:13:44.579 --> 00:13:47.219 to liberate the Israelites 00:13:47.219 --> 00:13:48.959 from the Jews 00:13:48.959 --> 00:13:50.559 from Roman occupation. 00:13:51.259 --> 00:13:51.379 You know, 00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:53.379 that Jesus would bring the kingdom of God 00:13:53.379 --> 00:13:54.699 and it would be a new way of life 00:13:54.699 --> 00:13:56.939 and he would make their nation great again. 00:13:57.339 --> 00:13:59.079 All of the hopes that they had. 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:02.960 And then all of that dashed in an instant. 00:14:03.100 --> 00:14:04.020 One minute they're sitting there 00:14:04.020 --> 00:14:05.700 sharing a Passover meal together. 00:14:05.860 --> 00:14:07.480 The next minute Jesus is being arrested 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:08.820 and dragged away 00:14:08.820 --> 00:14:10.379 and tortured and executed. 00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:12.720 Can you imagine the disillusionment 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:13.360 that set in? 00:14:15.220 --> 00:14:16.580 Can you imagine how crushing 00:14:16.580 --> 00:14:17.360 that would have been? 00:14:19.900 --> 00:14:22.139 So now how do we understand Thomas' doubt? 00:14:22.139 --> 00:14:22.220 God. 00:14:26.860 --> 00:14:27.419 He says, 00:14:27.580 --> 00:14:29.139 I don't think I can take that again. 00:14:30.259 --> 00:14:30.480 You know, 00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:31.159 I got my hopes. 00:14:31.259 --> 00:14:32.399 My hopes were so high. 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:34.980 My hopes were up here. 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:38.679 And then seeing him executed on the cross, 00:14:38.779 --> 00:14:39.819 that nearly killed me. 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:42.899 I think that's why he wasn't there the first time. 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:44.659 I think Thomas just, 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:45.159 you know, 00:14:45.340 --> 00:14:46.559 and this is just my speculation, 00:14:46.740 --> 00:14:47.720 I imagine that after that, 00:14:48.139 --> 00:14:49.100 Thomas just probably said, 00:14:49.159 --> 00:14:50.439 I need some time alone. 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:52.700 I don't know if I can keep doing this. 00:14:53.880 --> 00:14:54.980 And so when they come and they say, 00:14:55.060 --> 00:14:55.700 we've seen the Lord, 00:14:55.780 --> 00:14:56.200 he's risen. 00:14:56.680 --> 00:14:57.160 Thomas says, 00:14:57.500 --> 00:14:58.680 don't do that to me. 00:14:58.860 --> 00:15:00.240 I cannot take this. 00:15:01.020 --> 00:15:03.460 I can't allow myself to be hopeful 00:15:03.460 --> 00:15:04.460 only to be crushed again. 00:15:04.520 --> 00:15:05.580 I don't think I'll survive it. 00:15:06.660 --> 00:15:08.380 Now I know we're just speculating here, 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:10.260 but I think that that's what's going on in Thomas. 00:15:11.020 --> 00:15:12.080 And so in a nutshell, 00:15:12.420 --> 00:15:14.640 I think Thomas' doubt is this kind of doubt. 00:15:14.820 --> 00:15:16.040 It's the kind of doubt that says, 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:17.240 I don't want to be gullible. 00:15:18.280 --> 00:15:19.880 I don't want to be taken for a fool. 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:22.400 I don't want to believe something 00:15:22.400 --> 00:15:23.900 just because I want to believe it, 00:15:23.940 --> 00:15:25.380 because it would be nice to believe it, 00:15:25.760 --> 00:15:28.320 but something that has no foundation to it. 00:15:29.580 --> 00:15:30.860 And you know what I say to that? 00:15:31.880 --> 00:15:32.480 I say, 00:15:32.640 --> 00:15:33.260 good for Thomas. 00:15:34.040 --> 00:15:34.940 Good for Thomas. 00:15:35.020 --> 00:15:35.680 Because guess what? 00:15:35.880 --> 00:15:37.900 There are far too many gullible Christians in the world. 00:15:39.180 --> 00:15:39.920 There are. 00:15:40.540 --> 00:15:42.720 Every time somebody sees a face of Jesus 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:43.660 and a piece of toast, 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:44.920 Christians freak out. 00:15:45.880 --> 00:15:46.180 You know? 00:15:46.880 --> 00:15:48.660 And that's not a good kind of faith. 00:15:49.659 --> 00:15:50.319 That's not a good, 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:50.559 I mean, 00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:51.799 hopefully I don't have to tell you that. 00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:53.740 But that's not the kind of faith 00:15:53.740 --> 00:15:54.600 we're called to have. 00:15:55.319 --> 00:15:55.459 Right? 00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:56.120 And Thomas is saying, 00:15:56.219 --> 00:15:56.839 I don't want to be taken, 00:15:56.980 --> 00:15:58.339 I was taken for a fool once, 00:15:58.439 --> 00:15:59.740 I'm not going to let that happen again. 00:16:01.059 --> 00:16:01.980 So this is really, 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:02.179 really, 00:16:02.279 --> 00:16:02.779 really good. 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:04.639 It's very valuable. 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:08.759 And I would go so far as to say, 00:16:08.860 --> 00:16:10.120 doubt is not only valuable, 00:16:10.299 --> 00:16:14.220 it is essential for people who want to grow in their faith. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:15.399 That doubt is essential. 00:16:17.059 --> 00:16:17.779 There is a, 00:16:17.879 --> 00:16:20.120 there's a man, 00:16:20.279 --> 00:16:21.799 he passed away a few years ago, 00:16:21.860 --> 00:16:23.379 but his name is Dr. James Fowler, 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:25.220 and he was at Emory University, 00:16:25.220 --> 00:16:26.879 and he studies an interesting field. 00:16:26.980 --> 00:16:29.240 He studies theology and human development. 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:31.740 And so if any teachers in the room 00:16:31.740 --> 00:16:33.820 or anybody familiar with developmental theories, 00:16:34.060 --> 00:16:34.340 like, 00:16:34.519 --> 00:16:34.680 you know, 00:16:34.740 --> 00:16:36.519 Erickson or Kohlberg or Piaget, 00:16:36.860 --> 00:16:38.560 these sort of developmental stage theories 00:16:38.560 --> 00:16:40.360 of moral and cognitive development. 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:41.180 Well, 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:42.700 Fowler came along and he said, 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:45.299 I want to develop a stage theory of faith, 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:48.240 of the developmental stages of faith. 00:16:48.680 --> 00:16:51.580 And I don't agree with everything Fowler says about faith, 00:16:51.639 --> 00:16:52.340 certainly not, 00:16:52.340 --> 00:16:54.480 but there's one point that he makes in his theory 00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:58.200 that I think is extremely important for us to meditate on. 00:16:58.200 --> 00:17:00.640 He says that most people, 00:17:00.820 --> 00:17:00.940 you know, 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:04.059 kids in the room are kind of on track for this, 00:17:04.140 --> 00:17:05.860 that if you grow up in a believing home, 00:17:06.420 --> 00:17:09.640 that most people by the time they reach early to middle adolescence 00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:12.140 are in what he calls stage three faith. 00:17:13.100 --> 00:17:15.440 And stage three faith is the kind of faith 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:18.039 where you look around and your parents believe it, 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:19.740 your friends believe it, 00:17:19.840 --> 00:17:21.180 your friends' families believe it, 00:17:21.180 --> 00:17:22.920 your church community believes it, 00:17:23.080 --> 00:17:24.480 the people at your school believe it, 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:25.920 whatever it is, 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:28.759 but the community around you shares the same faith. 00:17:29.180 --> 00:17:30.259 And so as a kid, 00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:31.300 even as an adolescent, 00:17:31.380 --> 00:17:31.580 you say, 00:17:31.820 --> 00:17:31.920 well, 00:17:31.940 --> 00:17:32.660 if they believe it, 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:33.440 it must be true. 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:34.840 And so I'm going to believe it too. 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:37.380 And it's also a way to belong in a community. 00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:38.480 This is how to belong. 00:17:38.560 --> 00:17:38.980 I believe, 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:39.400 right? 00:17:40.380 --> 00:17:42.539 And Fowler says that many people, 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:44.320 many people can, 00:17:44.560 --> 00:17:45.620 they get to that stage 00:17:45.620 --> 00:17:46.580 and that's where they stay. 00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:49.140 And they stay all the way up into adulthood 00:17:49.140 --> 00:17:50.320 and all the way into old age. 00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:52.300 They stay in stage three faith. 00:17:52.299 --> 00:17:52.539 Well, 00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:53.799 the people around me believe it, 00:17:53.819 --> 00:17:54.759 so I'm going to believe it too. 00:17:56.379 --> 00:17:57.919 And here's the thing that's interesting. 00:17:58.419 --> 00:17:58.859 He says, 00:17:59.299 --> 00:18:00.500 the next stage, 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:02.000 stage four, 00:18:02.399 --> 00:18:06.480 is a stage that is marked by tremendous angst and doubt. 00:18:07.980 --> 00:18:08.399 Normally, 00:18:08.539 --> 00:18:09.680 this happens to people, 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:11.659 if you're tracking it chronologically, 00:18:12.019 --> 00:18:13.359 around age 20, 00:18:13.619 --> 00:18:14.139 25, 00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:15.099 30, 00:18:15.419 --> 00:18:15.879 35, 00:18:16.139 --> 00:18:17.700 the age of a lot of people in this room. 00:18:18.680 --> 00:18:19.099 Normally, 00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:19.399 you know, 00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:21.259 you sort of have a stage three faith 00:18:21.259 --> 00:18:22.280 and then you go to university 00:18:22.280 --> 00:18:24.320 and you have your religion 101 professor 00:18:24.320 --> 00:18:25.340 whose personal mission 00:18:25.340 --> 00:18:26.460 is to kind of, 00:18:26.600 --> 00:18:26.900 you know, 00:18:27.060 --> 00:18:28.820 deconstruct the faith of anybody 00:18:28.820 --> 00:18:30.460 who actually believes anything in the room. 00:18:30.840 --> 00:18:33.080 And they start punching holes in your faith 00:18:33.080 --> 00:18:34.340 and you start looking around 00:18:34.340 --> 00:18:35.060 and you start getting 00:18:35.060 --> 00:18:36.560 extremely uncomfortable 00:18:36.560 --> 00:18:37.440 and disoriented 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:38.400 and wondering, 00:18:38.600 --> 00:18:38.700 well, 00:18:38.740 --> 00:18:39.500 if that's not true, 00:18:39.560 --> 00:18:40.080 is this true? 00:18:40.140 --> 00:18:40.840 Is anything true? 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:41.720 What do I believe? 00:18:42.060 --> 00:18:43.780 And you go into a tailspin. 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:45.220 And you say, 00:18:45.259 --> 00:18:45.320 well, 00:18:45.320 --> 00:18:46.300 I grew up with this faith, 00:18:46.300 --> 00:18:47.820 but I've never really chosen this faith. 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:48.400 I never really, 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:49.820 I don't know if I believe this. 00:18:49.880 --> 00:18:50.580 Do I just believe this 00:18:50.580 --> 00:18:52.100 because my mom and dad believe it 00:18:52.100 --> 00:18:52.660 or do I believe it 00:18:52.660 --> 00:18:53.560 because I believe it? 00:18:53.880 --> 00:18:54.800 That's stage four. 00:18:56.540 --> 00:18:58.019 And it freaks people out 00:18:58.019 --> 00:18:59.720 because it's tremendously destabilizing. 00:18:59.900 --> 00:19:00.620 Who am I 00:19:00.620 --> 00:19:02.120 if I don't believe this, 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:02.340 right? 00:19:03.100 --> 00:19:04.120 But here's the thing, 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:04.759 here's the thing 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:05.680 that I think we need to, 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:06.540 we need to chew on. 00:19:06.920 --> 00:19:07.500 He says, 00:19:07.560 --> 00:19:08.900 for people who stay there, 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:09.820 in other words, 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:10.519 people who are willing 00:19:10.519 --> 00:19:11.800 to lean into their doubt, 00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:13.620 to ask the hard questions, 00:19:13.620 --> 00:19:15.620 to do the investigative work, 00:19:15.980 --> 00:19:16.880 to read, 00:19:17.100 --> 00:19:17.940 to think, 00:19:17.940 --> 00:19:18.960 to talk to other people 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:19.420 who believe, 00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:20.539 to ask what they think, 00:19:20.920 --> 00:19:21.759 for people who are willing 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:22.660 to really lean into 00:19:22.660 --> 00:19:23.660 and embrace that. 00:19:24.620 --> 00:19:25.940 People who come through it 00:19:25.940 --> 00:19:27.460 reach what Fowler would call 00:19:27.460 --> 00:19:28.880 stage five faith. 00:19:29.340 --> 00:19:30.500 And that's people who believe 00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:31.539 not just because the people 00:19:31.539 --> 00:19:32.320 around them believe, 00:19:32.500 --> 00:19:33.980 they believe because they believe. 00:19:34.220 --> 00:19:35.759 Because somewhere in that wrestling, 00:19:36.100 --> 00:19:36.920 they met God 00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:39.100 face to face. 00:19:39.099 --> 00:19:43.339 and it transformed their understanding 00:19:43.339 --> 00:19:44.039 of their faith 00:19:44.039 --> 00:19:45.059 and it became internal. 00:19:45.859 --> 00:19:47.179 And it became the kind of faith 00:19:47.179 --> 00:19:49.240 that regardless of the plausibility 00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:50.959 structures within which they live, 00:19:51.059 --> 00:19:52.259 regardless of the people 00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:53.139 or the belief structures 00:19:53.139 --> 00:19:53.779 around them, 00:19:54.019 --> 00:19:54.819 they believe. 00:19:55.919 --> 00:19:58.099 And they have a much deeper capacity, 00:19:58.279 --> 00:19:58.799 Fowler says, 00:19:58.959 --> 00:20:00.159 for uncertainty 00:20:00.159 --> 00:20:01.899 and for paradox 00:20:01.899 --> 00:20:03.299 and for mystery. 00:20:03.299 --> 00:20:07.539 But here's the point. 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:11.480 If you don't embrace 00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:12.700 and lean into 00:20:12.700 --> 00:20:13.980 and push into doubt, 00:20:14.359 --> 00:20:15.019 in other words, 00:20:15.099 --> 00:20:15.940 if you're afraid of it, 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:17.099 if you run from it, 00:20:17.899 --> 00:20:18.559 Fowler's point is 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:19.379 you will be stunted 00:20:19.379 --> 00:20:20.159 in your faith. 00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:22.419 If you're always running 00:20:22.419 --> 00:20:22.839 from doubt, 00:20:22.919 --> 00:20:23.440 you're not willing 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:24.440 to ask the hard questions, 00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:25.639 Fowler would say, 00:20:25.700 --> 00:20:26.319 you're not going to grow. 00:20:26.980 --> 00:20:28.240 And I think that's the point 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:29.200 that we need to think about. 00:20:30.679 --> 00:20:30.980 You know, 00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:32.799 in my own life, 00:20:32.859 --> 00:20:33.700 I think about 00:20:33.700 --> 00:20:35.240 coming to faith 00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:36.240 and I think about 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:36.939 my experience 00:20:36.939 --> 00:20:38.139 and I would say 00:20:38.139 --> 00:20:39.179 that doubt was something 00:20:39.179 --> 00:20:40.960 that I sort of struggled with 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:42.939 and continue to struggle with 00:20:42.939 --> 00:20:43.740 again and again and again. 00:20:43.819 --> 00:20:44.799 And there's a part of you 00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:46.379 that wants to run from it. 00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:48.759 But this would say, 00:20:48.839 --> 00:20:49.439 no, lean into it. 00:20:49.460 --> 00:20:50.419 And I think this is what we, 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:51.299 this is part of what 00:20:51.299 --> 00:20:52.079 we're meant to see 00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:53.419 in this interaction 00:20:53.419 --> 00:20:54.519 between Jesus and Thomas. 00:20:54.619 --> 00:20:55.359 That's why it's here. 00:20:56.319 --> 00:20:56.799 Right? 00:20:57.599 --> 00:20:58.299 So doubt is, 00:20:58.379 --> 00:20:59.639 is not only valuable, 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:01.039 it's essential for growth 00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:02.220 in our faith 00:21:02.220 --> 00:21:03.240 to come to a deeper place 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:04.119 of faith in Christ. 00:21:05.379 --> 00:21:06.500 So that's the second point. 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:07.339 Now, so now, 00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:08.539 if we're sort of thinking 00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:09.539 about what we've said so far, 00:21:09.619 --> 00:21:10.759 if doubt is inevitable 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:13.079 and if like Thomas, 00:21:13.220 --> 00:21:13.819 doubt can actually 00:21:13.819 --> 00:21:15.079 be valuable for us, 00:21:15.700 --> 00:21:16.619 I don't want to be gullible. 00:21:16.740 --> 00:21:17.460 I want to believe something 00:21:17.460 --> 00:21:18.299 that has legs, 00:21:18.359 --> 00:21:19.539 that has foundation to it. 00:21:20.099 --> 00:21:20.599 Then how, 00:21:20.700 --> 00:21:21.539 what does that look like? 00:21:21.559 --> 00:21:22.539 How do we use doubt? 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:23.879 How do we deal with doubt 00:21:23.879 --> 00:21:24.759 in our lives? 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:26.259 And I'll make three quick 00:21:26.259 --> 00:21:27.859 suggestions from the text. 00:21:28.980 --> 00:21:30.019 The first thing I want, 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:31.240 I want us to see is this. 00:21:32.299 --> 00:21:34.019 Look at the tremendous grace 00:21:34.019 --> 00:21:37.019 that Jesus has for doubters. 00:21:37.879 --> 00:21:39.379 The tremendous grace 00:21:39.379 --> 00:21:40.119 that, 00:21:40.180 --> 00:21:41.599 that Jesus shows to doubters. 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:44.160 When the other disciples 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:44.859 tell Thomas 00:21:44.859 --> 00:21:45.940 that they have seen Jesus, 00:21:46.819 --> 00:21:47.359 he says, 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:47.519 well, 00:21:47.559 --> 00:21:48.619 unless I see the wounds 00:21:48.619 --> 00:21:49.319 and touch the wounds 00:21:49.319 --> 00:21:49.900 for myself, 00:21:50.299 --> 00:21:51.500 I will never believe. 00:21:52.059 --> 00:21:53.440 And what we need to understand 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:54.200 is at that point, 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:55.559 Jesus is not there. 00:21:56.480 --> 00:21:57.660 He's not there. 00:21:58.559 --> 00:21:59.859 But then eight days later 00:21:59.859 --> 00:22:00.740 when Jesus appears, 00:22:00.859 --> 00:22:02.099 what's the first thing he does? 00:22:02.500 --> 00:22:03.160 He appears, 00:22:03.539 --> 00:22:03.740 says, 00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:04.500 peace be with you. 00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:05.460 And then he immediately 00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:06.299 turns to Thomas 00:22:06.299 --> 00:22:08.319 and essentially he says, 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:09.059 hey, 00:22:10.099 --> 00:22:11.720 you know that thing you said 00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:13.579 about seeing and touching my wounds? 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:14.660 Here you go. 00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:17.579 Now what does that tell us? 00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:17.940 Well, 00:22:18.039 --> 00:22:18.740 a couple of things. 00:22:18.740 --> 00:22:20.500 Number one, 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:21.279 it tells us that 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:22.099 even though Jesus 00:22:22.099 --> 00:22:23.859 wasn't in the room physically, 00:22:24.259 --> 00:22:25.559 when Thomas said what he did, 00:22:25.940 --> 00:22:26.680 he was listening. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:28.680 He heard him. 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:32.539 And the second thing it tells us 00:22:32.539 --> 00:22:36.000 is look at how Jesus responds to that. 00:22:36.200 --> 00:22:36.339 You know, 00:22:36.359 --> 00:22:36.779 Thomas says, 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:37.640 unless I see it, 00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:38.420 unless he proves it, 00:22:38.539 --> 00:22:39.339 I'll never believe. 00:22:39.579 --> 00:22:41.019 And Jesus doesn't appear and say, 00:22:41.220 --> 00:22:42.140 how dare you? 00:22:42.620 --> 00:22:43.900 All the things that I did for you, 00:22:43.960 --> 00:22:45.019 all the things that I put up with, 00:22:45.160 --> 00:22:46.599 how dare you doubt that I rose? 00:22:47.059 --> 00:22:48.359 That's not what Jesus does at all. 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:49.740 Jesus says, 00:22:49.819 --> 00:22:50.079 okay, 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:52.019 this is what you asked for. 00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:53.019 Here you go. 00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:54.059 Here, 00:22:54.220 --> 00:22:54.660 touch me. 00:22:54.839 --> 00:22:55.079 Look, 00:22:55.480 --> 00:22:55.720 see. 00:22:57.740 --> 00:22:59.779 I think this shows tremendous grace. 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:01.120 You know, 00:23:01.140 --> 00:23:02.299 I think it's easy for us to think 00:23:02.299 --> 00:23:03.480 that God is kind of sitting there 00:23:03.480 --> 00:23:03.799 saying, 00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:04.339 yeah, 00:23:04.359 --> 00:23:05.180 that's not enough faith. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:07.339 I don't like that doubt. 00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:07.740 Can you, 00:23:07.779 --> 00:23:08.000 you know, 00:23:08.019 --> 00:23:08.960 get your attitude together? 00:23:09.140 --> 00:23:10.680 Your motives aren't quite right. 00:23:10.759 --> 00:23:12.120 Can you ask that question again 00:23:12.120 --> 00:23:12.940 but mean it more? 00:23:13.220 --> 00:23:13.400 You know, 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:15.019 I think that we can think of God 00:23:15.019 --> 00:23:15.700 as being like that. 00:23:15.740 --> 00:23:16.960 But would God really do 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:17.840 all that he has done 00:23:17.840 --> 00:23:18.799 all through history 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:22.000 bring us all the way to this point 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:22.559 only to say, 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:22.840 hmm, 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:23.740 I don't like your attitude. 00:23:25.480 --> 00:23:25.840 No, 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:27.840 God is such a tremendous God of grace 00:23:27.840 --> 00:23:30.019 that any opening, 00:23:30.420 --> 00:23:31.279 any opening, 00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:32.380 God seizes on it. 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:34.340 And in fact, 00:23:34.460 --> 00:23:35.840 where does the opening come from? 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:36.759 It comes from the fact 00:23:36.759 --> 00:23:38.579 that God is already at work in us, 00:23:38.620 --> 00:23:39.660 in rebellious hearts, 00:23:39.660 --> 00:23:42.380 which is the most amazing thing about God. 00:23:43.040 --> 00:23:43.360 You know, 00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:44.880 I experienced this in my own life. 00:23:45.900 --> 00:23:46.040 You know, 00:23:46.060 --> 00:23:46.880 some of you know my story. 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:48.240 I was baptized at age 12 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:49.400 largely because my dad 00:23:49.400 --> 00:23:50.259 wanted me to be baptized 00:23:50.259 --> 00:23:51.500 and so I just kind of said 00:23:51.500 --> 00:23:52.240 what I needed to say 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:52.980 to get baptized. 00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:55.060 But very soon after that, 00:23:55.120 --> 00:23:56.019 walked away from the faith. 00:23:56.259 --> 00:23:57.279 By the time I got to college, 00:23:57.340 --> 00:23:58.600 was calling myself an agnostic, 00:23:58.940 --> 00:24:00.779 really didn't meaningfully consider 00:24:00.779 --> 00:24:03.340 Christianity to be of any importance to me. 00:24:03.420 --> 00:24:04.500 I thought when I left home 00:24:04.500 --> 00:24:05.100 to go to college 00:24:05.100 --> 00:24:06.640 that I also left that behind. 00:24:07.500 --> 00:24:08.700 And so years later, 00:24:08.759 --> 00:24:09.380 I started meeting, 00:24:09.500 --> 00:24:11.000 at the end of my time in college, 00:24:11.220 --> 00:24:12.380 I started meeting with a guy 00:24:12.380 --> 00:24:13.180 and we started reading 00:24:13.180 --> 00:24:14.400 the Gospel of John together. 00:24:15.140 --> 00:24:16.100 But my motive 00:24:16.100 --> 00:24:17.780 for meeting with this Christian 00:24:17.780 --> 00:24:19.000 to read John 00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:20.900 was to disprove his faith. 00:24:21.020 --> 00:24:22.560 My goal was to show him 00:24:22.560 --> 00:24:23.980 here's why this is ridiculous 00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:25.800 and here's how it doesn't hold water. 00:24:27.140 --> 00:24:28.140 And I had this, 00:24:28.280 --> 00:24:28.440 you know, 00:24:28.540 --> 00:24:30.460 I was profoundly ignorant 00:24:30.460 --> 00:24:31.580 and profoundly arrogant, 00:24:31.580 --> 00:24:33.200 which is a very dangerous, 00:24:33.420 --> 00:24:34.259 lethal combination. 00:24:34.700 --> 00:24:36.580 And I sort of had mastered ignorance 00:24:36.579 --> 00:24:37.740 and arrogance 00:24:37.740 --> 00:24:39.599 and was bringing them both 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:40.720 fully to bear 00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:41.500 in these meetings 00:24:41.500 --> 00:24:42.339 with this guy. 00:24:43.159 --> 00:24:46.139 And yet my experience 00:24:46.139 --> 00:24:47.779 was that God, 00:24:48.460 --> 00:24:49.939 I had the worst motives. 00:24:50.639 --> 00:24:51.819 I had the worst motives. 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:54.879 And yet God still met me 00:24:54.879 --> 00:24:55.779 in those times. 00:24:56.119 --> 00:24:58.500 I still gradually experienced 00:24:58.500 --> 00:24:59.859 God softening 00:24:59.859 --> 00:25:01.139 and then ultimately 00:25:01.139 --> 00:25:03.460 opening my heart 00:25:03.460 --> 00:25:06.640 to the truth of his son 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:08.019 in a way that I 00:25:08.019 --> 00:25:10.100 did not expect. 00:25:10.220 --> 00:25:11.200 I was disarmed, 00:25:11.579 --> 00:25:11.880 frankly. 00:25:12.740 --> 00:25:13.840 And that's what it's like 00:25:13.840 --> 00:25:15.200 to deal with the God of grace 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:15.900 as a doubter. 00:25:16.940 --> 00:25:17.240 You know, 00:25:17.400 --> 00:25:18.900 you can have the worst motives 00:25:18.900 --> 00:25:20.640 and God says, 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:21.539 I can use that. 00:25:22.600 --> 00:25:23.819 I can use that. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:24.840 And he does. 00:25:26.840 --> 00:25:27.200 Right? 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:28.580 So the tremendous grace 00:25:28.580 --> 00:25:29.860 that God has for doubters. 00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:31.860 The second thing I want to see 00:25:31.860 --> 00:25:33.440 is the eyewitness testimonies. 00:25:34.900 --> 00:25:36.380 The disciples come to Thomas 00:25:36.380 --> 00:25:36.940 and they say, 00:25:37.080 --> 00:25:38.539 we've seen the Lord. 00:25:38.600 --> 00:25:39.680 And they're essentially saying 00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:40.680 to Thomas, 00:25:40.840 --> 00:25:42.220 we are eyewitnesses 00:25:42.220 --> 00:25:43.220 of the resurrection. 00:25:43.360 --> 00:25:44.940 We've seen the risen Jesus. 00:25:45.620 --> 00:25:46.660 And the thing that we need 00:25:46.660 --> 00:25:47.140 to understand 00:25:47.140 --> 00:25:48.620 is that the primary reason 00:25:48.620 --> 00:25:50.059 that the Gospels 00:25:50.059 --> 00:25:50.559 were written, 00:25:51.559 --> 00:25:52.819 Matthew, Mark, Luke, 00:25:52.980 --> 00:25:53.299 John, 00:25:53.360 --> 00:25:54.319 and then Acts, 00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:55.859 which is like Luke part two, 00:25:56.179 --> 00:25:57.179 the primary reason 00:25:57.179 --> 00:25:58.279 that these books were written 00:25:58.279 --> 00:26:00.139 was to offer careful 00:26:00.139 --> 00:26:01.539 eyewitness testimony 00:26:01.539 --> 00:26:03.119 of all things concerning 00:26:03.119 --> 00:26:04.899 Jesus and his disciples 00:26:04.899 --> 00:26:05.960 turned apostles 00:26:05.960 --> 00:26:08.039 so that we might come to faith. 00:26:08.399 --> 00:26:09.299 And this is actually 00:26:09.299 --> 00:26:10.480 what John says 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:12.099 in the end of this passage. 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:12.639 He says, 00:26:13.339 --> 00:26:14.639 Jesus did many other signs 00:26:14.639 --> 00:26:15.879 in the presence of his disciples 00:26:15.879 --> 00:26:17.000 which are not written 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:17.579 in this book, 00:26:17.939 --> 00:26:18.799 but these are written 00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:19.919 so that you may believe 00:26:19.919 --> 00:26:21.339 that Jesus is the Christ, 00:26:21.700 --> 00:26:22.759 the Son of God, 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:23.939 and that by believing 00:26:23.940 --> 00:26:25.380 you may have life in his name. 00:26:26.120 --> 00:26:26.660 And by the way, 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:27.519 this is why we have 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:28.500 so many specific 00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:29.680 and frankly, 00:26:29.980 --> 00:26:31.500 wholly unnecessary details. 00:26:32.360 --> 00:26:32.600 You know, 00:26:32.840 --> 00:26:33.600 they bring in 00:26:33.600 --> 00:26:34.539 a huge load of fish 00:26:34.539 --> 00:26:36.180 and it's not like a myth 00:26:36.180 --> 00:26:36.759 that says, 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:37.180 you know, 00:26:37.259 --> 00:26:38.820 and there were many fish. 00:26:39.279 --> 00:26:41.340 It says there were 153 fish. 00:26:42.559 --> 00:26:42.840 You know, 00:26:42.920 --> 00:26:44.519 and people over the years 00:26:44.519 --> 00:26:45.600 have just gone nuts 00:26:45.600 --> 00:26:46.539 with trying to make meaning 00:26:46.539 --> 00:26:47.000 out of that. 00:26:47.140 --> 00:26:47.299 You know, 00:26:47.340 --> 00:26:48.200 what's the symbol 00:26:48.200 --> 00:26:49.779 of 153? 00:26:50.080 --> 00:26:50.259 You know, 00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:51.180 what does that mean? 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:51.860 There's some, 00:26:52.120 --> 00:26:52.559 is that a, 00:26:52.680 --> 00:26:52.880 you know, 00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:54.080 it doesn't mean anything. 00:26:54.320 --> 00:26:55.400 What it means is 00:26:55.400 --> 00:26:56.880 there were 153 fish. 00:26:57.480 --> 00:26:57.940 That's what it means. 00:26:57.940 --> 00:26:58.740 That's the deep meaning, 00:26:58.960 --> 00:26:59.280 you know. 00:26:59.860 --> 00:27:00.620 And it says, 00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:00.880 well, 00:27:01.400 --> 00:27:01.600 you know, 00:27:01.600 --> 00:27:02.700 the disciple drew his sword 00:27:02.700 --> 00:27:03.960 and cut off the servant's ear. 00:27:04.380 --> 00:27:04.820 Parentheses, 00:27:05.100 --> 00:27:06.660 the servant's name was Malchus. 00:27:07.860 --> 00:27:08.300 Malchus, 00:27:08.380 --> 00:27:09.100 is that symbolic? 00:27:09.220 --> 00:27:09.660 Is there a deep 00:27:09.660 --> 00:27:10.740 spiritual metaphor there? 00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:11.240 No. 00:27:11.600 --> 00:27:12.820 His name was Malchus. 00:27:13.460 --> 00:27:14.380 And what it's saying is, 00:27:14.660 --> 00:27:15.740 if you want to hear 00:27:15.740 --> 00:27:16.500 more about this, 00:27:16.620 --> 00:27:17.520 go into Jerusalem 00:27:17.520 --> 00:27:18.260 and ask about 00:27:18.260 --> 00:27:19.440 the servant named Malchus 00:27:19.440 --> 00:27:21.400 who works with the temple guard 00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:24.279 and he'll tell you. 00:27:25.320 --> 00:27:25.680 Right? 00:27:25.799 --> 00:27:26.820 These are meant to be 00:27:26.820 --> 00:27:28.420 like footnotes. 00:27:29.500 --> 00:27:29.620 You know, 00:27:29.620 --> 00:27:30.440 if you want to look more 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:31.240 into this story, 00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:32.400 his name was Cleopas. 00:27:32.460 --> 00:27:33.600 His name was Malchus. 00:27:33.640 --> 00:27:34.200 Go ask him. 00:27:35.700 --> 00:27:35.940 And, 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:36.220 you know, 00:27:36.259 --> 00:27:36.680 30, 00:27:36.820 --> 00:27:37.700 40 years ago, 00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:39.299 you know, 00:27:39.340 --> 00:27:39.900 you ask people 00:27:39.900 --> 00:27:40.279 and they would say, 00:27:40.360 --> 00:27:40.519 oh, 00:27:40.580 --> 00:27:40.680 well, 00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:42.180 the scholarship clearly shows 00:27:42.180 --> 00:27:43.299 that the gospel accounts 00:27:43.299 --> 00:27:43.940 were all written 00:27:43.940 --> 00:27:46.019 centuries after all of this happened. 00:27:46.019 --> 00:27:47.039 you know, 00:27:47.160 --> 00:27:48.039 Jesus died 00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:49.259 and then in the centuries 00:27:49.259 --> 00:27:49.759 that followed, 00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:51.180 all of these myths and legends 00:27:51.180 --> 00:27:52.980 were raised up about Jesus 00:27:52.980 --> 00:27:54.079 and they got written down 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:54.279 and, 00:27:54.619 --> 00:27:54.859 you know, 00:27:54.900 --> 00:27:56.220 the Christians did this 00:27:56.220 --> 00:27:57.200 in order to justify 00:27:57.200 --> 00:27:58.000 their movement 00:27:58.000 --> 00:27:59.000 and to gain power 00:27:59.000 --> 00:27:59.539 and influence 00:27:59.539 --> 00:28:00.379 and all of this stuff. 00:28:01.639 --> 00:28:01.819 Well, 00:28:01.879 --> 00:28:02.799 since that time, 00:28:02.900 --> 00:28:04.519 the most recent body of work 00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:04.740 and, 00:28:04.940 --> 00:28:05.059 you know, 00:28:05.099 --> 00:28:07.160 there's a very sizable body 00:28:07.160 --> 00:28:08.619 of scholarship now 00:28:08.619 --> 00:28:09.500 that says, 00:28:09.579 --> 00:28:09.980 actually, 00:28:10.099 --> 00:28:10.339 no, 00:28:10.460 --> 00:28:11.900 we actually have a lot of evidence 00:28:11.900 --> 00:28:12.500 to suggest 00:28:12.500 --> 00:28:13.180 that the gospels 00:28:13.180 --> 00:28:13.619 were written 00:28:13.619 --> 00:28:15.079 within the lifetime, 00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:16.819 within the first century 00:28:16.819 --> 00:28:18.500 and within the lifetime 00:28:18.500 --> 00:28:19.159 of the people 00:28:19.159 --> 00:28:21.079 who are in these accounts 00:28:21.079 --> 00:28:24.259 and that the reason 00:28:24.259 --> 00:28:25.399 that we have all of these 00:28:25.399 --> 00:28:26.579 specific details 00:28:26.579 --> 00:28:29.699 is because these are being, 00:28:29.859 --> 00:28:30.399 these accounts 00:28:30.399 --> 00:28:31.399 are being written by people 00:28:31.399 --> 00:28:31.980 who know 00:28:31.980 --> 00:28:33.139 that they're writing about people 00:28:33.139 --> 00:28:34.019 who are still alive, 00:28:34.919 --> 00:28:35.919 that they're not written 00:28:35.919 --> 00:28:37.000 in the form of myth, 00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:38.019 that they're not written 00:28:38.019 --> 00:28:38.960 in the form of legend, 00:28:39.299 --> 00:28:39.960 that they're written 00:28:39.960 --> 00:28:41.439 in very specific ways 00:28:41.439 --> 00:28:42.419 by people who, 00:28:42.619 --> 00:28:43.559 it's obvious, 00:28:43.559 --> 00:28:44.819 are wanting 00:28:44.819 --> 00:28:46.279 their audience 00:28:46.279 --> 00:28:47.220 to do their homework. 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:49.679 And so, 00:28:49.779 --> 00:28:51.639 when we have this body, 00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:53.139 this eyewitness testimony, 00:28:54.440 --> 00:28:55.960 you know, 00:28:56.019 --> 00:28:57.279 we can sort of look at this 00:28:57.279 --> 00:28:57.519 and say, 00:28:57.599 --> 00:28:57.679 well, 00:28:57.720 --> 00:28:57.839 you know, 00:28:57.879 --> 00:28:58.000 well, 00:28:58.000 --> 00:28:58.779 this is nice, 00:28:59.299 --> 00:29:00.619 but I kind of wish 00:29:00.619 --> 00:29:01.399 that Jesus would do 00:29:01.399 --> 00:29:02.220 what he did to Thomas. 00:29:02.299 --> 00:29:03.139 I kind of wish that, 00:29:03.720 --> 00:29:03.879 you know, 00:29:03.899 --> 00:29:04.519 I could have this 00:29:04.519 --> 00:29:05.839 and that Jesus would appear 00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:07.359 and I could see the wounds 00:29:07.359 --> 00:29:08.399 and then I could have both, 00:29:08.539 --> 00:29:08.859 you know. 00:29:09.399 --> 00:29:10.240 And I think what we need 00:29:10.240 --> 00:29:11.139 to understand is 00:29:11.140 --> 00:29:13.500 what we said at the beginning, 00:29:13.660 --> 00:29:14.860 Jesus appears to his disciples 00:29:14.860 --> 00:29:15.880 for a specific reason. 00:29:15.980 --> 00:29:16.820 He's commissioning them 00:29:16.820 --> 00:29:17.440 to be apostles. 00:29:18.660 --> 00:29:19.500 He breathes on them, 00:29:19.580 --> 00:29:20.420 gives them the Holy Spirit, 00:29:20.680 --> 00:29:20.820 says, 00:29:20.900 --> 00:29:21.680 I'm giving you authority, 00:29:22.040 --> 00:29:22.840 I'm going to send you 00:29:22.840 --> 00:29:23.840 as I was once sent. 00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:25.240 This is the language 00:29:25.240 --> 00:29:26.080 of apostleship. 00:29:26.600 --> 00:29:27.380 And his intention 00:29:27.380 --> 00:29:28.840 is that Thomas be an apostle, 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:30.100 which he became an apostle. 00:29:30.740 --> 00:29:31.940 The primary criteria 00:29:31.940 --> 00:29:32.560 for an apostle, 00:29:33.620 --> 00:29:34.880 you have to have seen Jesus 00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:35.759 with your own eyes. 00:29:36.060 --> 00:29:37.100 That's what makes you an apostle. 00:29:37.980 --> 00:29:39.259 You have to have seen Jesus. 00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:41.180 And so he wants Thomas 00:29:41.180 --> 00:29:41.759 to be an apostle 00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:42.859 and so he appears to him. 00:29:43.119 --> 00:29:43.779 But then Jesus 00:29:43.779 --> 00:29:44.599 and then John, 00:29:44.700 --> 00:29:45.740 they make it very clear. 00:29:46.220 --> 00:29:46.740 Jesus says, 00:29:47.079 --> 00:29:47.700 oh, you believe 00:29:47.700 --> 00:29:48.519 because you've seen me? 00:29:48.599 --> 00:29:49.400 Well, blessed are those 00:29:49.400 --> 00:29:50.339 who believe and yet 00:29:50.339 --> 00:29:51.480 have not seen. 00:29:52.059 --> 00:29:53.240 And then John goes on to say, 00:29:53.319 --> 00:29:53.839 yeah, that's why 00:29:53.839 --> 00:29:54.640 I wrote this book. 00:29:55.740 --> 00:29:56.859 That God's intention 00:29:56.859 --> 00:29:58.920 is that faith be transmitted 00:29:58.920 --> 00:30:00.839 through eyewitnesses 00:30:00.839 --> 00:30:02.019 from one generation 00:30:02.019 --> 00:30:02.619 to the next, 00:30:02.740 --> 00:30:03.400 to the next, 00:30:04.019 --> 00:30:04.740 through the power 00:30:04.740 --> 00:30:05.460 of the Holy Spirit. 00:30:06.480 --> 00:30:07.379 And so I would encourage 00:30:07.379 --> 00:30:07.940 those of you 00:30:07.940 --> 00:30:09.259 for whom doubt 00:30:09.259 --> 00:30:10.059 is a real issue, 00:30:11.100 --> 00:30:12.640 read the eyewitness accounts, 00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:13.620 read the carefully 00:30:13.620 --> 00:30:14.820 recorded details, 00:30:15.380 --> 00:30:16.460 begin to look into 00:30:16.460 --> 00:30:17.140 and investigate 00:30:17.140 --> 00:30:18.700 the research surrounding 00:30:18.700 --> 00:30:20.259 the authorship 00:30:20.259 --> 00:30:21.519 of the Gospels 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:22.740 and why they are reliable 00:30:22.740 --> 00:30:23.640 and trustworthy, 00:30:24.019 --> 00:30:25.200 that they're intended 00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:26.200 to do exactly 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:27.259 what Jesus is saying, 00:30:27.360 --> 00:30:28.460 to enable people like us 00:30:28.460 --> 00:30:28.960 to believe 00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:30.400 even if we haven't seen. 00:30:31.380 --> 00:30:31.820 So we have 00:30:31.820 --> 00:30:32.920 the eyewitness testimonies. 00:30:33.460 --> 00:30:34.039 And then lastly, 00:30:34.220 --> 00:30:34.620 thirdly, 00:30:35.820 --> 00:30:36.940 Jesus has tremendous grace 00:30:36.940 --> 00:30:37.519 for doubters. 00:30:38.120 --> 00:30:39.640 We have the eyewitness testimonies. 00:30:39.740 --> 00:30:40.580 And then third thing 00:30:40.580 --> 00:30:41.700 that gives hope to doubters, 00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:43.180 look at the wounds. 00:30:44.980 --> 00:30:45.860 Look at the wounds. 00:30:48.019 --> 00:30:48.340 You know, 00:30:48.400 --> 00:30:49.000 big question, 00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:52.059 why if you're Jesus 00:30:52.059 --> 00:30:53.539 and you go through 00:30:53.539 --> 00:30:54.440 this horrible torture 00:30:54.440 --> 00:30:55.000 and death 00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:56.460 and then you're raised 00:30:56.460 --> 00:30:57.440 in your perfected, 00:30:57.559 --> 00:30:58.160 glorified, 00:30:58.299 --> 00:30:58.920 eternal body 00:30:58.920 --> 00:30:59.640 that will never fade 00:30:59.640 --> 00:31:00.160 or perish, 00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:01.759 why still have the wounds? 00:31:03.080 --> 00:31:03.299 You know, 00:31:03.320 --> 00:31:03.860 if you're Jesus, 00:31:03.980 --> 00:31:04.740 do you want to constantly 00:31:04.740 --> 00:31:05.460 be reminded 00:31:05.460 --> 00:31:06.599 of that awful day? 00:31:07.799 --> 00:31:08.000 You know, 00:31:08.039 --> 00:31:08.960 why have the wounds? 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:10.799 What's the point 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:11.279 of the wounds 00:31:11.279 --> 00:31:12.299 in the resurrected Jesus? 00:31:16.920 --> 00:31:17.319 Well, 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:19.099 I think if the eyewitness testimonies 00:31:19.099 --> 00:31:20.279 offer head evidence, 00:31:21.019 --> 00:31:21.880 the wounds are meant 00:31:21.880 --> 00:31:23.559 to offer heart evidence. 00:31:25.180 --> 00:31:25.740 They're meant 00:31:25.740 --> 00:31:26.900 to offer heart evidence. 00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:28.980 I think Jesus 00:31:28.980 --> 00:31:29.839 doesn't just want 00:31:29.839 --> 00:31:31.220 to convince Thomas 00:31:31.220 --> 00:31:32.940 that the resurrection happened. 00:31:32.940 --> 00:31:33.600 I think he wants 00:31:33.600 --> 00:31:34.460 to convince Thomas 00:31:34.460 --> 00:31:35.559 what it means. 00:31:36.720 --> 00:31:37.740 What does the resurrection 00:31:37.740 --> 00:31:39.240 actually mean? 00:31:39.320 --> 00:31:40.019 What does it tell us 00:31:40.019 --> 00:31:40.740 about God? 00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:42.140 And see, 00:31:42.200 --> 00:31:42.740 Christian faith 00:31:42.740 --> 00:31:43.880 isn't just about believing 00:31:43.880 --> 00:31:45.299 in this abstract idea 00:31:45.299 --> 00:31:45.799 of resurrection. 00:31:45.940 --> 00:31:46.039 Well, 00:31:46.059 --> 00:31:46.900 I think it's scientifically 00:31:46.900 --> 00:31:47.519 possible. 00:31:48.860 --> 00:31:50.059 It's about believing 00:31:50.059 --> 00:31:51.799 that there is a God 00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:52.320 out there 00:31:52.320 --> 00:31:53.420 who made us, 00:31:53.660 --> 00:31:54.340 who loves us 00:31:54.340 --> 00:31:55.740 so tremendously much 00:31:55.740 --> 00:31:56.440 that he was willing 00:31:56.440 --> 00:31:57.680 to die 00:31:57.680 --> 00:31:59.220 in order to make 00:31:59.220 --> 00:32:00.080 relationship with us 00:32:00.080 --> 00:32:00.519 possible. 00:32:00.519 --> 00:32:02.000 It's meant 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:03.039 to convince us 00:32:03.039 --> 00:32:05.500 of the love 00:32:05.500 --> 00:32:06.000 of God 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:07.639 as expressed 00:32:07.639 --> 00:32:08.079 in the death 00:32:08.079 --> 00:32:08.519 and resurrection 00:32:08.519 --> 00:32:09.099 of Jesus. 00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:11.160 The wounds 00:32:11.160 --> 00:32:11.440 are meant 00:32:11.440 --> 00:32:12.139 to convince us 00:32:12.139 --> 00:32:12.920 of God's love. 00:32:14.559 --> 00:32:15.000 Right? 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:15.940 There are so many 00:32:15.940 --> 00:32:16.639 different religions 00:32:16.639 --> 00:32:17.160 out there, 00:32:17.240 --> 00:32:18.240 so many different religions 00:32:18.240 --> 00:32:18.779 that teach 00:32:18.779 --> 00:32:20.259 basically the same thing, 00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:21.099 but there's only one 00:32:21.099 --> 00:32:21.720 religion out there 00:32:21.720 --> 00:32:22.160 that says, 00:32:22.519 --> 00:32:23.579 God loves you so much 00:32:23.579 --> 00:32:24.200 that he was willing 00:32:24.200 --> 00:32:24.720 to suffer 00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:25.900 and die for you. 00:32:27.359 --> 00:32:27.759 Right? 00:32:27.859 --> 00:32:29.160 On Good Friday, 00:32:29.160 --> 00:32:29.900 I read a poem 00:32:29.900 --> 00:32:30.940 and I'm going to read 00:32:30.940 --> 00:32:31.600 one stanza 00:32:31.600 --> 00:32:32.300 from that poem, 00:32:32.820 --> 00:32:33.920 but it was a poem 00:32:33.920 --> 00:32:34.759 from a guy named 00:32:34.759 --> 00:32:35.620 Edward Shalito 00:32:35.620 --> 00:32:37.519 who wrote a poem 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:38.940 called Jesus of the Scars 00:32:38.940 --> 00:32:41.860 and he was a free church minister. 00:32:42.320 --> 00:32:43.840 He survived the horrors 00:32:43.840 --> 00:32:44.440 and atrocities 00:32:44.440 --> 00:32:45.200 of World War I 00:32:45.200 --> 00:32:45.580 in England 00:32:45.580 --> 00:32:46.920 and then coming out 00:32:46.920 --> 00:32:48.019 of that in 1919, 00:32:48.279 --> 00:32:49.060 he wrote this poem 00:32:49.060 --> 00:32:50.980 and I'll just read 00:32:50.980 --> 00:32:51.700 the last stanza. 00:32:51.700 --> 00:32:55.039 The other gods 00:32:55.039 --> 00:32:55.779 were strong, 00:32:55.880 --> 00:32:56.860 but you were weak. 00:32:57.660 --> 00:32:58.340 They rode, 00:32:58.460 --> 00:32:59.740 but you did stumble 00:32:59.740 --> 00:33:00.440 to a throne. 00:33:01.360 --> 00:33:02.980 But to our wounds 00:33:02.980 --> 00:33:04.559 only God's wounds 00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:05.400 can speak 00:33:05.400 --> 00:33:07.360 and not a god 00:33:07.360 --> 00:33:08.299 has wounds, 00:33:08.480 --> 00:33:09.720 but you alone. 00:33:12.080 --> 00:33:13.059 So I think this is 00:33:13.059 --> 00:33:14.080 the meaning of the wounds. 00:33:15.759 --> 00:33:16.940 They're meant to convince us 00:33:16.940 --> 00:33:17.779 that God loves us, 00:33:17.840 --> 00:33:18.340 that he shares 00:33:18.340 --> 00:33:18.980 in our suffering 00:33:18.980 --> 00:33:20.360 and that he did 00:33:20.360 --> 00:33:21.200 everything necessary 00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:22.160 to ensure that one day 00:33:22.160 --> 00:33:23.319 we would never suffer again. 00:33:24.380 --> 00:33:25.660 So if you're a doubter 00:33:25.660 --> 00:33:26.640 and you're in this room, 00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:27.920 you're in good company. 00:33:29.579 --> 00:33:30.160 First of all, 00:33:30.220 --> 00:33:31.200 we have a lot in common. 00:33:32.420 --> 00:33:33.200 I've always been 00:33:33.200 --> 00:33:34.599 a tooth and nail Christian myself 00:33:34.599 --> 00:33:38.400 and there's good news 00:33:38.400 --> 00:33:39.299 in here for doubters. 00:33:40.700 --> 00:33:41.519 We can follow 00:33:41.519 --> 00:33:42.640 the example of Thomas. 00:33:42.839 --> 00:33:44.240 Look at the tremendous grace 00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:45.480 that God shows to doubters. 00:33:47.140 --> 00:33:48.920 Look at the eyewitness testimonies. 00:33:49.900 --> 00:33:51.180 God means us to engage 00:33:51.180 --> 00:33:52.400 with our full intellect 00:33:52.400 --> 00:33:53.319 in our faith 00:33:53.319 --> 00:33:54.680 and then finally look 00:33:54.680 --> 00:33:55.220 at the wounds 00:33:55.220 --> 00:33:56.220 in the resurrected body 00:33:56.220 --> 00:33:56.700 of Jesus 00:33:56.700 --> 00:33:58.559 and see the love of God 00:33:58.559 --> 00:33:59.220 on display. 00:34:00.579 --> 00:34:01.460 And here's why 00:34:01.460 --> 00:34:02.480 all of this matters, 00:34:02.559 --> 00:34:03.380 my final point. 00:34:05.519 --> 00:34:06.539 If the resurrection 00:34:06.539 --> 00:34:07.680 did not happen, 00:34:09.719 --> 00:34:10.619 you know what Paul says 00:34:10.619 --> 00:34:11.679 in 1 Corinthians 15, 00:34:12.139 --> 00:34:13.360 our faith is in vain. 00:34:15.300 --> 00:34:16.099 It's meaningless. 00:34:16.480 --> 00:34:16.840 And he says, 00:34:17.260 --> 00:34:18.119 we above all others 00:34:18.119 --> 00:34:18.819 should be pitied. 00:34:20.039 --> 00:34:21.659 So, as your pastor, 00:34:21.799 --> 00:34:22.619 I will tell you this. 00:34:22.639 --> 00:34:23.139 If the resurrection 00:34:23.139 --> 00:34:23.799 didn't happen, 00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:25.119 go choose another religion 00:34:25.119 --> 00:34:27.179 because Christianity 00:34:27.179 --> 00:34:28.400 is far too inconvenient. 00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:30.679 It asks far too much of us. 00:34:31.659 --> 00:34:32.380 If the resurrection 00:34:32.380 --> 00:34:33.039 didn't happen, 00:34:33.139 --> 00:34:34.079 it is not worth, 00:34:34.539 --> 00:34:35.659 it is not worth it. 00:34:37.659 --> 00:34:38.019 But, 00:34:38.239 --> 00:34:40.819 if like Thomas 00:34:40.819 --> 00:34:42.739 and me 00:34:42.739 --> 00:34:43.359 and many people 00:34:43.359 --> 00:34:43.920 in this room, 00:34:44.199 --> 00:34:44.920 if you believe 00:34:44.920 --> 00:34:45.700 that it did happen, 00:34:46.480 --> 00:34:47.119 if the resurrection 00:34:47.119 --> 00:34:47.820 is true, 00:34:48.599 --> 00:34:49.760 then Jesus 00:34:49.760 --> 00:34:50.340 is worth 00:34:50.340 --> 00:34:51.200 everything. 00:34:52.460 --> 00:34:53.539 Then we should be willing 00:34:53.539 --> 00:34:54.079 to give him 00:34:54.079 --> 00:34:54.880 everything. 00:34:55.680 --> 00:34:56.539 The one option 00:34:56.539 --> 00:34:57.400 that is not left open 00:34:57.400 --> 00:34:57.860 to us 00:34:57.860 --> 00:34:59.180 is to see him 00:34:59.180 --> 00:35:01.039 as a benign 00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:01.820 advice giver, 00:35:02.539 --> 00:35:03.539 a happy, 00:35:03.760 --> 00:35:04.119 nice, 00:35:04.200 --> 00:35:04.800 good example 00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:05.340 to follow. 00:35:06.619 --> 00:35:07.460 It has to be 00:35:07.460 --> 00:35:07.980 all or none. 00:35:08.599 --> 00:35:09.360 That's how central 00:35:09.360 --> 00:35:10.280 the resurrection is. 00:35:10.280 --> 00:35:11.740 And so, 00:35:11.920 --> 00:35:12.660 if the resurrection 00:35:12.660 --> 00:35:13.240 is true, 00:35:13.360 --> 00:35:14.480 I encourage you 00:35:14.480 --> 00:35:15.320 and I invite you 00:35:15.320 --> 00:35:16.440 to exclaim 00:35:16.440 --> 00:35:18.320 as the doubting 00:35:18.320 --> 00:35:19.360 Thomas once did, 00:35:20.260 --> 00:35:21.080 my Lord 00:35:21.080 --> 00:35:22.400 and my God. 00:35:22.940 --> 00:35:23.500 Let's pray.