I have to say that I always feel bad for Thomas because he wasn’t there when Jesus first appeared to the disciples on that Resurrection Day. Can you imagine his disappointment and confusion when all the rest of the disciples tell him that they have seen Jesus and he is alive? Sometimes I wonder why Jesus did it this way. Why appear to all but one of the disciples and then, why not find Thomas at some point during the week to just reassure him that he was alive? I can only imagine what a horrible week it must have been for Thomas to hear everyone else talking about the risen Jesus while he is left wondering if it is true and if it is true, then why did Jesus leave him in the dark? I’m thinking that the more the disciples talked about it, the more frustrated and confused Thomas must have become, which led him to dig in his heels even stronger until he gets to the point where he says, unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finer where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.
As frustrating as it must have been for Thomas, I wonder if Jesus did it this way for us, for all of us who generations later still struggle at times to see and believe. You see, Jesus speaks to us in this passage, he says, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. This blessing is for us because while we may not see Jesus standing in front of us in bodily form the way the disciples and Thomas did, God still helps us believe by helping us see Jesus in different ways. So what is it today that keeps us from seeing Jesus? What is it that keeps us from experiencing the blessing of Jesus resurrection power and hope and love?
One of the things that keeps us from seeing Jesus is the same thing that kept Thomas from seeing Jesus, and that is doubt. We call him doubting Thomas because he did have doubts that Jesus was alive, but I wonder if there were even stronger doubts that Thomas struggled with. I wonder if the real doubt that plagued Thomas wasn’t about Jesus, but about himself? Can you imagine the guilt that Thomas must have experienced when Jesus was crucified? They had all said that they would stand with Jesus, but when the time came, they failed. They all ran away. But when Jesus appeared to the disciples on that resurrection day, they knew they had been forgiven. Jesus breathed on them and said peace be with you. They received God’s peace and forgiveness, but Thomas wasn’t there and I wonder if that led Thomas to ask himself if Jesus would forgive him? Was that why he had not shown himself to Thomas? Was Thomas not going to be accepted or loved like the rest of the disciples? Was he not worthy? Maybe Thomas didn’t doubt Jesus resurrection, maybe he doubted himself, his own sense of value and worth. It can be this same doubt that keeps us from seeing Jesus. If we doubt God’s love for us, if we have doubts about God’s grace and mercy extending to us, then we will struggle to see Jesus, and we will struggle to experience the fullness of faith that comes with God’s grace and love.
When I was in seminary I worked at a church in North Carolina and I met a really faithful man who struggled to feel worthy of God’s grace and forgiveness. He even had a hard time singing in the choir because to get to the choir loft you had to cross the altar area, and he didn’t feel worthy to even cross that space. He struggled to take communion because he didn’t feel accepted by God, he doubted that God’s grace extended to him and that kept him from seeing Jesus and all the love and power Jesus had for him. He missed out on so much peace and joy.
If it is doubts about ourselves that keep us from seeing Jesus, then what’s the answer? The answer is trust. Can we trust the promises that God has made to us? God promises that we are forgiven. In Psalm 103:12 it says, as far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed our sin from us. In 1 John 1:7 it says the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin. Can we trust God’s word? Can we trust God’s promise which says that we are forgiven by the grace of God and the blood, or the sacrifice, of Jesus?
Can we trust God’s word when it says God loves us? Again from 1 John 3:16 it says, this is how we know what love is, Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And there is no greater love then to lay down your live for a friend. Psalm 103:11 says, for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is God’s love for those who fear him. So can we trust God’s word which says again and again that God loves us? Can we trust that God welcomes us and accepts us into his presence? Think about Jesus and all the people he welcomed and blessed, there were children, prostitutes, tax collectors, Samaritans, Gentiles, adulterers, and lepers. All those that the world rejected and cast aside, Jesus welcomed, and he welcomes us too. We can trust God’s love and grace, and when we do, God opens our eyes so that we can more clearly see Jesus.
Something else that may have kept Thomas from seeing Jesus was fear, not fear of Jesus being angry with him, but fear of how the resurrection might change his life. Maybe Thomas could begin to see what the rest of the disciples couldn’t, that a risen Savior and Lord changes everything, and the resurrection of Jesus was going to call all of them to step up and step out in a more public ministry. Maybe what kept Thomas from seeing Jesus was a fear of what Jesus might ask him to do, and where Jesus might ask him to go.
Honestly, Thomas might have been right to be afraid because what God did ask of Thomas was big and his life was never the same. We believe that after Thomas saw Jesus he ended up going as an evangelist and missionary to India. Thomas left his home, his country and all that he knew to go to what they believed at the time was the end of the world. This could not have been easy, but Thomas did it, and I think what helped him overcome this fear was faith, faith in God’s purpose and plan, and faith in God’s power to help him accomplish that plan. Maybe what helped Thomas overcome his fear was just faith in God.
There was another time when the disciples were all afraid and Jesus told them to have faith; it was in a boat, on the sea and in a storm. Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat when the storm came up and as the storm grew stronger, it says the disciples became terrified. When they finally woke Jesus, he rebuked the wind and the waves and the storm instantly stopped, and then he turned and asked his disciples, where is your faith? It is faith in God that helps us overcome our fear. If what keeps us from seeing Jesus is fear about what God may ask us to do, or fear of the changes that we know will need to take place in our lives if we follow Jesus, then we need to have faith in the strength and ability of God to help us. The resurrection of Jesus means that God has the power to overcome the grave, which means God can do anything. God can and will see us through all the storms of life if we will place our faith in him. So if it is fear that is keeping us from seeing Jesus, let us have faith that God’s power can and will supply all our needs.
Something else that can keep us from seeing Jesus is pride. If we just don’t think we need Jesus, then we won’t look to him and if we aren’t looking to him, we won’t see him. I know that most of us do look to Jesus in life, that’s why we are here today, but let’s be honest; there are those times when we think we can just do it on our own. There are many today people who believe that they can live a good, happy and complete life without God. I just don’t believe this is true. People may be happy and good without God in their lives, but they are not complete. If we think back to the creation story we hear that we above everything else in creation, we were created to be in a special relationship with God, and if we are not in that relationship, there is something missing in our lives and we are not complete. We may not know there is something missing, but there is. Jesus said, I have come so that you might have life and life abundantly. So without Jesus, life is not abundant life, it is not complete, a complete life is only found when we see Jesus.
Now what helps us overcome pride is humility, simply knowing that we need Jesus will help us to look for him and God has said that if we seek him – we will find him. In Jeremiah 29 God says, when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you search with all heart, I will let you find me. Humility is calling on God and searching for him because we know that we need him in our lives and if we will humble ourselves, we will see Jesus. The Bible says, humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you, he will lift up our eyes so we can see Jesus.
There is one last reason we may not be able to see Jesus, and that is because our eyes and our minds and hearts and lives are simply too full of others things. Let’s go back to Thomas for a moment. What was it that filled Thomas’ eyes, heart and mind at that time? It was the crucifixion of Jesus. Thomas saw Jesus arrested, most likely saw him on the cross and he knew for sure that Jesus was dead. What Thomas had seen filled his eyes and heart and mind and there was simply no room for a risen Jesus. I wonder if we keep our eyes and hearts and minds so full that we have no room to see Jesus. I worry sometimes that we fill every moment of every day with so much that we crowd Jesus out. We can so easily become consumed with work, sports, entertainment, family and worry that we just don’t make room for Jesus.
I was thinking this week how after his resurrection, Jesus just seemed to appear out of nowhere. Remember last week the 2 disciples were on the road to Emmaus when Jesus just started walking along side of them, and I began to wonder if Jesus appeared to Thomas at some point during the week but Thomas’ heart and mind was so full of a dead Jesus that he just couldn’t see the living Jesus in front of him. Or was he so consumed with doubt and fear and grief and shame that he couldn’t see or imagine that Jesus could be alive. I wonder if there are those times in our lives when Jesus is right here for us to see or hear or experience in some real way but our minds and lives are so full that we just don’t see him. Can we make some room in our lives for the awe and wonder and power of seeing Jesus?
One of the things I love about going on vacation is that my mind and my life just aren’t as full so I can slow down and be more open to the movement of God. I often go hiking on vacation and there are days when I’ll just say, ok God help me see you today. One day when I did that I came upon a bear in front of me, that had never happened to me before I just knew that it was God saying, here I am. I felt a warm steady breeze one day almost 10 years ago and I can still hear God say in that moment, Andy, my grace is like this breeze, it is steady and constant and washes away sin. My challenge is to say to myself everyday, God show yourself to me, help me see you, and then to actually slow down enough to listen and look for God. Jesus is risen, which means he is alive and he is with us, will we take the time to look.
What keeps us from seeing Jesus?
If it is doubt, then we need to trust God’s promises and God’s word.
As frustrating as it must have been for Thomas, I wonder if Jesus did it this way for us, for all of us who generations later still struggle at times to see and believe. You see, Jesus speaks to us in this passage, he says, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. This blessing is for us because while we may not see Jesus standing in front of us in bodily form the way the disciples and Thomas did, God still helps us believe by helping us see Jesus in different ways. So what is it today that keeps us from seeing Jesus? What is it that keeps us from experiencing the blessing of Jesus resurrection power and hope and love?
One of the things that keeps us from seeing Jesus is the same thing that kept Thomas from seeing Jesus, and that is doubt. We call him doubting Thomas because he did have doubts that Jesus was alive, but I wonder if there were even stronger doubts that Thomas struggled with. I wonder if the real doubt that plagued Thomas wasn’t about Jesus, but about himself? Can you imagine the guilt that Thomas must have experienced when Jesus was crucified? They had all said that they would stand with Jesus, but when the time came, they failed. They all ran away. But when Jesus appeared to the disciples on that resurrection day, they knew they had been forgiven. Jesus breathed on them and said peace be with you. They received God’s peace and forgiveness, but Thomas wasn’t there and I wonder if that led Thomas to ask himself if Jesus would forgive him? Was that why he had not shown himself to Thomas? Was Thomas not going to be accepted or loved like the rest of the disciples? Was he not worthy? Maybe Thomas didn’t doubt Jesus resurrection, maybe he doubted himself, his own sense of value and worth. It can be this same doubt that keeps us from seeing Jesus. If we doubt God’s love for us, if we have doubts about God’s grace and mercy extending to us, then we will struggle to see Jesus, and we will struggle to experience the fullness of faith that comes with God’s grace and love.
When I was in seminary I worked at a church in North Carolina and I met a really faithful man who struggled to feel worthy of God’s grace and forgiveness. He even had a hard time singing in the choir because to get to the choir loft you had to cross the altar area, and he didn’t feel worthy to even cross that space. He struggled to take communion because he didn’t feel accepted by God, he doubted that God’s grace extended to him and that kept him from seeing Jesus and all the love and power Jesus had for him. He missed out on so much peace and joy.
If it is doubts about ourselves that keep us from seeing Jesus, then what’s the answer? The answer is trust. Can we trust the promises that God has made to us? God promises that we are forgiven. In Psalm 103:12 it says, as far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed our sin from us. In 1 John 1:7 it says the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin. Can we trust God’s word? Can we trust God’s promise which says that we are forgiven by the grace of God and the blood, or the sacrifice, of Jesus?
Can we trust God’s word when it says God loves us? Again from 1 John 3:16 it says, this is how we know what love is, Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And there is no greater love then to lay down your live for a friend. Psalm 103:11 says, for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is God’s love for those who fear him. So can we trust God’s word which says again and again that God loves us? Can we trust that God welcomes us and accepts us into his presence? Think about Jesus and all the people he welcomed and blessed, there were children, prostitutes, tax collectors, Samaritans, Gentiles, adulterers, and lepers. All those that the world rejected and cast aside, Jesus welcomed, and he welcomes us too. We can trust God’s love and grace, and when we do, God opens our eyes so that we can more clearly see Jesus.
Something else that may have kept Thomas from seeing Jesus was fear, not fear of Jesus being angry with him, but fear of how the resurrection might change his life. Maybe Thomas could begin to see what the rest of the disciples couldn’t, that a risen Savior and Lord changes everything, and the resurrection of Jesus was going to call all of them to step up and step out in a more public ministry. Maybe what kept Thomas from seeing Jesus was a fear of what Jesus might ask him to do, and where Jesus might ask him to go.
Honestly, Thomas might have been right to be afraid because what God did ask of Thomas was big and his life was never the same. We believe that after Thomas saw Jesus he ended up going as an evangelist and missionary to India. Thomas left his home, his country and all that he knew to go to what they believed at the time was the end of the world. This could not have been easy, but Thomas did it, and I think what helped him overcome this fear was faith, faith in God’s purpose and plan, and faith in God’s power to help him accomplish that plan. Maybe what helped Thomas overcome his fear was just faith in God.
There was another time when the disciples were all afraid and Jesus told them to have faith; it was in a boat, on the sea and in a storm. Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat when the storm came up and as the storm grew stronger, it says the disciples became terrified. When they finally woke Jesus, he rebuked the wind and the waves and the storm instantly stopped, and then he turned and asked his disciples, where is your faith? It is faith in God that helps us overcome our fear. If what keeps us from seeing Jesus is fear about what God may ask us to do, or fear of the changes that we know will need to take place in our lives if we follow Jesus, then we need to have faith in the strength and ability of God to help us. The resurrection of Jesus means that God has the power to overcome the grave, which means God can do anything. God can and will see us through all the storms of life if we will place our faith in him. So if it is fear that is keeping us from seeing Jesus, let us have faith that God’s power can and will supply all our needs.
Something else that can keep us from seeing Jesus is pride. If we just don’t think we need Jesus, then we won’t look to him and if we aren’t looking to him, we won’t see him. I know that most of us do look to Jesus in life, that’s why we are here today, but let’s be honest; there are those times when we think we can just do it on our own. There are many today people who believe that they can live a good, happy and complete life without God. I just don’t believe this is true. People may be happy and good without God in their lives, but they are not complete. If we think back to the creation story we hear that we above everything else in creation, we were created to be in a special relationship with God, and if we are not in that relationship, there is something missing in our lives and we are not complete. We may not know there is something missing, but there is. Jesus said, I have come so that you might have life and life abundantly. So without Jesus, life is not abundant life, it is not complete, a complete life is only found when we see Jesus.
Now what helps us overcome pride is humility, simply knowing that we need Jesus will help us to look for him and God has said that if we seek him – we will find him. In Jeremiah 29 God says, when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you search with all heart, I will let you find me. Humility is calling on God and searching for him because we know that we need him in our lives and if we will humble ourselves, we will see Jesus. The Bible says, humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you, he will lift up our eyes so we can see Jesus.
There is one last reason we may not be able to see Jesus, and that is because our eyes and our minds and hearts and lives are simply too full of others things. Let’s go back to Thomas for a moment. What was it that filled Thomas’ eyes, heart and mind at that time? It was the crucifixion of Jesus. Thomas saw Jesus arrested, most likely saw him on the cross and he knew for sure that Jesus was dead. What Thomas had seen filled his eyes and heart and mind and there was simply no room for a risen Jesus. I wonder if we keep our eyes and hearts and minds so full that we have no room to see Jesus. I worry sometimes that we fill every moment of every day with so much that we crowd Jesus out. We can so easily become consumed with work, sports, entertainment, family and worry that we just don’t make room for Jesus.
I was thinking this week how after his resurrection, Jesus just seemed to appear out of nowhere. Remember last week the 2 disciples were on the road to Emmaus when Jesus just started walking along side of them, and I began to wonder if Jesus appeared to Thomas at some point during the week but Thomas’ heart and mind was so full of a dead Jesus that he just couldn’t see the living Jesus in front of him. Or was he so consumed with doubt and fear and grief and shame that he couldn’t see or imagine that Jesus could be alive. I wonder if there are those times in our lives when Jesus is right here for us to see or hear or experience in some real way but our minds and lives are so full that we just don’t see him. Can we make some room in our lives for the awe and wonder and power of seeing Jesus?
One of the things I love about going on vacation is that my mind and my life just aren’t as full so I can slow down and be more open to the movement of God. I often go hiking on vacation and there are days when I’ll just say, ok God help me see you today. One day when I did that I came upon a bear in front of me, that had never happened to me before I just knew that it was God saying, here I am. I felt a warm steady breeze one day almost 10 years ago and I can still hear God say in that moment, Andy, my grace is like this breeze, it is steady and constant and washes away sin. My challenge is to say to myself everyday, God show yourself to me, help me see you, and then to actually slow down enough to listen and look for God. Jesus is risen, which means he is alive and he is with us, will we take the time to look.
What keeps us from seeing Jesus?
If it is doubt, then we need to trust God’s promises and God’s word.
If it is fear, then we need to have faith that God’s power is with us.
If it is pride, then we need to humble ourselves so God can lift up our eyes.
If what keeps us from seeing Jesus is a heart and mind and life that is simply too full, then we need to slow down and empty ourselves to make room for the wonder and the awe of God.
The bottom line is, if we really want to see Jesus, let we need to ask him for his blessing so that we can see and believe.
