Read John 20:24–31.
In a Christian community that says so much about “faith,” “doubt” can feel like the unpardonable sin. It doesn’t help that Thomas went through a season of doubt, and he’s been forever labeled by some as “Doubting Thomas.”
I don’t want to suggest that Thomas didn’t do anything wrong. He was wrong to put Jesus to the test, to decide on his own terms what Jesus had to do in order for him to believe. And there may be a gentle rebuke in Jesus’s words, “Have you believed because you have seen me?”
But to those who would be quick to condemn, I would say, “Let him without doubt cast the first stone.”
Even for us who believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, and have life in his name, there is no escape from every and all doubt. There is no escape from the intrusive thoughts that say, “Maybe God doesn’t care,” “Maybe he isn’t listening,” or “Maybe he doesn’t exist at all.”
In his Introduction to Christianity, Joseph Ratzinger begins with the first word of the Apostles’ Creed—“Credo,” “I believe”—and concludes that even the best of believers “will never be free of the secret uncertainty about whether positivism really has the last word.”
But listen to what Ratzinger says next: “Just as the believer knows himself to be constantly threatened by unbelief, which he must experience as a continual temptation, so for the unbeliever faith remains a temptation and a threat to his apparently permanently closed world. In short, there is no escape from the dilemma of being a man.”
I was listening to Bill Maher the other day—which I don’t recommend, because he’s so crude—but I was listening to him because he’s so incredibly hostile to Christianity, and I want to understand what drives people like him, I want to hear them out so that I can better engage with skeptics in our world.
And as I was listening to Maher, I was intrigued by his honesty. Maher says, “It’s tempting to say, ‘Oh, you Christians are just stupid. They’re not stupid. They just perceive reality different. And everybody has gaps. I feel, because I’m me, that I don’t have those gaps. But maybe I do. … Francis Collins is head of the National Institutes of Health—a brilliant man, who helped on mapping the human genome—and he’s a Christian. I can’t explain that.”
The point is this: Doubt is inescapable, whether you are a Christian or an atheist. “There is no escape from the dilemma of being a man.”
Everyone experiences doubt. Verse 24 tells us that Thomas was not with the other disciples when Jesus appeared the first time. But don’t forget that when Jesus appeared the first time, verse 19 says that “the doors were locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews.” Thomas wasn’t the only disciple whose faith faltered.
In fact, Mark’s Gospel tells us that when Mary Magdalene went to the disciples and told them that Jesus was alive and had been seen by her, “they would not believe it” (Mark 16:11). Luke’s Gospel tells us that Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women told the apostles about the empty tomb and the angels there, “but these words seemed to them an idle tale [nonsense!], and they did not believe them” (Lk. 24:10–11).
Thomas should have believed, not blindly, but because of what he already knew about Jesus, and because of what was written in the Old Testament Scriptures about the Messiah, and because of the testimony of the eyewitnesses. But Thomas was not the only one to doubt.
We could just as easily speak of Doubting Peter and Doubting James. And if we are honest, this morning, there are times when we, too, have doubts. The Church should be a place where we can be honest about our doubts, and where we can meet one another with kindness and compassion along the journey.
The Church should be a place where we can be honest about our doubts, and where we can meet one another with kindness and compassion along the journey.
If we’re honest, the Church doesn’t always feel like a safe place to have doubts. We can be so desperate for people to believe—desperate for all the right reasons—that we try to force them onto a shortcut to faith, as if by sheer will they can “just believe,” or “take a leap of faith” (as if that’s what faith is), and make their doubts magically disappear.
I love what Jude 1:22 says: “Have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire.” There are some people who need to be confronted with some hard truths. They need to be warned about wrath and judgment. But sincere doubters are not among that number.
Jesus is patient with our doubts. Verse 26 says that when Jesus appeared to his disciples eight days later, Thomas was with them. Jesus appeared to Thomas. Yes, Thomas doubted. Yes, Thomas sinned by putting Jesus to the test. But Jesus still appeared to him. He didn’t have to do that. But Jesus had grace for Thomas, and he has grace for us.
If Jude commands us to have mercy on those who doubt, don’t you think that Jesus has mercy for us if we doubt? Are we more merciful than God?
Jesus wants us to overcome our doubts, and there were times when Jesus rebuked his disciples for not having enough faith. James 1:6 warns that doubt can make us unstable, like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. But Jesus doesn’t cast out doubters. He remembers and never forgets that we are dust.
You see, a person who is doubting is still wrestling with the truth! They are still seeking! Never forget that! So many people in our world don’t care enough to even wrestle or seek! God is in none of their thoughts. It is this indifference or apathy that is the true enemy of faith—not sincere doubt. Jesus is patient and kind to reveal himself to those who are wrestling, struggling, and sincerely desiring the Truth.
We shouldn’t judge Thomas too harshly by his worst moment. Yes, he said, “Unless I see the marks, I will never believe.” But he was still hanging around eight days later when Jesus appeared the second time.
The best thing that a doubter can do is to stay close to the believing community, where Jesus can be found. When Thomas’s faith failed, he stayed close to the Church. Doubt only becomes crushing when we try to navigate it alone.
Doubt only becomes crushing when we try to navigate it alone.
It’s in the Church, where two or three are gathered in his name, that Jesus has promised to be found. When we’re struggling with doubt, our adversary the devil will do whatever he can to keep us away from the Church. But we need to go where God’s Word is read and preached. We need to join in the prayers of God’s people, even if the only words on our lips are “I believe, help my unbelief!”
In a few minutes, we’re going to say the Creed. And if you really believe it, then I am urging you to please say it like you mean it. Say it with a loud voice. Say it with some passion. Say it like you’re a soldier. Say it like it’s the truth that you’d stake your life on. Because you might never know when there is someone next to you who is struggling in their faith. And they need their weak voice to be caught up in the thunderous sound of God’s people saying “Credo”—“I believe.”
The confession of the Creed should be a climax of the service, but it will only be that if we stir up our cold and lifeless hearts, and say it like we mean it, not just for our own sake, but in love, for the sake of everyone that’s listening.
And then, when we’re doing saying it, we need to live it. And we need to get involved in one another’s journey of faith, and encourage one another along the way. We need to share our own testimony, about how Jesus lives within our heart. That brings me to my fourth point:
There are compelling reasons to believe in Jesus, even without seeing his physical body. When Jesus says in verse 29, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed,” he does not say, “Blessed are those who have believed without evidence.” He doesn’t say, “Blessed are those who believe blindly.”
We have thousands of years of writings about a Messiah that would die and be raised, Scriptures that Jesus fulfilled. We have reliable records of what Jesus taught, words of unparalleled wisdom, in which Jesus made extraordinary claims about his own identity. We know for certain that Jesus was crucified during the reign of Tiberius, under the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate. And we have ample eyewitness testimony from those who saw him alive on the third day—men and women who were willing to suffer excruciating deaths rather than deny what they had seen with their own eyes.
When I have doubts, this is what I remind myself of: I do not believe that Jesus was merely a good moral teacher, or another failed Jewish Messiah. I just don’t believe that. I can’t imagine ever believing that. Sure, there are some questions that I don’t yet have a good answer for. There are some things that I’ve put in my mystery box. But on the whole, my journey with faith and doubt has led me to an ever stronger conviction that Jesus really is who he said that he was. I believe with all my heart that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. I have chosen to live as though it is true, and in that faith I have found tremendous peace, hope, and happiness. That brings me to my final point:
Doubt can lead to a deeper faith. In the story of Thomas, verse 28 doesn’t get enough attention: When Thomas saw the scars, he confessed, “My Lord and my God!”
Doubt can lead to a deeper faith.
As far as I know, Thomas was the first person in human history to confess that Jesus is God. Peter confessed that he was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, but it’s not clear that Peter yet understood the full implications of what it meant for Jesus to be God’s Son. Thomas looked at Jesus and said to Jesus “My Lord and my God!”
We don’t speak of “Denying Peter” or “Persecuting Paul,” and we need a new name for “Doubting Thomas”: Victorious Thomas. Believing Thomas. Confessing Thomas. Restored Thomas. Beloved Thomas. Thomas the Apostle. Because what actually defines Thomas is not his moment of doubt, but his confident confession, “My Lord and my God!”
Church tradition says that of all the apostles, Thomas journeyed the farthest to spread the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. He traveled to India and established churches, and today in India you can visit ancient Saint Thomas Churches that trace their lineage back to his mission work. Some traditions say that Thomas also traveled to China and many other regions of the Far East before he was martyred in India with a spear.
It’s believed that Thomas died on December 21st, and every year on the Church Calendar, just four days before Christmas, the Church remembers and celebrates the Feast Day of Thomas the Apostle (not “Doubting Thomas”).
Christ was patient with Thomas, and he will be patient with you. Christ spoke “Peace” to Thomas, and he is speaking peace to you this morning. And although Christ told Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed,” this doesn’t change the fact that Thomas too was greatly blessed.
Maybe you’re here this morning and you feel like Thomas. Maybe you’re struggling with doubts. Or maybe you’ve just failed. You’ve blown it. You’ve embarrassed yourself or brought shame upon yourself. Maybe you’ve even gone through a period of backsliding. And now you feel like there will always be an adjective attached to your name: Doubting. Failing. Stupid. Foolish. Arrogant. Adulterous. Angry. Worthless.
Here’s the good news: While men may brand us with an adjective, God casts adjectives into the sea of his forgetfulness (Mic. 7:19). God turns doubters into missionaries. God turns failures into witnesses. For his power is made perfect in weakness.
Some of the content in this sermon was adapted from a previous sermon, “A New Name for Doubting Thomas.”
