Read and Study:
John 20 and use this tool to help you study this passage.
Reflect
One in five Americans don’t believe in a deity. The “none” category in religious polls has doubled over the past ten years, and less than half of the population attends religious services on a regular basis. As statistics rise on the decline of Christian faith in America, you may find yourself wondering if Christianity is really worth believing? After all, the Christian faith makes some audacious claims. The most doubtable claims are actually central to the faith: the gospel. The gospel is the claim that Jesus was God incarnate, lived a sinless and perfect human life that climaxed in his death and resurrection which, through Jesus, the redeeming and restoration of all things is guaranteed.
The idea that a man would claim to be God is not that outlandish (see…..). Furthermore, the message of a life given for those he loves, a cause he loves, and a movement he loves are not only explainable, they’re visible even today. Furthermore, the claim that Jesus was innocently killed by an occupying force and a small group of culturally powerful insiders is not doubtable either, in fact, we almost expect this. At first glance, the death of Jesus of Nazareth is easy enough to embrace. It is well documented and the Roman authorities crucified people regularly.
The god-sized claim beneath his self-sacrifice is what ruffles feathers. Jesus asserted that his death was necessary for humanity. His insistence that we all need an atoning representative troubles our self worth. Jesus represented all of us? What gives him the right? Who says we need a representation or sacrifice anyway? The bull’s eye of the gospel is the death and resurrection of Jesus. We don’t have to dive deep to surface doubt regarding the resurrection. Its surface value is, well, incredible.
The notion that a first century Jewish man, crucified between two common thieves, was actually God and rose from the dead is hard to believe. In our experience, people don’t beat death, especially after being in a grave for three days. He was brutally killed on a Friday, taken straight to a tomb protected by a large stone and guarded by soldiers. His body
If you doubt the resurrection, I’m glad. Anything worth believing has to be worth questioning, but don’t let your questions slip away unanswered. Don’t reduce your doubts to a state of unsettled cynicism. Wrestle with your doubts. Find answers. If you call yourself a believer, don’t settle for pat proofs, emotional experiences, or duty-driven religion. Keep asking questions. Those who haven’t questioned their faith can easily become doctrinaire, even detached from the everyday struggle of faith. Whether you are a skeptic, believer, or somewhere in between, press into your doubt or push back on your faith. Question your faith and question your doubts. Determine good reasons for believing or not believing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If he really did defeat death, it changes everything. Doubt well and you can walk away from skepticism, cynicism, or blind faith into intellectual security, perceptive belief, and deeper commitment. You can know that you have honestly doubted the resurrection.
When they heard the claim that Jesus had risen from the dead, they thought it was a idle talk, foolishness. They did not believe. They questioned. Hearing the report, they didn’t rubber stamp the claim in blind faith. They responded like you and I would--skeptically. No wishful thinking here. They doubted. They questioned. Their faith was tested. And the doubting had only just begun.
As the report of Jesus’ missing body spread, people began to wonder what had happened to it. Some claimed the body was stolen. Even Mary Magdalene, a close follower of Jesus, assumed this until Jesus appeared to her. Mary was feeling defeated by the death of her beloved teacher and was distraught to find his body missing. In her grief and confusion, she mistakes Jesus for a gardener. His voice doesn’t register, not until he calls her by name (John 20:15-16). Mary wasn’t alone in her disbelief. Others struggled to believe her resurrection report, even after Jesus appeared to them (Luke 24:36-43). His followers mistook him for a ghost, so Jesus proved his physical existence. He ate a piece of fish before their very eyes, and they all believed, except Thomas. Thomas witnessed all of this and remained incredulous. He heard the news, saw the man, and even watched Jesus perform an experiment proving he was real, and still he doubted. Proof wasn’t enough. This is remarkable.
If you had spent every day with Jesus, for roughly the last one thousand days, knew his mannerisms, loved the timber of his voice, embraced his teachings, seen his miracles, wept at his death, and then Jesus appeared from the dead, standing right in front of you, proving he’s not a spirit, and you still doubted, how would you expect Jesus to respond? A bit exasperated? Perhaps a stern correction? Now, put yourself in the shoes of Jesus. You’ve spent all this time with Thomas, poured out your soul to him, prayed relentlessly for him, taught him numerous times about your impending death and resurrection, and then he doubts you, even after you prove your existence to him. Do you think your patience would run a little thin? I know mine would. I expect Jesus to rebuke Thomas, making him an example for others, telling him to accept it and get with the program. But that’s not what Jesus does. Instead, Jesus has room for Thomas’ doubt. He even invites Thomas to place his hands on his tender crucifixion wounds, to feel the truth. This scene is palpably human and wonderfully divine. We can identify with Thomas’ response, but Jesus’ tender patience is superhuman. In the History Channel’s docudrama, The Bible, this scene is touchingly captured with the resurrected Jesus slowly making his way over to Thomas, placing his hand gently on his shoulder and saying: “Do not disbelieve, but believe” (John 20:27). Jesus had patience for doubt.
If you doubt the resurrection, you are in good company. Jesus understands your doubts, and he welcomes them.
Process
1. Like Ben and Jessica in the film, Thomas struggled with doubt. Have you ever struggled in your belief in Jesus Christ?
2. Is doubt good or bad? Why? What is doubt’s role in your life?
3. What was Jesus’ response to Thomas’ doubt in the passage? What does this reveal about His character?
4. In the midst of doubt, Ben and Jessica left their faith. What draws you back to your faith in Jesus in the midst of your own doubt?
If you’re engaging your doubts on the resurrection, I encourage you to read this short book.