2nd Sunday of Easter
April 23, 2006
Text: John 20: 19‑31
DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS, NOT THE RISEN CHRIST!
Rev. Kenneth W. Wieting
Dear friends in Christ; we all have our doubts! We have big doubts and little doubts, doubts of others and doubts of ourselves, and most seriously doubts of God's promises. Ever since our first parents doubted God's voice, the human heart has trusted in that which it should doubt and doubted that in which it should trust. We live in an age that idolizes trust in feelings and glorifies doubt in God's Word. For goodness sake, our school children are taught the fairy tale that they evolved by chance as if it were science. Some skepticism is very healthy. Thank God for those who doubt this nonsense! But doubt is not healthy when it comes to God's sure promises. Then, we continually need the encouragement we sang to one another in the Introit, "Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered."
Remember how the people of Noah's day trusted in eating and drinking and doubted there was any value in a big boat? Their trust turned out to be all wet in the face of the judgment God uttered. Remember how Pharaoh and his forces trusted in their weapons and their chariots? They doubted that God who had killed their firstborn could stop their potent army. Their trust also turned out to be all wet when God uttered His judgment at the Red Sea. Remember how, after that mighty rescue, the people of Israel doubted their entrance into the Promised Land? Remember how they murmured and complained and doubted God's care of them in the wilderness?
We all have our doubts. Christian faith is conscious and aware of doubt and takes it to Christ for help. With the man whose son needed healing faith prays, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief" (Mk. 9:24). And Christ does help. Sometimes it is said "doubt your doubts, not your faith". But that is not quite right. Our trust is in the risen Christ, not in our faith. The better encouragement is this, DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS, NOT THE RISEN CHRIST!
We all have our doubts. The actions of Thomas encourage us to examine those doubts, especially concerning God and His promises in Christ. Thomas had been a loyal disciple of Jesus right up to the Garden of Gethsemane. A short while before Holy Week, Jesus prepared to go to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead. His disciples spoke strongly against such a journey reminding Jesus that the Jews wanted to stone Him. But when Jesus persisted, Thomas alone said, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." Thomas, you see, was no half‑hearted observer. He loved his Master with deep commitment.
Despite the fears he voiced, Thomas did not die with Jesus by stoning on the day that Jesus raised Lazarus. But he and the other disciples experienced greater fear that they would die with Jesus on the day that He was led away to be crucified. On that day, Thomas uttered no bold statement, "let us go and die with Him". Rather on that day, it was everyone for him self. All along the disciples had misunderstood and objected to Jesus' prediction of His crucifixion. Their all‑embracing doubt that anything good could come from the cross was evidenced in their desertion of Him. Jesus went forward alone to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for the sins of the world.
But just as Jesus had promised, the third day followed. On the first day of the week the body of Jesus was no longer entombed. Pilate's seal could not stop Him! The large stone could not contain Him! Death could not hold Him! God in the flesh was afoot again on this troubled earth. Beautiful light came to us who walk in darkness from a most peculiar place, from inside a garden tomb.
The disciples (minus Judas and Thomas) were huddled inside, behind doors locked tight. They were themselves entombed with fear and doubt and without question guilt for their desertion of the Lord. They were finished. They were done for. Praise the Lord, they were on empty! Such true emptying is not something man can do with his own meditation or devices. Such true emptying is done only when God leads us to see our sin against the Father and His beloved Son. Praise God, they were on empty!
Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." This is the very same Jesus who hung dead on the cross. He had the marks to prove it. Isaiah had prophesied it, "The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed" (Is. 53:5). The peace that His bloody wounds and damning punishment had won, the risen Christ now freely gave to the disciples. What wondrous light for those who walk in darkness! No wonder the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld."
The peace He gave to them, they were to give to others. Holy Absolution was to be spoken by the apostles Jesus sent out and by those they sent out. The office of the ministry was to be wholly focused on sin and its forgiveness. That wondrous peace had certainly been conveyed to Thomas. He was clearly told by the ten that the risen Christ had come to them. In the week that intervened, it would have been impossible for Thomas not to hear repeatedly the amazing absolution spoken by the risen Christ. What else would have captivated their thinking and their speaking in that week?
But Thomas said, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." Even though Jesus had promised He would rise from the dead, even though eye‑witnesses had told Thomas they had seen the risen Christ, even though the risen Christ had come speaking the beautiful peace of His forgiveness, Thomas wasn't satisfied. We all have doubts, and Thomas threw down conditions that Jesus must meet for his doubts to be relieved.
The wonder is that the risen Christ acted to remove his doubts and through Thomas to remove our doubts. These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. The wonder is that eight days later, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
Beloved, this is the key in your own battle with the doubts that beset you. Christ is your Lord and your God. The crucified Man is God. It was God in the flesh who bled for you on Calvary. It was a sacrifice of infinite value that washed away your sins. Dear Christian, your sins are not equal to His blood. Who do you think you are, God? Your doubts and your fears and your guilt are not on a par with His forgiveness. Who do you think you are, God? "My Lord and my God", said Thomas. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed", said Jesus.
Risen from the grave He came into the locked doors of your heart and baptized you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Risen from the tomb He comes into your midst today to free you from your doubts concerning Him. He no longer says put your finger here but He does say, "Take and eat, take and drink for the forgiveness of sins." He does not visibly display His wounds to you. He gives you the fruit of those wounds to eat and to drink. Beloved, DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS, NOT YOUR RISEN LORD.
When the risen Christ says, "Peace be with you" it's more than a pious wish or possible hope. His words give what they say. Peace is now Christ's gift to you. He earned it! He can do with it as He pleases! Nothing pleases Him more than to give it to you. "Peace be with you". There is no higher worship in the Gospel than the desire of your heart to receive His forgiveness, to receive His peace. Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered.
Dear Christians, we all have our doubts! On our own our hearts will always be tempted to doubt that which we should trust and to trust that which we should doubt. We can't change that! By nature, until we breathe our last, we will be tempted to doubt God's Word. By nature, until we breathe our last we will be tempted to trust the words of the powerful or the pretty or the philosophical or the poetical or the political. By nature, until we breathe our last we will be tempted to trust the feelings of our own heart or the limited understanding of our own mind. There are countless voices clamoring for your trust, offering you peace that others are missing, prescribing methods to attain a richer life, promising confidence and the removal of your doubts.
But there is only one who is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. There is only one who is your advocate with the Father. There is only one in whose name you have life. There is only one who gives you peace with God that surpasses human understanding. Feelings of peace can sometimes be very deceptive. Both an active life with its good works and the contemplative life with its speculations can yield some peace of mind. For this reason they hide real dangers unless tempered by the cross of Christ and are disturbed by adversaries. You will never perfectly feel the perfect peace that Christ gives you with the Father until you are empty of earthly life itself.
There is a bit of Thomas in each of us. "Unless I see something more or something different, I will not believe". Unless my loneliness is relieved or my health is restored or my dreams are met or my troubles are solved, I will not believe. The cure for our doubts is the same. Today as the risen Christ stands in your midst and feeds you with His body and blood He utters this judgment. "Peace be with you". And it is! Beloved, DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS, NOT THE RISEN CHRIST! AMEN.
Text: John 20: 19‑31
DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS, NOT THE RISEN CHRIST!
Rev. Kenneth W. Wieting
Dear friends in Christ; we all have our doubts! We have big doubts and little doubts, doubts of others and doubts of ourselves, and most seriously doubts of God's promises. Ever since our first parents doubted God's voice, the human heart has trusted in that which it should doubt and doubted that in which it should trust. We live in an age that idolizes trust in feelings and glorifies doubt in God's Word. For goodness sake, our school children are taught the fairy tale that they evolved by chance as if it were science. Some skepticism is very healthy. Thank God for those who doubt this nonsense! But doubt is not healthy when it comes to God's sure promises. Then, we continually need the encouragement we sang to one another in the Introit, "Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered."
Remember how the people of Noah's day trusted in eating and drinking and doubted there was any value in a big boat? Their trust turned out to be all wet in the face of the judgment God uttered. Remember how Pharaoh and his forces trusted in their weapons and their chariots? They doubted that God who had killed their firstborn could stop their potent army. Their trust also turned out to be all wet when God uttered His judgment at the Red Sea. Remember how, after that mighty rescue, the people of Israel doubted their entrance into the Promised Land? Remember how they murmured and complained and doubted God's care of them in the wilderness?
We all have our doubts. Christian faith is conscious and aware of doubt and takes it to Christ for help. With the man whose son needed healing faith prays, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief" (Mk. 9:24). And Christ does help. Sometimes it is said "doubt your doubts, not your faith". But that is not quite right. Our trust is in the risen Christ, not in our faith. The better encouragement is this, DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS, NOT THE RISEN CHRIST!
We all have our doubts. The actions of Thomas encourage us to examine those doubts, especially concerning God and His promises in Christ. Thomas had been a loyal disciple of Jesus right up to the Garden of Gethsemane. A short while before Holy Week, Jesus prepared to go to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead. His disciples spoke strongly against such a journey reminding Jesus that the Jews wanted to stone Him. But when Jesus persisted, Thomas alone said, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." Thomas, you see, was no half‑hearted observer. He loved his Master with deep commitment.
Despite the fears he voiced, Thomas did not die with Jesus by stoning on the day that Jesus raised Lazarus. But he and the other disciples experienced greater fear that they would die with Jesus on the day that He was led away to be crucified. On that day, Thomas uttered no bold statement, "let us go and die with Him". Rather on that day, it was everyone for him self. All along the disciples had misunderstood and objected to Jesus' prediction of His crucifixion. Their all‑embracing doubt that anything good could come from the cross was evidenced in their desertion of Him. Jesus went forward alone to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for the sins of the world.
But just as Jesus had promised, the third day followed. On the first day of the week the body of Jesus was no longer entombed. Pilate's seal could not stop Him! The large stone could not contain Him! Death could not hold Him! God in the flesh was afoot again on this troubled earth. Beautiful light came to us who walk in darkness from a most peculiar place, from inside a garden tomb.
The disciples (minus Judas and Thomas) were huddled inside, behind doors locked tight. They were themselves entombed with fear and doubt and without question guilt for their desertion of the Lord. They were finished. They were done for. Praise the Lord, they were on empty! Such true emptying is not something man can do with his own meditation or devices. Such true emptying is done only when God leads us to see our sin against the Father and His beloved Son. Praise God, they were on empty!
Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." This is the very same Jesus who hung dead on the cross. He had the marks to prove it. Isaiah had prophesied it, "The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed" (Is. 53:5). The peace that His bloody wounds and damning punishment had won, the risen Christ now freely gave to the disciples. What wondrous light for those who walk in darkness! No wonder the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld."
The peace He gave to them, they were to give to others. Holy Absolution was to be spoken by the apostles Jesus sent out and by those they sent out. The office of the ministry was to be wholly focused on sin and its forgiveness. That wondrous peace had certainly been conveyed to Thomas. He was clearly told by the ten that the risen Christ had come to them. In the week that intervened, it would have been impossible for Thomas not to hear repeatedly the amazing absolution spoken by the risen Christ. What else would have captivated their thinking and their speaking in that week?
But Thomas said, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." Even though Jesus had promised He would rise from the dead, even though eye‑witnesses had told Thomas they had seen the risen Christ, even though the risen Christ had come speaking the beautiful peace of His forgiveness, Thomas wasn't satisfied. We all have doubts, and Thomas threw down conditions that Jesus must meet for his doubts to be relieved.
The wonder is that the risen Christ acted to remove his doubts and through Thomas to remove our doubts. These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. The wonder is that eight days later, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
Beloved, this is the key in your own battle with the doubts that beset you. Christ is your Lord and your God. The crucified Man is God. It was God in the flesh who bled for you on Calvary. It was a sacrifice of infinite value that washed away your sins. Dear Christian, your sins are not equal to His blood. Who do you think you are, God? Your doubts and your fears and your guilt are not on a par with His forgiveness. Who do you think you are, God? "My Lord and my God", said Thomas. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed", said Jesus.
Risen from the grave He came into the locked doors of your heart and baptized you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Risen from the tomb He comes into your midst today to free you from your doubts concerning Him. He no longer says put your finger here but He does say, "Take and eat, take and drink for the forgiveness of sins." He does not visibly display His wounds to you. He gives you the fruit of those wounds to eat and to drink. Beloved, DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS, NOT YOUR RISEN LORD.
When the risen Christ says, "Peace be with you" it's more than a pious wish or possible hope. His words give what they say. Peace is now Christ's gift to you. He earned it! He can do with it as He pleases! Nothing pleases Him more than to give it to you. "Peace be with you". There is no higher worship in the Gospel than the desire of your heart to receive His forgiveness, to receive His peace. Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered.
Dear Christians, we all have our doubts! On our own our hearts will always be tempted to doubt that which we should trust and to trust that which we should doubt. We can't change that! By nature, until we breathe our last, we will be tempted to doubt God's Word. By nature, until we breathe our last we will be tempted to trust the words of the powerful or the pretty or the philosophical or the poetical or the political. By nature, until we breathe our last we will be tempted to trust the feelings of our own heart or the limited understanding of our own mind. There are countless voices clamoring for your trust, offering you peace that others are missing, prescribing methods to attain a richer life, promising confidence and the removal of your doubts.
But there is only one who is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. There is only one who is your advocate with the Father. There is only one in whose name you have life. There is only one who gives you peace with God that surpasses human understanding. Feelings of peace can sometimes be very deceptive. Both an active life with its good works and the contemplative life with its speculations can yield some peace of mind. For this reason they hide real dangers unless tempered by the cross of Christ and are disturbed by adversaries. You will never perfectly feel the perfect peace that Christ gives you with the Father until you are empty of earthly life itself.
There is a bit of Thomas in each of us. "Unless I see something more or something different, I will not believe". Unless my loneliness is relieved or my health is restored or my dreams are met or my troubles are solved, I will not believe. The cure for our doubts is the same. Today as the risen Christ stands in your midst and feeds you with His body and blood He utters this judgment. "Peace be with you". And it is! Beloved, DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS, NOT THE RISEN CHRIST! AMEN.
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
5/14/2006
