The Miracle No One Believed
We tend to forget what it was like on that first Easter morning. It is worth asking ourselves: If we had been there, would we have believed or would we have doubted?Or to put the question another way, what would it take to convince you that someone you loved had come back to life after being dead three days? Suppose it was a close friend or family member and you saw them die? What would it take to convince you? Or is there any way you could be convinced? Rising from the dead is not a common thing. At best, it hasn’t happened for centuries.
If we had been there in Jerusalem with Matthew, James and John, would we have believed those strange rumors that Sunday morning? In answering that question, it helps to remember how those who knew Jesus best reacted to news of his resurrection.
Very simply, they were not expecting a resurrection. Now it’s true that Jesus had predicted that he would be put to death and then raised to life. But his followers did not understand it. A resurrection was the farthest thing from their minds. Forget his predictions. Forget all that brave talk. They had given up.
Who really expected a resurrection on that Sunday morning? Not the disciples. It was the Jewish leaders who persuaded the Romans to seal the tomb. The enemies of Jesus feared something might happen. His friends weren’t expecting anything.
Nonsense!
In fact, Mark 16 says that the women who came to his tomb on Sunday morning came to anoint his body. That was part of the embalming process. In the confusion of trying to get the body in the tomb before sundown on Friday, spices had been placed on Jesus’ body, but not the ointment. The women came to finish embalming his body.What did they find when they got there? The stone rolled away and an empty tomb. All four gospels agree on this fact. The women did not have the slightest idea what had happened. They weren’t looking for a resurrec-tion.
Mark says that even after the angel explained what had happened, they fled from the tomb trembling and afraid (Mark 16:8). John says that even Mary thought someone had stolen the body (John 20:2). Luke adds that when the women came and told the apostles what the angel had said, “They did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.” (Luke 24:11)
Nonsense. Of course. No one rises from the dead. Not after three days. Not after being scourged. Not after hanging on a cross for six hours. Not after having a sword thrust in their side. Not after being covered with 100 pounds of spices and wrapped in a burial cloth. Not after being sealed in a tomb.
No, the odds are against it. It was impossible. He was a nice man. He meant well. We all loved him. We walked with him as he told those wonderful stories. And, oh, the miracles he did. We laughed when he told off the Pharisees. How about that time when he did that miracle with the fishes and the loaves? We thought that was great.
Sure, he said he would rise again. We all believed it. He even believed it. He had never been wrong before. Why not? He said he was the Son of God. We’re sure going to miss him. Wouldn’t it have been great if he had pulled it off? Nobody would believe it. What a party we’d have.
And Mark says, “When they heard Jesus was alive … they did not believe it.” (Mark 16:11) Who could blame them? If you had been there, would you have believed it?
Alone In His Grief
John tells us that Thomas was not present on that Sunday evening when Jesus suddenly appeared in their midst. The Bible doesn’t say why, but I think I know. There are basically two different ways people respond to sorrow and tragedy. Some seek solace in the company of their friends. They want people around to help them talk it out. Others prefer to be alone with their thoughts. Such was Thomas.If it is true that Thomas realized more than the others what was going to happen in Jerusalem, then it may also be true that he was more deeply hurt. He was not with the disciples because his heart had been crushed. Everything he had, he had given to Jesus, and Jesus is dead.
He still loves, still cares, still wants to believe, but his heart is broken. He is not a bad man nor is his doubt sinful. Deep inside he wants to believe. Don’t put him down too hard. We’ve all been in the same place.
If you wish to call Thomas a doubter, please do not make him out an unbeliever. Some have tried to place him in the company of the skeptics. He does not belong there. Thomas is definitely not a skeptic or a rationalist. His doubts come from devotion to Christ. There is no doubt like the doubt of a broken heart. It’s one thing to doubt the Virgin Birth in a classroom setting. It is something else again to lose someone you love and wonder if there is still a God in heaven.
Two Kinds Of Doubters
You see, there are two kinds of doubters in the realm of spiritual truth. There are those hard-boiled rationalists who say, “I don’t believe it and there’s nothing that will make me believe it.” Such men enjoy their doubt, talk about it, laugh about it, and get angry when they are refuted. A man like that is not looking for answers; he’s looking for an argument. He counts the difficulties, seizes objections, and looks for loopholes. The Pharisees fall into that category. When they asked Jesus for a sign, he refused, calling them “an evil and adulterous generation.” (Matthew 16:1-4)But there is another kind of doubter, the person who says, “I don’t believe but I’m willing to believe if I can see for myself.” Thomas fits this category. He is not an unbelieving skeptic; rather, he is a wounded believer. Remember, Thomas didn’t doubt the miraculous in general. He had seen many of Jesus’ greatest miracles. But this one was too big to take someone else’s word for it. He had to see it to believe it. And who could blame him?
No one wanted to believe more than Thomas. But he had seen too much, he knew too much, all the facts pointed in one direction. Before Thomas would believe he had to personally see Jesus. And he had to be sure it was Jesus—not some dream or vision. He had to be sure it was the same Jesus he saw die. That’s why he couldn’t just take the word of the disciples. Not on something like this. He was not unwilling to believe, but unable.
No Second-Hand Faith
Some people are satisfied with the testimony of others. Some are not. Thomas was not. Did he doubt the truthfulness of the others? No, he knew they believed they had seen Jesus. But that wasn’t enough. Lots of people think they see things. Thomas couldn’t get rid of the suspicion that they had seen a ghost. He could not live with a second-hand faith. He had to see for himself.When he says, “Unless I touch his wounds, I will not believe,” there is much more than doubt. There is love, and sorrow, and pain, and a tiny grain of hope. Thomas stands for all time as the one man who most desperately wanted to believe if only he could be sure. Can you blame him? Would you have been any different?
Doubters Welcome At The Empty Tomb
After all these years, Thomas has gotten a bad reputation. Doubting Thomas, we call him. We tend to look down on him. But not Jesus. Eight days later Jesus appeared to the disciples a second time. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus speaks to him as to one whose faith is weak, not to one who has an evil heart. He said, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27)It’s worth noting that Jesus knew all about Thomas’ doubts. He knew the raging sea within his heart. And he came just so Thomas could be sure. Jesus didn’t put him down. He said, “Go ahead, all you who wonder if it is true. See for yourself. Stop doubting and believe.” Here is the wonderful truth. Doubters are welcome at the empty tomb.
Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe in the miracle we celebrate on Easter? If you answer “No” or “I’m not sure,” then welcome. It’s okay to be an honest doubter. If you came that way and want to leave that way, it’s okay. When you’re ready, he’ll be there waiting for you.
“Stop Doubting And Believe”
All that God asks is that men be consistent with themselves. He asks that you give this story the same treat-ment you give to any other story. Sift the evidence, judge the record and come to a conclusion.It’s all right to doubt, but don’t let your doubts keep you away. Come to the empty tomb and see for yourself. When Thomas saw Jesus, he fell at his feet and exclaimed, “My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28) That stands as the greatest testimony given by any of the apostles. It is the climax of John’s gospel. And it comes from the man who had the strongest doubts.
It is a wonderful truth that the greatest doubters often become the strongest believers. And the honest doubts—once resolved—become the bedrock of an unshakeable faith. It has been said that no truth is so strongly believed as that which you once doubted. In the history of the Christian church, the greatest doubters have often become the strongest believers.
That’s why the story of Thomas is in the Bible—so that honest doubters might be encouraged to bring their honest doubts to the empty tomb. Thomas did, and his doubts were washed away by the person of Jesus Christ—alive from the dead.
One other thing. No one can remain neutral forever. You can bring your doubts to the empty tomb, but you have to make a choice! You cannot stay on the fence forever. Either you believe or you don’t.
This is Easter Sunday. It’s a wonderful day to make that choice. It’s a great day to stop doubting and start believing.
You know that Jesus died. There is no doubt about that. You know he died for you. You know he rose from the dead. The question God is asking you is, “What have you done with my Son?”
Jesus said, “Stop doubting and believe.”
Father, we thank you for the beauty of Easter.
We thank you that the deepest questions of life are answered with the simplicity of an empty tomb.
Lead us into the garden of the Resurrection where we may meet our Lord.
May we never live again as if Jesus were dead.
May those who doubt … now believe and find life through his name.
In the name of Jesus who died and rose again,
And who lives forevermore. Amen.
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