Faith and Doubt

John 20:10-31

¹¹But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. ¹²And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. ¹³They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” ¹⁴Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” ¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). ¹⁷Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” ¹⁸Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. ¹⁹On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²²And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” ²⁴Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “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.” ²⁶Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷Then 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.” ²⁸Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” ³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Slowly the news of Jesus resurrection seeps into the minds and reality of His followers. Mary is the first to come to grips with the truth that Jesus’ body hasn’t been stolen but resurrected. Her understanding begins at the point where Jesus speaks her name. While speaking the name of Jesus with our own lips is indeed sweet I can only just imagine hearing Him say mine. That thought alone is worthy of meditation. Imagine your eardrums vibrating with the sound of your name being spoken by the Savior. If you hear harshness or anger, that’s not Jesus. If you hear a gentle and loving voice that is thrilled to be in your presence, you are blessed by God.

One gets the impression that the disciples didn’t actually believe that Mary had spoken with Jesus (as is often the case when women speak – especially at that time), as they are hiding out behind locked doors. I might have been inclined to go and look around the garden to find Him for myself, but I have never been in fear for my life either. We have made much of “Doubting Thomas” but I would suggest that all of the Disciples fell into that category. They doubted the veracity of Mary’s words and so were hiding in fear. Jesus graciously relieves them of any doubt when He shows up miraculously with them in that locked room. Now their doubts are cast aside. Thomas misses this meeting and needs to have one of his own which Jesus grants Him. Finally, John ends the chapter with the “theme verse” of the whole book.

“. . . but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”

John always had only one purpose – the faith of his readers. Remember, he is writing these words toward the end of a very long life. He wants everyone to believe that Jesus is Lord. He wants everyone to have eternal life and the only path for eternal life is Jesus. We stand on the exact same foundation as those men and women who got to actually lay their eyes and hands on the risen Savior. They had the tremendous blessing of seeing and touching Jesus but we are commended by Jesus Himself for having faith without those benefits. We are the ones He speaks of in saying that. We are blessed by God Himself to know the Lord and believe in Him.