Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

This is week #4 of our Vintage Jesus series. In this series, we’re exploring the four gospel books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And then next week, we’re going to wrap up this series with Brian teaching from the book of Revelation. Don’t miss that one. It’s going to be GOOD!So far in this series, we’ve seen pictures of Jesus in the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Today, we’re wrapping up our look at the gospels by exploring how Jesus is pictured in the book of John.The gospel of John is very, very different from the other three gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are all similar in nature and structure. The apostle John includes a lot of stories and characters that you won’t find in the other three gospels. By some estimates, about 90% of the material in the book of John is not found in any of the other gospels. That’s one reason that the book of John is such a fascinating read…and why it’s my favorite among the gospel books.There is a fascinating passage near the end of the book of John. It takes place after Jesus had died on the cross and then rose from the dead. It’s in John 20, and it’s where we’re going to start today after we pray. In John 20, starting in verse 24, the Bible says, “Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But 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.” (John 20:24-31, NIV)The disciples had been crushed just a few days earlier. Seeing Jesus, their leader, their master, their God, crucified was devastating for them. They had scattered. Some had gone into hiding. Some, under the pressure of the situation, had even denied knowing Jesus at all.But now, everything had changed. They had seen the resurrected Christ. Death could not hold Him and He had risen to life again. They had all seen it and they were all celebrating it…except one. Thomas wasn’t there. Thomas hadn’t seen the resurrected Christ, and he was filled with doubt. If you ever wondered where the phrase “doubting Thomas” came from, this is it.Then Jesus appears to His disciples, Thomas included this time. Jesus knew what Thomas had said earlier, so He walked up to Thomas and said, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”Then John closes the chapter with these words. “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But 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 reason that John wrote his gospel was so that we would believe. The reason he tells us about incredible miracles, like the resurrection, is so that we would believe. And by believing in Jesus, we have life in His name.Jesus demands a choice. The Jesus that you see today doesn’t demand anything. The manmade versions of Jesus don’t demand anything from you. But the real, vintage Jesus does. Jesus demands a choice.The gospel of John, along with all the other gospels, are written to tell us the story of Jesus. Through this series, we’ve gotten to know the vintage Jesus. Not the Jesus that has been fabricated. Not the Jesus that a lot of people believe in today, but the real, authentic, vintage Jesus. And once you come to know the vintage Jesus, you are faced with this inescapable truth. Jesus demands a choice.Believe and have life. Reject Him and go it alone. It’s a choice that is ours. A choice is required. A decision is demanded.Some of you have been coming to church for a long time. You’ve heard sermon after sermon. You’ve heard the gospel. You’ve heard the story of Jesus. You’ve come to know the truth. And yet, you walk in and walk out every week without ever making a decision for Jesus.Jesus demands a choice. It’s not like the political polls that are everywhere right now. There are always three categories in these polls. One category for this candidate, one category for the other candidate, and one category for voters who are undecided.There is no undecided category with Jesus. Once you come face-to-face with the gospel, a decision is demanded. Accept Him or reject Him. In Matthew 12, Jesus said, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” (Matthew 12:30, NIV)If you’re not with me, you’re against me. That’s how Jesus sizes it up.And here’s what that means for those of us who walk in and walk out every week without making a decision. You need to know that, in reality, you actually are making a decision. By choosing not to accept Jesus, you are choosing to reject Jesus.

I wrote a blog post this past week where I talked about commitment. Isn’t amazing how many people want to sleep with the church, but no one wants to commit to her?

Jesus demands a choice. His church demands a choice. Some of you need to cross the line of faith. You know the gospel is true. You know that Jesus is the real deal. You’re just putting off your decision. That has to stop. You need to make the decision to come to the cross, repent of your sins, and be baptized into Christ. The time for waiting is over. A decision is demanded.

Others of us have made that decision, but we’ve never made a commitment to the church. Some of you walk in and out of here every week, and never make any kind of commitment to this church. You’re just using us. You come every week and take, but you never give anything back. You won’t commit to this church by becoming an official member. You don’t serve. You don’t give financially. You’re just using us.

It’s time to commit. And if it’s not here, then it needs to be somewhere. Jesus deserves your commitment to His church. It’s decision time.

Back to John 20. John said that he wrote his gospel 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.”It is an invitation to cross the line of faith. To choose to place your hope and trust and faith in Jesus and receive the life that He wants for you. But that’s also not a one time choice. There is a one-time event where you cross the line of faith, repent of your sins, and are baptized into Christ.But after that, a choice is still demanded. And it’s a choice that we make everyday.And this where a lot of us can struggle. When most people make a first-time decision for Jesus, they are ready to rock-n-roll. They are so fired up that you can’t get them down. They are ready to charge the gates of hell with a water pistol. Their fire and their passion is palpable.And then, as time moves on and life happens, the fire can dwindle. And as the fire dwindles, doubt sets in. And with the doubt comes feelings of guilt.“How could I be having these doubts? I’m supposed to just believe, but it’s so hard. Maybe the problem is me. Maybe I don’t have any faith at all.”How many of you have had this kind of faith crisis? I have. I absolutely have. And if you have followed Jesus for any length of time, you have too.This is where we need to go back to our story in the book of John again. Let’s just read it again. In John 20, starting in verse 24, the Bible says, “Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But 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.” (John 20:24-31, NIV)I want to point something out that you may not have noticed. An entire week elapsed between the time that Thomas expressed his doubt and the time that Jesus made another appearance. An entire week.Can you imagine what this week was like? All the other disciples were fully convinced of Jesus’ resurrection. Thomas was not. And that discussion went on for a week. You ever feel like everybody gets it but you? Everybody believes it but you? Nobody has any doubts but you? That’s where Thomas was. The disciples all had seen Jesus after His resurrection. And they all came to Thomas and said, “We’ve seen the Lord!” You’ve got to think that Thomas is wondering, “Then why I haven’t I? You’ve seen it. You believe it. Why haven’t I? Why am I the only one who doesn’t get it?”

But think about this…the fact that Thomas was with them a week later when Jesus reappeared tells us something very significant about this group. The disciples didn’t kick Thomas out because of his doubt. They didn’t say, “If you can’t get rid of your doubt, then we’re going to get rid of you. There are no room for doubters on this team.”They had a lot of patience with Thomas. They showed him a lot of grace. If they wouldn’t have done that, he wouldn’t have been around a week later when Jesus showed up and erased all doubt.A lot of people can’t stick around long enough for their doubts to be answered because a lot of churches have no patience for doubters. Doubt is not allowed in their church. And if you are questioning your faith, if you have hard questions, if you are wrestling with doubt…then you just need to go.And because of that, the doubter isn’t allowed to hang around long enough for Jesus to show up and for their doubts to be answered. Churches like that completely overlook the command in the book of Jude. “Be merciful to those who doubt.” (Jude 22, NIV)It doesn’t say, “Be critical of those who doubt.” Or, “Be judgmental of those who doubt.” It says be merciful to those who doubt.It also doesn’t say, “Argue with those who doubt. Or preach to those who doubt. Or give a long theological dissertation to those who doubt.”It simply says be merciful. Mercy involves love. It involves patience. It involves understanding. Here’s my commitment to you…you and your doubts are welcome here. Your questions are welcome here. Your wavering faith is welcome here. We’re not about to kick you out if you’re wrestling through doubt, because we’ve all wrestled through it, too.If you have doubts about Jesus, you are welcome here. If you are struggling with whether or not to believe what the Bible says about Jesus, you are welcome here. If you aren’t even sure if God exists or not, you are welcome here.We will not judge you. We will not condemn you. We will love you. Now, we’re going to preach and teach the truth. And we’re not going to soften it even a little bit. But it’s just because we passionately and desperately want you to see the Jesus that we see. And until that day comes, you will be accepted and you will be loved.A lot of people want to just dogpile on Thomas because of his doubt. They only focus on the first half of the story. They never look at the second half.Thomas was mired in doubt. He had seen Jesus crucified, but he hadn’t witnessed the resurrection. Everyone else believes it, so why can’t he? I’m sure he questioned everything…and felt very guilty while he did that.Then Jesus shows up. And Jesus doesn’t yell at him. He doesn’t wag his finger and him and scold him. He simply said, “Here I am. Stop doubting and believe.” And in verse 28, Thomas responds by saying, “My Lord and my God!”Jesus didn’t rake him over the coals because of his doubt. He helped him overcome his doubt. And this former doubter made the boldest faith statement in the world. He publically proclaimed that Jesus is Lord and God.A lot of you are waiting for your, “My Lord and my God” moment. You are waiting for Jesus to show up. You are waiting for your doubts to be answered. You are waiting and waiting and waiting.Here’s what you have to remember as you wait. Doubt means that your faith is being challenged. It doesn’t mean that your faith has changed. It is a faith test, not a faith loss.If you’re in a time of doubt, maybe the first thing you need to do is give yourself some grace. If Jesus doesn’t condemn you when you doubt, why are you condemning yourself?Jesus demands a choice, but He also gives grace for the journey. Listen to these words from Psalm 94. This is how God treats us when we doubt. “I cried out, “I am slipping!”but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind,your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.” (Psalm 94:18-19, NLT)God’s love is unfailing, which means that His love doesn’t falter even when our faith does. God is not frightened by your questions and He is not offended by your doubts. He is patient and loving and kind.The question for us is, “What do we do when we’re in a season of doubt?” What we do is press forward. The challenge is to continue to live a life of submission to Jesus at the very time that we’re doubting Jesus.I realize that makes no sense, but it’s the pathway to lead us out of doubt. Check out this story from Luke 5.“[Jesus] said to Simon [Peter], "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." (Luke 5:4b-5, NIV)These guys were professional fishermen. They weren’t new to this gig. They knew what they were doing. And these experienced fisherman had fished all night and caught nothing.So when Jesus said, “Hey, let’s go fishing,” doubt immediately arose in their minds. And Peter expressed his doubt when he said, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.” “Jesus, what are you talking about? We’ve already done this. We know there’s no fish here.”But the next thing Peter said is critical. He said, “But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”“Jesus, this doesn’t make sense. And I don’t believe that this is going to work. I doubt everything that you are saying right now, but because it’s You that is saying it, I’ll obey.” Now, let’s keep reading. Verse 6. “When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.” (Luke 5:6-11, NIV)When the huge catch of fish happened, the first thing Peter said to Jesus was, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man.” Peter worked under this assumption. Doubt = Sin.Jesus completely ignored what he said. Instead, He told Peter, “from now on you will catch men. I have big plans for you Peter. This little episode of doubt is not going to stop Me from using you.”Peter thought that Doubt = Sin. Jesus knew that current doubt = future potential.Your current doubt does not erase your future potential. It may be that God wants to use the very doubts you have right now to launch you forward so He could use you in a way that you had never dreamed of before.Jesus demands a choice. Accept Him or reject Him. And it’s not just a one time choice. It’s a choice we make everyday. A decision is demanded. But at the same time, Jesus does not write us off when we doubt.

That’s kind of paradoxical, isn’t it? He demands a decision, and at the same time has great patience for doubters. I can’t fully explain it, but that’s Jesus. That’s classic Jesus. That’s Vintage Jesus.

Here’s one thing that you never need to doubt. God’s unconditional love for you. He loves you when your faith is like the Rock of Gibraltar. And He loves you when your faith is as small as a grain of sand.

The reason God commands us to be merciful to those who doubt is because that’s how He operates. He is compassionate, patient, and loving to those who doubt.

Now, He’ll keep pressing. He’ll keep after you. He’ll keep pushing you to grow beyond your doubts. But He’ll love you every step of the way.

Mike Edmisten

Tags: doubt, faith, Jesus, John, Vintage Jesus