Seeing Is Believing: Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008

Seeing Is Believing.
John 20: 19 – 31.

I. Introduction.

In 1999, Dave Kaiser was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. Of course there aren’t very many people in Texas who know anything about Dave Kaiser, but Dave Kaiser stands at the very center of the most memorable moment in Michigan State football history.

In the 1953 Rose Bowl, Michigan State and UCLA played to a 14 – 14 tie. With only 7 seconds remaining in the game and the score tied, Michigan State had the ball on the UCLA 24-yard line. The game would come down to a 41-yard field goal attempt.

Legendary Michigan State football coach, Duffy Daugherty, loved to re-tell this story. With time running out, Daugherty had a decision to make. His regular field goal kicker was injured and unable to take the field. There probably wasn’t enough time to get the ball in the end zone. The only alternative was to turn the Rose Bowl over to his back-up kicker Dave Kaiser, who had never even attempted a field goal in his college career.

Daugherty called Kaiser off the bench and sent him onto the field to try to win the game. With everything riding on this one last kick…The snap was perfect…The hold was perfect…And the kick…Perfect…Right down the middle, giving Michigan State a 17 – 14 Rose Bowl victory.
Once the celebration had ended, the Michigan State coach congratulated Kaiser on his game winning kick but also corrected him for not watching the ball after the kick. “You’ve got to watch the ball. If you take your eyes off the ball, you might let up on your kick too soon and not have enough follow through for the ball to make it to the goal post. Why didn’t you watch the ball?”
Kaiser said, “I was watching the referee to see how he would signal. I left my contacts in the hotel. I couldn’t even see the goal posts.”

He watched the referee…To see the signal…Because seeing is believing. He couldn’t see the goal posts, so he looked at what he could see.

Our culture has taught us that very well. I’m sure that is one reason why traffic is usually slowed to a standstill when there is a wreck on the highway. Even if the accident is on the other side of the four-lane highway. All traffic comes to a stop so we can stick our necks out and see for ourselves.

I think the disciples shared that same sentiment. If Jesus really has been resurrected, then I am going to have to see it to believe it. Our Scripture today is a description of the first time they saw Jesus after the Resurrection.

This is one of my favorite Scriptures…It is certainly my favorite Resurrection account. Because it focuses on my favorite disciple…Thomas.

How do you think of Thomas? If I were to ask all of you to say the first word that came to your mind when I named a Bible character, I have no question in my mind that the answers would vary from one person to another. For example, if I said “Paul.” Some of you would say “Missionary,” others “Theologian,” others “Confusing,” and so on. If I said “Ruth.” Some of you would say “Loyal,” others “Smart,” others “Spiritual.” But what if I said “Thomas?” I believe that most, if not all, of you would say “Doubting.”

Today, as we read this text I want you to take a special notice of what we have traditionally labeled “Doubt.” It really was not doubt. Thomas has been accused of something that really is not true.

Read John 20: 19 – 31.

II. Retell Story.

It was the first Easter Sunday morning. Mary Magdalene had gone early to the tomb where the body of Jesus had been laid to rest, so that she could prepare his dead body with flowers and perfume. She could not have done this the day he had died because it was too close to the Sabbath.

The Jewish Sabbath lasts from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday. If Mary had gone to the tomb on Friday afternoon, she wouldn’t have finished her work on Jesus’ body before the sun went down, and it was not acceptable for a Jewish woman to work once the Sabbath had begun. So she had to wait. The earliest possible time that Mary could have prepared Jesus’ dead body would have been at the end of the Sabbath, after sunset on Saturday. But who wants to be in a cemetery in the dark? So Mary went to Jesus’ tomb at sunrise on Sunday morning.
John told us, in his Gospel, that Mary discovered something that caught her off guard. The body of Jesus was missing. Of course Mary and the other disciples had not understood that Jesus would be Resurrected on the third day, so she assumed the worst. “Someone must have stolen his body.”

Mary ran immediately to find Peter and John and tell them the Bad News. “You’ve got to see what I have seen. The body of Jesus is missing! I saw it with my own two eyes. Jesus is nowhere to be found! Come and see for yourself.”

Peter and John were just like you and me. They had been taught by their culture “Seeing Is Believing.” Therefore they had to go…They had to see for themselves.

Of course, it was just as Mary had described. The tomb was empty. Jesus was gone.
Peter and John did the only thing that made sense. They ran to find the rest of the disciples. When they had found as many as they could find, they gathered together in their secret place. We believe this was the very same room where they had eaten the Last Supper with Jesus only four days earlier. But the mood was different this time. The disciples were not gathered in a Passover celebration. There was no party going on around them. Rather, the mood was fearful. In fact, John specifically told us in verse 19 that the disciples were so afraid of the Jews that they locked the doors behind them.

Can you imagine that? The first Easter Sunday worship service ever, and the church met behind locked doors because they were afraid someone else would find out that the tomb was empty. I imagine the disciples sat in complete silence. There was no laughing or joking like the last time they came together in that room. No, this time the disciples were listening in fear. Listening for footsteps. “Did you hear that? Is someone coming? Does anyone know we are here?”

Then, suddenly, without any sound, without even opening the door, Jesus appeared in the room with his disciples. And it may surprise you what happened next. Jesus did three things.
First, he had to calm his disciples down by saying, “Peace to you.” Imagine how frightening it must have been to see someone standing in front of you, someone who you had watched suffer an agonizing and painful death only three days earlier. There was no doubt in their minds that Jesus was dead, because they had watched him die. They had seen with their own two eyes. And now here is that same man standing in front of them.

Second, Jesus showed them his hands and side. Why do you think Jesus showed them his hands and side? Because those are two of the places where Jesus suffered injuries. His hands had been nailed to the cross. His side had been pierced by a spear to make sure he was literally and actually dead. And Jesus knew that he had to show them his wounds in order for them to believe. Because Seeing Is Believing.

Third, Jesus sent the disciples out on a mission. Jesus said, “Just as the Father has sent me, I am now sending you.” Jesus gave them a mission to spread the word. The disciples were to leave that room with the power of the Resurrected Christ in them and to tell everyone about the forgiveness of sins that only Jesus can provide. And that is exactly what they did.

The disciples left that place intent on sharing the Good News. (Notice how that has suddenly changed. Mary ran to tell the Bad News that the tomb was empty. The disciples ran to tell the Good News that the tomb is empty.) And who should be the first person to hear the Good News? Thomas.

For some reason, Thomas was not one of those gathered in the upper room that first Easter Sunday. Now I have heard many sermons criticizing Thomas for being absent that day. Some say he had returned to his old way of life. Others say that Thomas was off by himself grieving over the loss of his friend Jesus. But what does the Bible say? The Bible is silent here. It gives no reason for Thomas’ absence. In fact, if you will notice Jesus’ words to Thomas you will notice that Jesus did not criticize him. If Jesus did not blame him, perhaps we shouldn’t blame him either. Perhaps we should allow the Bible to speak for itself.

What is there to criticize Thomas about anyway? Should he be criticized for being the only disciple willing to show his face in public, three days after the execution of Jesus? Should he be criticized for not being behind locked doors, paralyzed by fear like the other disciples?
The truth about Thomas is this: He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. If we say anything else about Thomas, then we say something that the Bible is unwilling to say.

Thomas is an interesting character. The Gospel of John is the only book of the Bible that tells stories about him. And John tells three stories. These three stories give us an interesting perspective on Thomas.

We first encounter Thomas in John 11, when Jesus has been called to come to the aid of his dying friend Lazarus. The problem was that Lazarus lived in a region where the people wanted to kill Jesus. So Thomas spoke us and said, “Let’s go with Jesus to Bethany, so we can all die with him!” Thomas was just being realistic. These same people tried to kill them a few days earlier. They would probably try it again.

The second story about Thomas is found in John 14. In this story, Jesus taught his disciples about the way to the Father. Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms, I am going there to prepare a place for you. If I go, then I will come again to you. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Once again, Thomas spoke up. “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” I admire Thomas for this. He didn’t want Jesus to think he understood something that he didn’t understand. Thomas was just being honest.
And then Thomas showed up in our story today. The disciples ran to him and proclaimed the Good News…Jesus Is ALIVE! Then, Thomas uttered his most famous words, “Unless I see the nailprints in his hands, and jab my finger into the holes in his hands and side, I will not believe.”

Does that sound like doubt to you? It doesn’t sound like doubt to me.

Instead, it sounds like Thomas said, “I didn’t have the same kind of opportunity that you had while locked behind the doors of the upper room. And I will not believe until I get to see what you got to see…The nailprints in his hands and the hole in his side…Because Seeing Is Believing.”

This is an important lesson for us to learn today. Sometimes preaching is not enough. Think about that. Thomas had ten of the greatest Christian preachers of all time preaching the Good News to him. Peter, James, John…Just to name a few. But preaching was not enough. Thomas had to see to believe.

I have an idea why Thomas had to see in order to believe. He had to see Jesus for himself, because the lives of the other ten disciples were so dominated by fear and cowardice that it didn’t look as if they had seen the Resurrected Christ. In other words, their testimony was not enough because their lives did not reflect the Peace, Love and Joy of the Resurrected Christ.
Thomas didn’t doubt Jesus. Thomas doubted the other disciples! He couldn’t believe their words, because he couldn’t see a change in their lives!


III. Conclusion.

It was one week later…The Sunday after Easter, when Jesus finally appeared before Thomas. Jesus held out his hand, uncovered his wounded side and invited Thomas to touch him and to feel those wounds. What happened next is a big surprise. Thomas did NOT touch Jesus. Instead, he dropped to his knees and declared, “You are my Lord and my God.”

When Thomas saw the risen Lord standing in front of him, he was so overwhelmed…He was so convinced, that he could no longer doubt…He could no longer wonder…He could no longer contain himself…He had to confess, “Jesus is Lord and God!” He didn’t have to touch him…Seeing Is Believing.

The greatest doubter…The one who best represents our culture today…Made the greatest confession of faith of all time. Thomas was able to make this confession because he heard the Good News preached and he saw the Resurrected Christ.

The evidence for Jesus' resurrection is so strong that nobody would question it except for two things: First, it is a very unusual event. And second, if you believe it happened, you have to change the way you live.—Wolfhart Pannenberg, German theologian (1928—) Wolfhart Pannenberg, in a conversation with Prism magazine

There are people in your lives who are searching for the same things today. Your family members, your friends, the people you work with or go to school with. Their greatest need is to hear about the Grace and Forgiveness of Christ…AND…To see that your life has been changed by the Resurrected Christ.

Does your life reflect the Peace, Love and Joy of the Resurrected Christ? If not, then words will continue to be ineffective…Seeing Is Believing.