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Believing the Unbelievable


            Thomas was one of Jesus’ apostles.  You likely know him better by his nickname, “Doubting Thomas”.  What he doubted was the resurrection.  When the others told him that they had seen the risen Jesus, he said, “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” (John 20:25).
            That is a strange reaction when you consider all the things that Thomas had witnessed.  He heard Jesus’ teaching.  He saw the miracles.  He witnessed dead people (such as Lazarus) being brought back to life.  He was there when Jesus walked on the water.  He was there when Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee.  He saw the arrest, trial and crucifixion as well as the darkened sky and the earthquake that was associated with those events.  He would have heard about how the temple curtain had been torn in half at Jesus’ death (Mark 15:38).  He spent almost three years in Jesus’ presence and saw him do many marvelous things and yet he doubted the resurrection. 
            Here is the danger when it comes to spiritual things: it is easy to believe only the things that make sense to us.  For example, churches today focus on Jesus’ teaching because it seems logical.  “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27) or “Turn the other cheek” (Luke 6:29) may be hard to do, but at least you can understand why that would work.  Even the cross makes sense when you think about it.  A good man is killed by corrupt leaders who want to protect their own positions of power.  That sort of things still happens in some parts of the world today.
            Interestingly, though, the early church did not focus on what Jesus taught.  It did not even focus primarily on the cross.  The resurrection was the focus of every sermon in the book of Acts.  In fact, in that book, the cross is never mentioned without also mentioning the empty tomb.  The resurrection was the point.
            Thomas’ problem was not that he did not believe anything.  His problem seemed to be that he would not believe something that he could not see or understand.  The danger for the church is any age is that we will get caught up in teaching only the things that make sense to us. 
            Therefore, just like Thomas, we have to come to believe the unbelievable, because that is where we will find God at work.

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