What do you find unbelievable? If you are like me, you probably have dealt with doubt in the past and continue to deal with doubt. Something amazing happens, but if it does not make sense, we doubt it.

The resurrection of Jesus, without a doubt is the most significant event in all human history. It is the lynchpin upon which Christianity hinges. In other words, if Jesus was not raised from the dead, then Christianity has no power. By the way, the Bible admits this; the Bible is brutally honest in admitting this.

I Corinthians 15:17 says, “If Christ has not been raised, then your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.”

Another word for futile is pointless. What is the point? If Christ has not been raised from the dead then we should just be just patted on our heads and sent on our merry way. Here is the real problem; you are still in your sin.

You must appreciate the honesty in this. The consequence of sin is death. If Jesus did not have power over the consequences of sin, then what makes you think He can extend power to you? If He could not do that for Himself, you and I have no chance. Without a doubt everything rises and falls on the resurrection of Jesus.

Thomas Jefferson was a believer in creator God, but he was also a bit skeptical. He had an unorthodox view of Jesus later in life. He took a razor and cut out parts of the gospel that he did not like including the miracles and the resurrection. What was left was a complied into a book called “The Morals and Teachings of Jesus.” But here is the thing that Jefferson missed. To say Jesus was a moral teacher and to leave it at that is inaccurate. That is the great myth of our society today for many people. Jesus is a good moral teacher, and they put him alongside Buddha, Confucius, or Muhammad. But that cannot be. If Jesus did not do what He said, than that makes Him a liar, not just a small one but a colossal one. Because repeatedly He said, “I am going to die, and I am coming back to life.” If He did not do it, He would be a fake and He would be the biggest deceiver ever known.

Thomas Jefferson was a doubter, but he is not the most famous doubter of all time. The disciple Thomas has gone down in history known as Doubting Thomas. Thomas gets a bad rap; let me explain, he is actually a man of great courage. Let me set the record straight. In Luke 11, Jesus is with his disciples, and He hears that his friend Lazarus is dead. He eventually says, “Let’s go visit Lazarus.” The disciples immediately said, “You can’t do that!” Lazarus is back in Judea, Jesus, the last time you were there the people picked up stones to kill you. You cannot do that, You will die. Thomas, good old doubting Thomas, spoke up and said, “If Jesus dies we’re going to die with Him.” That is Thomas! What happened?

Like many people today, they must see in order to believe. Thomas was a man who wanted to figure things out for himself. As we are going to see, the beautiful thing about Jesus is He reveals Himself in a way that sincere people need Him too.

The days following Jesus’ death were a very dark time for the disciples. The disciples were in the upper room, behind locked door, afraid because they could be next. Jesus’ tomb was empty, but still they did not fully understand what all this meant.

When suddenly Jesus stands in their midst, and what does He say? Of all the things Jesus could have said, He does not say it once, but twice; “Peace be with you!” Why is that so important? Because in every human heart there is the deep desire for peace. What is the essence of peace? The essence of peace is to be secure. This is exactly what these men needed; they needed security, and so do you and I.

There are innumerable things in life that will disrupt your peace, circumstances beyond your control. As you read this, something probably has come to your mind. Twice Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” The resurrection means a lot of things, but one of the primary things it means is peace. Jesus breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit. I think this is super encouraging for the disciples here. In John 14, Jesus says “I’m going to leave you.” The disciples did not like that one bit. Then Jesus makes this crazy statement, “It’s better that I leave because the Father is going to give you the Holy Spirit.” They must have been so pumped up to realize that this was the fulfillment of that promise.

Thomas was not present when Jeus appeared the first time and he does not believe what his friends say. He says, “Unless I put my fingers in the nail marks and my hand in His side I won’t believe.”

One week after Jesus first appeared, Jesus shows up again and Thomas is there: this whole encounter is really fascinating because of its details. Up to this point there had been no conversations between Jesus and Thomas. What does Jesus say to him? Jesus says, “Put your fingers in My hands and side.” Do you know what is interesting about the text? It does not say that Thomas did any of that. Instead, Jesus used the exact same words to prove He was alive. Thomas realized that Jesus knew exactly what he needed before he asked. He is shocked at the fact that Jesus appears with no previous conversation and says “Thomas, I know exactly what you need. See and touch!”

This is a beautiful admission on the part of Thomas, because it is one of the great all-time confessions, “My Lord and My God.” Realize that Thomas is a Jew, and Jews were fiercely monotheistic. And for a Jewish man to call Jesus his God, there is no stronger statement of belief. Jesus says, “Touch my wounds if you need too. They are there to help you.” In this sense, Jesus models sanctified wounding. Let me say it this way, all those unwanted, horrific, and terrible things in your life are there to show you what is eternal.

What does the resurrection mean to you? Hopefully it gives you peace. The first words of Jesus were, “Peace be with you.” It gives you purpose. “Go and tell.”

Let me address any skeptics reading this, I am going to ask one small thing from you. Would you be like Thomas, and would you ask Jesus what it is you need to believe? Then be open minded to receive what you are given? Jesus actually ends the conversation by saying, “Have you believed because you see me? Blessed are those who have not seen yet believe.”

I am convinced that people do not reject the resurrection of Jesus because of lack of evidence. But rather they reject, they deny the resurrection, because it is a threat to their autonomy. In other words, if Jesus said that He’s coming back from the dead, it probably stands to reason that He has something to say about how I live my life. To deny the resurrection is to deny all the good things that God wants for you. But more than that, to actually deny the resurrection is to deny the deep love that God has for you.

                                                                                  Until Nex Week When We Meet at the P.E.W.

                                                                                  (Pastor’s Encouragement Weekly)

                                                                                  Pastor Joel