Writings: Come to Believe

By: Dr. Gregory S. Neal

Coming to faith isn’t easy. As a young man, I struggled with my faith. I grew up in the church; I went to church with my family every Sunday; I believed in Jesus.

When I was a child we had a revival at Walnut Hill Methodist Church, and I remember when they invited people to come down and receive Jesus as Lord, I turned to my Mother, tapped myself on the chest, and said: “Mommy, I want Jesus in my life, too.” And, right then and there, Mom took me down to the altar rail and I knelt with her and asked Jesus into my life.
It was a life transforming moment for me, but it didn’t mean that everything that followed was easy and wonderful, or that later on in my youth and young-adulthood, everything would be fine. I struggled with faith. I struggled with believing not only in Jesus, but even in God. I studied science in Junior and Senior High, and had a difficult time reconciling belief in God with belief in science. I wanted to see it to believe both. I wanted to be able to understand in order to accept … well, anything. In some ways, I was a lot like Thomas: something of a negative person, always expecting the worst and not believing in something until he saw it. We get glimpses of how Thomas was earlier-on in Jesus’ ministry, when they receive word that Jesus’ friend, Lazarus of Bethany, had died. The trip to Bethany would be a dangerous one; indeed, the last time Jesus had been in the region, the religious authorities had tried to have him murdered. If Jesus were to go back there now, the chances that they would try to kill him were very good. When Jesus says that he’s going to Bethany, and that Lazarus had died so that they might believe, Thomas, in what reads as a very sarcastic statement, says:

“Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (John 11:16)

That was Thomas. Always expecting the worst, doubting until he sees, negative and disbelieving. I was that way, in many respects, during my growing up years. And, indeed, there are still elements of that character that are a part of who I am, even today. If you tell me something bad is going to happen, I’m sometimes a bit dramatic and will go to the extreme
with negative expectations and fears. I will struggle to keep such thoughts to myself, but I’m not always successful.

Pessimism. My Dad was a pessimist. When asked why it was better to be a pessimist than an optimist, my Dad said:
“An optimist may have a happier outlook on life, but a pessimist is less-often disappointed … and when they are, it’s a good thing.” That’s a pessimist talking. And I can understand why my Dad would talk that way!

That’s Thomas, too. He wasn’t present on Easter Sunday evening, when Jesus entered the locked upper room where the Disciples had been “sheltering in-place,” hiding out, afraid. They’d heard about the Empty Tomb. Peter and John had even seen the Empty Tomb! They’d heard from Mary Magdalene about Jesus appearing to her. And, yet, still they were afraid.

Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. (John 20:19b-20)

Jesus proved to them that it was he, that he was really there, that he wasn’t some kind of ghost, that he wasn’t a figment of their imaginations. And it says they: “… rejoiced when the saw the Lord.” I would think so!

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:24-25)

We don’t know where Thomas was that Easter evening. The account in John’s Gospel simply says that he wasn’t there, and that when they finally told him about seeing Jesus and that he was alive, Thomas’ answer was very much in character.

“I won’t believe until I not only see the mark of the nails, but I've got put my finger in those holes and in his side.”

I’ve got to see and TOUCH. I’ve got to EXPERIENCE this unbelievable thing in order to believe it. Before we’re too hard on Thomas, we have to admit to ourselves that most of us would have reacted the same way. I would have. Most of us would need a very high bar of proof in order to believe such an amazing tale.

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” (John 20:26-27)

I love how Jesus DIRECTLY addresses Thomas’ need.

“Put your finer here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”

I love the phrasing here: “Do not doubt but believe.”

In the Greek language, the original language of the New Testament, the word for believe is the same word for faith. In the adjectival form: Pistos. The word we translate “doubt” is apistos. In Greek, in order to negate something you put the vowel “alpha” or a in front of it. The letter a reverses the meaning or the direction of whatever it is. In this case, the word faith – Pistis - is directly reversed. The NRSV used the word “doubt,” but a more direct translation might say “faithless.”

“Do not be faithless, but faithful”
“Don’t disbelieve but believe.”

It’s really not a matter of doubts. Though we often render it as such into English, it wasn’t really a neutral position that Thomas had. He simply said he would not believe unless Jesus could meet the test.

Jesus met it. Jesus offered his hands and side to Thomas; Jesus offered Thomas the evidence he said he needed. I think it’s amazing that Thomas doesn’t appear to have taken him up on it. When presented with the physical evidence of the Resurrection, John doesn’t say that he put his fingers into the holes, only that:

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (John 20:28b-29)

In the end, facing Jesus, encountering Jesus, experiencing the presence of Jesus, right then and there, was enough.

“My Lord and my God!”

That’s a powerful affirmation … and one that we are all called to make.

“Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (John 20:29)

We haven’t physically seen Jesus, but we have experienced Jesus’ real presence in so many ways.
In the scriptures we read.
In the hymns we sing.
In the prayers we pray.
In the fellowship we have with our fellow believers.
In the love we see and experience around us from family and friends.
In the lives that we see transformed.
In our OWN lives, that we know have been changed.
By the indwelling presence of Jesus.
We have EXPERIENCED Jesus.

Methodists talk about something called the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, in which our theological task is built with four sides:
Scripture
Tradition
Experience
Reason

Usually, we have only two sides of the quadrilateral that are strong in our understanding:

Scripture and Tradition
Tradition and Experience
Scripture and Experience
Experience and Reason
Scripture and Reason
Tradition and reason

In some cases we have three sides of the quadrilateral: Scripture, Tradition, and Experience, all working together, but often we discover that Reason is fleeting … it lets us down. Sometimes we lack strong scriptural affirmations, but we’ve got the other three in abundance. When it comes to the resurrection, as with the presence of Jesus in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we’ve got plenty of Scripture, Tradition, and Experience. It’s the Reason … the HOW … that escapes us. That’s when we’re called to believe, anyway.

I love how the editor of the Gospel brings this chapter to a conclusion:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)

All of this has been written “so that you may come to believe.” That's what our affirmation is all about. We proclaim the Resurrection of Jesus so that we may come to believe and have life in his name. Like Thomas, we struggle with faith, and like Thomas the experience of Jesus' presence overcomes our doubts. In Jesus, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God!

© 2020, Dr. Gregory S. Neal
All Rights Reserved