Tested Courage & Faith / John 20:19–31 / Pr. Ted A. Giese / Sunday April 16th 2023 / The Season Of Easter / Mount Olive Lutheran Church

Mount Olive Lutheran Church / Pr. Ted A. Giese / Sunday April 16th 2023: Season of Easter / John 20:19–31 “Tested Courage & Faith”

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, 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 in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.”

Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although 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, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 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 believed.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written 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.

Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in Your sight O Lord. Amen.

Grace peace and mercy to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Good Christian Friends. The 20th century writer and Christian thinker C.S. Lewis wrote, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”[1] With that in mind we’re going to start Thomas’ story today at a point before Holy Week and that first Easter and our Gospel reading this morning.

We’ll start back “when [Jesus] heard that [their friend] Lazarus was ill, [and] He stayed two days longer in the place where He was.” [Saint John tells us that] after this [Jesus] said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” [Again is the big detail to keep in mind] The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” [Notice they say you not we] Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” After saying these things, [Jesus] said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” The disciples said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now [Saint John tells us that] Jesus had spoken of [Lazarus’] death, but [at that time] they thought that He meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” These are words of great conviction from Saint Thomas. The rest of Thomas’ fellow disciples were unsure because as far as they could see the danger for Jesus, and presumably them, they thought, was too great. So the rest of them had recommended Jesus against returning to the town of Bethany on the southeast slope of the Mount of Olives so near to Jerusalem. At this point it appears that Saint Thomas accepted the danger, the rest were yet unsure but keep in mind they did all go with Jesus to Lazarus’ grave.

You see a couple months earlier they had all been in Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication when Jesus had made the statement that He and the Father were one. This statement agitated the Jews to the point that some had “picked up stones again to stone [Jesus],”[2] and others had “sought to arrest Him, but [Jesus] escaped from their hands.”[3] Every time Jesus brushed up against the Pharisees or the Sadducees or any of the leaders in Jerusalem the stakes kept getting higher and higher, and their thinly veiled desire to get rid of this Jesus became more and more obvious. The disciples for their part had begun to seriously wonder how far Jesus could push His luck and what might happen if again Jesus was forced into a situation where people wanted Him dead. Considering all of this the disciples would have been caught between two realities: On the one hand Jesus had always managed to escape death while on the other hand He had spoken about how “He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”[4] That last bit about being raided “on the third day” didn’t seem to register before the events of Easter. So sitting where we sit now, well on the other side the events of Holy Week and Easter, we can certainly see that their concerns weren’t unwarranted, they weren’t entirely wrong when they warned Jesus of what might happen if they all returned to Jerusalem. Two of the thirteen of them would die as a result of heading to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead: both Judas and Jesus died the following week. Judas by his own hand after having betrayed Jesus and Jesus because of the plot to murder Him that Judas was part of. Of course Judas was right there with the rest of the disciples and Jesus when Saint Thomas courageously says to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” ‘Let us also go, that we may die with Jesus.’

After the Supper on Maundy Thursday when Jesus tells Saint Peter that Peter will deny Jesus that very night Saint Matthew tells us that Peter replied [back to Jesus], “Even if I must die with You, I will not deny You!” And all the disciples said the same.[5] Here Peter echoes Thomas’ conviction and now we hear that “all the disciples said the same,” that then would include Saint Thomas again saying he would die rather than deny Jesus or fall away from Him. What happened to the virtue of Saint Thomas’ courage in the Garden of Gethsemane when it was tested? When Judas came with guards and men from the Temple armed with swords and clubs to arrest Jesus and Saint Peter, after Jesus was betrayed with a kiss, draws his sword and strikes the servant of the high priest cutting of his ear, after Jesus heals the poor man and they take Jesus into custody, what happens then? Saint Matthew tells us that “all the disciples left [Jesus] and fled”[6] and Saint Mark tell us that one of them while they the men with Judas tried to seize him even slipped out of his clothing and “ran away naked,” into the night.[7] All that courage and conviction melted away, not just for Saint Thomas but for all of them. “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” What does Saint John say later in his first epistle? “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”[8] That night Thomas and the rest still had much to learn about the virtue of courage.

In Psalm 27 King David prays to God saying:

         “Teach me Your way, O LORD,

                 and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.

         Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;

                 for false witnesses have risen against me,

                 and they breathe out violence.”

Then David says,

        “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD

                 in the land of the living!

         Wait for the LORD; [David says,]

                 be strong, and let your heart take courage;

                 wait for the LORD!”[9]

Many of you will have heard me say Judas’ failure was that Judas didn’t “wait for the LORD” but rather sought forgiveness in the wrong place back at the Temple with the very men he’d conspired with to betray Jesus in the first place and finding no forgiveness with them there Judas made himself into his own judge jury and executioner.[10] Judas did not “wait for the LORD.” Saint Peter on the other hand is an example of one who “waited for the Lord” as did the rest of the disciples including Saint Thomas. Dear ones, is “waiting for the Lord” a virtuous act of courage?  This is what we see in our Gospel reading today; first we see the remaining disciples locked up together, minus Thomas, in the same upper room where they had shared the Lord’s Supper that previous Thursday. Clearly they had found each other again after scattering from Christ Jesus in the garden that Thursday night and while they may not have equally and fully understood that they were “waiting for the Lord,” in a very literal way, they were. In their fear they waited, yet think on what Saint James writes in his epistle “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”[11] Gripped in fear with their courage tested, even though reports of the resurrection had begun to come to them and Peter and John had witnessed the empty Tomb, they “waiting for the Lord,” and then it happens: the risen Lord Jesus comes and stands among them and says to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Jesus came to them with forgiveness, forgiveness for their betrayals and denials, for their running and for their lack of conviction and courage, forgiveness for their doubts and fears.

Thomas then who was not present with them at Jesus’ first appearing; Thomas who thought he might die with Jesus, when they all ventured back to Mary and Martha and Lazarus’ house so near Jerusalem at Bethany on the southeast slope of the Mount of Olives, was likewise given an opportunity to “look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living,” but at first when his fellow remaining disciples said to him “We have seen the Lord,” [Thomas] said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.” Never is a very strong word.

Along the way you will have doubtlessly heard sermons on this text focused primarily on doubt and faith, today we’ve focused on the virtue of courage in relation to faith. In the person of Saint Thomas we see both his courageous conviction to die with Jesus and we see his failure to live up to that vow before his fellow Christians. Each of us when we have our confirmation of baptism is asked “Do you intend to live according to the Word of God, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, even to death?” and “Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?” and we answer on both accounts “I do by the grace of God.”[12] Eight days later, Jesus’ disciples were [again inside that same upper room], and [this time] Thomas was with them. [And] although the doors were locked, Jesus [again] came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Jesus comes to Thomas with forgiveness; He comes to Thomas with grace. Keeping this in mind, let’s say there’s someone you know who on their confirmation made those vows to “live according to the Word of God, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, even to death” and “to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?” and yet they did waver, they did fail to remain true, they didn’t suffer all even death; let’s say they ran away naked into the dark night of their life away from Jesus and His cross and passion? Is there, by the grace of God, forgiveness for them? Do they have a way back to the table with their fellow Christians? Yes.    

Saint Paul in his letter to the Christians of Rome teaches, “Everyone who believes in [the Lord] will not be put to shame.” ... the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[13] What we see today in our Gospel reading is Saint Thomas, after his personal failures and sins doing just what Saint Paul would later write, Thomas, by the grace of God, calls on the name of the Lord: Jesus says to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” And Thomas answered [Jesus], “My Lord and my God!” All is forgiven: with a repentant heart Saint Thomas calls on the name of the Lord. And here we also have a very important point for us today; many people will hear of this and say, ‘well sure it was easy for Thomas because with his own eyes he saw the risen Lord Jesus.” Jesus Himself quickly dismisses this saying “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We heard this same sort of thing in our epistle today too.[14] Also remember Thomas here makes the confession of faith that Jesus is God, Thomas says “My Lord and my God!” this again is a confession of faith that requires courage of conviction because saying that Jesus is God could, at that time, get you killed by the very people who crucified Jesus. Likewise today this confession of faith could bring death depending on where you live or what circumstance you find yourself in.

Tradition tells us that Thomas faced martyrdom, that after he’d journeyed and preached the Gospel news of Jesus in Ethiopia and Abyssinia, as well as in Persia and Media, Thomas eventually made it to India, where in Meliapour a pagan priest ran him through with a lance spearing him through and through unto death for his faith in Christ. “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”

Thomas is one who “waited for the Lord” who was reconciled to God the Father through Jesus Christ, who received forgiveness for his lack of courage under trial and who became steadfast unto death because in Christ Jesus Saint Thomas came to believe that death was a conquered enemy, an enemy defeated by his God and Lord, Jesus Christ. If Jesus has done this for Thomas, and he has, then Jesus can do this for you, and not just for you, also for the ones you love who have failed to live up to their vows to the Lord. Remember, when you lack faith Jesus is ever faithful,[15] when you lack conviction Jesus is ever steadfast, when you shrink away from even the slightest trouble for His namesake Jesus was “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross,”[16] and in this same Jesus you have your forgiveness, the same forgiveness Saint Thomas had and has, the same forgiveness all those who “Wait for the Lord,” have even now.

Lastly take comfort in the way this passage from the Gospel of John ends today when Saint John says, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written 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.” Amen.    

Let us pray:

Lord have mercy on us, Christ have mercy on us, Lord have mercy on us, “take our minds and think through them, take our lips and speak through them, take our hearts and set them on fire; for the sake of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen.

[1] Courage entry number 30, Oxford Treasury of Sayings & Quotations, Oxford University Press 2011, page 98
[2] John 10:30-31
[3] John 10:39
[4] Matthew 16:21
[5] Matthew 26:35
[6] Matthew 26:56
[7] Mark 14:51–52
[8] 1 John 3:18
[9] Psalm 27:11–14
[10] Matthew 27:3–5 “Then when Judas, His betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.”
[11] James 1:2–4
[12] Confirmation, Lutheran Service Book, Concordia Publishing House 2006, Page 273.
[13] Romans 10:11–13
[14] 1 Peter 1:3–9, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
[15] 2 Timothy 2:11-13; Hebrews 2:17-18
[16] Philippians 2:8

Photo Credit: Main Photo detail and compsite of the opaque watercolor over graphite drawing "The Disbelief of Saint Thomas" (Incredulité de Saint Thomas) by James Tissot from brooklynmuseum.