Back in September, over 1,500 of us read through The Story of
Jesus--a chronological arrangement of the New Testament Gospel accounts of His
life. Since that time, I have received
numerous e-mails and had many conversations with people who are asking
questions--questions about the meaning of God’s Word, questions about how to
make sense of confusing passages, questions about why Jesus did and said
certain things and why He didn’t do or say other things, question about who
Jesus really is.
I even had one woman say to me that after reading The Story of
Jesus, she felt like she was discovering a Jesus who was completely different from the Jesus she grew up learning
about in church.
First of all, let me say that I believe questions are good! I also
believe we (the Christian church) have not always been very helpful to those
who question.
One of the reasons that questions about Jesus, God, and the Bible
can feel so unsettling is that we assume that if we have questions, then we
must be doubting God, and of course a good Christian should never doubt -
right?
Hmmmmm, well no, actually!
Author Frederich Buechner has written that the opposite of faith
is not doubt, but fear. I think he is
quite right. "Do not fear" (or a variation of that phrase) is the most frequently given
command in the Bible, but do you know that in all of the Bible
(Old & New Testament) there is not one single command that says “thou shalt
not ask questions”? There are a few
places in the New Testament where Jesus tells us not to doubt, but this is
always in an effort to help us overcome our questions and doubts, not because
our doubts are wrong or sinful.
Perhaps the most famous doubter/questioner in all of the Bible is
a fellow we have come to know as “Doubting Thomas”. How would you like that to be your nickname
throughout history? The story of Thomas
is a fascinating one. He hears from some
of the disciples that Jesus has risen from the grave, and he can’t believe it. Being a very practical man, he says that he
needs proof, 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.” (John 20:25)
John tells us that just eight days later, Jesus shows
up! He appears to His disciples and this
time, Thomas is in the room. Now let me
ask you a question. If it were a sin to doubt, then how would you expect Jesus
to deal with Thomas? Rebuke him? Tell him how wrong he was to question or
doubt? Maybe use him as an example for
the other disciples of what not to do?
Let’s look closely at how Jesus actually addresses Thomas...
Then he said to
Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it
into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27)
Interesting...no rebuke, no condemnation, no saying “I told
you so!” Jesus does in fact call Thomas to stop doubting, but only after He
addresses his very questions and doubts.
Do you see what is happening here?
Jesus meets the doubter at the very place of his doubts. This is precisely how God wants to deal with
all of us who question and doubt. He
wants to grow our faith through the very issue(s) we think are holding us back!
By the way, it is important to see how Thomas responds to
this encounter with Jesus.
Thomas said to him,
“My Lord and my God!” (John
20:28)
Apparently he isn’t a doubter anymore. Maybe we should stop
referring to him as “Doubting Thomas”, and start calling him “Trusting Thomas”!
Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to post some of the
questions that I have been asked about Jesus and the Bible, and I will try my
best to offer thoughtful answers. Some
of these questions are related to specific details in the Bible; others are
more general in nature. Now, I am
certainly no “Bible answer man”, and I will not be able to answer every
question. My hope is that those of you
who have questions will be encouraged not to bury your questions, but to keep
asking and seeking through them.
Frederich Buechner has also written that “doubts are the ants in
the pants of faith.” Again, I think he
is quite right.
Pastor Jeff Frazier
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