Rev. Sandy Lacey
April 12, 2026
If Peter is the impulsive disciple, saying whatever is on his mind at any given time, then Thomas must be the “show me” disciple. In chapter 14 we meet Thomas as Jesus is talking about his impending departure (his death.) Jesus is reassuring the disciples in chapter 14 that while he is leaving them, he goes to prepare a place for them so that they might be together again. And Thomas questions this with Jesus by saying, “we do not know where you are going, how can we know the way?” Between that passage and today’s, Thomas seems like a literal guy, a concrete thinker, a sensory learner. I imagine that he had a great pre-school teacher. I also imagine that he has had trouble all along with Jesus who likes to talk in parables, tell stories, uses metaphors, and answer questions with questions of his own. Thomas must have come from the “show me” state of Missouri and therefore, always needed more information. After the other disciples excitedly told him they had seen Jesus, Thomas essentially puts his hands up and says, “wait a minute, stop.” It is too much for him and he cannot understand it, so he gives an ultimatum: “unless I touch his nail scarred hands and the wound in his side, I will not believe it to be true.” And for this statement, he has forever been known as Doubting Thomas, as if that is his first and last name.
The truth is that he is no different from the other disciples. You remember that in at least one of the Gospels, the disciples did not believe the women when they told them that Jesus was alive and had been raised from the dead. It is as if they rolled their eyes at their news of the risen Jesus, completely dismissing the women’s story as sheer fantasy. Prior to today’s text, the disciples had been cowering in fear as they mentally and emotionally processed what had happened the last few days of their beloved friend’s life. And Mary, even she had trouble in John’s Gospel. She saw the risen Jesus, but her mind and heart could not process it. She supposed him to be the gardener. So, they were all doubters and could have been labeled as such.
I have long thought there is a difference between doubting and unbelief, that one is less troublesome than the other. Most of us doubt our faith at times during life. I can remember my struggles as a teenager in another faith tradition that prided itself on certainty and knowing the exact day and hour that I had been saved by Jesus. I struggled as a teenager because I had lots of questions and I just did not feel certain about much of anything. I didn’t know the exact day and hour when I became a Christian; in fact, I could not remember a time that I was not part of God’s family. So, that was one strike against me. I also worried about how good I had to be for God to love me, because I knew that I was not always good. I was curious about other religions too and whether God condemned those people to hell as I had heard, or whether God was more open, loving, and inclusive than that. I also wondered about whether God was the author of everything bad that was happening in the world. I had lots of questions and fortunately, in that other faith tradition, I had youth leaders who were not threatened by my questions and assured me that God was not threatened either. They said it was okay to doubt, that God was not threatened by our questions and our doubts. I was reminded that even Jesus, as he died on the cross, expressed his own despair and doubt when he quoted Psalm 22, “my God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” So, I grew to understand that doubt is a natural corollary to faith, especially in times of despair and heartbreak. A doubting faith is a wrestling kind of faith.
I have come to understand that unbelief is different. It is a kind of entrenchment, a refusal to consider the alternative. It is the holding up of your hands in front of you and saying, “no.” It is when you know all the facts and you still choose to not believe. It is an act of will, a paralyzing lack of expectancy. The evidence is all around you and yet you actively refuse to open your clenched eyes and see.
For several weeks before Easter and even on Easter day, we have been hearing the importance of the right kind of sight. We must look around us (as Christ’s followers) with “kingdom eyes,” eyes that recognize God’s activity in the world, eyes that see the nature of God’s love for everyone and for all of God’s creation. It is a different kind of sight to have “kingdom eyes” because it requires a bit of imagination on our part. And when I use imagination in this context, I am not talking about making things up; instead, I am talking about using your knowledge and experience of God’s grace to read between the lines and look beyond the surface to see deeper truths. Without “kingdom eyes,” it is easy to become entrenched in what the culture values, so much so, that we are unable to differentiate between the culture’s way and Jesus’ way. Jesus’ way is always different from the cultures’ way because the priorities are not aligned. Unbelief says there is no God, that everything is all up to us or it’s opposite, that my way is God’s way.
So, what do you think? Is there a difference between doubt and unbelief? This week I did a little investigation and the Greek word for unbelief in the original language of the N.T. is a different word than the Greek word for doubt. Imagine my surprise this week when I discovered that the correct translation for Thomas’ situation in today’s text is the Greek word for unbelief. Our NRSV translation translates from the original Greek incorrectly, I believe, when it describes Thomas as doubting. Instead, Thomas was plainly entrenched (stuck) in his unbelief until Jesus appeared to him personally and then encouraged him to touch his wounds. The passage does not tell us whether Thomas did touch him; perhaps, it was enough that Jesus appeared to him and showed him his nail scarred hands and his wounded side. Thomas’ response was, “My Lord and my God!”
I am now encouraged to learn this week that Thomas was in the “unbelievers” category, rather than the doubting category – I am encouraged because of the amazing way Jesus responded to him. It is not especially hard to love someone who is questioning and who is genuinely trying to learn and understand. It is not difficult to love a doubter, in other words. But an unbeliever can be a challenge! It is the finger in the ears, shaking your head “no” kind of entrenchment that makes it difficult to love that person. But Jesus did. He loved Thomas. He was not harsh with Thomas. He met Thomas’ needs. He showed up and he loved Thomas enough to keep after him/keep pursuing him. Now that is my kind of Messiah that keeps loving, keeps pursuing, keeps teaching, keeps calling – no matter what! It is a really good thing because I am sure there are many times that God has chosen to gently open my clenched eyes to help me see the truth too.
Just like Thomas, there have been times in my life that I have found myself hiding in a locked room of sorts, waiting for a word and looking for proof. “Show me the way, Jesus.” There are times in which I have allowed fear and anxiety to rule the day and keep me from experiencing true joy and the life that only Jesus can bring. I suspect I am not the only one. So, what are you anxiously waiting for these days? Don’t be afraid to say to Jesus, “help my unbelief, my fear, and show me the way, Jesus. Until I hear directly from you, until I see you and feel your nail scarred hands, I am lost. I need to see you, Jesus.” God is never threatened by our questions and loves to show us the way.
The good news is that Jesus’ first words to his disciples, and to us, is always “Peace be with you.” How many of us need to hear Jesus’ words of peace today? The disciples were hiding behind locked doors out of real fear that they were next in line for crucifixion. What are you hiding from today? “Peace – which means wholeness, wellness, grace – be with you.” Are your worries and concerns keeping you up at night and making it difficult for you to sleep? Be at peace, Jesus says.
I like Thomas because he is not afraid to ask the questions that are on my mind too. And he is determined to see the answers to his questions with his own eyes. “I won’t believe it until I see it”, he says. His journey of faith is like many of us in that it is a mixture. He thrives on simple faith and trust, sure, but he also wants to see some evidence. That’s the way life is: we often have to balance two sides of the same coin – faith/trust on one side, and evidence/proof on the other. The good news is that Jesus meets Thomas where he is and does not chastise him. He provides him what he needs and breathes God’s Spirit into him. Why? So that Thomas, too, may be a witness to God’s amazing grace. Friends, we are all different and we need different things for our journeys of faith. Some of us need more evidence and some of us need more faith and trust. The good news is that God meets us where we are.
As your pastor, I may not be able to prove many things, but I do trust this. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We may change; the world may change; the church may change. Our lives may look different – but God still breathes faith and life and Spirit into each one of us and into God’s church. And no locked room, no entrenched unbelief, no doubt, no timidity, no uncertainty, and no fear on our part can stop God’s amazing work. Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! AMEN.