(4/9) Happy Easter to all of you. I want to talk to you about Faith in Uncertain Times, because as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ we do so in uncertain times. Not only are we in the last days, but today anyone who has a phone thinks they are a journalist, everyone is editorializing the facts, but without having a board of ethics, they say whatever they want to say without consequence. In other words, they say what they want to say and they often do so without feeling obligated to be able to validate what they said.

And so, no matter whether it’s on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, or a fake page on the web, many of them have been designed to be believable but are totally inaccurate. And so, we’ve got real pictures on fake pages with the sole intention of deceiving innocent people because there are no guidelines, there are no rules, which makes us more and more skeptical of everything that we hear. In fact, it seems as if today anybody who says anything about anything will often get their opinion passed on as fact, and so it naturally causes us to live with a certain amount of uncertainty.

However, as we celebrate the greatest news ever on this Easter morning, the resurrection of the Son of God. Our proof text comes from the Holy Bible, the Word of God, which is the most scrutinized, carefully documented, and transmitted piece of literature in the history of the world. The Bible testifies to itself saying,

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16).

Over and over and over and over again the Bible concurs with that statement as Israel’s King David testified saying,

"All your words are true" (Psalm 119:160).

And as we turn to the Word of God, I want to urge you to consider the evidence carefully as we contemplate faith in uncertain times, because we’ve all experienced times of fear and seasons of uncertainty. And yet, even in the midst of the most difficult times, the Church holds onto faith as an anchor for the soul, because we have a Living Hope. The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us the hope because if Jesus is alive, we know that we will live too. And that has been the message of the church from the very beginning as Peter said in Acts chapter 10,

"We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.

Not by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen — by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

"All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (Acts 10:37-43).

And so, we understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21).

Week after week, we gather together declaring the Word of God, that God so loved the world that he became one of us. And yet, even though he was born of a virgin, born without the seed of sin, and lived a perfect sinless life, he was arrested just as the prophets said. The governors, rulers, and leaders of the people made unsubstantiated claims against an innocent man. Jesus was tried and questioned, cross-examined, with his accusers twisting the truth so much that they were unable to agree on their accusations against him.

The whole thing, the arrest and trial was really a mockery of justice, and yet for those bystanders it really looked like the coronation of a king. Because Jesus was clothed in royal robes, crowned with thorns, and even the soldiers were bowing down before him. And we understand that what looked like a procession to his throne was actually a funeral march to his grave. But as he was lifted up on the cross, taking his royal position, above his throne, over his head was a sign that read,

"JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS" (John 19:19).

And it was there on that old rugged cross that King Jesus used his authority to forgive those who tormented him, to pardon his captors, and to sovereignly die for the sins of the world. That day on the cross he redeemed his creation from the curse of sin and death. And so it was, that his crucifixion on Friday became his crowning achievement, which was why he said,

"It is finished" (John 19:30).

And yet, here we are 2000 years later, with so many skeptical, doubtful, but curious; because it’s hard to have faith in uncertain times. Today, we don’t know what to believe. We don’t know who we can count on. And so, we look to the evening news, the ABCs, the NBC’s, the BBC’s because we’re just trying to get to the truth. We know that…

"In an abundance of counselors there is safety" (Proverbs 11:14, ESV).

And so, we want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We don’t want a spin on the truth, because if we’re going to have deep lasting conviction in uncertain times, our faith must be based on something that is absolute and certain. Therefore, we need to look beyond the uncertainty of what is going on in the White House, in Congress, on your job, or in the economy, and look to the Scriptures, to the eyewitness reports of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

You see, in the gospel of John, in chapter 20, when Jesus walked into the room, he walked into a room filled with uncertainty. Much like the uncertainty that many of us are experiencing in our lives, whether it’s an economical uncertainty, a political uncertainty, a financial uncertainty, or even a spiritual uncertainty. Some of you have experienced uncertainty in your relationships, wondering if they were just being nice or if they really loved you. Wondering if you can believe the flowers or maybe it just manipulative ploy to gain your favor? And sometimes it’s years, long after the marriage is gone, before we begin to understand what really happened behind closed doors.

And so, the uncertainty lingers, clouding our thinking, restricting our visibility, like a fog that has settled over us. And it’s into this atmosphere of uncertainty that John tells us in verse 19,

"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them" (John 20:19).

Now, I want you to imagine this, put yourself in the disciples’ place, because the rumor started by the soldiers was that Jesus body had been stolen. And so, the disciples are wondering, how could this be our Lord when we just saw him stripped of his clothes, flogged, and nailed to a cross. In other words, they saw Jesus die; they watched from the distance because they were scared, but he died before their very eyes. And so, now they’re hiding behind locked doors out of fear of the Jews, because they knew that if they killed Jesus, they would kill them too.

And so, that is the context of this visitation, this resurrection appearance of Jesus. The disciples have faith and fear dwelling within the same house. And if they can get over the uncertainty, over the doubts and the skepticism, they still find themselves stumbling over fear, just like many of us today. We struggle with fear for our children, fear for our jobs, fear that we’re going to be able to make ends meet, fear of the future. And so, many of us have faith and fear, uncertainty and fear, inhabiting the same house, robbing you of your peace, and it’s for that reason that the first thing Jesus says when he came into the room was…

"Peace be with you" (John 20:19).

Jesus stepped into the uncertainty of that moment and spoke peace over them, just like he spoke over the winds and the waves on the lake in Mark chapter four. The Bible says Jesus was asleep in the boat, and the disciples cried out, waking him up, because uncertainty will make you question whether you’re going to live or die. They said,

"Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? (Mark 4:37-38, ESV).

And the truth of the matter is that the same thing was going on in the boat as was going on in the room, they didn’t know whether they were going to live or die. They didn’t know if they were going to make it through this, they were fearful, because they were struggling with uncertainty.

Some of you have been in that place before, where you thought this was it, this is the big one. And you prayed, "Lord, if you just get me out of this…" and you made some sort of promise, because you didn’t know how it was going to turn out.

And so, Jesus spoke into the uncertainty of that storm, on that boat, rebuking the wind and the sea saying,

"Peace! Be still!" (Mark 4:39, ESV).

Because he knew that was exactly what they needed, just like some of you. You need peace in your mind, peace in your job, peace over your children, peace in your marriage, peace in your finances, and so Jesus says, "Peace."

"Be still and know that I am God" (Psalms 46:10).

He said, "Peace be with you!" But his words did not bring them peace because they were uncertain of him. When he came through the door and appeared in the room, just knowing that he was there created even more uncertainty, and so "after he said this" he gave them proof.

"He showed them his hands and side." And so, Jesus is now proving to the believers that he had in fact risen from the dead. And John tells us, "They were all overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again, Jesus said, "Peace be with you" (John 20:20-21).

I want you to notice that he said, "Peace be with you," a second time, because the first time they didn’t get it, they didn’t receive it, he didn’t get a reaction. The first time he said it they were just looking at him like they had seen a ghost, and so then he showed them his wounds, the nail prints in his wrists, where they had pierced his side. And when they saw that, they believed, they were overjoyed, and then he said a second time,

"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven" (John 20:21-23).

"Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So, the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it" (John 20:24-25).

In other words, Thomas said that is impossible, because he knew that had seen Jesus on the cross, he saw the nails in his wrists and his feet, he saw where they pierced him in the side. He knew they had taken his dead body down off the cross and prepared him for burial, wrapping his body in linen strips. And so, he was sure that Jesus was dead, the evidence was so compelling, and yet Jesus wanted him to take another look.

Verse 26 tells us, "A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them" (John 20:26).

I love this because Jesus wasn’t worried about the numbers, he wasn’t worried about the crowd, he came back for just one person and did the whole thing all over again. He made two trips just to make sure that all of his disciples would have no doubt that he was alive, because ten of the twelve disciples would die standing on that truth. And so, once again he said,

"Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here…" (John 20:26-27).

Now, Jesus wasn’t even there when Thomas said, "I need to put my finger there." But Jesus knew what Thomas said, because as the psalmist said,

"Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely" (Psalms 139:4).

And so, Jesus said to Thomas, in verse 27,

"Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe" (John 20:27).

Jesus gave him a chance to see the proof, the evidence of his suffering, by showing him his wounds. In other words, it wasn’t Jesus’ crown or angels gathered around him in clouds of Glory that Thomas wanted to see. He wanted to see evidence, the proof of what he survived, he wanted to see the wounds.

The prophet Isaiah said, it’s all about the wounds. He said,

"He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).

And so, Jesus steps into this environment of uncertainty, this atmosphere of uncertainty, and he manages this crisis of faith by showing the disciples his wounds.

The only problem was that the first time he came Thomas wasn’t there and it was important that they all knew that he who had been crucified was now alive. Not one of them could be left out, there was no room for debate, they would need a deep conviction, they needed proof, and so Jesus said look at my wounds. Because that was the evidence, proof of the trials and tests, proof of the suffering that he had to go through to get there.

He showed them the stripes across his back, where the nails were driven through his wrists, where they had pierced his side, and it was the evidence of his wounds that would give the disciples the tenacity and conviction to hold onto faith in uncertain times. And that was so important because Jesus knew that they would have to go through some stuff, that they were going to suffer great hardship, that there were going to be nights when they wanted to quit, and so they were going to need to have some proof.

Jesus showed them his wounds because they needed to learn not to be scared of the wounds. He gives them evidence so that they would understand the value of the wounds, because all of them but John would die a martyr’s death. He would die chained in exile on the island of Patmos because he understood the value of the wounds.

Thomas looked upon the wounds of Jesus and he said to him,

"My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:28-29).

And so, not only does Jesus raise them up above their uncertainty, giving them a deep conviction and settled faith, but he gives them the presence and peace of the Holy Spirit. He shows them his wounds, modeling for them what it looks like to follow him and proving that the wounds won’t keep you from your destiny. And in spite of what you lost, who hurt you, or who left you, none of that diminishes the resurrecting power of God to raise you back up and put you on your feet again.

In summary, John tells us in verse 30, "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:30-31).

I wonder if there are any witnesses here, anybody who’s been through enough stuff to appreciate Jesus’ example. If you haven’t been through anything, you may not really understand, but if you’ve got some wounds, if you’ve got the scars and bruises. You know that no matter what you’ve been through, what you’re going through, whatever you’ll face next week, you know the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). And so, you know it may be difficult, you may lose sleep over it, it may hurt, but it won’t kill you.

Some of you today, the devil is lying to you, telling you that this is the end, but Jesus got up on the third day, he got back up again, to let the devil know that he needs to read the Bible again. Jesus said, put your finger here, reach out your hand,

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul" (Matthew 10:28).

Some of you have been beat up, you’ve been discouraged, but the devil is a liar. You thought you were finished, but you’re about to get your breakthrough, it’s the third day, you’re not over yet, the tomb is empty and the stone was rolled away. Death, hell, and the power of sin have been broken. And there is no cause in the world, close to as worthy as submitting your life fully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Today, you either believe God or you are just playing church. And some of you have a casual faith, or maybe a convenient faith, but Jesus is calling you to have a committed faith like Thomas. Like all of us, he began with questions, but his searching led to discovery, because Jesus met him and said,

"Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe" (John 20:27).

Then Thomas demonstrated genuine faith, that true lasting deep conviction, and he said these words,

"My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28).

Jesus is risen. He is alive, and these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31).

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