Encountering the Risen Christ #4 - Doubt (Russ Brasher & Emily DeAngelo)

Russ Brasher and Emily DeAngelo explore John 20:24-31, revealing how Jesus compassionately meets Thomas in his doubts, demonstrating that our questions aren't obstacles but opportunities for deeper faith. Their message offers profound hope that Jesus isn't intimidated by our uncertainties but instead uses them to strengthen our belief, encouraging us to bring our doubts directly to Him rather than hiding them.

Message Transcript - https://www.orchardhillchurch.com/blog-post/2025/5/12/encountering-the-risen-christ-4-doubt

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Transcript

Well, good morning and happy Mother's Day to all the moms joining us in person and online. Special shout out to the mom who won over there. Let's give another round of applause for her. In fact, why don't you come on up and we're gonna ask you some mother parenting advice. I'm just kidding. It's okay. She was sweating, wasn't she? But, no.

Hey. Let's pray before we dive into God's word. Father, thank you. We simply come to you today, Lord, and we say thank you for your son. Thank you for your word. Thank you for the mothers in this room. Lord, we especially pray for all of the fathers and children that just realized it's Mother's Day today.

Lord, would you ease their doubts at least for the next thirty five minutes and then bring them back because they better do something. But father, we ask that you bless the reading and the teaching and the hearing of your word and you would meet us exactly where our hearts need to meet you today. Your name we pray. Amen.

The phrase benefit of the doubt is an interesting one. It's a phrase that by definition means this. When presented with a situation, when you have the the possibility to choose either way, benefit of the doubt is you choosing to believe in the good of a person rather than focus on the bad of the situation. And given that it's Mother's Day, let me give you a parenting example. It's a silly one. The other day, my son, Bennett, who's a fourth grader, was in school and we actually, during the day, got a phone call from his teacher letting us know that Bennett did not turn in a very important homework assignment.

And when asked why, I this is a true story. This is what Bennett told his teacher. I couldn't because my dog ate it. Now I know my son, he's only 10 years old. He hasn't lived long enough to know that that excuse has been given to teachers for centuries, but he gave it.

And I had a moment as a parent where I thought, you know what? I've known this kid for ten years now. I've kinda helped turn him into what he is a little bit. I'm gonna try to give him the benefit of the doubt because this is not like Bennett. This is out of character for him.

He cares deeply about school. He loves making people smile and be happy. And he pretty much does his homework without even being asked a lot of the time. But so I'm gonna give Bennett the benefit of the doubt. And wouldn't you know, I went home later that day, and you know what I found laying on our kitchen floor?

Something that I left out in this story is a key part of the context. We have recently gotten a new puppy, and I'm telling you, Barclay shredded Bennett's homework. It was laying all over the kitchen floor. Bennett was telling the truth, and it served me well to give Bennett the benefit of the doubt. But what makes benefit of the doubt easier to give to someone?

It's easier to give when the relationship that you have with that person is strong and good. When the relationship is strong, when that person has given you reason after reason after reason to give and extend the benefit of the doubt to them, that's what makes it easier. I've also learned that as I grow older, I'm not as cool as I used to be, and so it's nowadays trending, help me if I'm wrong student section, to give things, you know, call things benefit of the doubt, the BOTD. So for no. To give something the BOTD is to have a stronger relationship with someone.

And this week, we've heard it read the story from John 20 verses 24 through 31. And it's yet another story with an encounter with the risen Christ, hence the series that we're in, and another disciple called doubting Thomas. In this week, we learned quickly in verses twenty four and twenty five that at some point in the days ahead days ahead, the disciples who were in that locked room from last week's story witnessed with their eyes Jesus is alive and he's back. And they go find Thomas at some point because he wasn't in the room that day. And they find Thomas, and they tell him, we have seen the risen Lord.

And our story tells us in verse 26 that Thomas responds this way. 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. I will not believe. Craig Groeschel, author, pastor in his book, The Benefit of Doubt, says this. It's not really fair that Thomas will forever be referred to by many as Doubting Thomas because any one of the other disciples, if they were also not in that locked room that day Jesus appeared, they too would have probably responded with the same doubts.

Paul, in first Corinthians 15 verse 14, seems to help Craig Groeschel make his point and shine some light on the significance of the moment, the reality of the news that's being shared with Thomas in these verses. In verse 15 or chapter 15 verse 14, Paul says, and if Christ has not been raised from the dead, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. Our preaching is useless and so is your faith. And according to Paul, what is being shared with Thomas is what will become the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Everything hinges on the reality and truth of what the disciples experienced in that locked room and what they're sharing now with Thomas.

Jesus is alive. He's back. Paul says the entire message of salvation, hope, and eternal life collapses on itself if Jesus did not, in fact, raise from the dead. The significance and proof of this moment would confirm that Jesus truly is the son of God. Without being there to see it for yourself, like Thomas, to hear this news in real time without having the rest of scripture to affirm it and know it like we do today, without being there to experience it for yourself, it's natural that Thomas, just like you and I, would have probably said, hold on.

I need some more proof. I need some evidence. And in our story, that's exactly what Thomas asked for. In the first part of verse 26, the disciples are now back in the same locked room. The resurrected Jesus shows up again, and the only difference in last week's story and this week's story is now doubting Thomas is also in the room.

Thomas makes sure that he's in the room this time. And in our story, what we're seeing through Thomas by being in the room is very important. Don't miss it. What we see and learn about doubts, about our doubts, is that doubts do not always mean that there is an absence of faith. We know from other scriptures that Thomas was, in fact, a man of faith.

In John 14, he actually looks at Jesus and calls him lord. But like many of us, Thomas's faith journey was experiencing doubt. And one of the things that I love most about this story is Thomas models for us what each of us should do when we experience moments of doubt no matter what type of doubts those might be. What we should do when we experience them is go find and look for Jesus. Take our doubts and go find and look for Jesus.

And really, that's the hope for this morning, that we would realize that in our doubts, we go find and look for Jesus. Because as we'll see, only Jesus knows how to take our doubts, whatever they are, flip them on their selves, and use our doubts to actually bring us to faith and strengthen our faith in him. Dale Bruner, in his commentary of John, says this about Thomas's doubt and what it means for us, whether you would call yourself a skeptic or a believer. Thomas Thomas's requirement of tactical proof serves us because it is exactly what we ourselves deeply crave. Did this really happen?

The reality question is our most profound question, Bruner says. So we thank you, Thomas, for having raised all of our single most existential question. Has Jesus really, bodily, historically, in fact, been raised from the dead? You see, Thomas, through faith, is trying to give Jesus the benefit of the doubt. He's focusing on his relationship, what he knows to be true of Jesus, instead of the questionable reality of what is being shared with him, believing in the good of the person more than the current situation.

Essentially, what Thomas is doing in our story is saying, Jesus, here I am. I'm in the room. Yes, I have faith in you, but I also have doubts. Jesus, I have faith, but help me in my doubts. Show up again, please.

Let me see your hands. Let me touch your side. I want to believe. The bible says in the second half of verse 26 and verse 27 as we read that Jesus actually does choose to appear again. He meets Thomas right in the middle of his doubts, shows him his hand, shows him his side, and then says these words.

Put your finger here, see my hands, reach out your hand and put it in my side, stop doubting and believe. Stop doubting and believe is what Jesus says to Thomas. And what we see here by Jesus is a demonstration of deep grace. Deep grace in that Jesus says, I will show up. Thomas, I will show up and meet you in your doubts.

Thomas, I will give you the evidence and the proof that your heart and your mind needs to believe in me, believe in this. Jesus allows Thomas to see him. And what I love most about this is Jesus allows Thomas to once again hear his comforting, loving, and familiar voice say these words to him. Stop doubting and believe. Now, the way that my mind works, I can't help but wonder if in this moment in John 20, when Thomas hears these words that Jesus says directly to him, Is Thomas' mind and heart able to connect and remember what he experienced Jesus say in Matthew 14?

Matthew 14 verses 22 through 33 is the story of Jesus walking on water. It's a story that tells us that the disciples were all there, and Jesus tells all of them, including Thomas, even though he's not mentioned by name, to get into the boat and head out and go ahead and cross the Sea Of Galilee while Jesus stays back and takes some time to pray. As the story continues, as night comes and the boat is a considerable distance away, Jesus says, alright. I've had enough prayer. I'm gonna go be with the disciples.

And it tells that Jesus starts to walk on water. Yes. You heard me right. Walk on water. And in the story, naturally, as the disciples see what they think is a ghost coming towards them walking on water, never happened before in the history of history, they naturally freak out just like any of us would do, and they start to cry out in fear.

But then in our story, it tells us that the disciples hear a comforting, loving, and familiar voice. It's a voice from Jesus that says that he immediately said to them, take courage. It is I. Don't be afraid. And the moment Peter hears Jesus's voice, that familiar, comforting, and loving voice, Peter yells out to Jesus, Jesus, can I come with you?

Can I walk on water with you? And you know what Jesus says? Come. Come. And the next thing we know in our narrative, Peter is out of the boat walking on water too.

But then in our story, it tells us that Jesus or Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus, and he starts to see the wind, and he gets scared, and he starts to doubt, and in doing so begins to sink into the water. And in this part of the story, it says, immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. You of little faith, he said, why did you doubt? Why did you doubt? As all of this is happening on the water, we can't forget that in our story, there's a boat full of disciples, including Thomas, watching all of this play out, watching and listening to see what would Jesus do in the midst of Peter's doubt.

And what we see, Groeschel talks about this question that Jesus asked Peter and how it relates to the doubts that you and I experience in our own faith journeys. Groeschel says, I'm curious. Do you read the question Jesus asked of what did you doubt or why did you doubt as an accusation or an invitation? I wouldn't be surprised if majority of us thought of it as an accusation. Like Jesus saying, Peter, you idiot.

Why did you doubt? You stupid loser. But that's not what we know about Jesus. What we know about Jesus from all the other gospel narratives, Groeschel says, is that Jesus is love, full of grace, and consistently compassionate. Maybe we've been reading that question the wrong way.

He continues, what if the question is not an accusation, but an invitation? What if Jesus wasn't shaming Peter, which is not something we see Jesus do anywhere else in scripture, but inviting Peter into deeper faith through his doubts? Did you notice what Jesus did right before he asked Peter the question? He reached his hand out to help. That's what love does.

Even in our doubts, it seems as though Jesus was asking Peter, Peter, why are you why are you doubting? You know me. Peter, remember the water to wine, the loaves and the fish, the blind eyes that now see, the deaf ears that now hear. You know all of this, Peter. You were there.

You know me. That's why you got out of the boat in the first place, Peter. You have great faith. So why are you doubting now? Let's get you back into the boat and safely out of the water.

Like I said earlier, I I wonder I wonder if in John 20, Thomas was able to connect what he experienced in Matthew 14. But what we do know what we do know is that in verse 28, when Thomas did experience Jesus in John 20, when he sees and hears Jesus' words, he says this, Thomas said to him, my Lord and my God. My Lord and my God. And Bruner, the guy I mentioned earlier in his commentary, he says this about this moment and this declaration from Thomas of my Lord and my God. Thomas has just experienced the resurrected Christ as not only the great universal lord and god, but also as his lord and his god, as one who cares enough for Thomas to meet him personally, individually, and specifically, even at his most needy point, his doubt.

So there is not only truth in the confessional noun God, but there is also grace in the confessional pronoun my. Because what we see in this story is confirmation that Jesus is in person both fully grace and fully truth. And our story today comes to an end as Thomas stands in front of Jesus. He sees the holes in both hands, this pure side and all. And when he hears Jesus's voice, it's told that it brings peace to the disciples' hearts and joy to their souls.

So much so that Thomas calls Jesus my lord and my god. And what we learn about Jesus through this story is, like I said earlier, it's the big hope for this morning. Jesus knows exactly what to do with our doubts. He's not intimidated by them. He's not scared of them.

They're never too big, too stupid, too little, too serious. He knows what to do with our doubts. He knows how to take our doubts when we go and bring them to him and say, watch me use these to bring you to faith and strengthen your faith in ways you never thought possible. It's why we see that at the end of it in verse 29, Jesus say these words, blessed are those who have not seen yet still believed. Lastly, as the book or the chapter of John 20 ends, John comes in, and he gives us the reason why he wrote the whole gospel of John in the first place.

He tells us that the reason that he has chosen to write and include everything that we're we read, including this story and other stories of the disciples who experienced doubt in their faith journeys, is so that we would read them and hear them. And even though we couldn't see them with our own eyes, that we would believe the testimony of the disciples given to us by the word of God, and we too would believe. Believe in Jesus, the son of God who promises eternal life for all who believe in his name. Blessed are those who have not seen yet have believed. Some of the best advice I've ever been given in my faith journey is this, and I've said it on this stage many times before.

Faith is not a destination you one day finally arrive at or in a student language, a day you eventually graduate from. Faith is a journey this side of heaven. It's a journey that deepens our understanding of God. And so doubt is a natural part of that journey. It's going to happen and continue to happen.

But what I hope we understand and see about Jesus is that we can give him and bring him our doubts and only he knows how to use them and flip them and turn them into ways to bring us to faith or to strengthen our faith. And so in our doubts, may we hear the words of Jesus that we hear in this text. Peace be with you. And may we experience even in our doubts a joy that comes from knowing this truth, that even in our doubts, out of grace and love for us, God promises to meet us in those doubts. Now I could stand up here and give countless funny, sad, silly, serious stories in my faith journey of what that's looked like and how God has met me and brought me and strengthened me in my faith.

I know a lot of you and I could share a lot of your stories up here. But given that it's Mother's Day, I would be a fool not to bring up probably one of the most compassionate, kind, loving, and gracious women I've ever met who's a fantastic mom to share her side of it on Mother's Day. What do you think? Let's bring up Emily D'Angelo, everybody. Go get him.

Thank you, Russ. So we have learned from doubting Thomas's encounter with Jesus. What he learned, we have learned. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Doubt is the common human experience.

So I hope that we're gonna leave here today with this response. I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief. Many years ago, I was walking with my then five year old daughter across a bridge in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She has the exceptional ability, always has to see things in nature that I would otherwise miss.

And so she peers down into the Susquehanna River and she notices a beaver building a dam. And then she looks up and marvels at this magnificent spider web, woven between the trestles of this bridge and together we counted all the bugs for the spider's next meal. We marveled together at the intricacies of God's creation and we talked about him as we walked along on this nature walk. But you know what? She found herself a little bit dissatisfied and she declared with five year old certainty, I love God's creation, mama, but I really wanna see the face of God.

I really wanna see the face of God. So I knew as her mom that day, it was time to pray for salvation and the security for my little girl to one day meet her maker face to face. The creation of the world made her for relationship with him. So that's what we did. We knelt down right there on the People's Bridge in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and prayed a very simple prayer of faith.

Ecclesiastes three eleven tells us, he has made everything beautiful in his time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart. As his creation, we long for more than this life on earth offers, don't we? And Solomon is saying here that God has created time in such a way that it cannot bring fulfillment. Rather, it reveals a vacuum in the human heart and this vacuum can only be satisfied by the transcendent and that's faith in Jesus Christ alone.

You see humanity is intention. We live in life's ups and downs. We live between the good days and the bad days. We live in faith, but also doubt in Him. And our hearts are designed to long for something eternal.

And you know, our souls are only satisfied in salvation in Jesus and really the faith that he gives us. One of my favorite go to accounts in scripture, passages in scripture is Mark nine, and it tells the story of a father coming to Jesus to beg for healing for his suffering son who has suffered since childhood with demons and seizures. This desperate father comes to him because his son is speechless and the convulsions that he experiences causes him to fall in harm's way. So he comes to Jesus to beg for pity or healing or salvation from his situation if possible. And Jesus responds to this father with all things are possible for the one who believes.

And then the father gives such an honest response to Jesus. He said, I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief. If you find yourself doubting like this parent did, you're not alone. Let's let this man's cry be our prayer. Let's be honest with God about our doubts for our children and our grandchildren, maybe our nieces and nephews, maybe our parents or our extended family.

God will see your faith and he will strengthen your faith despite your doubt. I love Jesus for what he does next in the narrative. Very much like what we saw in the story of Peter. He reaches out his hand to pull doubting Peter from the Sea Of Galilee. Well, Jesus does the same thing for this boy.

He compassionately and lovingly reaches out his hand and he lifts up the suffering child out of his sickness and out of his sin. Only Jesus can do what the parent cannot do. Only Jesus can save the sinner. Only Jesus can heal the sickness and give new life. The parent can't save.

The parent can't heal. But the parent can bring the child very prayerfully to the one who has the ability to heal and to save. We can prayerfully place our children before Jesus, and then we can pray. Bored. I do believe.

Help me overcome my unbelief. Let's let this be our mother's day prayer. Now last month, 35 of us from Orchard Hill had the opportunity to go to The Dominican Republic to partner with mission twenty five thirty five. We had the incredible opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus over many moments of ministry. Our days were filled with home visits and grocery deliveries, as well as prison visits and hospital visits, and rehabilitation center visits.

We helped with the construction on the campus of Mission twenty five thirty five called the Community of Hope, And we got to serve with Vacation Bible School in a public school in Villa Tapia. This experience was amazing because many moments were sent simply in prayer for the people that we encountered and for the people that we met. We got to pray with them and then each of these moments reminded me of God's love and God's faithfulness and the hope that we share across every culture and language and circumstance. But I will tell you that the most meaningful impactful moments for me were the home visits. So on the last day in the Doctor, twelve of our team went out with our interpreter Tony into Dominican Homes.

These were selected by a local pastor likely because of the family's need for the groceries we were bringing or perhaps because, the pastor selected these families because of their spiritual need, for salvation, or encouragement, or maybe simply an invitation to his church. So we got to go out and be that support for the local pastor. One day, on Monday, we walked around the neighborhood and then on Friday, we were bussed around Villa Tapia. So typically, we would arrive in the courtyard or the yard of someone's home and everyone in the circle would introduce ourselves so we would be on a first name basis and then someone in our group would step forward and tell their story. And then another person on our team would ask the person in the home how we might pray for them.

And our person, our teammate would pray for the members of the home. In these encounters I saw again and again God at work. And on that last day I noticed a common theme among the stories of the testimonies of the young adults who shared that day and their stories resonated with my mama heart. Each of those young adults started with pretty much the same statement. I was raised in a Christian home and I knew Jesus as a very young child.

But then each had a unique diversion from that of walking away from God in self reliance or self destruction. But then every one of them said, God got my attention. In love and faithfulness, God brought each of these young adults to repentance and their renewed commitment to following Jesus as he has called us to do. And they each expressed very clearly that this gift of salvation was not at all what they had done, not at all what they had not done, but completely on everything that Christ has done for us. And this encouraged me.

This encouraged me deeply because I'm the mother of five grown children, plus two, with marriage. And some of my kids are not clinging to Christ and walking closely with him. Mothers, let's not be afraid of kids who are doubting, who are questioning because don't we want them to have their own faith, not just an inherited one from our Christian homes. Our kids doubt what we've taught them from the Bible since childhood. Some of our kids have deconstructed Christianity to align with their lifestyle choices in adulthood.

But after three decades of talking to my kids about Jesus, I am now in a season of talking to God about my kids and he hears me when I prayerfully cry out, I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief. I'm learning to trust God to love my children better than I can. And I'm learning to lean in and listen and learn from their questions. As a mother, I get to provide opportunities for honest conversations. And then I get to point them in the direction of good resources when I don't have the answers.

For example, The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel was very helpful for our son. And simple prayers from the Psalms have encouraged our daughter in her journey. Alright, back to the Doctor. Let me tell you about the last home that we visited. It was actually a collection of homes and we had been asked to come there by a woman in the church.

She had requested our visit, but she was not there when we arrived as God would ordain, and he did and we were met by her grown nephew. And you know this man, he seemed very doubtful. He seemed very uncomfortable. He seemed a little bit annoyed by our visit. I don't always understand Spanish but I can read body language.

And so the pastor asked him as we gathered around in his beautiful yard under these magnificent date palm trees, the pastor said, Hey, can someone from our team just tell their story? And the man agreed. And a young adult on our team, she stepped forward with lots of courage and she began to tell her story of God's faithfulness in her life, particularly in a very dark time when her sister died. And I watched as this man listened and I saw tears flow down his face. I saw him respond in a way that was definitely the stirring of something special from God.

And then as the pastor was praying for this man because he said, you know what? I wanna know about this Jesus these people are talking about. I wanna know what it means to follow Him. And as we're praying for this young man, well the matriarch of the family shows up, her name is aunt Carmen. She comes in and she is so thrilled by our visit that she insists that some of us come into her home to celebrate the goodness and the faithfulness of God for her family.

And she's so delighted in our visit that we were encouraged. Our faith was strengthened by this experience. I share the snapshot from our trip because through it I saw some lives changed. The young adult who had the courage to tell her story that day for the first time, her life was changed. The man who heard her story and responded in faith encountered Jesus that day and we hope his life is forever changed.

And though aunt Carmen didn't say this explicitly, I imagine that she might say something like blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed as she continues to pray faithfully for the members of her family to find and follow Jesus. You know, doubt can lead us to deconstruction, which leads to despair and depression or doubt can lead us to a full dependence on the Lord. For sure, our doubting children can lead us down on our knees in prayer. We can trust God. We can trust God who loves them more than we do.

To bring their doubting to faith, to turn their rebellion into obedience, to give them freedom over bondage to sin, and bring them into the family of God. I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief. Would you pray with me?

Father God, you are good all the time and every good and perfect gift comes from you. Thank you for loving our children better than we can. Thank you for loving us all so much that you sent your perfect and only son to make a way for us to be in right relationship with you, God. We do believe, but we humbly ask you to help us overcome our doubts and our unbelief. Help our confidence to be based completely on what you have done for us and not in the good things we do for you. Thank you God for your faithfulness to generation after generation. I anticipate with joy the ways in which you will work in generations yet to come. May faith increase more and more as people come to believe in Jesus and what you have done for us and our children. We trust you Jesus and we pray confidently in your name. Amen.

Happy Mother's Day y'all. Go in peace.

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