Believe? Or Trust! John 20:19-31

A text – John 20:19-31    

¹⁹ When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

²⁴ But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. ³¹ But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

A reflection:

The purpose of the Gospel of John is stated in verse 31: to help people believe so that they might come to have life in Jesus’s name. The Greek word for believe (the word pistis) includes not only a “brain belief” that something is true, but also a relational “trust” or reliance that something is dependable. Imagine, says scholar Rene Schreiner, if we replaced the word believe with the word trust, especially in the case of Thomas. “Unless I see the mark…I will not trust [your story of his resurrection].” And later Jesus says to Thomas, “Do not doubt but trust.” “Have you trusted because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to trust.” Jesus knows Thomas already believes Jesus is the Son of God. But now Jesus wants Thomas to trust the accounts of people who have seen him alive. It really makes a difference how we translate that Greek word. It may help to know that ancient Greek merchants used the word pistis the way we’d use guarantee. You can trust this product and the one who sold it to you.

And at the end of this story: “These are written so that you may continue to trust that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through trusting you may have life in his name.” When we trust, we are trusting not just the truth of the thing being talked about but also the person’s relationship with you so that you take them at their word. You may indeed be talking about facts, but it’s also about how much you think the person giving you those facts is reliable, dependable. Why was this important on Easter night? The disciples’ world had been overturned. They never really thought Jesus would die. And they weren’t expecting to fear for their lives as the religious leaders sought to erase Jesus and his following from the earth.

Then, suddenly, Jesus appears, alive, just as he had told them he would. It was earth-shattering and almost as if they had to start over from the beginning. Fear erodes trust. But Jesus was back and trust could be rebuilt once again. Distraction and deliberate lies, in our own day, can also erode trust. But Jesus is here, every day anew, and trust can be built and built upon every day once again. We are not just believing facts. We are trusting the One who has given those facts to us.

A prayer:

Lord God, thank you for loving us. Thank you for being willing to rise from death only to take baby steps with us and rebuild our trust over and over again. Help us to be patient with one another just as you are patient with us. Amen.