I'm in the midst of writing my first sermon designed to be shared in a public Easter service. I am careful how I write that lead sentence because it is not my first Easter sermon. Last year we also conducted an Easter service for Church Requel. But then, Church Requel met in our living room. This Sunday evening, we will be meeting at Ontario Christian Fellowship and we have some very special plans.
Sunday night I'll be speaking about the topic of "Resurrection and Doubt." I don't believe I've ever heard this particular Easter message in my 52 years, yet it is a subject that jumps out to me from my Bible pages. When Jesus appeared to his disciples, they were startled and frightened. Their reaction to seeing Jesus in their midst was so obvious that Jesus asked them why they were troubled. "Why do doubts arise in your hearts?" (Luke 24:38 ESV). Doctor Luke tells us that the disciples "still believed for joy" (v. 41), an awkward phrase that perfectly describes the scene. Eugene Petersen puts it well into our vernacular with his Message translation: "They still couldn’t believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true."
The disciples dealt head on with their own doubt. They had little choice. Even after being told over and over about Jesus' resurrection plans, they were not expecting it. They were surprised by it. Here was Jesus himself, suddenly standing in their midst. And not just a ghost of Jesus. The physical, touching, speaking and eating Jesus was alive. It was too much! It did seem too good to be true!
Today I wonder whether we Christ followers have dealt as honestly with our own doubts about our future resurrections. Those of us who have been Christians all our lives have learned that doubt is not good. We are to have faith, especially when it comes to this holy grail topic of the resurrection. How often have we been reminded of Paul's admonition, "If Christ has not been raised, then... your faith is in vain" (1 Cor. 15:14)?
So we believe in the resurrection. But it may not be the same kind of belief those early disciples exhibited, because unlike them, we have taken the shortcut around our doubts. We may believe in the resurrection, but we believe because we are supposed to believe. That's just what Christians do! Or we believe because we want to believe. We focus on the good parts without struggling with the "too good to be true" aspects. Or perhaps we believe because we are afraid not to believe, because not believing - even a little bit - might be construed by God as doubt. And doubt is bad. Doubt just may keep me from being resurrected!
The really good news is that we are resurrected entirely by God's power and by His good will. Our doubts, private or public, will not keep me or you from being raised again some day. However, our honest doubts, covered over and not dealt with, could very well rob us of the joy of looking forward to our own resurrection.
Sunday morning I hope to talk about this honestly and to look at how we can really TRUST in our own resurrection. The Luke 24:36-49 passage seems to me to lend itself to 5 different steps to begin trusting and to stop doubting. I'll save the five steps for Sunday morning, but this much I can tell you now. The first step is to tackle the doubts we have. The disciples didn't have a choice. Jesus was quite literally staring them in the face. Either he was a ghost or he was resurrected.
What great news that Jesus didn't allow them to languish in their doubts. He proved himself to them. He encouraged them to touch him. He asked them to give him something to eat. He took their honest doubts and tackled them head on. I think he does the same today. If we are willing to admit our own doubts about either his resurrection or our own, Jesus will tackle those doubts head on. He doesn't want us to languish in our own doubts. He wants us to trust him and to exhibit a reasoned faith.
The first step down this trust path is to deal honestly with our doubts. This Easter when someone says, "He is risen," you go ahead and reply, "He is risen indeed!" Affirmation is a good beginning point for dealing with doubt. But it's not a good ending point. If you have doubts, tell Jesus about it. He will not condemn you any more than he did his own disciples. Instead, he will guide you down the road toward real trust. Then you can begin enjoying the benefits of your own resurrection in this life, as well as in the life to come.
