"What Will It Take"
#71-32Presented on The Lutheran Hour on April 18, 2004
By Rev. Dr. Ken Klaus, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour
Copyright 2025 Lutheran Hour Ministries
Q&A MP3
Text: John 20:25
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Those few words are truth. To those who wonder, those who are confused, those who have doubts, this sermon speaks. It tells of God's truth, God's Son, God's love that sent His Son to live, die, and rise, so that all who believe might have eternal life. Today the Lord calls you to confess before His risen Son, “My Lord and my God.” Bring your doubts, listen, learn, and believe.
The man had come to a detour. The black-on-yellow sign said, “DETOUR, ROAD UNDER REPAIR.” Two months before, he would never have thought twice about that sign. He would have grumbled, but he would have taken the detour. But now the man was sitting behind the wheel of a brand new, four-wheel-drive, high road clearance, sport utility vehicle. To him, the sign wasn't a detour, it was a challenge. He maneuvered past the sign, saying, “Let's see what this thing can do.” A washboard road, no problem; slippery gravel, no sweat. After about twenty-three miles, he came to the end of the road. I mean the end of the road. It stopped at a ravine which dropped about forty feet down and was thirty feet across. With no other choice, he turned around. Approaching the original detour sign, he now noticed another sign, this one hand-painted on the back of the first. It read, “WELCOME BACK, DOUBTING THOMAS.”
This sermon is for doubters. It's probably not for hard-core unbelieving doubters like Robert Ingersoll. In the 1800s, Ingersoll regularly spoke against the Savior and Scripture. At one of his lectures, he took out his pocket watch and said, "I'll give God a chance to prove that He exists. I challenge Him to strike me dead within five minutes!" People waited. Those minutes crawled by. Those in the last seats said they could hear the ticking of Ingersoll's watch. When the time was up, Ingersoll smiled and sneeringly said, “You see! There is no God! I am still very much alive!” That's when a Christian lady stood up and said, “You didn't prove that there is no God. You just proved that God isn't taking orders from atheists today.” No, this message will probably not touch hard-core disbelievers.
But if you are a doubter whom the Holy Spirit is calling to a leap of faith, this message might well have meaning. Although they would never admit it out loud, have had moments when they wondered, “Is it possible Christianity is only myth, mist and mirrors?” It is for those who have asked, “Am I a Christian only because my parents brought me up that way?” It is for those who are confronting some trouble, some trial, some terror that has caused them to question, “Does God care? Is He real? Is the living Lord Jesus by my side?” This sermon is for millions of believers who fight valiantly against the devil as he whispers words of doubt, disbelief and distrust into their ears. This sermon is for doubters.
This sermon is for doubters, because today we meet one of our own: Jesus' disciple, Thomas. For a good many years, Thomas has carried around the misnomer, “Doubting Thomas.” People who don't know their Bible know about Doubting Thomas. It's almost as if “Doubting” was his first name, and “Thomas” his second. Doubting Thomas is known for being shaky, for being the skeptic among Jesus' followers. No matter he was willing to die in Jerusalem with Jesus; no matter that he, to the best of our knowledge, was martyred as he proclaimed the Savior's Name. This disciple will forever, in the minds of Christians and unchristians alike, be known as Doubting Thomas.
Let me tell you of Thomas. Jesus had died and Thomas was mourning. No doubt, he had heard the reports of an empty tomb. There were the remarks of the women who said they had seen Him, and soon after, his comrades ventured a similar report. But what rational man could believe such a thing? Would you? Put yourself in Thomas' shoes. Suppose you had gone to a friend's funeral. Suppose later that weekend, somebody came up to you and said, “Guess what, I met our friend at Wal-Mart today and he looks fantastic. I took a long look, and you know, you would never think he had died a few days ago.”
You wouldn't believe it, just as you don't believe that Elvis is alive and working in a gas station in Kalamazoo. You don't believe such stories and neither did Thomas. It is to his credit that he didn't laugh at his brothers; he didn't make fun of them; he didn't chew them out for their tasteless joke. Thomas did none of those things. Thomas simply replied something to the effect, “Guys believe what you want, but until I see the nail marks and put my hand into His side, I'm not going to believe it. OK, let's drop it now.”
For a number of reasons, I'm glad Thomas said those words. I'm glad because his reaction is so much like ours. I'm glad because his words show us the New Testament narrative is telling the truth. If we had been there, we would have sketched our actions, thoughts and speakings in healthy, heroic hues. But God's Word tells the truth – it shows His people, even His heroes, with every one of their sins and shortcomings intact. The Bible doesn't whitewash Abraham, Moses, or David, and it doesn't slap a coat of fresh paint on the disciples. God's Word shows them with all of their flaws, failings and faults. It shows them falling asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane, running away when Jesus is arrested. It tells of their fearful hiding and their refusal to believe the ladies when they report a risen Savior. And yes, it shows the doubt of a disciple as well. Most of all, I'm glad Thomas said those words, because, even in disbelief, doubt and denial, he said what it would take to change his mind. He said, “If I see and I touch Jesus' wounds, I will accept His resurrection.” Thomas wasn't the first to ask for a sign.
Over the years, others have said what it would take to make them believe. During Jesus' ministry, the Sadducees and Pharisees asked Jesus to show them signs from heaven. (Matthew 16:1) Today, students say, “Jesus, I'll believe if You let me pass this test I haven't studied for”; would-be brides say, “Lord, I'll believe if You let me marry this guy”; speeders promise loyalty if the policeman will give them a warning rather than writing a ticket. Comedian Woody Allen has said he would believe in God, if God would send him a sign, such as making a large deposit in his bank account. What people want is for God to do something so spectacular, so stunning, so shocking, so surprising, that they are forced by Him to believe. Maybe, to their way of thinking, God should rearrange the planets and spell out the words, “I am here.” Maybe He should show up at the United Nations and make a speech that would bring about universal hope and happiness. Maybe, for Christmas, He should give us all exactly what we want, in the right size, in the right color, in the right quantity. Maybe, He should … maybe He should make Somebody rise from the dead.
Doubters, we have reached that point where you are supposed to say, “Whoa, hold on their big fella. The resurrection doesn't count.” To which I reply, “Why doesn't it count?” Thomas wanted a Man Who was dead, to show Himself to be alive. Thomas didn't want an imaginary showing, not just a spiritual showing, a rising to life in the hearts of men. Thomas wanted a real, walking, talking, eating, breathing, appearing, touchable ex-dead Person. And what Thomas wanted was just as impossible as all the other things I've mentioned. We don't expect the stars to get rearranged, and we don't expect Somebody to rise from the dead. It can't happen, unless of course, that person is God.
And God, my friends, is exactly what Jesus was and is. He was the Son of God, born of a woman. Jesus had entered this world to fulfill the law that we had broken; to stand against the temptations which had tripped us up; to die the death we had deserved and, in so doing, wipe away the sins of all who believe. These things Jesus had done. Perfectly. Completely. Graciously. But that first Easter night, all Thomas knew is that Jesus was dead and his friends were talking nonsense. That's why Thomas was pretty confident when he said, “If I'm going to believe, this is what it will take: I need to see Jesus' nail holes. I need to touch His side.”
Jesus heard His disciple's challenge. More than just hearing, Jesus decided He would answer that challenge. That's because, even though Jesus doesn't approve of our unbelief, He certainly understands that we sinful humans are, all of us, weak, wondering doubters. Years ago my wife Pam was teaching first-grade Sunday School. One of the children in that class was a little girl who, with her family, had recently been brought to faith. That little girl hung on every word of every Bible story. At the end of one of the lessons, she came up to my wife and said, “Teacher, I just love hearing about Jesus, you just never know what He's going to do next.” She was so right.
The truth is, God often does that which we least expect. That's certainly what Thomas experienced. Because Jesus is our living, loving Lord, He accepted Thomas' challenge. Understand, He doesn't do that all the time. Why should He? Quite frankly, if people aren't going to believe it when He rises from the dead, they're not likely to believe any other miracle that He does. But this time, for Thomas, for us, Jesus came. Jesus appeared to Thomas, and the others. He appeared, not with anger, disgust, or disappointment. With love, Jesus came to Thomas and to you, saying something like: “Here, check Me out. Get rid of your doubts. Believe. Trust. No, don't tell Me you didn't mean what you said. I want you to touch My hands. Here, you can almost put your whole hand into My side where the soldier's spear sliced into My heart. Thomas, check Me out, and believe.” And Thomas did believe. He fell to his knees and said, “My Lord and my God.” Did he whisper those words? Was he crying? Were they a shout? Were they said with reverence? I don't know, but he said it, and he shows the way for all who have doubts. The Bible says: “Thomas believed.”
Which makes me ask, “Do you? Do you believe, or will you discount this story?” I know that some of you have your doubts. Some of you are thinking, “There was no such Person as Jesus.” Look, not even learned men and other global religions who hate Jesus, deny His existence. He lived. Maybe you doubt He died. Wrong again. You don't take a stab through your heart and have blood and water flow out unless you've been dead for some time. No, Jesus died. If you allow this, then your doubts must be confined to one thing, “Jesus didn't rise.” Your doubt stands with that of Thomas. You are saying, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Is that your doubt?
Have you ever been to the Antarctic? Then using your logic, which says you have to see before you will believe, you have to say, “Unless I stand on that cold slab of ice, and touch the snow, and feel the wind, I won't believe.” Have you been to North Korea? If not, how do you know it's there? Have you ever seen your brain, your conscience, your memory? Have you ever touched them? If you haven't, you have to doubt they exist, at least until you see and touch them. Yes, I am having fun with you. I know you're going to say, “You don't have to go to the Antarctic to believe in it. Others have been there. People whose word you trust. They told you, so you believe. You are taking these things on faith.”
To which I say, “What was that last part? You take some things on faith? You believe some things because people you trust have told you about them?” Good. We're making progress now. Now, if Thomas were standing here in this studio instead of me, he would say, “I saw Jesus. I touched Him. The other disciples did too.” I can almost hear you thinking, “But Reverend, I don't know if Thomas and the others were telling the truth.” What would they have to do to get you to believe the truth of their words? I can tell you what they did do. Rather than denying the resurrection of Jesus Christ, rather than renouncing the Savior Who died so that all who believe on Him might live, they were willing to be martyred. Around the world, all alone, they died. Tradition says one was clubbed to death, another was flayed alive. A number of them were crucified. It doesn't matter. They died because they believed this truth: Jesus Christ has risen, and now, all who believe on Jesus as Savior are forgiven and have eternal life.
But it is not just these people who died believing this truth. Millions of others have held fast to Christ's cross and the open tomb. It was their life, their hope. Do you cry out, “But how can I know? How can I be sure?” You can believe it because Thomas believed it. He sealed the truth of this story, the one I have told you today, with his death. He could do no more. You can ask no more of him.
“The resurrection story is a myth.” That's what the high school teacher told his class a few days before what used to be called “Easter vacation” but now is known as “spring break.” One of his students countered, “Sir, I believe Jesus rose.” The teacher, with condescension, countered, “You can believe what you wish, but the resurrection is a scientific impossibility.” Then the instructor went to the Science lab fridge and brought out a raw egg. He announced, “I am going to drop this egg, and gravity will pull it down, and it will break.” Looking at his student, he said, “I propose you pray that God will keep this egg from breaking when it hits the floor.”
The student thought, folded his hands, bowed his head and prayed, “Dear Lord, I pray when the teacher drops the egg, it will break into a hundred pieces and when it does, the teacher will have a heart attack and die. Amen.” Please don't write me and tell me that this was a bad prayer. I know it was. It isn't my prayer. No, just listen to what happened. The class was in shock. They waited. Then very slowly, the teacher carefully put the egg back into the fridge. “Class dismissed,” he said. The doubter wasn't ready to risk his life on his doubt. Are you? “The Lutheran Hour” is ready to help introduce you to the Savior, the only Savior. We want to help you doubters become like the ex-doubter Thomas, saying, “My Lord and my God.” Amen.
Lutheran Hour Mailbox (Questions & Answers) for April 18, 2004
Topic: The Value of a Reputation
ANNOUNCER: Now Pastor Klaus talks about the value of a good reputation. I'm Mark Eischer. Pastor Klaus, a listener writes, “I come from a dysfunctional family who has lived for generations in the same small town. I moved away about twenty years ago but now I've come back home. Since my family is dysfunctional however, most people here expect me to be that way too. Even other Christians treat me that way. What can I do so that people won't lump me in with the rest of my family?”
KLAUS: That person is describing a pretty common phenomenon. You know Mark, I think a number of the disciples would have understood that listener's situation. Matthew, he knew what it was like to be pigeonholed. Paul, he had once been a persecutor of Christians; he had his problems. But if anybody can understand what it feels like to be labeled, it would have to be the disciple we sometimes call unfairly, “Doubting Thomas.”
ANNOUNCER: Now you kind of qualified your answer there, when it came to “Doubting Thomas.” Why did you do that?
KLAUS: Well, it's true. Thomas had his moments of doubts but so does everybody. Thomas said other things that are recorded in Scripture, including his willingness to stand by Jesus' side, even if it meant his own death. Nobody calls him “Ready to be Martyred Thomas.”
ANNOUNCER: Why is a good reputation so important?
KLAUS: There's an old expression, “an apple doesn't fall far from the tree.” We apply it to people. We think that because someone comes from a bad family, that they're also going to be bad.
ANNOUNCER: But aren't there reports that say that children who are raised in an abusive family sometimes grow up to be abusers themselves? That's true for other things as well, isn't it?
KLAUS: It is. We can't deny it. People do often end up copying good or bad, the things that they learn at home. It's a sad thing, because changing what we've been brought up with is a very hard thing to escape. Indeed, it's almost an impossible thing to do unless something inserts itself into our lives and changes us from the inside out.
ANNOUNCER: And what is that?
KLAUS: As far as I can tell, Mark, Jesus always changes people. When a person has the Savior living in his heart, the old person is gone. There is a new person present. Of course, although God sees the change in a person's heart right away, that doesn't mean that people around us will always immediately detect a similar change.
ANNOUNCER: And that's really what's bothering our listener. People are making all sorts of assumptions.
KLAUS: And that's unfair. Every Christian knows they live in the forgiveness of the Lord. We sin every day, every day the Lord forgives us on account of Christ. Just as the Lord forgives us, we ought to do the same with others. In short, Christians ought to pray for this individual, rather than stand around waiting for him or her to fall into the same mistakes the family did.
ANNOUNCER: Now does that mean if people forgive and pray for this person, that they're going to be setting themselves up to repeat the problems of the past?
KLAUS: I don't think I understand.
ANNOUNCER: Well, suppose for instance, an individual's family has a reputation for borrowing money and then forgetting to pay it back. And now this person comes to you and says, “I want to borrow some money from you.” You think, “you know, I've been burned by these people before, do I really want to be burned again?” But the other part of you says, “well, I forgave them, so I really should treat them differently.”
KLAUS: I think Mark, you treat this person as a new person, especially if you've seen them trying to make a new start. Don't let the sins of their family color your decision toward them. On the other hand, if this person burns you, you still forgive but you don't necessarily have to put yourself in the same situation again and again.
ANNOUNCER: One final question – what should our listener do in order to reclaim a good reputation?
KLAUS: As much as the Lord gives them the ability, live a life of consistent Christian witness. Most people will eventually come around.
ANNOUNCER: And the others?
KLAUS: Don't worry about the others – they've got bigger problems.
ANNOUNCER: Such as,
KLAUS: Such as not forgiving, in which case they've got problems with God. But let's not end on that word of the Law; let's focus instead on our forgiving Lord who said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)
ANNOUNCER: Thank you Pastor Klaus. And with that we come to the end of our broadcast for another week. We thank you, the listener, for making this program part of your day. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
