Have you ever noticed how one poor choice or one ill-spoken word can forge one’s reputation for years to come? Why is this? Because people tend to hold tight to others’ mistakes; they (we?) just can’t seem to let them go – despite how many good things they may have previously accomplished in life.
Take for example, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples. He posed the sincere question that precipitated one of Jesus’ all-time classic dicta. He innocently asked, “Lord, we have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” to which Jesus countered with this memorably exclusive answer: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Even more notably, this same disciple proved his unflinching commitment to Jesus and courage to stand with Him just prior to His appointment with destiny at Calvary. Jesus, along with His 12-member dream team, had just received word of Lazarus’ illness; so Jesus said, “Let’s go see Him.” No big deal, right? until we’re reminded by the dream team, “Only a few days ago, the people of Judea were trying to stone you; and you want to go back there?”
Now though the text doesn’t say this, we can picture the furtive glances of fright that shot back and forth among all the disciples – except for this one disciple who boldly stated, “Let’s go too, and die with Jesus.”
How quickly we forget this disciple because he is forever remembered by the singular episode of doubt he experienced in the immediate aftermath of Jesus’ resurrection. Yep, we’re talking about the disciple whose nickname is as familiar as his given name: Doubting, Thomas.
Why not come out this Sunday morning to hear how he wasn’t the only doubter among Jesus’ dynamic dozen in a sermon I’ve entitled, “Watch the Lamb Convince the Doubting?”
