Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Hello, dear ones.

I’m sure running late this morning. At 9:02am, it’s still kind of dark-looking. And it’s raining. So the walk/jog routine will not be included in the sequence of events for this particular morning.

I have a project underway that I need to get finished up today. It involves sanding and sealing 50 short log sections that will serve as stools for a children’s day care facility in Portland. At least they’re nice and dry and ready to work with…as I’ve had them stacked in the shop for several weeks. I also need to line Thano out on some sawmill work. Then…well it just goes on and on.

Did you notice in the reading today what Jesus did NOT say when He freaked out His disciples and joined them in that locked room because of their FEAR? He did NOT say, “FEAR be with you!”—even though that is what He encountered. He said, “PEACE be with you!” (vv. 19-20) Let’s agree that JESUS and FEAR cannot peacefully coexist. That’s a pretty good idea to carry into the day.

Blessings. Dad/Ray.

can identify with Thomas. He was resistant to subjectivity—to emotional gullibility. He tried to think things through objectively. He refused to simply be a willing conformist to hype and popular thought. He had good reason to question the claim of the other disciples—that they had actually seen a real living physical Jesus. After all, it’s not very normal for people to rise from the dead after being crucified and buried in a tomb for three days. Not only that, but they said Jesus entered their meeting place unannounced when all the doors were locked! Definitely not normal! So Thomas declared that he wasn’t about to believe all that stuff—unless he saw Jesus for himself. He wanted to be so careful of his belief that he didn’t want to entirely trust his own seeing—he wanted to combine it with touching, and personally inspected the evidence of Jesus’ crucifixion wounds.

I have lots of reasons to believe that Jesus knew full well of Thomas’ struggle with doubt and disbelief. But notice that He does not scurry to his side with a personal encounter to dispel his doubts right away. Instead Jesus gives Thomas an entire week in which He allows, even intends, that Thomas would grapple with the data and try to figure things out on his own—that he stew in his reflections of the recent past, and struggle to connect vital dots.

So when Jesus appeared to the disciples a week later, Thomas was given special attention. It didn’t take long for him to connect those vital dots and make the right response—“My Lord and my God!” (v. 28). Wow!

My overview of life, as well as the Scriptures, teaches me not to expect God to intervene and bail me out of my struggles immediately—on my schedule—according to my sense of urgency. Struggle time can be part of my positive development according to HIS curriculum. Furthermore, He doesn’t seem to have as much problem with slow and honest doubt as He does with fast and superficial belief.

PS: I decided that a post script might be appropriate to offer some clarification to a verse in this passage that could be found confusing—verse 23. “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” A noted Greek scholar, Dr. Kenneth Wuest, offers a refined translation of the key phrase as …”they have been previously forgiven.” I’m inclined to reflect back on the final words of Jesus on the cross—“It is finished” (John 19:30). In other words, Jesus’ role and function as THE LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD (John 1:29) was now complete. Forgiveness of all the sins of all mankind was hereby paid for in full. It’s kind of like being given the winning lottery ticket—but now the number must be announced and redeemed. So believers do not do the forgiving—they simply announce the GOOD NEWS (Gospel) of forgiveness. And that’s a much bigger deal than winning the lottery!