Reflection: Believing Jesus-When, not If (April 7, 2013)

Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 5:12-20; Revelation 1:4-18; John 20:19-31

Our experience as the church is becoming more and more like that of the early church: we live in the midst of gross immorality, we contend against an array of religious beliefs, we are a minority in our culture, and our message contradicts the mainstream worldview of the people around us. Like the 1st Century church, we have been marginalized in our society and have little influence on public policy. And like the early Christians, we have been called to share the Word of Life with a spiritually dead world that fights against us and rejects our message. Given our situation, it’s tempting to give up trying to have an impact in our world. But just as the first followers of Jesus endured persecution and rejection for the sake of others, we press on knowing that sooner or later — either in joy or in terror — everyone will believe that Jesus is their God, King, and Judge.


Sadly, many of the people around us refuse to believe Jesus now. Like Thomas on evening of the first Easter, they insist on evidence of their own choosing before they will consider believing Him. While the variations of “Unless I see … I will not believe” are endless, the assertion is just as false. The reality is that everyone will believe Jesus. It’s a matter of when, not if. For Thomas the when came in plenty of time. Only one week later he looked upon the Pierced One and believed. But for many people, it will come too late. They will only believe after He who holds “the keys of Death and Hades” comes to judge them. “Every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him” (Rev. 1:7).

By God’s grace we know and believe that Jesus “loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood” (Rev. 1:5). We have been made a kingdom of priests to glorify Him by serving our broken world in His name. Like the early Christians, we are called to love others by boldly proclaiming “all the words of this Life” (Acts 5:20) even in the face of opposition and persecution. We are blessed beyond measure to believe Jesus now and to be looking forward with joyful anticipation to the day when we will see He who was pierced for us. Moved by His love, we  speak the Word of Life to those who do not yet believe knowing that it’s a matter of when, not if — and the when makes all the difference in the world, and in eternity.

Audio file of the sermon "Believing Jesus: When, not If."