Fashionable Doubt

I have been rereading the accounts of the crucifixion and the resurrection this morning. I always try to put myself in the sandals of those who were a part of the story. I can't imagine being one of those ladies who went to the tomb on that Sunday morning expecting to find Jesus' body, only to be met by a couple of angels who told them that Jesus walked out of there alive. I suffer momentary panic when I go to retrieve my birthday checks and discover that the place of "safe keeping" is empty. So it's really difficult for me to fathom what it must have been like for them.

And what about Peter and the rest of the disciples? When they got the news that the tomb was empty, they weren't buying it. In Luke 24:11 the scripture reveals their mindsets in no uncertain terms: "But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense." That's about right! It seemed crazy to them that a perfectly dead human could rise from the dead and walk out of a cave.

I get that. It is crazy. But isn't that what Jesus said would happen? The angel reminded the ladies of his words. Luke 24:6-7 captures his reminder, "He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'"

With his help the ladies remembered. And I'm sure when they recounted the story to the disciples, the eleven remembered his words, too. But those words were crazy. Surely Jesus didn't mean that he would come back to life: that’s pure "nonsense." You can't take him that literally, it just doesn't make sense.

What the disciples were experiencing was fashionable doubt. No one believed Jesus' words after he died on the cross. Death ushers in the moment when the proverbial "fat lady" sings. The game was over and they had settled into inescapable hopelessness as it related to their dreams with Jesus. But he didn't stay dead. Hope was not lost. He would rise again. He would keep his word for them just as he keeps it for us.

I'm not sure that we’ve really learned our lesson from the disciples because when it comes to taking Jesus at his word, fashionable doubt is still very much in vogue. What can we do about it?

We need to follow Peter and John's lead. John 20:3-4 says, "So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first." Even in doubt they ran to the tomb. They raced towards hope rather than running from it. Obviously doubt was still the fashionable choice because the other nine stayed behind. But they embraced hope and found that Jesus had indeed kept his word.

What about you? When doubt is fashionable which way do you run?

You ask: In the end why does it matter? That is a good question. Jesus was raised from the dead for all of them. He kept his word for those who fashionably doubted and those who fought through it. True enough. So what is the win for those who overcome fashionable doubt and traverse the narrow road of faith?

The reward is the joy that comes at the end of the journey. It is the thrill of victory when you didn't quit, the satisfaction of being able to say, "I knew it," when everyone else was jumping ship. There is great joy in staying the course, going against the fashionable doubt of others.

It was that joy that kept Jesus going and Hebrews 12:2 makes that fact abundantly clear. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Jesus stayed the course by hanging onto the joy that he would experience for finishing faithfully. And in the end he rose from the dead victoriously--just as he said he would.

What areas in your life are you currently experiencing fashionable doubt? Does God have a word for you? Don't miss out on the joy he has set before the faithful!