Fifty Days of GloryOutline of Readings:

April 23rd—Chapter 1

April 30th—Chapters 2 & 3

May 7th—Chapters 4 & 5

May 14th—Chapters 6 & 7

May 21st—Chapters 8 & 9

Fifty Days of Glory

Chapter 6

“Doubting Thomas”John 20:24-25

Fifty Days of GloryNine Possible Negative Reasons Thomas

Was Not With The Apostles:

Fifty Days of GloryNine Possible Negative Reasons Thomas

Was Not With The Apostles:1. He was frightened and wanted to hide;

Fifty Days of GloryNine Possible Negative Reasons Thomas

Was Not With The Apostles:1. He was frightened and wanted to hide;

2. He just wanted to be by himself for a while;

Fifty Days of GloryNine Possible Negative Reasons Thomas

Was Not With The Apostles:1. He was frightened and wanted to hide;

2. He just wanted to be by himself for a while;

3. He was embarrassed and disillusioned;

Fifty Days of GloryNine Possible Negative Reasons Thomas

Was Not With The Apostles:1. He was frightened and wanted to hide;

2. He just wanted to be by himself for a while;

3. He was embarrassed and disillusioned;

4. He felt abandoned;

Fifty Days of GloryNine Possible Negative Reasons Thomas

Was Not With The Apostles:5. He was ashamed for having run away;

Fifty Days of GloryNine Possible Negative Reasons Thomas

Was Not With The Apostles:5. He was ashamed for having run away;

6. He had insufficient faith;

Fifty Days of GloryNine Possible Negative Reasons Thomas

Was Not With The Apostles:5. He was ashamed for having run away;

6. He had insufficient faith;

7. He was a “Lone Ranger” believer;

Fifty Days of GloryNine Possible Negative Reasons Thomas

Was Not With The Apostles:5. He was ashamed for having run away;

6. He had insufficient faith;

7. He was a “Lone Ranger” believer;

8. He had issues with the other Apostles;

Fifty Days of GloryNine Possible Negative Reasons Thomas

Was Not With The Apostles:5. He was ashamed for having run away;

6. He had insufficient faith;

7. He was a “Lone Ranger” believer;

8. He had issues with the other Apostles;

9. He had family issues to deal with.

Fifty Days of GloryTwo Possible Positive Reasons Thomas

Was Not With The Apostles:

Fifty Days of GloryTwo Possible Positive Reasons Thomas

Was Not With The Apostles:1. He was not afraid to die and not hiding in

a locked room;

Fifty Days of GloryTwo Possible Positive Reasons Thomas

Was Not With The Apostles:1. He was not afraid to die and not hiding in

a locked room;

2. He was gathering supplies for the community.

Fifty Days of Glory“There is no record, either in Scripture

or in the tradition of the Church, of the others chastening him or trying to straighten him out. The next thing we read is Thomas being present with full acceptance by the ten the following Sunday evening.”

“What happened during the intervening week? Had the community reached out to him? A sound Christian fellowship should be a community of love that demonstrates trust, acceptance, and accountability. It is not always so.”

Fifty Days of Glory“Thomas may have had his doubts, but

he has them in the very midst of the community. Thomas does not walk away form the other disciples disgruntled about his doubts. Nor do the disciples ask him to take his questions elsewhere. Thomas was with them, his friends, in the midst of his doubts.”

Fifty Days of Glory“‘No one believed that Jesus was risen

until they had seen him; not the women who went to the tomb, not the eleven, not even the two on the road to Emmaus—no one. Thomas was not unique in that.’ All he wanted was the same evidence that others had been given. But poor old Thomas has been stuck with the nickname ‘Doubting’”

Fifty Days of Glory“Honest doubt is part of a maturing

faith. Scripture encourages us to help, not ridicule those who have doubt. The Epistle of Jude commands us to ‘have mercy on some who are wavering’ (v 22). Frederick Buechner says that if we don’t have doubts, we’re either kidding ourselves or are asleep. Doubt is not the opposite of faith. The opposite of faith is fear.”

Fifty Days of Glory“Kevin Martin puts it this way: ‘Doubt

is the anvil on which belief is formed.’ A faith that never wrestles with the hard questions is untested and remains shallow, making one vulnerable to loss of faith when encountering the hard parts of life. Fyodor Dostoevsky notes, ‘My hosanna has passed through a great furnace of doubts.’”

Fifty Days of Glory“It seems that Thomas was rewarded

because he was willing to express his doubts as he sought answers… He doubted but he did something about that doubt. And, when sufficient facts presented themselves, he put his trust in Christ. He did not indulge in irresponsible doubt.”

Fifty Days of Glory“We note in the New Testament that

doubt is often challenged, and sometimes even faulted. In a previous chapter we saw how Jesus called those on the road to Emmaus ‘foolish’ and ‘slow of heart to believe.’ In the prelude to the Christmas story, Zechariah’s skepticism of the angel Gabriel’s announce-ment was punished by his temporarily being struck mute (Luke 1:5-23).”

Fifty Days of Glory“The habit of keeping company with

Jesus will result in a secure relationship of love, which fosters faith. Walking in the way of Christ each day can gradually dispel doubt, until it withers away through lack of attention. Faith needs to be fed, and doubt needs to be starved, through prayer, study, service, witness, and worship.”

Fifty Days of Glory“German theologian Helmut Thielicke,

commenting on artwork depicting the still-doubting Thomas, states that ‘Although he stands outside in a state of unmastered doubt, Thomas is encircled by a halo, the aura of a saint.’ Again recall how the father of the demoniac boy said to Jesus, ‘I believe; help my unbelief.’ We might hear Thomas say, ‘I have doubts, but I do believe in Jesus.”

Fifty Days of GloryDiscussion Questions:

1. Can you compel yourself to believe something that your intellect knows is not true?

Fifty Days of GloryDiscussion Questions:

2. Can you walk by faith and not by sight without some experience upon which to base your faith?

Fifty Days of GloryDiscussion Questions:

3. Does faith come to you from outside sources (hearing, seeing, touching, being touched) or from inside out (being impregnated by the Holy Spirit)?

Fifty Days of Glory

Chapter 7

Thomas’ Faith: “My Lord and My God!”

John 20:26-29

Fifty Days of Glory“For Mary to touch Jesus in the garden

would be to go back to how it all used to be. She would have Jesus where she wanted Him. For Thomas to touch Jesus would be to step out of his routine of living on the margins and to face his fears. For Thomas to touch Jesus meant that there was no going back to the living the way he used to.”

Fifty Days of Glory“Thomas then, by God’s grace,

connected the dots. To see Jesus is to see the Father. One calls The Father ‘Lord and God.’ Therefore, Jesus must be, as Thomas ascribed, ‘Lord and God.’ Kevin Martin wisely asks, ‘Isn’t Thomas’ confession the punch-line of the Gospel of John?’”

Fifty Days of GloryThree Things Necessary to Grow in

Obedience:

Fifty Days of GloryThree Things Necessary to Grow in

Obedience:1. Our efforts;

Fifty Days of GloryThree Things Necessary to Grow in

Obedience:1. Our efforts;

2. The help of others;

Fifty Days of GloryThree Things Necessary to Grow in

Obedience:1. Our efforts;

2. The help of others;

3. Grace of God.

Fifty Days of Glory“First, then, Jesus is the Lord to obey.

And, second, Jesus is God to worship… No one ever called a mere mortal God. It was blasphemy, as the Jews who took up stones to throw at Jesus know only to well, that is, unless it were true. Here, Thomas, a Jew, knew what he was doing when he called the resurrected Jesus ‘My God.’”

Fifty Days of Glory“Jesus accepts Thomas’ ascription of

divinity. He did not say, ‘Thomas, I’m just a human being, and no more than that. I’m just a good teacher. Do not worship me.’ Jesus accepted Thomas’ worship because Jesus knew Himself to be God-made-flesh.”

Fifty Days of Glory“If John did not want to convey the idea

that Thomas’ confession was sound, he would have been quick to add an editorial disclaimer, as he frequently did. Yet John’s silence on the matter is nothing compared with the silence of Jesus. Jesus offered no rebuke to Thomas for calling Him ‘God.’”

Fifty Days of Glory“John’s Gospel was the last of the four

written, written at a time when an ever-growing number of converts has not been alive when Jesus was on Earth. Perhaps they thought belief must have been easier when people were able to see the physical Christ on Earth. John brings them assurance that this is not so.

Fifty Days of Glory“John Marsh notes how Thomas is ‘the

link between the experience of the Apostles and that of the later Church, making plain to all believers there was no advantage to the apostles in ‘seeing.’”

Fifty Days of Glory“The proselyte is dearer to God than all

the Israelites who were at Sinai. For if those people had not witnessed thunder, flames, lightning, the quaking mountains, and trumpet blasts, they would not have accepted the rule of God. Yet the proselyte who has seen none of these things comes and gives himself to God and accepts the rule of God. Is there anyone who is dearer than this man?”

Fifty Days of GloryWhat is Jesus trying to teach us about

discipleship and the Church in this encounter?

Fifty Days of GloryWhat is Jesus trying to teach us about

discipleship and the Church in this encounter?

1. Doubt is not wrong as long as we doubt honestly with a diligent search for the truth;

Fifty Days of GloryWhat is Jesus trying to teach us about

discipleship and the Church in this encounter?

1. Doubt is not wrong as long as we doubt honestly with a diligent search for the truth;

2. Jesus is Lord to be obeyed and God to be worshiped.

Fifty Days of GloryDiscussion Questions:

1. Discuss the tension between the concept of “walking by faith and not by sight” and the concept of being graciously given the personalized experience necessary to instill faith.

Fifty Days of GloryDiscussion Questions:

2. To what degree is Christianity propositional (specific doctrinal truths) and to what degree is it relational (a believer’s walk with the Lord)?

Fifty Days of GloryDiscussion Questions:

3. Obedience is a major theme throughout the Bible. What does biblical obedience look like in terms of attitude, contemplation, and action?

Fifty Days of GloryNext week:

Chapter 8—Jesus and the Seven by

the Sea of Galilee

&

Chapter 9—Jesus Restores and Heals Peter