July 13, 2025: Top 5 Things Jesus Never Said: “God Said It. I Believe It. That Settles It. John 20:19-29 Rev. Dr. Rhonda Abbott Blevins

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”  Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

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When I was a kid, one of my favorite pastimes was playing cards. Canasta was our family favorite. It would be impossible to calculate how many hours I spent in my youth around the table with my grandmother, her sister, and whoever else happened to be around. I learned a lot sitting at that intergenerational table . . . not just about cards, but about life.

Occasionally you could find us playing other games like Rook, War, or Go Fish. Then there was a fun little low-skill game we played called “I Doubt It.” You may have called this game by another name, a shortened version of (how shall I say it?) “male cow excrement.” Are you familiar with this game?

The idea of this game is to be the first person to discard all your cards, players taking turns, simply discarding certain cards as the turn came around according to the appropriate play: aces, twos, threes, and on through the stack and back to aces. Part of the game was lying about your discard and hoping no one called your bluff by saying “I doubt it!” (or alternately, “male cow excrement.”) If you were caught lying, you had to pick up the entire stack of discards and probably lose.

To win at this game, you had to be a pretty good liar. True confession (I’m not sure I should admit this, but here goes . . . ) I was really good at “I doubt it.” I was good at reading other people’s “tells” . . . I was also good at hiding my own tells. I didn’t win every game I ever played, but I won more than I lost. You might say I was an “I doubt it” champion!

Maybe those early “I doubt it” experiences paved the way for me to have a healthy respect for doubt. It taught me that others could lie if it was to their advantage. Perhaps this little childhood game trained me to question, even to test, what other people say. And to this day, I engage the world with what (I hope is) a healthy skepticism. I’m not saying I’m jaded, but you’re also not going to find my picture in the dictionary next to the word “gullible” either.

So when it comes to Thomas in the New Testament, I’m a big fan. Thomas has gone down in history as “Doubting Thomas.” As a Thomas apologist, I think Thomas has gotten a raw deal. Let me explain. 

As we get into the story of Thomas and his doubt, it is helpful to know the backstory from the Gospel of John, which goes something like this: the disciples are still in Jerusalem after the Passover, and after Jesus is arrested, crucified, killed, and buried. That was Friday. Saturday was the Sabbath, so nothing much happened. Then Sunday morning came, and Mary Magdalene discovered the stone had been rolled away. She ran and told Peter and John, who came and verified her claims, discovering the linens that had presumably been on Jesus, with the facial cloth neatly folded. Peter and John left. Mary stayed behind. And that’s when she encountered a resurrected Jesus, who instructed her to tell the disciples, what she experienced, so that’s what she did. “I have seen the risen Lord,” she told them.

That all happened first thing in the morning. And now it’s evening. Hours have passed since Mary Magdalene made her outlandish claim that she had seen the resurrected Jesus. The disciples (sans Thomas) are locked behind closed doors because they were afraid. What do you think they were discussing? No doubt Mary’s claim was at least the elephant in the room if not the focal point of their conversation. “Was Mary delusional? Did she have a dream? Could she be lying? Could it be . . . true?” And then Jesus showed up, somehow, though the doors were locked. He presented them his hands and his side. And they believed.

They told Thomas what they had experienced, but what they told him was so far beyond reason, so outlandish, that he couldn’t quite wrap is mind around it. “Were they delusional? Did they have a dream? Could they be lying? Could it be . . . true?”

Let’s stop here for just a moment, while I seek to defend Thomas.

There is nothing wrong with seeking truth. Jesus never said: “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” I’m not so sure we should say that either.

In fact, I happen to think that honest, genuine inquiry is requisite to Christian maturity. Truth-seeking is a strength rather than a character flaw. And when something runs contrary to reason—like, say, placing seven jacks on a discard pile or seeing dead people for that matter—it seems prudent to seek verification.

How do we do that? What’s the litmus test for determining what is true in the life of faith, especially given that so much in our faith tradition cannot be verified using the scientific method? That’s why we call it . . . er . . . faith.

There’s a handy rubric from the Wesleyan tradition that helps us when we want to know what’s true and what’s false, whether to doubt or whether to believe. It’s called the “Wesleyan Quadrilateral,” basically four tools to employ if, like Thomas, you want to verify claims made by others. You can think about it like a four-legged stool you can trust, once all four legs are in place of course. Or perhaps like the four bases on a baseball diamond. Round all four and you score!

What are the four “legs” or “bases?” Reason, Scripture, Tradition and Experience. Different traditions within Christianity tend to emphasize one “leg” over the others: Charismatic traditions tend to emphasize experience, Catholics like to emphasize tradition, Evangelicals prefer to emphasize scripture, and Mainline Protestants often emphasize reason. But when seeking truth, a balanced approach that takes all four “legs” into consideration may be just the right method of discernment.

Let’s take these four components of the “Quadrilateral” in light of Thomas’s process of discerning truth.

Let’s start with “reason.” Honestly, Thomas’s doubt is “reasonable.” How often have you seen people raised from the dead? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Using reason, Thomas deducts that people don’t usually resurrect from the dead. Logically, it makes no sense. There must be some explanation. But Jesus rising from the dead is illogical. It makes no sense. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” 

Employing the tool of reason leads Thomas to doubt. But what about Scripture? What does Scripture have to say to Thomas? Well, Jesus has talked about rising from the dead on a few occasions, but remember, Thomas doesn’t have the New Testament for handy referral. He has only the Hebrew Scriptures, what we often call the “Old Testament.” What do the Hebrew Scriptures say about the Messiah rising from the dead? Not a whole lot. One verse from Hosea 6:2 might point that direction, but it certainly isn’t clear. So scripture just doesn’t help Thomas as he seeks the truth about a risen Jesus. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” 

Reason makes belief difficult for Thomas, and scripture doesn’t have much to say on the subject of a risen Messiah, what about tradition? Frankly, we just don’t know if there might have been some prophetic tradition related to the messiah dying and rising after three days. In the year 2000, there was a discovery of an ancient tablet, now called “Gabriel’s Revelation,” that contains some reference to a rising on the third day. But the context of this ancient tablet is lost to history. We simply don’t know if tradition factors into Thomas questioning the veracity of his friends’ claims about a resurrected Jesus. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” 

With little support from tradition or scripture, Thomas leans on reason. Reason tells Thomas that people just don’t rise up from the dead. So Thomas is going to need more proof. The fourth leg of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral is “experience.” Thomas needs to experience the Risen Lord firsthand for him to believe. That’s what he communicates when he says, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” 

So one week later, Jesus gives Thomas the proof he needs.

The disciples are once again gathered in the house, this time Thomas is with them. And Jesus shows up. “Put your finger here and see my hands,” he says to Thomas. “Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 

That’s all it took. “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaims. Experience trumps reason. Doubt becomes faith in one powerful instant.

What does all of this have to do with today?

Since the mid 20th Century, we have been living in what historians, sociologists, and anthropologists call the “Information Age.” The information age came on the heels of the Industrial Age. The Information Age brought a fundamental shift in how human society operates. During the Industrial Age, economies were built around manufacturing physical goods. The Information Age, however, is characterized by the digitization, processing, and rapid transmission of information as the primary drivers of economic and social activity.

This era has been defined by revolutionary technologies: computers, the internet, smartphones, and digital networks that connect billions of people instantaneously. We’ve moved from scarcity of information to abundance—even overload. Where previous generations might have struggled to find answers to their questions, we now face the challenge of determining which sources to trust among countless competing claims.

In many ways, this abundance of information has created a perfect storm for doubt. We have unprecedented access to different perspectives, conflicting studies, and alternative explanations for nearly everything. The same digital tools that connect us also enable the rapid spread of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and carefully crafted deceptions.

And with the advent of artificial intelligence, our ability to discern what is truth and what is “male cow excrement” is growing increasingly difficult. Just this week, a deepfake voice message impersonating Secretary of State Marco Rubio fooled foreign ministers, a sitting governor, and a member of congress.

Twice in the eight years since I’ve been your pastor, scammers have been successful at convincing church members, using a fake email that appears to come from me, that I needed a bunch of gift cards and I needed them NOW! Friends, know that I will never send you an urgent request for gift cards. If there’s ever a question, call me

In 2021, Max Fisher wrote in the New York Times: “We are in an era of endemic misinformation.”[1] The way I see it, we have moved from the “Information Age” to the “Misinformation Age.”

In light of this context, we should all be taking our cues from Thomas. Testing what we’re told, what we read, even what we see and hear, must become second nature to each of us.

With that, here are four practical ways to test what we’re told in this “Misinformation Age.”

1. Apply the “Source Test” Before believing or sharing information, ask yourself: Who is telling me this, and what do they have to gain? Just like in that childhood card game, people sometimes lie when it’s to their advantage. Check the credentials of the source, look for potential conflicts of interest, and be especially wary of anonymous claims or sources that won’t identify themselves. If someone is asking you to act urgently—whether it’s buying gift cards for your pastor or believing breaking news—that’s often a red flag to slow down and verify.

2. Practice the “Multiple Witnesses Rule” The biblical principle of requiring multiple witnesses to establish truth still applies today. Don’t rely on a single source, especially for important claims. Cross-reference what you’re hearing with multiple, independent sources. If only one outlet is reporting something major, or if the story isn’t being picked up by other credible sources, that’s cause for pause. This is especially important in our age of social media echo chambers where false stories can spread rapidly within closed circles.

3. Engage Your “Holy Skepticism” Trust your gut when something feels off. If a claim seems too outrageous, too convenient, or too perfectly aligned with what you already believe, take a step back. Ask yourself: “Does this match my actual experience of how the world works?” While we should remain open to truth that challenges us, we should also be suspicious of information that confirms all our biases or seems designed to make us angry or afraid.

4. Take the “Pause and Pray Test” Before reacting to or sharing information that provokes strong emotions, take a moment to pause and pray. Ask God for wisdom and discernment. Often, the most dangerous misinformation is designed to trigger immediate emotional responses—outrage, fear, or excitement—that bypass our critical thinking. A simple prayer like, “Lord, help me discern what is true here” can engage both our spiritual wisdom and our rational faculties before we act on questionable information.

Friends, as we navigate this Misinformation Age, we would do well to remember that faith and inquiry are not enemies—they are partners in the search for truth. The bumper sticker theology of “God said it, I believe it, that settles it” might sound pious, but it’s actually a disservice to the God who gave us minds to think and hearts to discern.

Think about it: if that approach were truly biblical, then Jesus would have rebuked Thomas for his doubt. Instead, Jesus met Thomas exactly where he was, providing the evidence he needed. Jesus didn't say, “How dare you question what the other disciples told you!” He said, “Put your finger here and see my hands.” Jesus honored Thomas's honest inquiry.

The same God who created the intricate complexities of DNA, the vast mysteries of the cosmos, and the beautiful intricacies of human relationships is not threatened by our questions. In fact, I believe God delights in our sincere seeking after truth. The problem isn’t that we doubt—the problem is when we stop asking the right questions, when we become lazy in our pursuit of truth, or when we let others do our thinking for us.

Thomas has gotten a raw deal in history, branded as “Doubting Thomas” as if doubt were a sin. But perhaps we should call him “Honest Thomas” or “Seeking Thomas” or “Courageous Thomas”—because it takes courage to say, “I need to see for myself” when everyone else is telling you what to believe.

In our age of deepfakes and misinformation, of scam emails and manipulated images, we need more people like Thomas—people who aren’t afraid to test what they’re told, people who use all the tools at their disposal to discern truth from falsehood, people who engage the world with what I called earlier “holy skepticism.”

So as you leave here today and encounter the flood of information that will inevitably come your way this week—remember Thomas. Remember the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. Remember to pause and ask: “What does reason tell me? What does Scripture say? What does tradition teach? What does my experience suggest?”

And most importantly, remember that simple prayer we talked about: “Lord, help me discern what is true here.” Because in a world full of competing claims and conflicting voices, we need divine wisdom to sort through it all.

The truth is, we’re all playing a version of “I Doubt It” every day now. People are constantly placing their cards on the table, claiming to have what they say they have. Our job—like Thomas’s job—is to discern when to believe and when to call their bluff.

May you have the wisdom to know the difference. May you have the courage to seek truth wherever it leads. And may you always remember that honest inquiry is not the enemy of faith—it’s the pathway to deeper faith.

So keep asking. Keep seeking. Keep knocking. Because as Jesus promised, those who seek will find, and those who knock will have the door opened to them.

May it be so!

[1] Max Fisher, “Belonging is Stronger Than Facts: The Age of Misinformation,” The New York Times, May 13, 2021.