True worship
by Pastor Glenn Crouch
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Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ (John 20:28)
Read John 20:19–31
I feel that Thomas often gets a bit unfairly treated by many readers of today’s passage. If we are honest with ourselves, many (if not most) of us would act no differently to Thomas in that position. Remember that people who are dead and buried do not then appear a couple of days later in the middle of the room. Plus, we all know how grief and despair can affect people. While Thomas probably accepted the common belief that God would resurrect the faithful – at the end of the current age – the temple was still standing, the corrupt religious leaders were still in place, and Rome still ruled. It very much seemed as though the current age was unchanged.
Besides, none of Jesus’ followers expected that following that horrendous death on the cross, Jesus would be walking around with them just days later!
However, when Thomas placed his eyes on the risen Jesus, all his scepticism disappeared. Notice what he then does. He makes one of the climactic proclamations of this gospel. One question that all the gospels want us to ask is, ‘Who is this Jesus of Nazareth?’ On Thomas’ lips, we have the answer that John’s Gospel has been arguing for from the prologue onwards: He is our Lord and our God.
We need to turn our eyes towards Jesus. We need to keep coming back to the cross. For, like Thomas, that is where we will find true worship. When we struggle to worship or find it difficult to pray or read the Scriptures, we need to come back to Jesus – hear his life, death and resurrection proclaimed again. This is one story we can never hear too often. Why not read chapters 1 and then 19 and 20 of the Gospel of John today – and focus on Jesus?
God of Salvation, thank you for sending your dear Son to our sinful world so that he may live the life that I fail to, suffer my punishment for me, and bring me into your family. Forgive me when my questions cause me to doubt him. Through your Holy Spirit, keep me focused on my Lord Jesus each and every day. In his name, I pray. Amen.
Glenn Crouch was born in Brisbane, baptised in the Methodist Church, and married Karen in a Reformed Baptist Church. They moved to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia 37 years ago, where Glenn worked as a lecturer in computing. After serving as a Baptist pastor, Glenn joined the Lutheran Church with Karen in 1995. Glenn served as a lay preacher, which led to him becoming a Specific Ministry Pastor, and then a General Ministry Pastor. Recently Glenn and Karen have bundled everything up and moved to Esperance, Western Australia, where Glenn has his first full-time paid ministry role as pastor of St John’s in Esperance and St Paul’s in Kalgoorlie–Boulder.
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