Sep 1, 20234 min read

Locked Doors and Empty Nets

I opened at random today to the Gospel of John, Chapters 20 and 21, and several things jumped out at me. May I share them with you? John 20:26 starts off after Christ's death and resurrection. SOME of the disciples had seen him, but others hadn't been present. Thomas in particular declared that he would not believe unless he could put his finger in the nail holes in Christ's hands and the spear hole in his side. But these guys had other problems beyond a crisis of faith. Their leader was dead and they were hiding from the Religious Police. (Sounds like Iran or Afghanistan today?) They were at a great big "Now What?" moment. The- End- of- the- World- As- We- Know-It kind of situation. Their leader was dead-- and then he wasn't. But he wasn't physically WITH them anymore, and he was most definitely not about to overthrow the Romans and set everything right. The last three years of GREAT MINISTRY had come down to this. Hiding from the police, trying to figure out what to do next...

A week later, his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop doubting and believe..."

I'll bet some of you are facing locked doors. Not just locked, but multiple locks and chains. Some time ago, God showed me a locked door. It wasn't just locked. It was VERY locked. Imagine the inside of a front door in a rundown tenement apartment where a frightened old lady lives. The was a bar across the door, chains, and those little flip over locks, where one side is bolted to the door frame, and the other side is screwed into the door. The heavy latch flips over and settles onto the receiver on the door itself. Then you twist to engage the lock. Those suckers ringed the door frame on all sides AND the header. Then there were was the locking doorknob itself, PLUS at least two deadbolts. Fort Knox in the Bronx!!! But suddenly, all those locks and chains flung off, and the door opened... I am reminded of a great quote I heard once.

"When It's not God's time, you can't force it.

When it IS God's time, you can't stop it."

That door may be VERY locked to you, but God can make chains fly off and locked gates swing wide in an instant. (See Acts 12:7-10 and Acts 16:25-40.)

And did you notice that when Thomas was expressing in a very previous conversation with the other disciples, that HE required a much higher level of proof then those other idiots-- did you notice that God was LISTENING to that very private conversation? You see, Thomas wasn't going to be satisfied with seeing a garden variety apparition; he wanted proof he could actually physically TOUCH. (Incidentally, this debunks the swoon theory popular among Muslims that Jesus didn't actually die, he just fainted. Thomas KNEW he was dead.) He saw it all. Dead, dead, dead. Dead as all their hopes and dreams. It was Over, Dead, DONE, as far as Thomas was concerned. And yet, there Jesus was, right there. Addressing his very personal concern, his Gideon Fleece, just exactly like he asked for.

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

So maybe God has made promises to you or maybe given you a Mission, but all you can see is the securely and utterly locked door? Perhaps He is saying to you too right now, "Stop doubting and believe."

Later, in Chapter 21, they saw Jesus again. They were still clueless as to what to do. Jesus had appeared to them several times now, but apparently didn't give them specific instructions to do anything constructive or heroic like storm the Sanhedrin or something. So Peter decided to go back to his old occupation as a fisherman. At least THAT was useful, right?

Simon Peter announced, "I'm gong fishing." The rest of them replied, "We're going with you. They went out and got in the boat. They caught nothing that night. When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the shore, but they didn't recognize him. Jesus spoke to them, "Good morning! Did you catch anything for breakfast?" They answered "No." He said, "Cast your nets off the right side of the boat and see what happens." They did what he said. All of a sudden there were so many fish in it, they weren't strong enough to pull it in...

When they got out of the boat, they saw a fire laid, with fish and bread cooking on

it...

See, Jesus already had already made breakfast for them. He knew they were hungry, and had fished all night. These expert PROFESSIONAL fisherman, Peter, James and John, had fished all night and caught nothing. They were tired, hungry, and humiliated. And probably a bit chilled as well. But Jesus had a warm fire going and breakfast waiting for them. And he filled their nets with 153 large fish IN A MOMENT, to prove a point. That he had all power. Empty nets were no more a hinderance to him than the locked door had been. And he later backed up that object lesson by verbalizing it at his Ascension. Matthew 28:18 tells us:

Then Jesus came and said to them, "ALL authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am WITH you always, to the very end of the age.

He told them he was WITH them. That's exactly what his name Immanuel means. God-WITH-Us. Not God- Afar- Off, but God- WITH - Us. God WITH us in our suffering. God WITH us on our death bed. God WITH us in our triumphs. God STILL WITH US in our failures. Why? Because he loves us. And because he promised. And he will NOT be hindered by locked doors and empty nets.

"Stop doubting and believe."