The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him (John 1:9-11).
The world that Jesus made did not recognise him, in fact refused to recognise him. How pathetic and wretched is that final phrase? “His very own did not receive or welcome him.”
John’s Gospel describes a baleful heart bias against Jesus. And Thomas exemplified this bias. Why didn’t he believe? The problem was not a lack of evidence. The problem was his heart. He didn’t want to believe.
There is nothing illogical about believing in the resurrected Jesus. There is nothing unscientific about believing this—if God is there, then of course he can raise his Son to life! The problem is not evidential: there is abundant reliable eyewitness evidence, and colossal circumstantial evidence, for the resurrection of Jesus.
The problem is that we don’t want to believe.
But why not? Why wouldn’t we want to believe? There is no great mystery to this. To believe that Jesus rose is to recognise his status as our Creator. It is to recognise his authority as Lord. It is to recognise that we belong to him and that we must love him and obey him.
We refuse to believe in order to retain autonomy. An illusion of autonomy as it turns out:
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 and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas... (John 20:26-27).
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