Believable Witnesses (John 20:24-31)

John 20:24–31 NIV

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 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!” 27 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.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Is YOUR testimony believable?

Have you ever heard something so crazy that you had to see it before believing?

What about the opposite, have you ever known someone who would believe anything and everything someone said?

My Sister!!

Why do you think Thomas didn't believe?

Sometimes/often, Thomas gets a bad reputation for doubting. But, I have sympathy for the guy. The other disciples have had an encounter with the resurrected Christ and I believe that Thomas simply wants to have the same experience. Thomas also wants to see and experience the Risen Lord!

But, maybe there is more to this story than simply being a message about doubting versus believing..

So, let’s consider why Thomas might NOT have believed

A number of possibilities come to my mind…

Maybe he thought it was a prank

Maybe he thought it was too good to be true, so he just couldn’t believe

He does admit that he COULD believe, but he would have to see first

Remember, this is NO different than what the other disciples got to experience

Mary saw, Cleopas and the unnamed guy saw, the other disciples say...he has been left out of the seeing party!

Maybe the Disciples lived the truth in an unbelievable way

Maybe Thomas doesn’t believe at first because the TESTIMONY of the disciples didn’t seem VALID

Let me explain… Last week, the disciples had an experience with the Risen Christ. They were given Peace, Power, and a Continual Presence to carry out their commission to live DIFFERENTLY as they took peace and perfect love (forgiveness) into the world.

But, where are the disciples this week?

They are still in the same room. THEY DIDN’T GO VERY FAR!

The story isn’t written to tell us what the disciples did during the week, true, but from the details of the story, we know they told Thomas (another disciple) and at the same time as the week before they are back in a room with the doors locked.

IT’S THE SAME STORY, JUST A DIFFERENT DAY!

Could it be that Thomas doubted NOT because he couldn’t believe that Jesus was resurrected, BUT because those who told the story of their encountered did not CHANGE!?

In other words, maybe Thomas didn’t believe because those who claimed to have encountered Jesus didn’t do anything different after their encounter!

So, Thomas said, “I will believe, but NOT because YOU told me to. I want to see for myself. It didn’t change YOU so why should I believe…?” OUCH!!

And then Jesus Enters

So, Jesus appears.

He, again, greets the disciples with the message of peace

He shows Thomas His hands and His side...

What does Thomas do?

John 20:28 NIV

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

THIS IS IMPORTANT! The Gospel of John is driving home a message of Jesus being God and THOMAS first recognizes it!

The whole point of John’s Gospel is so that people would believe that Jesus is Messiah AND GOD!

And, Thomas is the ONLY disciple to declare that!

The others have seen Jesus, but Thomas is the ONLY one with a full confession that Jesus is GOD!!

John 1:1–5 NIV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:10–14 NIV

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:18 NIV

18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

And the conclusion of the ORIGINAL ending to John’s story states…

John 20:30–31 NIV

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

THIS IS IMPORTANT! The whole point of John’s Gospel is so that people would believe that Jesus is Messiah AND GOD!

The story is book-ended, so to speak, with the idea that Jesus is God and HE reveals God to us.

The PURPOSE of the account of Jesus is so that the world will say “MY LORD AND MY GOD” when they encounter Jesus!

And, Thomas is the ONLY disciple to declare that! The others have seen Jesus, but Thomas is the ONLY one with a full confession that Jesus is GOD!!

Thomas shows us what it looks like when the world encounters Jesus and proclaims Him to be God!

For our World to Believe Our Testimony MUST be VALID!!

BUT, the story is also a reminder of the necessity of OUR TESTIMONY of what an encounter with Jesus has done for us!

In other words, this story is not only about Thomas; it is about what our witness does to lead people to an encounter with Jesus or to cause them to doubt the Truth of Jesus in their lives.

John later writes...

1 John 1:1–7 NIV

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

John said that he wrote/writes what he experienced. What he saw, heard, and witnessed Jesus doing.

He is sharing his encounters with others so that they might join the fellowship of those who believe. John hopes/prays that his testimony, his stating his encounter of Jesus, would lead others to believe.

The point is that John knows the world cannot actually, physically, see Jesus. But, they can hear stories and witness lives transformed by Jesus’ power.

In other words, although we do not see Jesus physically, His presence and power is witnessed by lives being transformed. The world is blessed when they see Jesus IN and THROUGH those who claim to have had an encounter with him.

This is why we must WALK (a continual present action) in accordance with the LIGHT…

1 John 1:6–7 NIV

6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Cruise Control

HOWEVER it is too easy for us to hit cruise control...

We get stuck in patterns and routines

we “go with the flow”

We KNOW what we SHOULD do, but we just Don’t do it...

Wrap it up

The world is full of Thomases, those who would be willing to believe, but they doubt the validity of Christ because those who claim to have had an encounter with the Risen Christ have not been faithful in their witness.

The encounter is a great story, but it hasn’t really changed their life.

Yes, it has often been quoted, but it is true and worth repeating. Brennan Manning, author of the Ragamuffin Gospel stated the idea best when he wrote, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

IF we have had an encounter with Jesus, our lives MUST reflect this encounter!

When our lives are different because of this encounter, the Thomases in our world will be more willing to believe that Jesus is Lord and God.

Yes, our world is blessed when they believe with out seeing.

But, the truth is, they do see. They see Christ at work, or not at work, in us who witness about him.

At some point, Jesus must be seen NOT through His physical presence, but through our ability to carry his presence to our world.

How are we at that?

How believable is your witness about Christ?

May we, again, receive the power to respond faithfully in our world!

Benediction

Hebrews 13:20–21 NIV

20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.