Untitled Sermon (2)

Good morning, everyone. So glad you’re here! – And so excited to share the Word of God with you today from John 20:24-31.

This story focuses on the disciple of Jesus named Thomas, who struggled to believe that Jesus had truly risen from the dead.

On the evening of the first Easter, the same day Mary and the other women had discovered the empty tomb –

The disciples were meeting together behind locked doors, fearing for their own lives, and trying to make sense of all that had happened.

Suddenly Jesus appeared among them, saying, “Peace be with you,” showing them His hands and side, as proof that it really was Him.

Here was their Lord and Friend, crucified earlier that weekend, now alive and well!

Jesus reminds them of His promise that the Holy Spirit will soon come, empowering them to proclaim the good news of forgiveness in His name.

So they were on mission; and needless to say, they were overjoyed! Unfortunately –

24 Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although 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, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

In one Christian family, a little boy was called to the dinner table.  His mother said,

    “Be sure to wash your hands.”  The kid complained, “Why do I have to wash my hands?”

“Because of germs,” she explained.  The little boy scowled and said, “Germs and Jesus. Germs and Jesus. That’s all I ever hear about, and I’ve never seen either one of them.”

Most of us believe in germs, but for many, it’s harder to believe in Jesus. It would help if we could see Him for ourselves, wouldn’t it? 

So what can we learn from this text about coming to believe an improbable story, like the resurrection, 2,000 years after it allegedly took place?

How can a doubter come to faith in Jesus? We’ll break it down into 5 sections, each containing a key element of faith.

1st, we hear The EXPRESSION of DOUBT coming from the mouth of Thomas in v 24-25: “Unless I see those wounds with my own eyes, and touch them with my own hands, I will never believe.”

We’re told that Thomas was called the Twin. In fact, that’s what “Thomas” means: “twin.”

  Whether or not he had a sibling, sometimes you and I might feel like we could be his twin!

All of us have struggled with doubt, at least somewhat – haven’t we?

50 years ago, the Christian philosopher Os Guiness wrote an important book called, Doubt: Faith in Two Minds. And the first chapter is entitled, “I Believe in Doubt.”

He says, “Anyone who believes anything will automatically know something about doubt… The world of Christian faith is not a fairy tale, make-believe world, question-free and problem-proof, but a world where doubt is never far from faith’s shoulder.”

But he adds, we shouldn’t be afraid to doubt, for – “If doubt is eventually justified, we were clearly believing what was not worth believing. But if doubt is answered, our faith has grown stronger still. It knows God more certainly and can enjoy God more deeply.”

In other words, if something isn’t true, we shouldn’t believe it! But if something is true, we shouldn’t be afraid of expressing our doubts about it.

The truth is never intimidated by an honest question or a search for evidence, right?

We call him “doubting Thomas,” but this guy gets more bad press than he deserves.

Do we really suppose that he too wouldn’t have believed if he had been present the first time Jesus showed up?

Or is it obvious that any of the other disciples would have fared any better if they had been absent on the earlier occasion?  Wouldn’t they also have struggled to believe?

In John’s Gospel, we meet Thomas on two previous occasions.

In chapter 11, Jesus talks about traveling south, from Galilee to Judah –   because He intends to raise His friend Lazarus from the dead.

The disciples try to discourage the idea because it sounds too dangerous. People want to kill Him down there!

But Thomas tries to encourage them, saying, “Let’s go, that we may die with Him” (v 16). So I’d say, he may be a bit of a pessimist, but he is courageous!

Then in chapter 14, Jesus has been talking about leaving the disciples, and going to a place where they cannot yet come. “And,” He says, “you know the way to where I am going.”

Then Thomas pipes up and says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (v 4-5).

So Thomas articulates the question that everyone else was thinking but was afraid to ask! He’s transparent and sincere, not one to pretend he knows more than he does.

In other words, Thomas was an honest doubter. He wasn’t opposed to believing, he just needed reasons to believe.

Doubt is not the same as unbelief. That’s the first lesson for us to grasp.

As Guiness says, a major misconception about doubt is “the idea that in doubting a believer is betraying faith and surrendering to unbelief.”

He points out that in Scripture, “the word ‘unbelief’ is “usually used of a willful refusal to believe or of a deliberate decision to disobey. So while doubt is a state of suspension between faith and unbelief, unbelief is a state of mind which is closed against God, an attitude of heart which disobeys God as much as it disbelieves the truth. It is the consequence of a settled choice.”

We live in a day and age when doubting is fashionable. Our culture doubts everything, as a matter of principle.

When people abandon the faith they grew up with, they’re seen as brave and bold. Doubt is celebrated; certainty is demonized.

But Jesus said, “If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority” (John 7:17).

So Jesus doesn’t want us to remain in a state of suspense; He wants us to know the truth. But He doesn’t reject the one who has an honest question.

People today face pressure from a society that says, “all questions are good.” But there also may be pressure from the church that says, “all questions are bad.”

Neither is exactly right. It’s the attitude behind the question that matters:

Is it faith seeking understanding? Or is it unbelief seeking justification? Is it faith that seeks to understand, or is it unbelief that seeks to be justified?

If anyone is willing to do God’s will, Jesus says, that person will know. God will make the truth known to them.

So in the story of Thomas, the expression of doubt is followed –

2nd, by The PROVISION of EVIDENCE(v 26-27). We’re not told why Thomas missed the worship service on the previous Sunday.

But you never know what you’re gonna miss when you’re not there, do you? For Thomas, he spent the week wondering if all the reports could be true.

Maybe he was feeling disappointed, or even discouraged. Left out. Neglected.

But Jesus knew what Thomas had said when the disciples told him their story. He knew where Thomas was at – physically and spiritually –

And He knows the same about you and me. This very moment, He knows the state of our faith, or lack of it.

Thomas basically said, “Wow, guys, I can tell you’re all excited about whatever happened. But your experience isn’t helpful to me. I wasn’t there.

And if I’m going to believe this, I’ll need irrefutable, empirical evidence. Unless I see Him, hear Him, and touch Him, sorry, I’m not gonna believe.”

Maybe you can totally relate to Thomas. You’re not necessarily opposed to the claims Christians make about Jesus, but you don’t want to be gullible.

You’re not sure you believe the Bible, but you’re not sure you don’t.

Faith seems so easy to everyone else. But you want to make sure your faith is based on reality, not make-believe. 

And there’s nothing wrong with that. Because here’s the good news:

Jesus will find the honest doubter. He doesn’t abandon Thomas because of his doubts. Very graciously, Jesus makes a second appearance, when Thomas is in the room.

Presumably, this was exclusively for his benefit.

Once again, Jesus, in His glorified body, passes through locked doors, greets them all – then says directly to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands.”

Now by the way, in a Roman crucifixion, nails were driven through the wrists; the hands would not have supported the weight.

But in the Greek and Hebrew, the word for “hand” can also include the wrist and forearm. So Jesus shows Thomas the wound in his wrist.

And He says, “Put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." So Jesus meets him right where he is at, removing all possible grounds for unbelief.

“Here’s the evidence you requested, Thomas. I’ll show you exactly what I showed the others – Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

It’s also translated, “Do not doubt,” or “Do not be faithless” – but believe!

And in the original, these verbs are in the present tense. He’s not saying, “On this one occasion, don’t doubt, but believe instead.”

He’s saying, “Stop doubting now, once and for all, and keep on believing.”

In other words, doubt and faith are both states of mind, or attitudes.

And we’re being called to quit having an attitude of constant questioning toward God, and to start having a permanent attitude of openness and trust toward God.

Because, you see, while doubt is not the same as unbelief – it can naturally lead to unbelief. And that would be disastrous, if Christianity is indeed true.

Guiness says, if we’re talking about the existence of the Loch Ness monster, it doesn’t really matter what you believe.

“But since the object of Christian faith is God, to believe or disbelieve is everything… Find out how seriously a believer takes his doubts and you have the index of how seriously he takes his faith. For the Christian, doubt is not the same as unbelief, but neither is it divorced from it… So doubt is never treated as trivial.”

To have doubts doesn’t mean you’re not saved. So don’t panic if you have them. But doubt is an invitation to grow in your faith and understanding.

And perhaps to say to Jesus, with the man in Mark 9:24, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (NLT).

That’s a prayer Jesus will answer. If you have honest doubts, Jesus will find you.

After the expression of faith and the provision of evidence, 3rd, we see The CONFESSION of FAITH in v 28.

You know, the dishonest doubter will never get to this point. Because if adequate evidence is provided, she’ll just find another objection.

He isn’t really looking for reasons to believe, he just likes to be the professional skeptic. But Thomas was an honest doubter, willing to follow the truth.

The text doesn’t say whether he accepts Jesus’ offer and touches the wounds. Apparently, he doesn’t have to do that after all.

With the risen Christ standing before him, bearing the wounds that prove His love, Thomas doesn’t need to examine the evidence; he’d rather bow in worship.

In v 28, he offers the highest confession of faith in Jesus found anywhere in Scripture: “My Lord and my God!” 

Now this isn’t an expression of shocked profanity. He’s not taking the LORD’s name in vain, like, “O my Lord!” or “O my God!”

No, there is no blasphemy here. Thomas is bowing in humble worship before Jesus.

But he doesn’t call Him “Jesus,” or “Teacher,” or “Master,” or even “Messiah.” Instead, he confesses that Jesus is Yahweh, Almighty God in human flesh.

According to Jesus, God’s purpose is “that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father” (5:23), and Thomas does just that.

Jesus doesn’t rebuke him for this confession; it’s right on the mark!

To believe in Jesus is to honor Him as my God. I mean, these personal pronouns are important! – “MyLord and my God!”

It’s one thing to call Jesus “the Lord,” but is He yourLord, your God? 

You may be from a believing family and a believing church, surrounded by believing friends, but where is your own heart?

Are you personally trusting in Jesus, treasuring Him as Lord of your life? 

This confession of faith is followed 4th, by The BLESSING of JESUS in v 29. The fourth gospel has just one beatitude, and this is it.

Like most beatitudes, it not only announces a blessing, but calls each of us to meet the conditions; that is, to be the kind of person whom God will bless.

Here Jesus responds to Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

At the most basic level, “blessed” means happy. But it’s more than that. It means being accepted by God!

And now Jesus is looking down through the corridors of time, all the way to Easter 2025, and He’s envisioning the countless millions who will trust Him, without ever tracing out the scars on His hands, feet, and side.

Jesus acknowledges that Thomas and the other disciples were given a rare privilege.

He will soon ascend to the Father permanently, and all those who believe in Him hereafter will do so without the benefit of having seen their resurrected Lord.

The physical and tangible evidence that was provided for Thomas will not be provided for them.

And yet our faith will not be inferior to the faith of the apostles, and neither will our joy and peace be less than theirs!

This is as true today as it was immediately after Jesus ascended.  

I love how Peter tells his original, first-century readers, Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him,

you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:8-9).

None of this is meant to criticize the faith of Thomas. But his step of faith, displayed in that great personal confession, triggers in Jesus’ mind the nextstep:

Those who will be coming to faith without haven’t seen Him.

If Thomas and the others hadn’t seen Him, we wouldn’t be here today. There would be no Christian faith.

But because the apostles saw the risen Christ with their own eyes and heard Him speak, we have come to faith through their witness.

Remember in 17:20, when Jesus prayed for His disciples, He said, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.”

That’s us! We are the blessed ones who have come to faith through their word.

Though we can’t share Thomas’ experience of sight, we have read of his experience, and come to share in his faith.

As Paul puts it, for we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

And this is reminder to us that faith is fundamentally a spiritual matter. Many people understand the gospel with their minds, but not their hearts.

What we need is to have the eyes of our hearts enlightened.

Some people think that if they could just see some real miracles, with their own physical eyes, then they would believe.

But Jesus lamented that some would not believe unless they saw signs and wonders (4:48).

   He also said that ultimately people believe because of the Father’s gracious will (Luke 10:21).

And do you remember the beatitude that followed Peter’s great confession of faith?

What did Jesus say to him in Matthew 16:17? “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”

And how does God open the eyes of our hearts? How does He reveal the truth about Jesus to people today?

Well, this brings us 5th, to The TESTIMONY of SCRIPTURE(v 30-31).

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written  in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

So if you’re unsure about all this, and you have lots of honest questions about Jesus, go home and read the whole Gospel of John!

Because faith comes by the Word of God.  Or as Romans 10:17 says, Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

If you believe in Jesus today, then one way or the other, it’s because you have come to believe the testimony of sacred Scripture.

Do you believe that George Washington was the first President of the United States?

  Why would you believe that? You’ve never met him; you’ve never seen him or heard him.

The reason we believe it’s true is because we have no reason to doubt the historical record. Right? We trust that the written documents basically reliable.

And so we believe in Jesus, though we haven’t seen Him, because of the testimony of this amazing book.

Even unbelieving scholars will usually agree that it provides a basically reliable historical record.

Now I could present reasonable arguments for its reliability, but ultimately, you just have to read it for yourself, asking God to speak to you.

The only access to Jesus that we have is through this text, so read it! See if this Book doesn’t have the ring of truth, as it brings you face to face with Jesus.

John is saying that he provided his record of the life of Christ for a reason, and what is it?

That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God – that you would fall on your knees before Him, and say, “My Lord and my God.”

Because if will do that, as John says, you will have life in His name. Earlier in this book, he calls it “eternal life” and “abundant life.”

Whether or not you have this life entirely depends on your relationship to Jesus.

As John writes in his first epistle, Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:12).

Really, this is the life Adam and Eve once enjoyed in the Garden of Eden. There they enjoyed a life free of frustration, pain, conflict, and the fear of death.

They had a wonderful partnership, pursuing meaningful work in beautiful surroundings.

Best of all, they enjoyed the presence and companionship of God.

This was the good life – life to the full – and they lost it all when they were tempted by Satan and chose to rebel against their Creator.

But Jesus came into this world that we might regain life in His name. He lived a perfect life, always obedient to the Father’s will.

Then He offered it up as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sin and disobedience.

On the third day, He rose again, victorious over sin and death and the devil. Believe in Him today, and receive life in His name. Amen.