John 20:19-29John 20: “ When the Saints miss the Service “

John 20:19–29 KJV 1900

19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. 21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. 24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

“ When the Saints miss the Service “

It is John’s

Theological Thesis and Theme

To present the Lord Jesus Christ

Not only as The Son of God

But as God in flesh

Separate

From the Trinity

Of the synoptic gospels

Matthew, Mark and Luke

John

Recorded separate moments

In the life of Jesus Christ

That spoke to the Support

Of his thesis specifically

That Jesus was God

Matter of fact

He was so intent

About proving that Jesus was God

He did not begin his biography

At the womb of Mary

Nor in any Genealogy

He started by saying

“ In the beginning “

That was the best he could do

With the language

That was afforded to him

Because

If God is God

And since He is God

He has no beginning

Now all of these stories

In John's gospel

Support the theology

And the doctrine

Of the deity of Christ

"It was early on the first day of the week..." That’s how John 20 opens—a quiet, uncertain morning following the most devastating weekend the disciples had ever faced. Just days earlier, they had watched the one they believed to be the Messiah, the miracle-working Son of God, be beaten, crucified, and buried. Hope seemed lost. Their teacher was dead. Their future was unclear. Their faith had been shaken.

The disciples weren’t just grieving — they were afraid. According to John 20:19, they were locked away, hiding from Jewish authorities, worried they’d be next.

But then... something unexpected happened. Mary Magdalene ran to them, breathless, with stunning news: “I have seen the Lord!” (John 20:18). She had gone to the tomb and found it empty. She encountered Jesus, alive and risen, speaking her name and commissioning her to share the good news.

Still, that report didn’t immediately change the mood. Grief doesn’t let go so easily. Fear doesn’t vanish overnight.

Later that evening, as the disciples huddled behind locked doors, Jesus appeared to them — not as a ghost, not as a memory, but in the flesh. He stood in their midst, offering peace, showing them His wounds, and breathing His Spirit upon them (John 20:19–22).

But someone wasn’t there. Thomas.

We don’t know where he was, but we do know how he responded when they told him what happened.

“Unless I see the nail marks... unless I put my finger in the wounds... I will not believe.” (John 20:25)

Thomas gets a bad reputation for his doubt — but can we really blame him? He had watched Jesus die. In that time and culture, crucifixion was final. People didn’t come back from Roman crosses.

Thomas wasn’t just doubting the resurrection — he was grieving deeply, protecting his heart, and refusing to hope again unless he was absolutely sure.

And yet, a week later, Jesus shows up just for him, speaking peace once more and inviting Thomas to do exactly what he said he needed to believe.

“Put your finger here... stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27)

Transition to the Text (John 20:19–29):

So today we enter this story not just to talk about a man named Thomas — but to talk about what happens when Jesus meets us in our doubts, our fears, and even behind locked doors.

Because maybe you, like Thomas, have questions. Maybe you’ve struggled to believe in the midst of loss, disappointment, or delay. But the good news is this: Jesus doesn’t shame doubters—He meets them.

A. THE PROBLEM OF THOMAS Thomas’ problem

was unbelief.

Christ said Thomas was “faithless” (John 20:27).

The word translated “faithless” means not believing.

It is the Greek word for faith

(pistos) with the Greek letter

alpha in front of it

which makes it a negative

The world

does not think

unbelief is a problem

for they often honor those

who champion unbelief

in the Word of God and in Jesus Christ

But the Word of God

tells us that

unbelief is a huge problem

As an example

“Without faith [belief] it is impossible to please him [God]” (Hebrews 11:6).

1st The Society of His Unbelief

John 20:24 ESV

24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.

This text

refers to the meeting Christ

had with the disciples

on the first Easter Sunday night

“The specification [in our text]

of Thomas as

‘one of the Twelve,’

seems to suggest

that his absence was regarded

by the Evangelist [John] as

an abandonment of apostolic duty” .

Why

was Thomas

not present with the other disciples

the first Easter Sunday night

when Christ manifested Himself

to the disciples?

The primary answer

was his lack of faith

People who lack faith

are not eager

to fellowship with the saints

To put it in present day vernacular

people who lack faith

are not going to set many attendance records at church!

When our faith is deficient

our fellowship with the saints

will be deficient

our church attendance will be deficient

People offer many excuses

for their lack of fellowship

with the saints

for their lack of attendance

at the church services

but the fundamental reason

can often be labeled “unbelief.”

Thomas’ failure

to fellowship with the saints,

or as we would say

his failure to be in church

on Sunday night,

resulted in his missing

some choice blessings.

You lose much

when you do not heed

the admonition in Hebrews 10:25 which says,

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

The lack of fellowship

with the saints

resulted from a lack of faith

and this lack of fellowship

resulted in a lack of favors

from the Savior.

Some of these favors

or blessings

which Thomas missed

because of his lack of fellowship

with the saints (or as we would say, because he skipped a Sunday church service)

are peace, proof, pleasure, purpose, and power.

He missed Peace

John 20:19 ESV

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

John 20:21 ESV

21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

At that first meeting

with the disciples,

Jesus twice said, “Peace be unto you”

But Thomas

missed that peace

because he was absent

That peace was very significant

Because that piece

Came at a price

Which was Christ Death

But another reason

Why that peace

Was so Significant

Because this was the peace

That the Disciple’s

Would need to accomplish Jesus mission

John 20:21 ESV

21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

For one whole week

he had trouble in his heart

instead of tranquility

because of his lack of fellowship

with the saints

Many a troubled heart is a result of lacking fellowship with the saints

Skipping church

does not promote peace

but instead it promotes problems.

He missed Peace

He missed Proof

John 20:20 ESV

20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

At the first meeting

with the disciples

as a group after the resurrection

Jesus “showed unto them his hands and his side”

These were the things

that Thomas said

he must see if he was to believe

These things

gave proof of the resurrection of Christ

Thomas did not believe

in the resurrection

until a week later

because he missed

the Sunday night service

Missing fellowship

with the saints

does not help your faith

It hinders your progress and growth

in the faith

It helps to keep you weak in faith

Note: Some of you want to sit back and not fellowship and stay out of stuff so you won’t get involved or your name want be in mess but what you have to understand those things come along with being a disciple/a witness[martyr] for Christ

Note: There’s some things that God will prove to you or show you in the service that’s why it is important to be in the service

He missed Peace

He missed Proof

He missed Pleasure

The appearance of Christ

to the disciples

that first Easter Sunday night

resulted in joy for the disciples.

“Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20).

Thomas certainly

was not a happy person

that following week

He was in misery

and showed it

when he met up with the disciples

Joyous saints

are not those who skip church

for other activities

The world

does not give real joy

If you want real joy

you need to be attentive

to the times of the church services

No UNFAITHFUL MEMBER is truly happy.

Thomas certainly wasn’t

For an extra week

Thomas did not believe

in the resurrection

and without the resurrection hope

“we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

His lack of fellowship and felicity all went back to his lack of faith.

He missed Purpose

At this meeting

Christ gave the disciples

an assignment for service (John 20:21–23).

He gave them purpose in life

They were to serve Him

But Thomas

was not present

so he missed out

on this assignment from Christ

Much of the world

is wandering about

looking for purpose

and meaning in life

If you stay away

from the fellowship

of the saints

and from the services at church

where the Word is preached

you will be

among those many wanderers

who lack purpose in life

Some Christians

complain

that they are not being used

in the service of the Lord

These complainers

will do well

to check their attendance at the church services

Those who are not faithful

in attending the services

will not be involved

in much service for the Lord

He missed Power

At this meeting

with the disciples

that first Easter Sunday night

Christ said, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22).

The disciples were given

Divine power

from the Holy Spirit

to help them live

for Christ

and to serve Christ

But Thomas

lacked this power

for service

because he missed that meeting

The next time

you look around

for some clever excuse

to skip services at church

remember

the great things which Thomas missed

as a result of his absenteeism

It will help you

to see

the folly of your excuses

and it will help prevent you

from great loss in your spiritual life

2nd The Stubbornness of His Unbelief

“The other disciples

therefore said unto him

We have seen the Lord

But he said unto them

Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25).

The stubbornness

of Thomas’ unbelief

is emphasized in his statement,

“I will not believe.”

The word translated

“not”

is the Greek double negative ou me.

It is a very emphatic negative

It is the most emphatic negative in the Greek language

Thomas was being

very dogmatic

in his unbelief

Thomas made it plain

he was absolutely not

going to believe

unless his conditions were met

Note: And that’s some people in the church today, they just want believe unless their demands are met.

Unbelief

often criticizes faith

for being dogmatic

But unbelief

cannot throw stones

for it can be just as dogmatic

if not more dogmatic than faith.

But this dogmatism

of unbelief

is nothing

but stubbornness

It can be so stubborn

as to not

be effected

by any argument or evidence

It can be very fixed and unmovable. But that does not make it noble.

3rd The Source of His Unbelief

“I will not” (John 20:25).

This unbelief of Thomas

was willful (“will not”)

Thus his unbelief

was not an intellectual problem

but a heart problem

His unbelief

was like

the unbelief problem

of the two on the road to Emmaus

Jesus said to those two on the road to Emmaus,

“O fools, and slow of heart [not head] to believe” (Luke 24:25).

The source of unbelief

is the heart

not the head

The heart of the unbelief problem is the heart

And the stubborn heart

has to be overcome

by the working of the Holy Spirit

There are many

especially in the academic field

who think we must make

the gospel appeal

to the intellect

so we can convince the intellectual crowd

of our faith

and thus take away

the discrediting of our faith

by these unbelieving professors

and other intellects who teach in worldly colleges and universities

But in fighting unbelief that way you make unbelief an intellectual problem when it is a heart problem. There is plenty of quality intellectual evidence and arguments out there to support faith. It is not the lack of intellectual evidence or convincing arguments that keeps people in unbelief, but it is the willful heart that keeps people in unbelief. People do not believe because they do not want to believe. Debate and dialogue with the intellects is generally a big waste of time. The intellectual approach misses the real problem. Let us rather be diligent to proclaim the message of the Word of God and let the Holy Spirit work on the hearts of men of unbelief whoever they are. The Holy Spirit works best when the Word of God is being proclaimed. It is the Word of God that penetrates the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Verse 28 —

John 12–21 (5) The Thomas Story in Two Parts (20:24–29)

the Word who became incarnate/enfleshed (1:14), the sin-bearing Lamb of God (1:29, 36), the Messiah (1:41; 4:25–26), the Son of God (1:48), the King of Israel (1:48), the new Temple (2:19–21), a teacher sent from God (3:2), a new symbol of God’s power exhibited through Moses (3:14), the evidence of the love of God (3:16), the Savior of the World (4:42), equal with God (5:18), the authority in judgment (5:27), the agent of God (5:30), the fulfillment of Scripture (5:39), the expected prophet (6:14), the “I am” (6:35, etc.), the supplier of living water (7:38), the one who was from God (9:31–33), the Son of Man (9:35), the consecrated/Holy one (10:36), the lifted up one (4:14; 12:32–34), the glorified one (13:31), the preparer of his followers’ destiny (14:2), the nonabandoning one (14:18), the one in whom we must abide and who is the basis for the fruitfulness of his followers (15:5–7), the sender of the Paraclete (15:26), the bearer of truth (18:37), the crucified King (19:15), the risen Lord (20:20) and God (20:26).