Unbelief
Notes
Transcript
24 Now 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.”
How many of you remember the “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” television show? What was it’s purpose? This show looked at the people, places and events that made up the stranger side of human history. For me, many of the things they did were completely disgusting to absolutely fascinating! Regardless of how you viewed the episodes, would we have believed some of the most outlandish things unless we had seen them? Maybe now we can see a little about the attitude Thomas had as he hears of Jesus’ appearance to the rest of the disciples. He just couldn’t believe it until he saw Jesus for himself.
Thomas had not been with the disciples when Jesus first appeared to them. Like many today, he absolutely refused to believe that Jesus had actually risen from the dead.
It makes you wonder if Thomas was there when the rest of the apostles heard Jesus teaching of what would come.
21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
As we know, when Mary and Mary and Salome went to the tomb, Jesus was no longer there. He had risen, just as He had said! The angel had send the women back to tell the apostles of the amazing events that had taken place. The book of John tells us Jesus appeared to Mary, and had been so different in the glorified form that it took a while for her to recognize Him!
Eight days before Thomas makes his defiant rant, Jesus had appeared to the other disciples, showing them his hands and his side. In this meeting, he delivered the Holy Spirit to them, symbolizing what would take place at Pentecost. But, for some reason Thomas was not present, and because of his attitude he would earn the nickname “Doubting Thomas”.
No doubt, after seeing these things things, the other apostles were talking about it over and over and over, to the point Thomas may have been tired of hearing it.
The disciples continued to testify and bear witness to the glorious truth. The Greek means they “kept on telling him,” but Thomas became stiffnecked and obstinate in his unbelief. He even argued against their testimony, and he argued with deep intensity. He was deeply aggravated and frustrated, feeling great disappointment and guilt. The depth of his aggravation and guilt is seen in his repulsive shout, John 20:25 “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.”
Why did Thomas have such an outburst? Why was he so aggravated? Could it be that Thomas had turned from the Lord and was feeling the conviction of not having the same relationship the others had with the resurrected Savior? Could it be that he was mad because he had withdrawn and wasn’t there when the others had seen Jesus the first time? He became angry and was feeling the guilt of his own decisions and became critical to those around him. It was his own fault, but as human nature so often reacts, he blamed others through his aggravated spirit. He had all he could take.
Thomas had always thought in terms of an earthly Messiah or Savior who would make things better upon this earth and in this life. He had become a follower of Jesus thinking that an earthly kingdom was to be set up and that he was to be a leader in that kingdom. He saw Jesus as the promised Messiah who was to be the Son of David, that is, to come from David’s roots. He refused to see beyond the human and physical things of this world. Therefore, he could see Jesus only as the man who was nailed to the cross and had a spear thrust into His side and was now dead. They simply saw the man.
Men prefer to see Jesus only as a man because it brings Him down to their level. It makes Him less than Lord. It humanizes and de-deifies Jesus. It makes us think we are no longer as bad as we really are, and that we shouldn’t have to follow every little detail or teaching because, again, He was dead. They no longer viewed Jesus as being holy, but instead only human. If we then make Jesus out to be whatever we wish Him to be, then we miss out on so much!
But during Thomas’ infantile hissy fit, Jesus appears and calls Thomas out. The doors were again shut and locked. Suddenly, unexpectedly, without notice, Jesus stood in the midst of the disciples. Again He eased their shock by giving the normal greeting: “Peace be unto you.” But then note what He did: He turned immediately to confront Thomas.
Jesus revealed that He knew all about Thomas’ unbelief and demands. He used the very same words that Thomas had demanded: “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”. Jesus knows our heart: our despair, doubts, fears, hope, love. He knows where and when to strike at our heart. However, note a crucial factor: Thomas was where Jesus could reach him. He was in the presence of believers listening to their testimony. He had not shut them out despite his questions.
Jesus warned and called for belief. Thomas had been walking down a dangerous road. The disciples had witnessed to him time and again, but he had refused time and again to accept their testimony. stop becoming an unbeliever. You are running the risk of becoming faithless and unbelieving, beyond the point of believing. You have carried your unbelief too far. It is now time to stop the foolishness. The others have been repeatedly witnessing the truth to you. Stop the stiffnecked, obstinate unbelief. You are in danger. Then notice the second calling to Thomas - believe.
Isn’t this the way Jesus works? He shows up when we don’t even know we need Him, points out the places in our lives that are causing us pain and frustration, then calls us to believe - repent and believe! What happened next is one of the strongest confessions recorded. Most likely dropping to his knees, Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord, My God.”
It was then real to Him, Jesus was truly risen, and He was truly the Lord - all He had said had come true! He now understood the deity of Christ being both Lord and God. He not only had a true revelation of who Jesus was, but now He had a mediator between God and mankind. One other thing faced him plainly - Jesus will not accept half-way commitments. Jesus expected to be Thomas’ Lord and his God: “My Lord, My God.” Therefore, he must personally bow and worship Jesus as his Lord and his God.
Maybe for the first time in his life, Thomas realized who Jesus was.
What is the lesson we can learn from Thomas? We, too, must believe without having to see evidences and proof.
Thomas ceased being bull headed and rebellious when he saw Jesus and after Jesus had rebuked him. Thomas had been at fault; he had been faithless, and his unbelief was inexcusable. The men who had proclaimed the truth to him were not liars. Thomas had just refused to believe because he did not want to believe. He had acted intellectually superior and had been about to lose his soul.
The point is this: the person who believes without seeing demonstrates …
• a strength of character
• a tenderness and warmth of heart
• a sensitivity to the witness of the Holy Spirit
• an awareness to the order and beauty of all the world
Therefore, that person will be blessed with a very special joy, a joy unspeakable and full of glory.
When a man truly sees what Jesus has done for Him, or when a man is rebuked by the Spirit of Christ, he must cease his unbelief. He must turn to Christ, for the Lord’s Spirit will not always strive with men.
For Thomas, seeing was believing. But that doesn’t have to be the case.
In reality, what we just saw happen in Thomas is crucial to our faith also. If Christ did not rise from the grave, then there is no victory over sin and death. Yet there are many people who are skeptics.
But in reality, this is crucial to our faith. If Christ did not rise from the grave, then there is no victory over sin and death. Yet there are many people who are skeptics.
This is the difficult part for many people today. They cannot see Jesus; they cannot see his hands or his feet. That makes it hard to accept that he died and was raised from the dead. Even the disciples had a hard time believing that he was raised from the dead. But he appeared to them. He showed them his feet and his hands where the nails were. He showed them his side where he was pierced. As a result they believed. They believed that truly he was who he was talking about. He was in fact the Son of God.
For us today we have to rely on the firsthand accounts of those who were there to witness these things. We have to depend on their testimony concerning Jesus. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John tells us that those who believe will have life in his name. Jesus is the bread of life who died on the cross for our sins. When he rose again on the third day, he defeated death. Death was not able to keep him down. I can see how it would be hard for the disciples to accept this news. It isn’t every day that people are raised from the dead. But Jesus is no ordinary person. He is more powerful then death itself. He was able to conquer it.
It is hard for us to accept. We live in a culture that wants physical proof. We need something tangible to touch, to see in order for us to believe. But you don’t always have to see to believe. Having faith that Jesus did in fact do these things is what gives us life. As it says in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” We need to be sure of what we hope for: that Jesus did in fact die on the cross for our sins. We need to be certain that Jesus is the only way to the Father as he said in John 14. It is because of his work, we will one day be with the Father. We are certain that we hope for Jesus return, to take us to be with him in his Father’s house. We look forward to this because he has defeated death once and for all. He is risen.
Are you willing to accept Him today based on what He has done, or do we too have to see to believe?
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2004. The Gospel according to John. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
