Believing in the Resurrected Jesus - John 20:19-31

Introduction - Carrot in the Box

Can I get everybody to stand up

I want to start by telling you something really important.

In this box, is a carrot.

there is a carrot in this box.

What Im going to ask you to do in second

is that if you believe me,

if you think there is a carrot in this box

I want you to sit down

If you dont believe me

if you don’t believe that there is a carrot in this box.

I want you to stay standing.

Ready?

if you believe there is a carrot in this box sit down

Now everyone stand up

we’re gonna do this again

but now

if you guess correctly

if i showed you the contents of this box

and you had guessed correctly

Im gonna give each of you an Ebike

but if you guess incorrectly

you have to give me Ebike

Ok, you ready to go again

the stakes are way higher

if you believe my words that there is a carrot in this box, sit down

Now just out interest

who changed their mind

from the first to the second time

Ok, really good

you guys that changed your mind

you’re a really good example of someone who doubts

you know that feeling where you’re unsure

because in this situation

the cost is big

if you get this wrong

it comes at great cost to you.

Ok well done everyone, sit down for me.

In this passage we’ve just read

we hear of a man who doubts.

he is uncertain

he has no confidence in the facts he has been told

he isnt sure if there’s a carrot in the box

We all experience doubt dont we?

You know that uncertain feeling

or thoughts that creep in

We doubt our ability

you know that feeling of doubt whenever you walk into an exam room

you think - did I study the right thing?

We doubt about our future

what will I do when I leave school?

We doubt our place in the world

And questions of doubt come up

Who am I,

what can I offer?

Is there anyone that cares about me?

do my friends really know me?

And what about spiritual doubts?

is God there?

Does he even care?

does he care about me?

does he care about the bad things that are going on in the world?

You might think it’s not even worth looking into christianity

or trusting in Jesus

because you just cant be sure.

it’s all so uncertain

If any of those sort of doubts resonate with you,

let me say today is a happy day for you.

becaise I’m gonna get rid of those doubts for you in the next 10 minutes.

But if you’re tempted to tune out in this talk, please don’t.

please don’t for the next 10 minutes

Peace Be With You

Because Jesus comes to his disciples in this story

and he says

peace be with you

do not doubt any longer

dont be afraid behind these locked doors

peace be with you

In this passage John describes the scene for us

And this scene leaves us with no doubt that Jesus was resurrected from the dead.

Did you hear that?

John is convinced that there is proof

Jesus rose from the dead.

This scene starts with Jesus making a physical,

public appearance after he has been killed

It’s not some mystical dream or something like that

Jesus appears alive to the 11 disciples in an upstairs room

And he comes and stands in the midst of them.

saying “peace be with you”

Now just imagine with me what that must have been like

What do you reckon you would’ve thought if you were there?

Try and think about it.

Put yourself in their shoes.

Think yourself into their situation with me will you?

You’ve been at the bedside of someone you love,

and they’re deeply sick

You might’ve been there for a week,

and the doctor comes to you

and says, its all over…

And you feel this terrible numb feeling that comes over you.

You thought about all the things you might do,

but now you don’t know what you’ll do.

And if youre by yourself

you start to drag yourself away

and you’re not sure what you’ll do.

But Within about 10 minutes its alright

because theres relatives that have to be called

and theres all sorts of things you can distract youself with.

But in that first 10 minutes.

Theres an awful numbness.

You go home and you might sit around for a bit

but it’s alright because the funeral happens

and you’re involved in that

And you attend the funeral

and it all goes well.

In fact, you were at the grave sight,

you threw your flowers in.

And afterwards you had friends with you

and they kept you company

and you were glad to have them with you

But its not that day,

and its not the next day.

But it is the next day, the third day

and youre in your lounge room.

Just sitting there.

And suddenly your loved one appears!

Peace, be with you!

I better stop Im getting chills on my neck

But What would you honestly FEEL like?

Try and feel yourself into this situation!

Here the disciples are in the upstairs room

and suddenly Jesus himself

a man who has just been killed

who they’ve seen die, and be buried

he appears!

Peace, be with you.

The disciples coudnlt contain themselves

they were overjoyed!

it’s too good to be true

they could hardly believe it.

The disciples are full of doubts

yet Jesus comes with absolute reassurance

he wants these doubts in their mind to disappear.

To be thrown out the window.

You know Jesus is a thoroughly trustworthy person.

Everything about Jesus is trustworthy,

you ever noticed that?

That’s why it’s not a problem when he says trust me.

He will never hide the truth from you.

He is trustworthy.

One time I was chatting to a friend of mine

who was about to become a christian

And do you know what he said to me,

he said “im frightened”.

I said what are you frightened of?

Which part of the life of Jesus frightens you?

I said brother He doesn’t frighten me,

he fills me absolute confidence.

Doesn’t he fill you with confidence when you read about him?

Everything about him breathes trustworthiness.

I am the bread of life Jesus says – trust me.

I am the resurrection and the life

I can take you safely through death and into life on the other side.

trust me.

Its for real.

Jesus appears

and He will not have the disciples ignorant

or in doubt on this crucial fact:

he wants them to know he died,

and he wants them to know

he came back to life again with a resurrection body.

Lets be in no doubt about this fact.

And he gives them a very reassuring bit of evidence

he shows them his hands and his side.

they physcically see that Jesus has risen from the dead

in vs 20 it says

John 20:20

John 20:20 NIV

After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Have you got any doubts about Jesus?

get rid of them

throw them out the window

You already know enough about Jesus to believe in him

what are you waiting for?

The disciples are overjoyed when they see Jesus.

But one man, called Thomas

he isn’t there

and so when the other disciples see him

they tell him that they have seen Jesus.

you want to know what the first sermon was after Jesus rose from the dead,

it’s there in vs 20 when the diciples tell Thomas

we have seen the Lord!

they are witnessing to Jesus

If you are certain about who Jesus is

and you believe in him

your job, just like the disciples

is to tell others about him

Seeing is Believing?

But Thomas doesn’t believe them

he doesnt believe their words

he wants to see Jesus, like they have

Thomas wants to see to believe.

In vs 25 it says

John 20:25 NIV

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.”

Have you ever thought

if I could only see Jesus

I would be convinced he exists

If he came and appeared to me right now

I would believe.

This is what Thomas is saying

I want to see

I want to touch

and until that happens

I wont believe in him.

A week later,

Jesus appears to the disciples again

this time with Thomas present.

Jesus speaks directly to Thomas,

and repeats Thomas’s own words back to him saying

John 20:27 NIV

“Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas see’s and hears this from Jesus

and the one who doubted the most intensely

the one who had the strongest doubts

is the one who makes the greatest confession in the whole book.

My Lord and my God.

Now how would you know there is a carrot in the box without seeing it?

if you havent seen what is in here

what has to be done to convince you that this is the truth?

Well its easy

you need to trust me and my words

if I am a trustworhty person

if you believe that my words are true

then you can know

without any doubt

that there is a carrot in the box.

You need to believe the person and the words.

See Thomas gets a bit of a bad wrap in this chapter

he is often called

“Thomas the Doubter”.

But do you know what Thomas does?

he believes Jesus’ words.

Jesus says to him

Stop doubting and believe

throw your doubts out the window

and believe in me

I am trustworhy

this is for real.

And Thomas confesses

that Jesus is his Lord and God.

If you are full of doubts about Jesus

you dont need to see him.

but you do need to listen to Jesus words

he is trustworthy.

you can believe what he says.

he will never let you down.

And so what words should we listen to?

Listen to this

John 20:30–31 NIV

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 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.

These are the words we should believe:

Jesus is the Messiah

he came to save you from your sin

he is the divine son of God

and when you believe in him

you have life.

What does believeing in the resurrected Jesus look like?

Listening to

and believing Jesus’ words.

that’s it.

its as straightforward as that.

if you know you need to do that.

wouldnt today be a good to start doing that?

Im going to finish off our time in John with a very simple prayer

asking God to help us listen to Jesus’ words

and to believe them.

Would you pray with me.