Is it You?
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INTRO/WELCOME
Good morning—come on, is anyone grateful that Jesus is alive?
If we haven’t met yet, my name is Kyle, and I serve as the Lead Pastor here at Anchor City Church.
And I want to say this upfront…
This morning, we’re not just here to look back at the past.
We’re not just here to read some ancient text.
We’re here to celebrate what Jesus has done for us…
and what He is doing in us.
This isn’t just an old book.
This is the living, active, breathing Word of God.
It teaches us.
It corrects us.
It encourages us.
And it has the power to change our lives.
This morning, I’m not going to talk as long as I normally do…
I’ve actually shrunk my message down to about two and a half hours.
So we should all still be able to make a late lunch.
If you have your bible….we used to say turn but….scroll over to John 20.
We are going to pick up in the aftermath of the Ressurection of Jesus.
Because thats where you and I live. We live in the aftermath. Turn to your neighbor and say “I’m an aftermath baby.”
I don’t know what that means…
and you don’t know why you just said it…but here we are.
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.”
I’ve titled the message this morning:
Is it You?
Pray
PEOPLE WATCHING/CONCERT SCREEN
I don’t know about you…
But I’m a people watcher…
where are my people watchers at?
Some of you are like, “I don’t people watch…”
You do.
You just call it something else.
I like to think of myself as very aware of what’s going on around me.
Everywhere Alyssa and I go, I’m looking at people.
Discreetly…
I said I’m a people watcher…
not a people eye-contact-er.
If you make eye contact while people watching, the whole thing falls apart.
A few weeks ago Alyssa and I were at a concert….
And while everyone else in the Arena was watching the stage….
Guess what I was doing?
Watching the people.
which is a little ironic… because they were all watching people too….just on a stage and unaware that they were also being watched…
That sounded way creepier than I meant it or then it was….
Anyway…
I’m watching everything.
You’ve got the people that know every word to every song…
like they’re on stage too.
You’ve got the people that don’t know a single lyric…
but they’re committed…just mumbling with confidence.
You’ve got couples
where one person is all in…
and the other person clearly got dragged there.
You’ve got the guy
that’s been waiting all night for one song…
and when it comes on…this is his moment.
You know what fascinated me the most though…
The amount of people that were watching the concert not through there eyes….
but through a phone screen….
So many people were watching the entire concert through their phones.
Recording everything.
Holding it up the whole time.
And I kept thinking…
most of them will never watch that video again.
Most of them will never share it.
They were there…but they weren’t really there.
They saw it.
They recorded it.
But they didn’t experience it.
And if we’re honest…
a lot of people approach God the same way.
Around it.
Observing it.
Close enough to see it…but never actually stepping into it.
And that’s where a lot of people are today.
Not against Jesus…just not all the way in.
For many of us we’re viewing Jesus through a metaphorical screen…instead of actually experiencing Him.
MISSING THE GATHERING
Do you know that statistically roughly 60% of christians say they attend church on Easter…
The number that attend weekly….about half coming in at around 30%…
Now let me say something… because people say this all the time…
“The church isn’t a building.”
And listen… technically?
That’s true.
The church is people.
It’s the body of Christ.
But sometimes we say that…as an excuse.
Because yes—the early church met in homes…but not because they preferred it…because they had to.
It wasn’t legal.
The moment they had the opportunity…they gathered publicly.
Together.
Consistently.
So the issue isn’t:
“Do I go to a building or not?”
The real question is:
Am I actually engaging…or just occasionally showing up?
I’m not saying you have to come to a church building to be a Christian…
but if that’s always the argument…
it might be revealing something deeper.
At some point…
You have to decide…
Am I just going to observe this…or am I actually going to respond to it?
Because that’s exactly where Thomas was.
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus came to the others…
Where was he?
I don’t know.
The text doesn’t say.
Maybe he went to get food.
Maybe he had planned something else.
Maybe his kids had practice….
Maybe he slept in…
Maybe he didn’t feel up to it…
But here’s what we do know…
He missed the moment.
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.”
He missed it…and because he missed it…
He’s struggling to believe…
Thomas isn’t hostile.
He’s not rejecting Jesus.
He’s just struggling.
“Unless I see…I will not Believe.”
Translation…
I want to…but I can’t
I need proof.
And that’s where a lot of people are.
Not against Jesus…
just waiting.
Waiting for more proof.
More clarity.
More certainty.
But at some point…waiting becomes a decision.
Thomas knew Jesus.
He saw the miracles.
He saw the power.
He saw things he couldn’t explain.
But death...
Especially Roman crucifixion…
That’s not something you come back from.
So Thomas’ conditions are understandable and honestly reasonable…
Unless I see…
Unless I feel...
Thomas has a nickname that kinda transcends him.
And honestly it’s not fair...
We call him “doubting Thomas”
as if we are any different.
We just don’t say it out loud.
But you know my favorite part of the story?
Jesus….
He’s always my favorite.
JESUS SHOWS UP
Look what happens…
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.”
Eight days later…
The disciples were gathered again…
and this time Thomas was with them.
Eight days later.
You know what sticks out to me?
Jesus didn’t show up
in that moment.
He showed up
Eight days later.
God is not always going to show up
when you think He should…or when you think would be best.
Thomas is there.
He’s present.
And Jesus shows up…
through a locked door.
Now I think…Jesus did that on purpose.
Like… He could’ve knocked.
He could’ve waited outside.
But no…
He just appears.
Through a locked door.
and the first thing He says “peace be with you.”
After scaring the….peace….out of them.
All just to tell Thomas “I heard what you said..”
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.”
Jesus shows up.
Not to shame Thomas.
Not to push him away for doubting.
But to meet him right where he is.
“Put your finger here…”
Jesus is not intimidated by your questions.
But He also doesn’t leave you in them.
He invites a response.
WE HAVE TO RESPOND
Before We Can Celebrate the Resurrection…We Have to Respond to It.
Here is the crazy part about this moment.
Thomas…Remember his conditions?
Unless I see…
Unless I touch the mark of the nails….
I will never believe…
But then…Jesus shows up.
Jesus gives him the opportunity…
Put your finger here….feel the marks…
But the bible never records Thomas actually touching the wounds…
instead….
28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
There is a shift that takes place.
Thomas goes from…
“Unless it’s tangible…”
to
“My Lord…
my God.”
Why?
Because of the encounter he had with Jesus.
Long before you had doubts…there was a Savior.
THE BRUTALITY OF THE CROSS
Jesus…
is God in the flesh.
He left heaven
and was born as a man on this earth.
To walk in our shoes.
To face the temptations
that we give in to.
He was betrayed by the very people He came to save.And then Rome stepped in.
Rome didn’t just execute people.
They perfected it.
Crucifixion wasn’t just about death.
It was about suffering.
It was about humiliation.
It was about making an example out of you.
The Romans were experts at it.
They knew exactly how to keep someone alive
as long as possible…while putting them through unbearable pain.
They would stretch your body out.
Drive nails through your hands and your feet.
Not to kill you immediately…but to keep you there.
Because the goal wasn’t quick death.
The goal was slow suffocation literally drowning in your own blood slowly.
Every breath was a decision.
Push up on pierced feet…or collapse and suffocate.
And they would watch.
Sometimes even gamble on who would die first.
Because to them…this wasn’t just punishment.
It was entertainment.
And Jesus…stepped into that.
Beaten.
Whipped
until His back was torn open.
A crown of thorns forced into His head.
Mocked.
Spit on.
Stripped naked.
Hung on a cross for everyone to stare at.
Fighting for every breath.
He cries out I thirst…
Remember the mockery? a solider lifts a sponge to His mouth dipped in wine and vinegar.
Not out of compassion.
A sponge used by Roman soldiers to clean themselves after defecating.
That’s what they gave Him.
And in that moment…
Jesus says…
“Father… forgive them…
for they know not what they do.”
The people killing Him…
He’s praying for them.
And then…a few moments later…
He says, “It is finished.”
And He dies.
He prayed for their forgiveness…and then He answered His own prayer.
Because He wasn’t just a man on a cross…
He was God in the flesh.
The one praying…was the one paying.
The one asking for forgiveness…was the one making it possible.
Scripture says…
He was so disfigured…
He didn’t even look human anymore.
They put Him in a tomb.
Sealed it with a stone.
Posted guards outside to make sure nobody touched it.
But three days later…the stone was rolled away.
And Jesus was alive.
And over 2,000 years later…we are gathered in churches all over the world…still talking about it.
Why?
Because He did for you what you could never do for yourself.
He didn’t avoid the suffering.
He stepped into it.
For us.
And because He did…this isn’t just a story we read.
This is a story
we’re invited into.
Ladies and gentlemen…here’s what’s amazing…
We have the opportunity to be in this story.
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
That’s us.
We didn’t see the cross.
We didn’t stand at the tomb.
But we’ve heard.
And I’m not here this morning
to try to convince you into believing.
I’m not here to give you scientific data…
I’m here as a broken, flawed individual…
who has experienced the resurrection of Jesus.
And it changed my life.
TESTIMONY
SPACE
I’m a bit of a space nerd.
Like… I watched the Artemis launch coverage…
from noon…
to like 8 PM.
At some point I wasn’t even watching the rocket…
I was just watching people talk about the rocket.
And it’s something I’ve been thinking about all week…
Right now…there are astronauts orbiting the moon.
It’s incredible.
But it got me thinking…
Humanity…spending billions of dollars…building rockets…
Trying to go further than we’ve ever gone before.
Trying to get higher.
Trying to get closer.
Trying to reach the heavens.
And that’s not just science…that’s us.
We’ve always been trying to reach God.
Trying to climb our way up.
Trying to figure it out.
Trying to get close enough.
But here’s the truth…
We’re trying to reach heaven…
while missing the fact…
that heaven already came to us.
Jesus stepped into our world.
Lived the life we couldn’t live.
Died the death we deserved.
Walked out of the grave…
So we could have life.
So this isn’t about you reaching Him…
You don’t have to try to reach heaven.
You simply have to respond to it.
Thomas doubted but then encountered Jesus.
So Who’s Next?
Is it You?
