Because He Lives

Seeing is Believing

Torch, calculator, clock, thermostat, clock, scales

How do we know these items are really here?

We can see them.

Invite someone to come to the front, point to an item, and then describe it.

We can touch them.

Invite someone to come and hold an item and say how they feel.

We can watch them do something.

Ask someone to come and demonstrate an item’s function.

How did the disciples know Jesus had been raised from the dead?

Last week, we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus.

But what does that mean?

How do we know it’s real?

These are questions that J’s first disciples had to wrestle with.

Mary Magdalene had visited his tomb, only to discover it was empty.

Then she had met the risen Jesus in the garden, and had run back to the disciples, and declared, “I have seen the Lord!”

But that evening, the disciples were to be found behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders.

It would be fair to say they had their doubts about Mary’s message!

John 20:19-31

John 20:19–31 NLT

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

The disciples see and hear Jesus for themselves

John 20:19 NLT

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said.

Suddenly, the disciples can see J in front of them.

John was later to be able to describe his appearance, including the fact that he had wounds in his hands and side.

All the disciples could see the evidence right in front of them.

All, except Thomas:

John 20:25 NLT

They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

Poor old Thomas, gets a bad press, doesn’t he?

We call him Doubting Thomas, because he insisted on seeing and touching Jesus before he would believe he really was risen from the dead.

But is this so surprising?

After all, Mary Magdalene didn’t believe the testimony of the empty tomb.

And the other disciples didn’t believe that it was Jesus standing in front of them on Easter Sunday evening either!

Luke tells us that because J’s appearance was sudden, and miraculous - after all, he somehow managed to break through locked doors - the disciples were:

Luke 24:37 NLT

But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!

They needed convincing that this really was Jesus.

That he was present with them once again.

The only way they could be convinced that J wasn’t a ghost or a phantom was for J to show them his hands and side.

Why was this so convincing?

J’s pierced side from which blood and water had flowed out, was evidence that Jesus really was dead.

The disciples were absolutely certain about that.

Their doubt and uncertainty was about what had happened to Jesus’ body since then.

They knew it wasn’t in the tomb - Mary, Peter, and John all testified that it was empty.

The burial cloths were still there, which perhaps suggested that J’s body hadn’t been removed by human hands.

But because they hadn’t anticipated J’s bodily resurrection, perhaps they thought he had somehow been transported directly to heaven.

Perhaps the disciples thought that what Mary had met in the garden was a spirit.

And that this spirit had now come to them.

Only when they saw the physical evidence:

John 20:20 NLT

As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!

Jesus also spoke to them

They heard his voice, another piece of the puzzle.

How do we know the clock is working?

Initially, until we see the hands moving, we can hear it tick.

How do we know a kettle is working?

Often, it is only when we hear the water starting to boil.

J provided yet more evidence he had truly risen from the dead by speaking to his disciples.

What did he say?

John 20:19 NLT

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said.

This was the familiar Hebrew greeting, Shalom!

This word means so much more than the mere absence of stress.

It means well-being in its fullest sense.

It means all the blessings of the kingdom of God.

J is bestowing life at its best under the gracious hand of God.

Because J resurrection had brought the kingdom of God in realisation, suddenly shalom itself is finally realisable.

The peace of reconciliation and life from God is finally imparted.

But what about Thomas?

We’ve met his in John’s gospel twice before.

This dour, dogged disciple is the one who suggested to the other disciples that they might as well go with Jesus, if only to die with him - which sounds a bit Eeyore-like, doesn’t it!

He was also the one who complained that Jesus hadn’t made his teaching anywhere near clear enough.

So, we shouldn’t be surprised he needs some convincing.

And to be fair, claims by the others that J had been resurrected should not easily be believed.

To be suspicious that his fellow disciples had been overtaken by their wishful thinking, isn’t that surprising.

Nor that they had perhaps been visited by J’s spirit.

After all, we’re talking about people who had failed to understand J’s teaching and what the Scriptures said about resurrection.

The water that had been turned into wine had to be drunk to be believed.

The bread from heaven had to be eaten to be believed.

The man who returned from the dead had to be unwrapped by human hands to be believed.

So why shouldn’t an enquiring disciple like Thomas be permitted to touch the resurrected Jesus so that he would believe?

The disciples were now claiming that a real, physical resurrection had indeed occurred.

It’s difficult to fault Thomas for wanting to verify it by physical means.

And Jesus offered Thomas exactly what he had demanded:

John 20:27 NLT

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

Now all the disciples knew they weren’t imagining Jesus’ resurrection

Luke 24:41–43 NLT

Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he ate it as they watched.

They watched him eat and do other things before he ascended to heaven as yet more proof that he really was alive.

And J declares to all of us:

Revelation 1:18 NLT

I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.

Jesus meets us where we are

Jesus didn't tell the disciples off for doubting.

He didn't say, "You should just have believed what I’d told you."

He showed up, held out his hands and his sides, and invited the disciples to see for themselves.

He invited Thomas to touch him, if that’s what he needed to believe.

That's what Jesus is like.

He meets us where we are.

Maybe some of you are like the disciples this morning.

You want to believe, but you're not quite there.

You've heard other people say, "I have seen the Lord!" - but you're not sure it's real for you.

That's okay. Bring your doubts to Jesus. He can handle them.

And you know what?

We have no evidence that Thomas actually touched J’s wounds.

The moment Jesus stood before him, Thomas was convinced.

He fell to his knees and said, "My Lord and my God!"

That's the most complete statement of faith in the whole of John's gospel.

And it came from perhaps the biggest doubter in the room.

Now, we haven't seen the risen Jesus the way Thomas did.

But Jesus said something beautiful to us:

John 20:29 NLT

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

That's us.

We are the people Jesus was talking about.

We have the testimony of the disciples - people who saw, touched, and heard the risen Jesus.

People who were so convinced that they gave their lives for it.

We have the empty tomb.

We have the Scriptures, written so that we might believe.

And we have the Holy Spirit, the living presence of Jesus with us right now.

Because Jesus lives, we don't have to live behind locked doors.

We don't have to live in fear, or grief, or despair - as though the story ended on Good Friday.

Because he lives, the shalom Jesus spoke over his disciples is spoken over us too.

Real peace. Deep peace.

The peace of people who know that death doesn't have the final word.

And because he lives, we have a purpose.

He said to his disciples: "As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you."

That sending hasn't stopped.

It reaches us, here, today.

In our homes, our workplaces, our schools, our neighbourhoods - wherever we find ourselves this time tomorrow - we are sent people, carrying the hope of a risen Saviour.

So:

Talk to Jesus honestly.

If you have doubts, bring them to him.

Thomas did - and Jesus didn't turn away.

You can say, "Lord, I want to believe. Help me."

That's a prayer he will always answer.

Live as a resurrection person.

This week, in your home, at work, at school, in your street - choose to live with the peace and purpose that Easter brings.

When worry creeps in, remind yourself: he is alive.

He holds the keys of death and the grave.

Nothing is beyond him.

Tell someone.

Mary ran back to the disciples and said, "I have seen the Lord!"

You don't have to have seen Jesus with your own eyes to share the hope that you have.

This week, find one person and tell them what Easter means to you.

It doesn't need to be long.

It just needs to be true.

Because he lives - so can we.

Prayer Activity

AALS, Year A, pp.145-146