When Unbelief Met Its Match

John 20:24-29 ESV

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.”

There are moments in life when we long for proof. When the ground seems uncertain, the future unclear, or the promises of God feel distant. In those moments we look for something tangible—something we can see, touch, or measure—to anchor our hearts. We often want a sign, a guarantee, a personal encounter that removes all doubt.

And yet, in life, there are truths far greater than our senses can grasp, promises far more certain than anything our eyes can confirm. Faith, by its very nature, requires trust in what is unseen, courage to believe in what is true even when it cannot be fully verified.

We live in a world that constantly pressures us to demand proof before we act, to verify before we commit, to see before we believe. This is true in work, relationships, and even in matters of faith. But what happens when someone refuses to believe, even when confronted with clear and trustworthy testimony? What happens when the heart resists what is plainly true, and refuses to acknowledge the evidence before it?

This morning, we are going to examine an account that addresses that reality. It is the account of a disciple who refuses to believe the testimony of the risen Christ, who sets impossible conditions for faith, and who hardens his heart even in the presence of extraordinary proof. And it is the account of Christ’s patient and condescending mercy, meeting that unbelief with grace, awakening faith where there was refusal, and revealing the blessing that comes through believing Him even before seeing.

In our sermon from last week, we had read and spoke of an encounter that can only be described as incredible. It was the encounter that took place between the Lord Jesus and His disciples, behind locked doors. And there, entering into the chaotic situation that His disciples were in, Jesus “stood among them”, identifying Himself as their God and they as His people.

There among them, He pronounced “shalom”, wholeness; effectively communicating His Holy Spirit to them, thus giving them new life. And having given them new life, He sent them out to proclaim the gospel of salvation by the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

But that was last week, as we turn to our text for this week, we see that not all of the Lord’s followers were present for that amazing encounter.

We see this as our text for today says, that Thomas, who is identified here as “one of the twelve”, and so, not merely one of the disciples, but one of the Lord’s apostles, was not present for that encounter.

And because Thomas was not present for that encounter, we read that the “other disciples” that is, those who had been present for that encounter reported to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord!”. And so, the wonderful news reported to this apostle was not that they had seen the Lord Jesus’ dead body, but that He lives, and that He appeared to them all alive! In a resurrected body!

This, to say it very lightly, was remarkable news! And keep in mind that the news communicated to Thomas was not reported by one or two people, but by a hostof believers. That, in and of itself, surely solidifies the truthfulness of the report.

One would think that when one who followed Jesus, who in fact had been made an apostle by Jesus had heard this report from so many people, people that he knew he could trust, that he would rejoice.

But that’s not how Thomas responded. Instead, we read that when this had been reported to Thomas, that he responded by saying, “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”.

Now, there are a couple of things that this response of Thomas shows us. The first thing that it shows us is that the crucifixion and subsequent death of Jesus had obviously left Thomas emotionally devastated. In his mind, for one to be made alive not only after dying, but after dying in such a horrific manner seemed to be far outside the realm of possibility.

In fact, he thought it to be so far from the realm of possibility that he reasoned that even if Jesus really did appear to the other disciples like they said He did, unless he saw the marks in the hands and side and unless he touched those marks with his own hands, he would not believe.

So, Thomas wasn’t satisfied with the report that had been given. In fact, what he was saying here was that even if he saw what they had saw, he wouldn’t be convinced unless he could actually touch Jesus and be convinced that he wasn’t seeing a vision but was touching actual flesh.

And Thomas says that if he was not afforded that, if he was not afforded the kind of evidence that he demanded, then he would “never believe”.

Let’s think for a moment about what Thomas says here, because what he says reveals what Thomas’ real problem was. You see, Thomas’ problem wasn’t a lack of evidence; Thomas’ problem was in his own heart.

We like to call Thomas; “Doubting Thomas”, but when we examine what he says right here, we have to ask, “Is Thomas doubting?” or “Will Thomas simply not believe?”.

You might ask yourself, “Well, what’s the difference?” Well, there’s actually a lot of difference. You see, oftentimes, doubt is an intellectual problem: we want to believe, but faith is overwhelmed by problems and with questions. And so, yes, all legitimate believers certainly doubt throughout their pilgrimage; we all have problems in life that shake us to the core, we all sometimes have questions that we feel need to be answered right now, but even though we doubt, at the root of it, we want to believe… we’re just doubting at the moment.

But you see, what Thomas was exhibiting here was not simply doubt. He wasn’t saying, “You know, I want to believe you, but I have my doubts” no, he was flat out saying, “I don’t believe you!”… What Thomas was exhibiting was not doubt, it was unbelief. He would not believe. Therefore, doubt = struggling belief, while unbelief = a refusal to believe.

And this state of unbelief is the state where everyone finds themselves prior to conversion. We don’t simply doubt what we think may be possible, we simply will not believe. Prior to conversion, prior to the new birth that God graciously gives to His elect, we are utterly blind to truth and thus, dead in unbelief. And this was the state that Thomas was in as he says that he does not believe, and he will not believe unless his terms are met.

But what this does is it makes the grace of God that He will show Thomas in light of such unbelief all the more amazing as we read that “eight days later” something truly awesome took place.

We read that that the Lord’s disciples were “inside again” in the same place where the Lord had initially appeared to them. And not much had changed in eight days as the doors were still locked, with the Lord’s disciples continuing to remain cautious in light of the religious climate that was in Jerusalem at that time. One thing that had noticeably changed though was that this time when the disciples had met, “Thomas was with them”.

And just as before, we read that in spite of the doors being locked, “Jesus came and stood among them”. And so, standing among His disciples, Jesus again declares, “Peace be with you”.

Now, it may be wondered why here, the Lord repeated the same statement that He had uttered the first time that He appeared to His disciples at large.

Well, for one, as we’ve been repeatedly saying, we know that Thomas was not present the first time the Lord appeared and so, even to “unbelieving Thomas” the Lord declares that “shalom”, that wholeness has come.

But also, the repetition of this statement serves as reassurance to Jesus’ fearful disciples. That they continued to meet in the familiar area behind locked doors clearly shows that they were still understandably fearful. And here, Jesus graciously reassures them that there is still “shalom”.

This is something that we all as believers can certainly understand as we also, though receiving such wonderful promises from the Lord, and though seeing His faithfulness displayed over and over again are still ever in need of God’s loving reassurance while we live in this world.

But as we continue our reading, we see grace extended even further as the Lord singles out Thomas and says to him, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side.” This was the very proof that Thomas said that he would need to believe. And amazingly, indeed, absolutely graciously, with indescribable love, Jesus invites Thomas to receive the very proof that he said he demanded.

Now, what is important to point out here is that in this invitation from the Lord, He is not excusing Thomas’ unbelief nor endorsing Thomas’ skepticism. But what the Lord was doing was graciously imploring one chosen to salvation to partake in what his unbelieving heart deemed necessary.

What this powerfully reveals is the biblical doctrine of irresistible grace which states that there are no real obstacles for God to ultimately redeem one of His elect. If He desires to save someone, if He had chosen to save someone, then there is nothing that is going to keep that from happening.

But we see that precious biblical doctrine made all the more manifest and in the most awe-inspiring manner as Jesus, looking “unbelieving Thomas” in the eyes and says, “Do not disbelieve, but believe!”. And as God spoke the creation into existence with a word, so here do we see God awesomely speak Thomas’ belief into existence as the scales of unbelief helplessly fall and Thomas, carried by the Spirit of God declares, “My Lord and my God!”.

With but one statement, “unbelieving Thomas” goes from saying “I will not believe” to offering the highest profession of faith in Christ.

He declares Jesus “Lord” committing himself wholly to Jesus for salvation, worship, and obedience. He wasn’t merely acknowledging the authority of Jesus, he was surrendering himself wholly to Christ’s sovereignty. And most of all, he declares that Jesus is “God”; infinitely more than what he ever imagined Him to be.

And this most precious confession of Thomas, Jesus did not prohibit or rebuke, but received, because it is truth.

And accepting his worship, Jesus said to Thomas “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”.

Though Thomas didn’t believe because he had seen, Jesus rightly points out that Thomas has believed after he has seen the risen Lord. But still, He tells Thomas, there will very quickly come a time when Jesus will not physically appear to those called to salvation. And Jesus says that though they do not physically see Him, they will still believe Him when they hear His word through the testimony He has appointed.

And in this, Jesus is not implying that we as later believers are more blessed than the firsthand witnesses; but rather, He is declaring that even though we haven’t had the unique privilege of seeing the resurrected Jesus like these disciples did, we are nonetheless fully blessed by God just as they were.

So, the question that remains for us this morning is not whether Christ is risen—He is. The question is this: How will we respond to the testimony God has given us?

We are not in the upper room. We have not seen the nail marks or touched His side. And yet, we have something no less sufficient: the Word of God, the testimony of the apostles, and the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness to Christ.

Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” That blessing rests upon all who, by God’s grace, receive Christ through faith. Not because our faith is strong, but because Christ is faithful. Not because we demanded proof, but because God graciously opened blind eyes and softened hard hearts.

If you believe this morning, it is not because you reasoned your way into faith, but because Christ, by His Spirit, spoke life where there was once unbelief. And if you do not believe, the call of Christ still stands: “Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

May God grant us hearts that bow with Thomas and confess, not reluctantly, but joyfully and reverently: “My Lord and my God.”