"These are Written"

John 20:24–31 NLT

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.

John 20:24-31

I remember watching a show on how the earth was created. An alien ship was flying by the earth that was just a giant rock floating in space. The exhaust from the ship had a chemical reaction on the earth and acted like a bunch of seeds. This is how life was created. I laughed the whole time watching this and told the story at our Wednesday night Bible study. We had a Botany professor that went to our church. He showed me in the text book they used for college level teaching on Botany… it was actually in the text book. He laughed. This is what is being taught at our universities today.

Is it really easier to believe that exhaust fumes from an alien spaceship created life on earth than God. Well we did not see God create it, neither did you see the alien spaceship.

It is amazing what we will believe when we have absolutely no evidence at all. We did not see it. Even when someone says, well I need proof then I will believe. When proof is given, it still does not convince them. But it never ceases to amazing me of what people will believe without any proof at all. Many things we cant prove… we gotta take their word for it. So it is not to difficult to comprehend what Jesus proposed when he said…

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

John 20:24–31 NLT

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.

I. Doubting Thomas

- Thomas was having a couple of really bad days.

A. Well our buddy Thomas is having a difficult time right now. It would have been devastating for him. His Lord was just crucified and buried and not feeling so good. Now all of a sudden everyone is saying that He has risen just as He said. Again, this was not supposed to happen.

B. “Look guys I’ve have a very difficult time these days, I cannot handle anymore disappointment. I need to see Him for myself and confirm all that we witnessed when he was crucified. Show me the hands and side.” Thomas needed a bit more proof then the testimonies given by the others.

C. Jesus came and Thomas got all that he had asked for. It was then that Thomas was so overcome with awe and reverence that he immediately uttered his confession. And oh what a confession. He calls Jesus his Lord and his God. Salvation truly comes when we believe that Jesus is indeed God. So the proof that he got was enough for him to believe that Jesus was God. It was said earlier that many saw and believed. It was not just Thomas.

Thomas was so overcome with awe and reverence that he immediately uttered his confession.

D. But We see something here that is important. Jesus here foresees a time when he will not provide the kind of tangible evidence afforded the beloved disciple and Thomas; in short, he will ascend to his Father permanently, and all those who believe will do so without the benefit of having seen their resurrected Lord. They will believe without seeing.

Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (p. 657). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.

E. Blessed, then, are those who cannot share Thomas’ experience of sight, but who, in part because they read of Thomas’ experience, come to share Thomas’ faith. For us, faith comes not by sight, but from what is heard (or read!), and what is heard comes by the word (i.e. the declaration) of Christ (). Indeed, that is why John himself has written, as he proceeds to make explicit.

But Jesus here foresees a time when he will not provide the kind of tangible evidence afforded the beloved disciple and Thomas; in short, he will ascend to his Father permanently, and all those who believe will do so without the benefit of having seen their resurrected Lord.

Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (p. 659). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.

II. This is Why All This Was Written

Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (p. 660). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to John 5. Conclusion: The Purpose of the Fourth Gospel

The flow of thought seems to be: Those who have not seen the risen Christ and yet have believed are blessed; therefore this book has been composed, to the end that you may believe.

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to John 5. Conclusion: The Purpose of the Fourth Gospel

The flow of thought seems to be: Those who have not seen the risen Christ and yet have believed are blessed; therefore this book has been composed, to the end that you may believe.

- So that you will believe even though you do not see

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to John 5. Conclusion: The Purpose of the Fourth Gospel

The flow of thought seems to be: Those who have not seen the risen Christ and yet have believed are blessed; therefore this book has been composed, to the end that you may believe.

A. The flow of thought here is maybe something like this. Those people who have not seen and still believe is truly blessed, that is why I wrote this book so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God. So that they can believe even though they do not see.

B. That is why we have the Word of God. Fatih comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. It is the Word that gives us all that we need to believe. Sure we don’t see, but we believe it because it was written. This is the Word of God and it is all that we need for life and godliness.

C. But Shane we need proof. We need scientific proof. No you don’t.

D. We have all that we need to believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God. The reason why people do not believe is not because they don’t have enough proof, it is because they don’t want to believe. It is not that they don’t believe, it is that they wont believe. It is not ignorance, it is rebellion.

E. This is why when we evangelize, we don’t try to give them proof for the existence of God, we tell them the gospel of Jesus. The Spirit of God needs to change their hearts, then they will believe because they will stop rejecting. This is why we say preach the Gospel. The Holy Sprit will do the rest. He will exalt Christ. Like the whole book of John does… he said here that this is the reason why he wrote all of this, was so that we could believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the God and by believing we will have life in His name and so that we can blessed because even though we did not see we heard and we still believed.