Preach Mar 23 2008

Enniscorthy Christian Fellowship 23rd April 2008

We can be SURE! John 20v24-31

NOT THE ODD ONE OUT

Have ever felt like you were the odd one out?  A friend of mine did.  He was unemployed for a while and wanted to stay active, so he took up swimming in his local pool. 

One day as he got into the pool he noticed a group of people doing water aerobics and so he thought he would join them.  He joined in with all their exercises.  At the end of the session, however he was surprised as the first person to get out the pool was an expectant mother.  He was even more surprised when the next person to get out was also a pregnant woman.  In fact everyone else in the exercise group were expectant mothers – and it was only then he realised that he had just been part of a woman’s prenatal exercise class!  He really was the odd man out.

Doubting Thomas

I think that is how Thomas felt on that first Easter.  Thomas had missed those amazing events of Easter Sunday.  Maybe he needed to deal with his grief on his own.  Maybe he had other responsibilities to attend to.  The Bible doesn’t tell us.

So when Thomas eventually turned up, he was confronted not with the group of discouraged, dejected and defeated disciples he had left.  Rather he was met with excitement, amazing stories of personal meetings and the incredible news: “The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.”” John 20:25

The word “told”  here means “kept telling him.”  The disciples told Thomas about how Jesus appeared among them.  How he showed them his hands and side, ate with them, taught them.  Perhaps Peter and John told him about the empty tomb.  Mary Magdalene about meeting Jesus in the garden.  Possibly Cleopas and his friend told him their conversation with Jesus on the road to Emmaus.

But for Thomas, this was not enough.  “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 it.” v25 There was a finality in this statement.  Thomas literally said: “I positively will not believe!” End of conversation, I don’t want to hear about it anymore!  Thomas didn’t accept their witness, he wanted hard evidence.  He wanted a personal experience of the risen Jesus. 

And so for a week, Thomas was on the fringe, not understanding or entering into their joy.  Uncomfortable and isolated.  The odd man out. 

We’re not the only one with Doubts

Have you ever been like that?  Have you ever had doubts about Jesus?  Maybe even today, as we’ve read those amazing accounts of people who saw the Lord, you’ve

struggled to accept that Jesus is alive.  Or maybe you have doubts about who Jesus is, if he really can love you, or if you’re really accepted by God. 

The first lesson from Easter is that we’re not on our own in our struggles to believe.  Doubts are something we all experience.  Thomas doubted.  But he wasn’t the only one.  The other disciples struggle to believe in the resurrection until they saw Jesus for themselves. 

Martin Lloyd Jones said: “Doubts are not incompatible with faith.… Some people seem to think that once you become a Christian you should never be assailed by doubts. But that is not so… Doubts will attack us, but that does not mean that we are to allow them to master us.”

Jesus Helps us to overcome our Doubts

But Easter also shows us that Jesus helps people overcome their doubts.  Jesus knew all about Thomas’ doubts, but he did not condemn him.  Instead he respectfully, generously and gently provided the evidence that Thomas wanted so that he could be sure.  He showed Thomas the nail marks in his hands, and the wound in his side. Jesus helped Thomas move from unbelief to faith: “Stop doubting and believe.” v27. 

Jesus knows our doubts and struggles to believe.  And he wants to help us to overcome them.  Today, we can echo the words of another doubter: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24 

This morning, Jesus wants to show us his hands and his side, so that we can be sure of four different truths!

1.      We can be sure that Jesus is Alive

First of all, Jesus’ hands and side are proof that Jesus is alive.  This was Thomas’ biggest struggle.  A vision or a hallucination was not enough for Thomas.  Thomas wanted evidence that Jesus was really alive.  Physically alive: “Unless I… put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side.” 

Many people today are sceptical of resurrection.  They talk of a spiritual but not a physical resurrection.  They speak of a mix up with the tombs.  Last year there was even a documentary aired on the Discovery Channel that claimed that the 10 bone boxes were found near Jerusalem in 1980 contained the bones of Jesus and his family – his mum, dad, wife and son.  This claim which was based on the names inscribed on these boxes was rejected by most archaeologists.   But as Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site said, although the idea fails to hold up by archaeological standards, it makes for profitable television.

a)                      Convincing Proofs that Jesus is Alive

But the disciples were just as sceptical on Easter Sunday as we might be today.  But their

doubts were overcome by the proof that Jesus was alive.  Luke says in Acts 1:3 “After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.” This included eating with them, showing that he was physically alive. 

But the main proof was his hands and side.  When Jesus appeared to his disciples, “he showed them his hands and his side.” v20  Their response was immediate: “The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” v20  It was the same evidence that converted Thomas from a doubter to a believer!

Of course we must come to this assurance of faith without seeing Jesus.  If we do, instead of missing out, Jesus says we are especially blessed, as Jesus says in v29: “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” But this does not mean we need to have a blind faith, without any evidence.  There are many convincing proofs that Jesus is alive for us today.  The empty tomb.  The inability of the religious authorities to counter the resurrection claims with our Lord’s body. 

i) Eye Witness Accounts

And the wounds of Jesus still speak to us today.  We can’t see them though our eyes, but we can see them through the eyes of the first century witnesses.  Without doubt, the gospels we have in the Bible are first-century writings composed within a few years of the events described.  They are written by people who were there when it happened.

John says that he writes about that “which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched.”  1 John 1:1  And he recorded it for us: “these are written that you may believe,” v31

ii) Transformed Lives

And these eye-witnesses are convincing because their lives were transformed through meeting the risen Lord Jesus.  They were changed from a small cowardly and confused group of men and women to a courageous, committed and world-changing group of followers of Jesus.  Thomas was transformed from a doubter to a believer, from a skeptic to an apostle. Their lives give weight to the evidence they provide.    

Today Jesus is still transforming lives, even in Enniscorthy.  Look around today.  Perhaps we can even see the evidence of a transformed life in our own lives!

Today we can be sure that Jesus is alive.  Look at the evidence.   Read his Word.  Let these eye-witnesses confront us with the evidence of the risen Lord Jesus with his scarred hands and side.  And let their lives convince us of the truth that Jesus is alive. 

2.      We can be sure who Jesus is!

But the scarred hands and side proved more than this to Thomas.  It also proved to Thomas who Jesus is!  When confronted with Jesus’ hands and side, Thomas declared, “My Lord and my God.” v28  

a)                      Declaring Jesus is Lord

This is undeniably a declaration by Thomas of the deity of Jesus.  Someone has said: “Thomas makes clear that one may address Jesus in the same language in which Israel addressed Yahweh … Nothing more profound could be said about Jesus.”  The scarred hands and the gashed side convinced this doubter that his friend of three years, the one he had eaten with, traveled with, listened to and watched was to be worshipped as God!  Jesus is God manifest in flesh.

Paul wrote that Jesus “was declared with power to be the Son of God, by his resurrection from the dead” Romans 1:4.

John wants us to come to the same conclusion.  “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,” v31.  John’s gospel starts with this truth: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1  It is repeated throughout his gospel, by Jesus, by John the Baptist (John 1:34); Nathanael (John 1:49); Peter (John 6:69); the healed blind man (John 9:35) and Martha (John 11:27).  John also proves this from what Jesus did – “his miraculous signs” (v30), his amazing words and his unblemished life.  And Thomas’ declaration concludes John’s evidence.

It’s amazing that God chooses to have this amazing declaration of who his Son is come from the lips of a doubter!  It encourages us that God will accept our worship of Jesus even as we battle through our doubts and struggles!

b)                      Acceptance Jesus as Our Lord

But Thomas said more than this. In the Roman Empire, people worshiped the Roman Emperor.  John and his readers were probably familiar with devotees who would chant their slogan, ‘Caesar is Lord, Caesar is God!’  So when Thomas said  “My Lord and my God.” v28 he was rejecting the Emperor’s claims on his worship.  Instead he was making a personal declaration of allegiance to Jesus!  He was committing himself to Jesus and accepting Jesus’ rule over his life.

We too live in a world where there are also many false gods.  Money, career, family, stuff, even ourselves.  In the light of this, we are called to respond to the wounds of Jesus today by personally accepting him as Lord.  By committing our lives to him.  He is the only one with that rightful claim on our lives.    Have we personally accepted him as our Lord?

We can convince others around us, even deceive ourselves without ever submitting to his Lordship in our lives.  Jesus said in Matthew 7:21:  “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

Obedience and living a good life is not the way into the kingdom of God, but there is

something wrong if we claim to be part of Jesus’ kingdom but live in rebellion to his rule in our lives.  Thomas stated that Jesus was his Lord and he lived that out. 

3.      We can be sure that Jesus loves us!

Today we can be sure that Jesus is Alive, and that Jesus is Lord.   But the wounds of Jesus are not only proof of the life of Jesus, and the deity of Jesus, but also the love of Jesus.

Sometimes we can doubt the love of Jesus for us.  We can look around at the evidence of our circumstances and wonder, does Jesus really love me?  Maybe we look at our bank balance, our lifestyle, our physical health, our career, the answers to our prayer and this causes us to doubt how much Jesus loves us.  Or maybe we just look to our emotions, do I feel loved today, do I feel his presence.

But the measure of Jesus’ love is not our changing circumstances of our lives. Instead, Thomas would tell us, we need to look at the scars.

An orphaned boy was living with his grandmother when their house caught fire. The fire quickly spread through the house and the first floor was soon engulfed in flames.  The grandmother, trying to get upstairs to rescue the boy, died in the flames.  Neighbors arrived and tried to enter the house but couldn’t get through the flames.  Finally a man climbed an iron drainpipe to a first floor window and disappeared into the house. Soon he reappeared and climbed back down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck.

Several weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and the town’s wealthiest citizen all gave the reasons they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home. But as they talked, the lad’s eyes remained focused on the floor. Then a stranger walked to the front and slowly took his hands from his pockets, revealing severe scars on them. As the crowd gasped, the boy cried out in recognition.

This was the man who had saved his life. His hands had been burned when he climbed the hot pipe. The boy threw his arms around the man’s neck and held on. The other men silently walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those scarred hands had settled the issue.

a)                      We are always loved!

It is Jesus’ scars that assure us that he loves us.  They belong to “the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 It is these scars that prove he can sympathise with us in our pain, in our suffering.  That convince us that he is not distant, separate from our problems and pain, but that has come down and experienced them for himself.  He understands what we are going through.  And he cares so much that he has come to rescue us.  “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8  The scars that Thomas saw are the scars of the

perfect man, the Son of God, who willingly laid down his life to pay our sins. 

4.      We can be sure that Jesus completed his mission!

But these scars are not only proof of the life of Jesus, and the deity of Jesus, and the love of Jesus.  They are also proof of the power of Jesus to save!  They tell us not only that Jesus is Alive, that he is Lord, that he is Love, but also that he is our Saviour!

a)                      Paid in Full

These scars are the record of Jesus’ payment of our sin.  And his resurrection is proof that this payment was fully accepted by God.  They are the receipt proving that if we trust in him there is nothing more for us to pay to be right with God. 

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21  Jesus was made sin for us.  He died to pay the price for our sins.  So his resurrection is the proof that our sins have been paid for in full.  That, as Jesus said from the cross: “It is finished.” John 19:30

Paul writes in Romans 4:25: “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

b)                      Paid once for all

And the scars also mean that our sins were paid for once for all. 

Thomas saw nail marks on Jesus’ hands.  There were no nails there.  These were scars, not continuing wounds.  Jesus sacrifice for our sins is not continuing.  The writer of Hebrews says “Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again … Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Hebrews 9:26

Jesus sacrifice is not to be repeated.  It is complete.  It is finished.  And so the writer confidently declares: “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:10

c)                       Peace with God

The result of this is peace with God.  Paul writes in Romans 5:1: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  When Jesus met his disciples on Easter Sunday and the week after his words were: “Peace be with you!” v19, 26.  This ‘Shalom’ is theirs and ours because Jesus accomplished his mission.

So this morning, we’re not here to pay for our sins.  We’re not here to make a sacrifice for our forgiveness.  As we take communion in a few minutes, we’re not continuing or repeating Jesus’ death – we are remembering his death.  We’re remembering that our

sins were paid for in full, once for all – and now Jesus is alive and reigning in heaven!

d)                      Eternal Life

And we who have trusted in Jesus share in his resurrection life!  John writes at the end of our reading: “By believing you may have life in his name.” v31

When Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus defeated death for all of us who believe:  “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.” John 11v25

But we don’t need to wait to share in this resurrection life.  Outside of Christ we are “dead in transgressions.” Ephesians 2:5.  But we can become “alive with Christ.”  Ephesians 2:5.  We can come into a life of a personal relationship with God!  This can be our experience, now.  When we trust in Jesus, when we are saved, we experience nothing less than a resurrection:  “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24

Conclusion

Thomas was a doubter, but he came into all these blessings when he saw the wounds of Jesus.  But all these blessings can be ours.  It is not seeing Jesus that saved him, it was believing in him.  And today we can choose to believe in Jesus.

This morning we can know Jesus is alive.  We can know Jesus is Lord.  We can know Jesus loves us.  We can know that Jesus is our Saviour.  His nail-marked hands and his side prove it to us.  Maybe this morning we need to “Stop doubting and believe.” 

  John 11 v25, 26.

Jesus will raise them up because the life they have been given is eternal life (3v16).  In this way, Jesus has defeated death, he has removed its finality, its sting and we who have believed in Jesus need not fear it any more.

And Jesus’ wounds ultimately declare to us that we can have his life!

These scars of Jesus mean that we can be sure, if we believe in Jesus, that we will share in his resurrection life!  As Jesus said to Martha in John 11 v25,26: “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” 

Jesus is the resurrection and he is the life.  The promise of this verse is that those who believe in Jesus will share in his resurrection.  If they die they will live again.  In a very real sense no believer in Jesus will ever really die.  They may die physically, but death’s dominion is not complete. 

Don’t  

 The emphasis throughout the Gospel of John is on believing. There are nearly 100 references in this Gospel to believing on Jesus Christ.

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17

If we are willing to listen and to see, then Jesus will provide us too with convincing proofs so that we may be sure – that he is alive, that he is the Son of God, that he does love us and that he paid for our sins!

Many of us struggle with our faith and so often Jesus has come into our lives to strengthen us, to reveal himself to us, to challenge and encourage and correct.

Perhaps what we need is just the willingness to be open to what Jesus will speak to us. 

Don’t be close minded.  He who has an ear, let him hear.

Don’t be like those Isaiah spoke of who were ever hearing, but never understanding…

You can be sure that heaven is your’s

We look at the hands and side and we can know that heaven is our’s.

The ten disciples were changed from fear to courage, and Thomas was changed from unbelief to confidence. Now, John invites you to trust Jesus Christ and be changed from death to eternal life.

If you have already made this life-changing decision, give thanks to God for the precious gift of eternal life.

If you have never made this decision, do so right now.

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

John invites us to respond by ‘believing’; that is, by committing ourselves personally to Jesus Christ as our Lord and God, trusting his death as that of God’s sacrificial Lamb to atone for our sins, and following him in the way of discipleship as our Way, Truth and Life.

‘Believe’ has two different, and both well supported, grammatical forms in the manuscripts (cf. comments in the Introduction under ‘Purpose’). The first alternative is the present subjunctive, with the force ‘go on believing’, i.e. John’s purpose in writing is to encourage Christians to hold to and grow in the faith. The second is the aorist subjunctive, carrying the force of ‘believe decisively’; John’s purpose is to awaken his readers to faith in Jesus. By the former, John’s purpose would be a discipling one; by the latter, an evangelistic one. On balance the case for the latter appears stronger. If, however, we affirm an evangelistic purpose as primary (and the impact of this gospel in evangelistic contexts needs no documentation), there appears no reason why John should not also have consciously intended that Christian readers would be taught and encouraged to grow through what he wrote (which has also been signally achieved through the study and exposition of this gospel over the centuries).

This does not mean that we are immune to the pain that death causes.  We all feel the loss from the death of those we love.  Jesus understood this clearly.  At the time he said the words I have just quoted Jesus broke down and wept at his friend Lazarus’ grave, and he felt the anger towards death we all feel at times.  But we know that those who believe in Jesus and yet die, for them it is far better because they are now with their Lord, even if we miss them.  That is the victory that Jesus’ death and resurrection has secured.

But the life that Jesus gives is more than just the defeat of death.  It is life of an amazing quality because he brings us into a relationship with God as our Father, and with himself as his friend, relationships that will never end.  Jesus greeting to his disciples when he appeared to them was, “Peace be with you!” (v26).  This real peace is the peace of reconciliation with God and the experience of life with God.  Real peace, real joy, real love, and so much more.  A favourite verse of mine is when Jesus says this:  “I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.”  John 10v10

True Christianity is a living thing and an exciting thing, because it is all about a personal and eternal friendship with Jesus, the Son of God.  This is what his resurrection guarantees.  Jesus is alive and we can be certain that we will live with him forever, starting right now as we enjoy the results of living in a personal relationship with Jesus.

; and, of course, John himself (John 20:30–31). nd here 

Thus the truths in the first chapter were realized personally in this apostle (1:1, 14, 18

who Jesus was.  He recognised him as the Son of God.  It was a huge thing for Thomas to declare that this man who had been his friend and who had lived with him for three years, was God.  But this was the only conclusion Thomas could come to on the basis of the evidence presented to him.

When confronted with the risen Jesus, the response of faith is to accept his claim of our lives to be our Lord and God (v28).

Romans 1:4  – “declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead”

Thomas’ response was to bow before Jesus and recognise who he was – my Lord and my God – a declaration of the person of Jesus

The Resurrection (a) demonstrated that what Jesus predicted about His being raised was true (Mark 8:31; 9:9, 31; 10:34; John 2:19), (b) proved that Jesus is the Son of God (Rom. 1:4) and was sent by God (“vindicated by the Spirit,” 1 Tim. 3:16), ( (d) entitled Jesus to a position of glory (1 Peter 1:11), and (e) proclaimed that Jesus is the “Lord” (Acts 2:36).

 We need to remind ourselves that everybody lives by faith. The difference is in the object of that faith. Christians put their faith in God and His Word, while unsaved people put their faith in themselves.

Today, will you bring glory to Jesus Christ – our Saviour, our Lord and our God by declaring him as such.  Jesus is glorified by us this morning, worshipping Jesus even although we have not seen him!

Jesus is alive and he is present this morning – and he is honoured by our worship!  Surely that should ensure that our worship is not half-hearted, half-sleeping, going through the motions of singing songs – but rather wholehearted, enthusiastic praise of the one who died for us but is alive again and for evermore!

That confession is made in the midst of a world that denies Christ’s claim. In the light of Jesus’ distinction in verse 29, we can dare to assert that there is a special glory brought to the Lord, a special vindication of his name in the heavenly places, when we, amid this broken order and in face of the assaults and contradictions of the world, the flesh and the devil, affirm in faith his utter trustworthiness and rest our whole selves upon his everlasting grace. It is a ministry of worship which will not be available hereafter when faith has given place to sight. May we experience its blessedness now while we may!

Abasing himself in Jesus’ presence he utters his great confession, My Lord and my God! (28). ‘For him, the doubting one, the final consequence of Jesus’ resurrection was laid bare in the encounter with the risen one: Jesus is of divine essence, in him God himself comes to him.’ Jesus receives Thomas’ worship without demur, in contrast to the reluctance of his later followers when similarly addressed. It is his right.

Acts 3:12; 10:26; 14:14

Thus the gospel comes full circle. John began in his opening words with a confession of the deity of Christ: ‘In the beginning was the Word … and the Word was God’ (cf. comments on 1:1). Now that original confession of the Godhead of the pre-incarnate Lord is echoed by a mortal sinner, My Lord and my God! In a profound sense this concludes John’s account.

But Thomas does not entirely escape censure. There is at least a mild rebuke in Jesus’ words, ‘Stop being a doubter and show yourself a believer.’ There were grounds for faith all around Thomas if he only had eyes for them. Jesus calls us to battle through our doubts to a renewed confidence in him. As a supreme incentive to that it is Thomas, the man who struggled to believe, who is enabled to utter the sublime confession which is the copestone of this gospel, My Lord and my God!

Is he your Lord?

Maybe you

since if he rose, as the evidence overwhelmingly indicates, then he is the conqueror of death and therefore alive continually; and if alive continually, then alive today as our contemporary. It is a plain fact of present history that all round the world millions daily fall at his feet and whisper, My Lord and my God! Hence the general bases of Thomas’ faith are available to us. We too can experience the assurance of faith.

and Evidence of changed lives – those scared disciples became fearless and courageous apostles sent into the world with a message that nobody could stop!

1 John 1

eye-witness testimony. Thomas had been there with Jesus and seen the whole drama unfold before his eyes. But that ‘first-hand’ engagement with the ministry of Jesus at the historical level is also possible for us. John’s whole point in writing his gospel, as he tells us in verses 30–31 (cf. 19:35; 21:24), is to provide a record of the signs Jesus performed, including the supreme sign of his death and resurrection, so that we may come to faith.

We can take the view, if we choose, that these early writers were deluded; we can choose, if we will, to disagree with their interpretation of the events that took place before their eyes (though on both these points there are very cogent arguments in support of their reliability). What we are not at liberty to do is to dismiss their accounts as mere myths and legends largely detached from the historical realities lying behind them. Jesus tells us that he sent the Holy Spirit precisely for the purpose of ensuring that just such a reliable record was written.

Evidence of changed lives today!

Thomas came through his doubts into clear and firm conviction. Not only did he participate in the events of the following years in Jerusalem as the church was born and grew but, according to fairly reliable tradition, he also took the gospel eastwards as far as India and laid down his life there for Christ. Thomas therefore is not simply the representative of the doubter, but of the doubter become firm believer! The resurrection was what made the difference; it was clearly sufficiently real and verifiable to lay Thomas’ doubts to rest. Indeed, apart from it, the subsequent life and career of Thomas are simply inexplicable.

Today we can be sure that Jesus is alive….

The resurrection of Jesus is a fact that we can be sure of (v25a).

The resurrection of Jesus was not accepted because of wilful thinking but needed to be proved before people would believe in it (v25b).

We’re evidence that Jesus is alive!  Are you?

Those believers with faith in Jesus but who have not seen him face to face share in a special blessing (v29).

Jesus speaks a further word of beatitude: blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (29). In recording these further words of Jesus, John clearly has an eye for his readers, whether in the first or twentieth century, who ‘see him no more’, and are assured therefore that their position is not inferior to that of Thomas. Indeed, in Jesus’ mind it is in some respects a better position, since to them is extended this special blessedness: ‘though you have not seen him, you love him’ (1 Pet. 1:8).

The Bible does not contain everything but it does contain to challenge us and enable us to put our faith in the Lord Jesus (v30-31a).

We may not have been there.  We may not have physically seen the risen Lord Jesus, but we have the eyewitness records from the people who were.  They recorded these events that were forever embedded in their minds so that we might believe in the truth of them.  We can be certain that these are not myths or invented tales, but they are records of actual historical events that were written by people who were there and experienced these things.  The Bible is the greatest evidence that God has given to us so that we might be sure of our faith. 

Do not become an unbeliever!!!

e teaching.  SAnd the amazing thing is, Jesus wants to respectfully, generously as we read,

What matters is what we do with our doubts.  Do we respond to our doubts with unbelief or in faith do we seek to overcome them!

The amazing truth in our passage this morning, is that we do not need to be mastered by our doubts.  There is evidence that can help us to overcome our doubts!

you just fail to get excited about what everyone I feel sorry for Thomas – he is well known as doubting Thomas, but we shouldn’t be too hard on him.  The disciples were just like Thomas before they had seen Jesus.  After the cross they were not expecting to see Jesus again – their faith in him had evaporated, until they saw him for themselves.  And anyway, I think we can sympathise with him.  We know the doubts and struggles that we sometimes experience in our life even if we never state them as bluntly as Thomas did.  Perhaps you are here tonight struggling to believe in Jesus’ resurrection, knowing that you do not have the certainty that others here have that it is true.  Perhaps you feel the need for hard evidence before you will be convinced that Jesus is alive.

We can also feel like Thomas when people talk about knowing Jesus personally.  Maybe you know some people who know Jesus in their lives in a way that you just can’t relate to.  They have an intimacy, a friendship with Jesus that you have not experienced in your life.  They are so sure that Jesus loves and cares for them, but perhaps you struggle to accept that.

It is so good to see Jesus’ response to Thomas’ doubt.  One week later all the disciples were together again and Thomas was there – no doubt feeling uncomfortable, but he was there.  And Jesus appeared again to them – and it seems that he appeared primarily for Thomas.  He went up to him and confronted him with the evidence that answered the very doubts that Thomas had expressed.  Jesus knew Thomas’ doubts and he cared enough to deal with them.  And Thomas’ responded in this great confession, “My Lord and my God.”  Doubts were destroyed and faith began to flourish.

unless you give me the evidence I ask for!” In fact, in the Greek text, there is a double negative:

, but with an excited group of disciples with a tidal wave of good news, excited stories and personal stories, say.  missed it

Jesus does not want to leave us unsure!  This morning we’ve read the accounts of Jesus ensuring that his disciples were sure!

Even when Thomas missed out – he appeared again to Thomas, simply so that Thomas could be sure!

It was a lack of faith was Thomas’ problem.  He was in danger of becoming an unbeliever!

We call him “Doubting Thomas,” but Jesus did not rebuke him for his doubts. He rebuked him for unbelief: “Be not faithless, but believing.” Doubt is often an intellectual problem: we want to believe, but the faith is overwhelmed by problems and questions. Unbelief is a moral problem; we simply will not believe.

Doubt says, “I cannot believe! There are too many problems!” Unbelief says, “I will not believe unless you give me the evidence I ask for!” In fact, in the Greek text, there is a double negative: “I positively will not believe!”

How gracious our Lord is to stoop to our level of experience in order to lift us where we ought to be. The Lord granted Gideon the “tests of faith” that he requested (Jud. 6:36–40), and He granted Thomas his request as well. There is no record that Thomas ever accepted the Lord’s invitation. When the time came to prove his faith, Thomas needed no more proof!

We need to remind ourselves that everybody lives by faith. The difference is in the object of that faith. Christians put their faith in God and His Word, while unsaved people put their faith in themselves.

What was it that Thomas would not believe? The reports of the other Christians that Jesus Christ was alive.

No doubt the women and the Emmaus pilgrims also added their witness to this testimony. On the one hand, we admire Thomas for wanting personal experience; but on the other hand, we must fault him for laying down conditions for the Lord to meet.

·         Where are we tonight with regard to Jesus?  Do we still struggle to accept the truth of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection?  Then let the evidence that destroyed Thomas’ doubts remove your doubts. 

·         Have we failed to accept him as the Lord of our lives; are we still holding onto it for ourselves?  Then look again at Jesus’ scarred hands and side and recognise the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you, and submit to him and worship him in your life.  

·         Do we know we have this eternal life?  This is what Jesus’ resurrection guarantees for all who places their trust in him.  The certainty of having this life carried these disciples through real struggles and problems, and it will do the same for us today.  Allow the truth of all of this to encourage you, fill you with his peace and joy, and go and live this new life for Jesus. 

·         Are we living a life that will convince others that Jesus is alive and working today?  We can experience the power of the Holy Spirit living and working in our lives, changing us and enabling us to live a life that can make a difference in this world, a life that can be living proof that Jesus is alive.

·         It is possible for us all to experience this – all we need is to accept these things as a gift from God, by faith in Jesus Christ who died for our sins and rose again so that we might live through him.

Have ever felt like you were the odd one out in a group?  For whatever reason you feel as if everyone else has something that you don’t have, you are missing out on something or you just don’t fit in?  This can happen over things as trivial as not understanding a joke.  Everyone else was falling about laughing at something somebody said, and you were left wondering what is so funny.  It is even worse when people are laughing at something you said.  Or you may have watched a film and everyone else got really emotional and was moved to tears but you were left cold and unmoved. 

This reminds me of a friend of mine.  He is quite a character, as you will understand from this incident.  He was unemployed for a while and in an effort to stay active he took up swimming in his local swimming pool.  This day as he got into the pool and started his swim he noticed a group of people doing water aerobics and so he thought he would join them.  He joined in with all their exercises and everything was fine.  At the end of the session, however he was surprised as the first person to get out the pool was an expectant mother.  He was even more surprised that the next person to get out was also a woman who was pregnant.  In fact everyone else in the exercise group were expectant mothers – and it was only then he realised that he had just been part of a woman’s prenatal exercise class!  I’m sure he felt very uncomfortable and very much the odd man out.

Now I don’t suppose any one of us have experienced anything quite as extreme but I’m sure you understand the kind of feelings I am talking about.  It is not very nice to be in this situation, no matter how trivial the reason.  We feel awkward, uncomfortable and isolated.  I think that is how the disciple Thomas would have felt in the incident I want us to look at with you tonight.  If you want to read along with me, you’ll find our reading in John 20v24-29.  I’m sure many of you will know this story.  It occurred a week after Easter Sunday, just one week after Jesus had shown himself to the disciples and convinced them that he was alive.  Read John 20v24-29.

At the point where we broke into the story tonight, all of the disciples of Jesus were excited and were celebrating.  Just a week earlier they had thought that their Lord was defeated, that his crucifixion was the end of their friend and teacher.  Jesus had been killed and all their hopes and dreams had died along with him.  But Jesus had appeared to his disciples to dispel their fears and sadness and fill them with joy.  He was raised from the dead; he had conquered death itself.  Jesus was victorious.  He was alive.

Jesus showed Thomas the scars in his hands and side to prove that he was indeed who he said he was.  And these scars still speak powerfully to us today.  It is Jesus’ scars that assure us that he loves us.  It is these scars that prove that he can sympathise with us in our pain, in our suffering.  That God is not distant, separate from our problems and pain, but has come down and experienced them for himself.  He understands what we are going through and he cares.

But these scars say much more than even this.  These are not scars of a good man defeated by evil men who got the better of him because they were stronger and more cunning.  No, these are the scars of a perfect man, the Son of God, who willingly laid down his life to pay for the mistakes, the rebellion, the sins of you and me.  It is Jesus’ scars that prove the depth of his love for each one of us because they are the record of his payment of our sin.  And his resurrection is proof that this payment was fully accepted by God, and that if we trust in him there is nothing more for us to pay to be right with God.

These facts should revolutionise our lives.  They did for Thomas.  Let’s look at how they affected Thomas in terms of what he said, what he had, and what he did.

1.      What Thomas said

We have already mentioned what Thomas said.  When Jesus confronted him, Thomas declared, “My Lord and my God.”    For Thomas, Jesus’ resurrection was first of all proof of who Jesus was.  He recognised him as the Son of God.  It was a huge thing for Thomas to declare that this man who had been his friend and who had lived with him for three years, was God.  But this was the only conclusion Thomas could come to on the basis of the evidence presented to him. Faced with the fact of the resurrection, our proper response is to recognise Jesus as God.  The apostle Paul wrote about Jesus that “through the Spirit of holiness [he] was declared with power to be the Son of God, by his resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1v4).  Jesus is much more that just a good man, or a great teacher or prophet, but he is none other than the Son of God. 

But Thomas said even more than this – he accepted Jesus as his Lord and as his God.  Thomas could have agreed that Jesus was the Son of God, without ever accepting him as the Lord of his life.  But by calling Jesus his Lord Thomas committed himself to Jesus and accepted Jesus’ rule over his life.

We also need to respond to Jesus personally by accepting him as our Lord.  We must commit our lives to him.  It is not necessarily an easy thing.  We all like to live our lives our own way, to be in charge of our own life.  Selfishness or self-centredness is at the heart of all of us to a greater or lesser extent.  But we need to turn away from that and accept Jesus’ claim to be our Lord.  This may require big changes in our life, turning away from a lifestyle that is not pleasing to him.  To call Jesus “My Lord and my God” requires a definite commitment to follow him, to allow him to be first in our life.

We need to search our hearts to see if we have accepted him as our Lord.  We can convince others around us, even deceive ourselves without ever submitting to his Lordship in our lives.  Recorded in Matthew’s gospel (chapter 7v21-23) are Jesus' words of warning.  He said this:  “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers.”

These people talked as if they accepted Jesus as Lord.  They looked the part, they did the right kind of religious things, but they had never got to know Jesus, they had never accepted him as their Lord as evidenced by the fact that they did not obey his teaching.  Obedience and living a good life is not the way into the kingdom of God, but there is something wrong if we claim to be part of Jesus’ kingdom but live in rebellion to his rule in our lives.  Thomas stated that Jesus was his Lord and he lived that out. 

2.      What Thomas had

The resurrection of Jesus also affected what Thomas had.  Because of his belief in Jesus, Thomas had real life.  Jesus recognised that Thomas believed in him.  He said: “because you have seen me, you have believed”.  And the result of this belief for Thomas was life.  John writes at the end of what we read tonight “by believing you may have life through his name.” 

Obviously this means something more than just physical life.  At another time Jesus said these words: “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”  John 11 v25, 26.

Jesus is the resurrection and he is the life.  The promise of this verse is that those who believe in Jesus will share in his resurrection.  If they die they will live again.  In a very real sense no believer in Jesus will ever really die.  They may die physically, but death’s dominion is not complete.  Jesus will raise them up because the life they have been given is eternal life (3v16).  In this way, Jesus has defeated death, he has removed its finality, its sting and we who have believed in Jesus need not fear it any more.

This does not mean that we are immune to the pain that death causes.  We all feel the loss from the death of those we love.  Jesus understood this clearly.  At the time he said the words I have just quoted Jesus broke down and wept at his friend Lazarus’ grave, and he felt the anger towards death we all feel at times.  But we know that those who believe in Jesus and yet die, for them it is far better because they are now with their Lord, even if we miss them.  That is the victory that Jesus’ death and resurrection has secured.

But the life that Jesus gives is more than just the defeat of death.  It is life of an amazing quality because he brings us into a relationship with God as our Father, and with himself as his friend, relationships that will never end.  Jesus greeting to his disciples when he appeared to them was, “Peace be with you!” (v26).  This real peace is the peace of reconciliation with God and the experience of life with God.  Real peace, real joy, real love, and so much more.  A favourite verse of mine is when Jesus says this:  “I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.”  John 10v10

True Christianity is a living thing and an exciting thing, because it is all about a personal and eternal friendship with Jesus, the Son of God.  This is what his resurrection guarantees.  Jesus is alive and we can be certain that we will live with him forever, starting right now as we enjoy the results of living in a personal relationship with Jesus.

3.      What Thomas did

This new life that Thomas had through his faith in the risen Lord Jesus had a major effect on what he did.  In the book of Acts we can read about the next few years of the disciples lives.  It is clear that Thomas’ life along with the other disciples’ were revolutionised by their experience of the risen Lord Jesus and through the Holy Spirit working in their lives. 

As a result of the disciples’ transformed lives many people put their faith in Jesus.  These people did not see Jesus raised from the dead, they never had the opportunity that Thomas had of seeing and touching the scars in Jesus’ hands and side.  But they had the evidence of what the Scriptures said and they had the evidence of the transformed lives of Thomas and the other disciples.  And this convinced many to believe and place their trust in Jesus.  The disciples themselves became living proof to others that Jesus was alive.

People today who have faith in Jesus today are experiencing the transforming power of Jesus.  Jesus is still working through the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who believe in him.  And their lives continue to be evidence that Jesus is alive today.  Jesus has done amazing things in my life, as I am sure he has done in the lives of many who are here tonight.  I am constantly astounded that Jesus is interested in me, that he is changing me and that he is living and working through me!

And Jesus wants this to be the experience of all who put their faith in him.  The Bible says that God’s purpose is that those who trust in Jesus would become more and more like Jesus (Romans 8v29).  That they would express more of his love for God and for others, live in accordance with God’s standards and in communion with him.  And he wants us to continue Jesus’ work (John 20v21).  Jesus gave the task of being his witnesses to all who follow him.  A task that is not just to tell others about him, but to be the witness ourselves – to be the good news as well as tell others about it.  What a privilege!

It is not a completed transformation yet, but a work in progress with all believers.  But we can know that Jesus, through his Holy Spirit’s power is changing our lives.  And the great promise is that none of us are lost causes with him, he wants to make something special out of all our lives.  It is the same power at work in our own lives today that was demonstrated in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead (Eph1v18-20).

Through this incident in his life, Thomas’ doubt was destroyed.  No more did he feel out of place in the group of Jesus’ disciples.  His faith was certain, he knew that his life was secure in Jesus’ life and he dedicated his life with the other disciples to serve Jesus and tell others about him. 

But what about us?

·         Where are we tonight with regard to Jesus?  Do we still struggle to accept the truth of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection?  Then let the evidence that destroyed Thomas’ doubts remove your doubts. 

·         Have we failed to accept him as the Lord of our lives; are we still holding onto it for ourselves?  Then look again at Jesus’ scarred hands and side and recognise the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you, and submit to him and worship him in your life.  

·         Do we know we have this eternal life?  This is what Jesus’ resurrection guarantees for all who places their trust in him.  The certainty of having this life carried these disciples through real struggles and problems, and it will do the same for us today.  Allow the truth of all of this to encourage you, fill you with his peace and joy, and go and live this new life for Jesus. 

·         Are we living a life that will convince others that Jesus is alive and working today?  We can experience the power of the Holy Spirit living and working in our lives, changing us and enabling us to live a life that can make a difference in this world, a life that can be living proof that Jesus is alive.

·         It is possible for us all to experience this – all we need is to accept these things as a gift from God, by faith in Jesus Christ who died for our sins and rose again so that we might live through him.

Enniscorthy Christian Fellowship 23rd April 2008

We can be SURE! John 20v24-31

Exegetical Outline

1.      Thomas was sceptical of the disciple’s testimony of their experience with the risen Jesus (v24-25).

a)      Thomas was not with the other disciples when the risen Lord Jesus had appeared to them on Easter Sunday (v24).

b)      The other disciples reported to him that they had seen the Lord Jesus (v25a).

c)      Thomas could not believe their report that Jesus was alive (v25b).

d)      Thomas declared that the only thing that would make him believe that Jesus was alive was if he could see the marks from the nails in Jesus’ hands and put his finger in them, and put his hand into his side (v25c).

2.      Jesus appeared to Thomas and showed him the evidence that he required and challenged him to believe (v26-27).

a)      The next Sunday, all the disciples including Thomas were in the house again (v26a).

b)      Again the doors were locked (v26b).

c)      Jesus again stood among them and declared peace to them (v26c).

d)      Jesus told Thomas to look at and feel his hands and his side to check out his wounds (v27a).

e)      Jesus told Thomas to stop doubting and to believe on the basis of what he saw and felt (v27b).

3.      Thomas responded to what he saw in a declaration of faith and commitment to Jesus (v28).

a)      Thomas responded to what he saw by declaring his faith and commitment to Jesus (v28a).

b)      Thomas called Jesus his Lord and his God (v28b).

4.      Jesus’ declared the blessedness of those who believe in him without seeing him physically (v29).

a)      Jesus said to Thomas that he had believed because he had seen him (v29a).

b)      Jesus declared that those who believe without ever seeing him face to face are specially blessed (v29b).

5.      John declared his purpose in writing his gospel (v30-31).

a)      John stated that Jesus did many more miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples than he had recorded in his book (v30).

b)      John stated that he recorded these signs in his book so that his readers might believe that Jesus is the Christ (v31a).

c)      John stated that he recorded these signs in his book so that his readers might believe that Jesus is the Son of God (v31b).

d)      John stated that he recorded these signs in his book so that through faith his readers might have life through his name (v31c).

Exegetical Proposition

To show how Thomas’ doubts was changed into faith and commitment in Jesus as Lord and God by Jesus appearing to Thomas and showing him the scars in his hands and side.

Exegetical purpose

To challenge his readers to make the same commitment to Jesus as their Lord and God.

Theological Outline

1.      Believers often miss out on what God wants to say to them if they fail to meet with their fellow believers (v24).

2.      The resurrection of Jesus is a fact that we can be sure of (v25a).

3.      The resurrection of Jesus was not accepted because of wilful thinking but needed to be proved before people would believe in it (v25b).

4.      Doubts require evidence for them to be changed into faith (v25c).

5.      Physical barriers or distance is no real barrier to the Lord’s presence or knowledge (v26,27).

6.      Jesus wants to challenge people’s doubts by the evidence of who he is and what he has done (v27).

7.      When confronted with the risen Jesus, the response of faith is to accept his claim of our lives to be our Lord and God (v28).

8.      Those believers with faith in Jesus but who have not seen him face to face share in a special blessing (v29).

9.      The Bible does not contain everything but it does contain to challenge us and enable us to put our faith in the Lord Jesus (v30-31a).

10.  The Bible challenges us to accept Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God (v31b).

11.  Those who believe in Jesus have life (eternal life) in Jesus’ name (v32). 

Theological Proposition  

Jesus is the Lord, the Christ, and the Son of God who arose from the dead and is alive today, and offers life to those who believe in him.

Theological Purpose

To declare who Jesus is and challenge us to place our faith in him.

Bringing all Scripture to bear

Romans 1v4: “..who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God, by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Ephesians 1v19 “..that you may know...his incomparably great power for us who believe.  That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms...”

Acts 2: “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact....... God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

John 11 v25,26: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” 

John 10v10: “I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.” 

1 Peter 1v8: “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Mark 9v24: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

John 11v16: “Then Thomas said to the rest of his disciples, “Let is also go, that we may die with him.”

John 14v5: “Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Homiletical Purpose  To challenge those who struggle to believe in Jesus that he is alive and deserves our faith and commitment and that if we do, we will have life through his name.  To challenge those who do believe in Jesus to live out this commitment every day, to accept Jesus as their Lord, to allow him to transform their lives and so be evidence of the power of the risen Lord Jesus.

Illustrations

Henry Drummond on Doubt

In 1887, Henry Drummond preached a sermon in Northfield, Massachusetts, entitled Dealing With Doubt. Here is one of his observations:

Christ never failed to distinguish between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is can’t believe; unbelief is won’t believe. Doubt is honest; unbelief is obstinacy. Doubt is looking for light; unbelief is content with darkness. Loving darkness rather than light—that is what Christ attacked and attacked unsparingly. But for the intellectual questioning of Thomas, and Philip, and Nicodemus, and the many others who came to Him to have their great problems solved, He was respectful and generous and tolerant.

But how did He meet their doubts? The church, as I have said, says “Brand him!” Christ said, “Teach him.”

When Thomas came to Him, denied His very resurrection, and stood before Him waiting for the scathing words and lashing for his unbelief, they never came. They never came. Christ gave him fact—facts.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Doubt

In his book, Spiritual Depression, Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes: Doubts are not incompatible with faith.…

Some people seem to think that once you become a Christian you should never be assailed by doubts. But that is not so, Peter still had faith (as he panicked in the storm in Matthew 14).… His faith was not gone, but because it was weak, doubt mastered him and overwhelmed him and he was shaken.…

Doubts will attack us, but that does not mean that we are to allow them to master us.

Man Having Trouble Proving He is Alive
Minggu Mang anak Madang, a worker of the Samling Timber Industry Company, suffered serious head injuries under unknown circumstances and died on the way to Nyalau Hospital in Bintulu, according to police and hospital records.

He died on Jan 18, 2002 and his death certificate was signed by Dr Faizal Ghazali of the hospital while Mos bin Kerma reported the death to police.  The two men claimed the body from the hospital for burial.

The problem is that Minggu Mang anak Madang, an Iban, is still very much alive today and fighting -- so far unsuccessfully -- to prove this to the authorities.

"Please help me to convince the relevent authorities that I am not dead. I am very much alive. The going has been very tough, very stressful since I was officially certified dead by Nyalau Hospital in Bintulu four years ago," he appealed to reporters at a news conference he called to publicise his case.

Minggu Mang said he learned that he had been certified dead when he went to the Road Transport Department here to renew his two-year duration driving licence on Dec 19, 2003.

That was when he discovered he had "died" in 2002.

Then began his nearly three-year-long fight to get back his life.

As he no longer "existed" officially, he could not work and has been depending on the generosity and understanding of his in-laws, relatives and friends.

"This is absolutely ridiculous," he said.

"There seems to be no clear indication when the investigations will end."

Jesus had a similar problem after his resurrection. Even one of his own disciples didn't believe he was alive.

He Gets Up Again!
The Good Friday service in Dampara Baptist Church, Chittagong, Bangladesh, was packed. Little children sat on the floor in the aisles and across the front of the church. Rows of people stood in the back, craning their necks to see the crucifixion scene as depicted in the "Jesus Film."

Weeping could be heard as Jesus was crucified. As the Bengalis watched, they were feeling the agony of Jesus' pain and the disappointment of the disciples.

In that emotional moment, one young boy in the crowded church suddenly cried out, "Do not be afraid. He gets up again! I saw it before."

We have nothing to fear of death if we put our trust in Jesus - because He gets up again. And he will help us too.

War on Easter
Brian Flemming, a self-described "former Christian fundamentalist" and president of Beyond Belief Media is launching a war on Easter. His effort is called "Operation Easter Sanity."

He is encouraging volunteer atheists to plant copies of the video "The God Who Wasn't There" in churches across the United States. This best-selling video (currently No. 5 on Amazon.com's list of best-selling documentaries) asserts that Jesus Christ never existed. Flemming hopes to covertly place 666 copies of the documentary in churches by Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006.

"People go to churches to hide from the truth," Flemming said in a statement. "At no time is this more apparent than Easter, when Christians get together to convince each other that a man died, stayed dead three days, rose from the dead and then flew into the air above the clouds."

Jesus Is Alive. Pass It On.
Chris Moretz decided to ride out Hurricane Katrina alone at home. After the worst of the storm had passed, his house was flooded and destroyed. Chris needed to let his family know that he was still alive. But they were in Tucson, Arizona, and there was no way to contact them. So Christ painted the message on the roof of his home: “C. MORETZ IS ALIVE. PASS IT ON.” Also included was the phone number of Chris's brother, Gerard.

Gerard said, "Going 36 hours not knowing if he was OK puts things in perspective. As those hours passed, I certainly saw many images on the news that were very disturbing. Unfortunately, you tend to imagine scenarios that don't have a happy ending. You're trying to balance that with being hopeful."   Some hours passed, but then Chris’ rooftop message was shown on TV and posted on some web sites. Chris’ family began getting phone calls from all over the country that he was alive.
The simple message of the first Christians was “JESUS IS ALIVE. PASS IT ON.” This message has been passed on for 2000 years giving people hope. It has touched your life. Now you need to keep passing it on.

An orphaned boy was living with his grandmother when their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to get upstairs to rescue the boy, perished in the flames. The boy’s cries for help were finally answered by a man who climbed an iron drainpipe and came back down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck.

Several weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and the town’s wealthiest citizen all gave the reasons they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home. But as they talked, the lad’s eyes remained focused on the floor. Then a stranger walked to the front and slowly took his hands from his pockets, revealing severe scars on them. As the crowd gasped, the boy cried out in recognition. This was the man who had saved his life. His hands had been burned when he climbed the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw his arms around the man’s neck and held on for dear life. The other men silently walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those marred hands had settled the issue.

Many voices are calling for our attention. Among them is the One whose nail-pierced hands remind us that He has rescued us from sin and its deadly consequences. To Him belongs our love and devotion.

Columbus

For hundreds of years before Christopher Columbus was born, the motto of Spain was ne plus ultra. This is Latin for “no more beyond.” You see, the Spaniards believed that they'd already discovered everything worth discovering.

One of the most beautiful monuments to Christopher Columbus today is a statue in Spain of a huge lion with the words ne plus ultra underneath. However, the lion is eating the first word ne. All that can be read is “more beyond.” This was Columbus's greatest legacy—he proved that there was more beyond.

Jesus, too, has shown us that there is more beyond. Like the Columbus monument's lion eating the words, the Lion of Judah erased the notion that death was the end. Through Christ's death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, we can all say with assurance that there is plus ultra--more beyond! “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

With Hat And Coats On

It was on Thanksgiving several years ago that Helen Hayes cooked her first turkey. Before serving it she announced to her husband, Charles MacArthur, and their son James: “Now I know this is the first turkey I’ve ever cooked. If it isn’t right, I don’t want anybody to say a word. We’ll just get up from the table without comment, and go down to the hotel for dinner.”

Then she retired to the kitchen. When she entered the dining room, bearing the turkey, she found her husband and son seated at the table—wearing their hats and coats.

Doubt your doubts before you doubt your beliefs.

If you tell a man that there are 581,678, 934,341 stars in the universe, he’ll believe you. But if a sign says, “Fresh Paint,” he has to make a personal investigation.

Scholars Dismiss Jesus Documentary Claiming to Have Found His bones.
An Oscar-winning director is about to challenge the most elemental tenets of Christianity, claiming the bones of Jesus Christ were found in a Jerusalem tomb, but many archaeologists and clergymen have been quick to cast doubt on the movie's assertions.

James Cameron's "The Lost Tomb of Christ," which the Discovery Channel will run on March 4, argues that 10 ancient ossuaries — small caskets used to store bones — discovered in a suburb of Jerusalem in 1980 may have contained the bones of Jesus, according to a press release issued by the Discovery Channel.

In fact, the astounding claim is that the entire Holy Family was buried in a vault, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips. Astounding, critics say, because Jesus' family was famously poor and such tombs were the fashion of the wealthy.

One of the caskets even bears the title, "Judah, son of Jesus," hinting that Jesus may have had a son. And the very fact that Jesus had an ossuary would contradict the Christian belief that he was resurrected and ascended to heaven.

But Philips reports that, although archeologists have long argued over the factual and historic accuracy of Christianity's version of history, in this case, the archeological establishment has lined up to label this claim as bunk.

Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the idea fails to hold up by archaeological standards but makes for profitable television.

"They just want to get money for it," Kloner said.

"What's the story, they found the DNA connecting Jesus to God? Can you check the DNA of god," Kloner, seen at left, sarcastically asked during an interview for the CBS News Early Show.

Cameron said his critics should withhold comment until they see his film.

"I'm not a theologist. I'm not an archaeologist. I'm a documentary film maker," he said.

The tomb bears the names Jesus, Mary and Joseph and one of the caskets even bears the title, "Judah, son of Jesus," hinting that Jesus may have had a son. But scientists argue the names were extremely common during that time period, and in no way prove the Jesus buried at the site was Jesus Christ.

Topics:  Resurrection,  Jesus Christ,  Popular Culture
Occasions:  Easter Sunday, 
Source:  cbs3.com, February 26, 2007, Learn more

James Cameron is Convinced Remains are of Those of Christ and His Family
Oscar-winning director James Cameron's controversial new documentary, which claims that Jesus may not have only been buried with a wife, but a son as well, adds an intriguing new piece but certainly doesn't solve the 2,000-year-old puzzle of the life and death of Christ, the filmmaker said in an exclusive interview on TODAY.

"I'm not an archaeologist. I'm a filmmaker," said Cameron, who won the Academy Award for Best Director in 1998 for Titanic. "I looked at the evidence initially, and as a layman I found it to be compelling ... I haven't seen anything that contradicts the initial hypothesis."

"The Lost Tomb of Jesus," which premiers March 4 on the Discovery Channel, chronicles recent efforts to apply modern science and new understanding of Jesus and his followers to the 1980 discovery of a set of ossuaries, or "bone boxes," under what is now an apartment complex near Jerusalem. along with a new book by

Cameron and investigative journalist Simcha Jacobovici, who wrote a companion book "The Jesus Family Tomb," are defending their work against criticism that they are riding the coattails of Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" and are trying to profit from promoting theories discredited by archaeologists when the limestone boxes were discovered 27 years ago.

Appearing on TODAY on Monday, Cameron and Jacobovici said statisticians who have looked at markings on the bone boxes estimate that the probability that the remains uncovered in 1980 are not those of Joseph, Mary, Jesus, Mary Magdalene, a son of Jesus and other relatives are more than 100 to 1.

"I think people have their specific agendas and their specific kind of knee-jerk reactions, but I think when they see the film and they see how the evidence is presented, then they should comment," said Cameron.

TODAY host Meredith Vieira, who read the book and watched the documentary, said the implications are astounding given that billions of people have been taught that Jesus was resurrected both in spirit and body, ascended to heaven, never married and had no offspring. The film and book, if accepted, could shake the church that Jesus founded to its core.

"If this is correct, what are the implications? They're huge," Vieira said.

"They are huge, but they are not necessarily the implications that people think they are," Jacobovici said. "For example, some people are going to say, ‘This challenges the Resurrection.' I don't know why. If Jesus rose from one tomb, he could have risen from the other tomb."

According to Cameron and Jacobovici, the bones discovered in the limestone boxes in 1980 were quickly reburied, following the Jewish traditions. Archaeologists quickly discounted the theory that the boxes contained the bones of Jesus and his family because the names inscribed on the boxes were quite common in the region during the 1st Century.

Jacobovici said that the archaeologists who were so quick to dismiss the find never asked statisticians for an opinion about the likelihood that boxes inscribed with names like Joseph, Mary and Jesus would all be found in the same place and be dated back to the time that Jesus lived and taught.

"They are common names, these were archaeologists. They never went to statisticians," Jacobovici said. "We're just reporting the news. We're not statisticians. We're not theologians ... Now the debate is going to begin because statisticians say it is significant. DNA experts say it is significant."

"The Lost Tomb of Jesus" airs March 4 on the Discovery Channel at 9 pm ET/8 pm CT.

Once upon a time there was a little girl whose parents had died. She lived with her grandmother in an upstairs bedroom.

One night a fire broke out in the house and the grandmother perished while trying to rescue the little girl. The fire spread through the house very quickly and the first floor was soon engulfed in flames.

As the fire spread through the house, the neighbors arrived and tried to enter the house but couldn’t because all the doors were blocked by flames. Someone called 911, but they knew that the fire department would arrive too late to save the little girl who was trapped upstairs. They could hear her cries in the upstairs bedroom, but there was nothing that anyone could do.

Suddenly, a man appeared with a tall ladder and raised it against the side of the house. He climbed the ladder, broke a window and disappeared into the house. Soon he reappeared at the window with the little girl in his arms. He descended the ladder just as an ambulance arrived, and he delivered the little girl to the paramedics who took her quickly to the hospital. The little girl survived, but the man who saved her disappeared into the night.

A few months later, the little girl went before a judge who had the responsibility of placing her in a foster home. She had no living relatives, so it was up to the courts to find a proper home for her.

The judge decided to interview several prospective people who were willing to take her in. After interviewing them all, he would make his decision. The little girl was present in the courtroom during all these proceedings.

The first person requesting custody of the child was a schoolteacher. She pointed out that the child would need a good education, and as a teacher, she could make sure that she learned a great deal. She knew how to deal with children, she said, and she knew how to take care of a girl like this one.

The next person was a farmer. He offered the little girl a wholesome environment, where she would learn principles of hard work and the simple life. She would get to be around animals and learn responsibility.

Next was a rich woman who said, “I can give this child anything she needs or wants. I will provide her with the finest clothes and send her to the best schools. If she lives with me, she will have whatever her heart desires.”

Several other people were interviewed, each of who explained why it would be to the little girl’s advantage to live with them.

“Does anyone else have anything to say before I make my decision?” asked the judge.

Just then a man came forward from the back of the courtroom. He walked very slowly and with a slight limp. From his old clothes, it was obvious that he wasn’t rich or well educated. When he got to the front of the room, he stood directly in front of the little girl and held out his arms. The crowd gasped. His hands and his arms were terribly burned and scarred.

“This is the man who saved me!” cried the little girl. With a leap, she threw her arms around the man’s neck, holding on for dear life, just as she had on the day of the fire. She buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed for a few moments. Then she looked up and smiled with a grin that lit up the courtroom.

“I think I’ve just made my decision,” said the judge. And the court was adjourned.

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Homiletical Outline

Introduction:

Homiletical Proposition

Exposition

1.      Thomas

a)      His doubts

b)      Confronted by the evidence

c)      His faith and commitment

2.      Our struggle with belief

a)      Our doubts

b)      The evidence

c)      The requirement for a response of faith

d)      The result of faith

3.      Transformed lives

a)      The result of Thomas’ faith was a transformed life

b)      People were challenged to faith because of his and the other disciples’ transformed life

c)      Evidence for us today is in Jesus’ power to transform lives.

d)      Are we good evidence of Jesus’ power at work today?

Conclusion

Thoughts

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”  John 11 v25, 26

“I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.”  John 10v10

John 11

Jesus delayed, why?  In some way to demonstrate God’s glory further.

God’s delays in our life do not evidence a lack of love for us, they do not contradict his love for us.

God’s delays are not final – he will come and intervene in our situation, in our lives.  His timing is the best timing there is – we need to trust him that this is true.

Jesus is revealed as the giver of life.

Materially he gives life to water, making it wine.

Spiritually he offers the new spiritual life of the kingdom of God to Nicodemus, and the life which springs up within a person satisfying all thirst to the woman of Samaria.

Physically he imparts life to a dying boy, a paralytic, a man born blind.

He is the good shepherd who has come to give life to the full.

The life is eternal life, the long-awaited kingdom of God.

The life he gives is nothing less than the indestructible life of the resurrection, the very life of the deathless God himself – it is his gift here & now.  Martha believed in some distant event, but Jesus calls her to believe that it is present here and now, in him who is the Resurrection, the embodiment of the promised life and salvation of God.   To believe in Jesus means that death lies defeated.

There maybe a moment of physical dissolution (though he dies) but in fact that will not be ‘death’, the elimination of hope and the reduction of existence to a mere shadowy beyond.

Jesus was not remote from the sufferings of his fellow humans.  The fact that he is with us in humanity means that he is with us in agony (v33, 35). – not forced tears, or professional tears of a professional mourner, but the real tears of one who shares in the pain, who shares in our experiences from the inside – they authentically expressed the emotion of his heart.

Jesus was deeply moved (v33, 38) – word (embrimaomai) means anger or rage – possibly at the misery of humanity under the tyranny of death.  It is death that is the object of his wrath and behind him who has the power of death and whom he had come into the world to destroy.

V37 was there a limit to the power of Jesus?  NO, and his raising of Lazarus is testimony to this.

Jesus here displays love for these sisters and their brother but this did not mean that he responded immediately to their request.  Rather he delayed for a reason  v15, v4, v42.  God’s love for us means that his purpose is not primarily to make us happy, but to make us holy.  Therefore out of his love for us, he may bring things into our lives that may cause us to suffer but are for our good – and through our suffering we know that he himself enters into our suffering and experiences our pain. 

Jesus sympathises with us in our suffering and in our struggles – Jesus has experienced these emotions before and he sympathises with us.

‘him who holds the power of death – that is the devil’ (Heb2v14) and death itself are the losers here.  This story anticipates the resurrection of Jesus himself.

Jesus makes the possession of eternal life a fact of present experience.  We can be characterised by a radiant assurance of the life of glory begun here and now through faith-union with Jesus, ‘the resurrection and the life’.

Christ has won the victory over death and shares that victory with all who repent and believe in him a their Saviour and Lord.  To respond to Christ’s invitation is to surrender our independence,  But to ‘die’ in this sense is to begin to live.

Can set forth the meaning of v25&26 like this:

a)      I am the resurrection – that is, whoever believes in me will live, even though he or she dies.

b)      I am the life – that is, whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

The relation of the two parts is best understood when b) is viewed as following logically from a.  If it is true that whoever believes in Jesus and dies will live again, then it follows that no living believer will ever die – ultimately.  The life they have been given is eternal life (3v16; 10v28) .  They may die physically, but death’s dominion is only temporary.  Jesus will raise them up on the last day.  He in his own person is the resurrection and therefore the life.  Eternal life is a relationship to him.  As long as Jesus is present, life is present- not just the life of humanity breathed in at creation but resurrection life – the new life that belongs to the last day and will never end. 

Jesus said that he embodied the vital power to bring the dead to life.  The one who believes in Christ has eternal life that transcends physical death.  Those who live and believe will never die but will make an instant transition from the old life to the new life (1Thess4v16-17).

A correct understanding of the Greek text helps us here. Some years ago, I corresponded with the eminent Greek scholar Dr. Julius R. Mantey (now deceased) about this verse, and he assured me that the correct translation both here and in Matthew 16:19 should be: “Whosoever sins you remit [forgive] shall have already been forgiven them, and whosoever sins you retain [do not forgive] shall have already not been forgiven them.” In other words, the disciples did not provide forgiveness; they proclaimed forgiveness on the basis of the message of the Gospel. Another Greek scholar, Dr. Kenneth Wuest, translates it “they have been previously forgiven them.”

As the early believers went forth into the world, they announced the good news of salvation. If sinners would repent and believe on Jesus Christ, their sins would be forgiven them! “Who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:7) All that the Christian can do is announce the message of forgiveness; God performs the miracle of forgiveness. If sinners will believe on Jesus Christ, we can authoritatively declare to them that their sins have been forgiven; but we are not the ones who provide the forgiveness.

It follows, then, that what our Lord here commits to His disciples, to His Church, is the right authoritatively to declare, in His name, that there is forgiveness for man’s sin, and on what conditions the sin will be forgiven”