Doubting Thomas

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After Easter

Opening

We are walking through the time between Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension into Heaven. In this time, we see the disciples wrestling with their new reality in a variety of different ways.

This morning we are looking at one of the better known stories, Thomas, or as some would know, Doubting Thomas.

Before we dive in, I want to give Thomas a little context. Thomas wasn’t always the doubter, in fact he has flashes of being one of the boldest disciples.

Thomas is one of the original 12. If you’re reading through the lists of the 12 disciples and don’t see Thomas, it because he is also known as Didymus, which is the Greek version of his name. He is also listed as Judas, not Iscariot. Some of the original manuscripts say Thomas or Judas Thomas. Thomas and Didymus both mean, “Twin,” and there is lots of theories of who the other twin may have been, but there’s no way to know for sure.

In the story of Lazarus, the other disciples were concerned about Jesus going to see his dead friend because the Jews in the area had already tried to stone Jesus once. Thomas, however, encourages the other disciples to go, “that we may die with him.

John 11:16 CSB

Then Thomas (called “Twin”) said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too so that we may die with him.”

d. But this morning, we are looking at one of his most defining stories, Thomas the Doubter. We will be reading out of John chapter 20, starting at verse 19. To set some context, the ladies have seen the angel, and the risen Jesus. Peter and John have run to find the tomb empty. They have since returned to the place where the rest of the disciples are staying.

John 20:19–23 CSB

When it was evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

1. Jesus Reaffirms the Disciples

The disciples are in hiding. Remember the chief priests and religious leaders are determined to make sure that Jesus stays dead. They sealed the tomb, and even paid off the soldiers who were guarding the tomb to spread a false story about his resurrection.

If they are willing to go that far, what’s to say they won’t also silence the men and women who were closest to Jesus and most familiar with his message. The religious leaders have proven there is no limit to how far they will go to secure their position of leadership. The disciples have every right to be afraid.

However, their fear, just like the discouragement we looked at last week, has resulted in the disciples not completing the mission that Jesus has trained them for.

This is true in our own lives. We become concerned about others’ perception of us or our reputation. Sometimes our job is on the line or peace at home because our family isn’t in the same place spiritually as we are. So we avoid having the tough conversations or we avoid sharing the truth of the Gospel with those who need it most. We may even have really good reasons why we don’t share, but when the excuses are boiled down to their root, it really comes down to fear.

What is Jesus’s solution to the disciples’, and our fear? He offers us peace. In fact, it is often a lack of peace in our minds and in our hearts that prevents us from sharing. We disqualify ourselves before even given the chance to share. Why? Because if I feel this lack of peace and clarity in my own life, maybe there’s something wrong, and am I really the right person to represent Christ in this person’s life?

The answer is yes, you are. Not because of who you are and what you’ve done, but because of who Jesus is and what he has done.

He gives peace, which needs to be rooted in our hearts if we are going to be effective ministers of the gospel.

He gives purpose, which needs to drive us the same way that God’s sending drove Jesus to stay on mission. Jesus often said that everything he did was because he saw his Father in heaven doing it.

He gives the Holy Spirit, which empowers us to do more then we could ever accomplish on our own. Because it is God alone who can forgive sins, the disciples are now carriers of the source of forgiveness and restoration. The disciples, and by extension us, have the authority to preach repentance and forgiveness, but it is the Spirit within us that actually forgives and restores.

2. Thomas Missed Out

John 20:24–25 CSB

But Thomas (called “Twin”), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were telling him, “We’ve seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

We don’t know why Thomas missed out. For some reason, Thomas has separated himself from the rest of the disciples. Possibly, like the disciples of Emmaus, he was running away. Maybe he decided that hiding as one big group wasn’t the best idea and found his own spot to hide. We’re not sure why, but he missed Jesus’ appearance.

Because he missed out, he is not having the everyone else’s story. He wants the hard evidence, and until he gets it, he’s not going to believe that Jesus has come back

We all know someone like that. There have been several times when I’ve been ministering to someone, and it seems like no matter what I say, they aren’t buying the fact that Jesus really is who he says he is. This usually brings me to the point of saying, “What’s it going to take?” The response is almost always the same. “If Jesus appeared in my room and talked to me, then I would believe.” What do you do with that?

On one hand, it’s not impossible. We still hear stories of Jesus appearing in the rooms of people and lives being changed from the experience. If he does it for others, maybe he will do it for this person too.

On the other hand, there are a few reasons Jesus doesn’t appear when we ask him to. One is that Jesus is not a vending machine that we can make demands and Jesus just hops to it. There needs to be a recognition that God is still God, and we meet him on his terms, not ours. The other is the fact that even though we think that might be the answer to every single person who doesn’t believe, Jesus knows otherwise.

In Luke, he tells a story about a rich man and a poor man. They both die, however the poor man is with Abraham in eternity, and the rich man is in a place of torment. After a little back and forth, the rich asks the poor man be sent back to warn his brothers to not make the same mistakes he did. However, Abraham says,

Luke 16:29–31 CSB

“But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

Isaiah 55:8–11 CSB

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration. “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so my word that comes from my mouth will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.”

iv. We might think that Jesus appearing is our ace up our sleeve that would seal the deal, but God has other thoughts. In fact, he sees each of us as the sure fire answer. If someone is difficult to witness, is simply means we need to look for another angle, or another person, to do the witnessing. God promises that his word will not return void. This is why it is so important we be grounded in God’s word. It needs to be the basis of our thinking, our speaking, and our sharing, because it will always bear fruit.

v. Why does God only appear to certain people? Because there may be no other way to win that person’s heart. However, as far as God’s preferred strategy of witnessing to others, it is you and I being faithful in all that we’ve been called to.

3. Blessing Without Seeing

John 20:26–29 CSB

A week later his disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be faithless, but believe.” Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

Thomas sees and believes. Though this might seem obvious, there is something spectacular to take note of in Thomas’s coming around.

The other disciples saw Jesus and rejoiced because he was alive.

Thomas declares that Jesus is Lord and God.

He doesn’t just rejoice. He enters into full on worship and declaration of who Jesus truly is. He goes from being the most opposed to the truth of Jesus’ resurrection to not only accepting his resurrection, but declaring his Godship.

Thomas would go on to plant the church in one of the most populated countries in our day; India. To this day, there is shrine at the spot of Thomas’ death in India, and it is a memorial to Thomas’ witness.

In fact, there is a story about Thomas’ witness. The story goes that he encountered a group of priests in the water. They would throw water in the air to one of their gods as an act of worship. As Thomas drew near, he challenged the priests and their worship. In short, he tells them they worship a false god who cannot accept their worship. He worships the one true God who will not send their act of worship back. He then throws the water in the air, and it doesn’t come back down. The entire group of priests converts in that moment.

That doesn’t sound like a man who continued to doubt. Now if that story sounds a little far fetched and hard to believe, remember, we’re talking about the God who made an ax head float. We’re talking about a God who enabled Peter to walk on water. Don’t let the extraordinary nature of the story get in that way of your believing, in the same way it did for Thomas.

Jesus closes the story by saying, Blessed are those who have not seen yet believe.

There is an aspect where we need to do our due diligence and do the research to find the answers. There is a logical tangible aspect of our faith that helps us share and understand on that level.

However, there will always be a dimension of our following Jesus that is beyond the tangible, and we simply need to trust that God is who he says he is and he has accomplished what he says he has accomplished. It why we can believe we have victory in Christ, even when our circumstances say we’re being defeated. It is how we can know we are forgiven, even in the midst of feeling guilty. It is why we can believe God for the impossible when all the other options have run out. In the same way we trust our spouse when we’re not around, we trust our kids to make good decisions, and we trust our employees to accomplish the tasks we delegate to them, we trust God to do what only he can do.