What Will You Do with the Risen Christ?

Introduction

John 20:24–29 ESV

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

OPENING ILLUSTRATION: Have you ever gotten a nickname that you did not like?

I love my name - Connor.

Connor comes with a large number of possible nicknames: Conman, Lil Con, Convict, and Conair - among others. I didn’t really mind them, but I had friends who hated their nicknames. Cody - Coco.

Some people get nicknames that stick with them forever - for the worse.

Thomas is one such man. Now, Thomas did everything that the other apostles did.

He lived with Jesus.

He struggled with Jesus’ calling.

He saw the miracles.

He became an apostle.

He was martyred for his faith

However, his nickname was the worse of all of them.

Simon became Peter, or “Rock.”

James and John became the “Sons of Thunder.”

Thomas, because of this story, became known as “Doubting Thomas.”

I don’t know that Thomas’s nickname is fair, and I know that it isn’t helpful.

Doubts are a reality in the Christian faith. We will have doubts. We will have struggles. But, we must simply know where to take our doubt.

When we bring our doubt to Jesus, He does with it what we cannot do.

I think this is important for many of us today. I am very aware that we have people from every walk of life today. And that means that we have all kinds of doubt in this room today.

Maybe it is your first time back at church in awhile, and you almost didn’t come, because you were worried that everyone would be mad at you.

Maybe, you have been through a traumatic family event, and you haven’t sorted out why that happened or what to do.

Maybe you have faced a terrible loss.

Maybe you have intellectual objections to the Bible, and you don’t know what to do with them.

Maybe, you are here today, because you feel a sense of despair and the only thing that you have left is to try out Jesus.

I want you to know with confidence that Jesus knows what to do with every bit of that mess.

The story of Thomas’s doubt helps us to know that he placed his trust in Jesus, and Jesus didn’t disappoint.

Context: Let me catch you up on what has just happened. Jesus has just risen from the grave.

On the first day of the week MM went to the tomb, and she saw that the stone had been rolled away.

She told Peter and John, and they all ran to the tomb.

They saw the linen lying on the ground.

MM then saw two angels standing where His body had laid.

She turned around and saw Jesus, spoke with Him, and ran to tell the disciples.

Later that day, Jesus came to the disciples and commissioned them as apostles.

Thomas, however, was not with the disciples when Jesus was there.

When they told him, Thomas, not seeing Jesus and knowing how crazy some of these disciples were, said he would only believe if he saw the nails marks in Jesus.

Jesus came to Thomas a week later, and Thomas believed, exclaiming of Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”

CIT: We must believe in the resurrected Jesus.

Explanation

John 20:24-25 “Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.””

There are really two reasons that people do not believe in Jesus. They have a barrier to belief, or faith, or they have a wrong belief, or faith.

They have an obstacle to belief.

Some people will never believe in Jesus, because they cannot see Him.

“Seeing is believing.”

If you only benefitted from what you can see with your eyes, you would not have air to breathe,

Some people will never believe in Jesus, because they would rather have their sin than Jesus. Jesus asks us to change our lives when we trust in Him.

Maybe, you have believed something contrary to what the bible teaches for a long time. Another religion, etc.

Christ is gracious to save and redeem.

Some people will never believe in Jesus, because they have moral or intellectual objections to the Bible.

Answer: If Jesus rose from the dead, then He is God whether you like it or not.

They have a faulty belief, or faith.

Belief is not simply knowledge.

Faith is not working harder.

Faith is to believe that Jesus is who He says he is and that He did what He said he was going to do.

Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, and his death on the cross rids those who confess Him as Lord of their sins.

Thomas may have begun his interaction with Jesus in doubt, but he ended his interaction in belief.

What is the answer for this dilemma? The only correct answer is Christ:

Jesus came for Thomas, and Jesus comes for us.

Notice that in this specific text, Jesus doesn’t interact with anyone but Thomas. He walks into a locked room where the disciples are hiding, greets them, and turns to Thomas.

Also, remember, Jesus has not seen Thomas

John 20:26-27 “Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.””

Jesus opens his hands and feet to the skeptic.

John 20:28 “Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!””

Thomas’s belief in Christ was the right belief. Faith in Jesus to save.

It was a statement of belief, but it was also a statement of worship.

I give you my life, and I give you my worship.

If Jesus is rour Lord but not your God, then He is no different than a cult leader.

If Jesus is God, but He is not your Lord, then you do not know Him.

Thomas spent his life serving Jesus. The Lord changed his life in a powerful way.

When I was in Chennai, India, several years ago, I visited a church that is supposedly where The Apostle, Thomas is buried. *show picture

A man who was wildly skeptical spent his ministry in a faraway land - far from friends and was martyred by a wild and savage people.

Jerusalem to Chennai is an approximately 93 hr drive. The middle east to southern India.

Jesus turned doubting Thomas into Trusting Thomas, Saved Thomas, Missionary Thomas, Redeemed Thomas, but most of all BELIEVING Thomas.

John 20:29 “Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.””

God can alter your life the same way that God altered Thomas’s.

I don’t believe that Jesus was rebuking Thomas; instead, He was saying that the gospel isn’t just for those who have seen Jesus personally, but for all who call upon his name.

Will you believe in the risen Christ?

Invitation

Trust in the resurrected Christ.

Give your life to Him.

Repent of sin.