"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “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.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. 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; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
- John 20:19-29 (NIV)
Observations:
“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book."
- John 20:30 (NIV)
The book of John covers only 21 days of Jesus’ life and ministry. This is John’s climactic event.
Thomas needs to see the risen Christ not to believe that he has risen from the dead, but to qualify as an Apostle and that is the reason John includes this story.
"Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
- Acts 1:21-22 (NIV)
"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve… Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born."
- First Corinthians 15:3-5,7-8 (NIV)
"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone."
- Ephesians 2:19-20 (NIV)
What is John trying to communicate through the story of Thomas? The special relationship the Apostles had with Jesus.
They received everything!
All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
"Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
- John 20:30-31 (NIV)
People are beginning to wake up in the modern world to the reality of Jesus and His resurrection, and the trustworthiness of the historical record of the Bible.
Jesus rebuked Thomas for doubting what the other Apostles had told him. Thomas was fully aware of their anointing, trustworthiness and special revelation. He should have known better!
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…
- 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)
Are you doubting the words and testimony of the Apostles?
It is not enough to believe what Jesus said. You must believe what Jesus did!
Other religions point to Jesus or give some credit to Jesus, but Jesus gave credit and pointed only to Himself and no one else.
“Why could nothing destroy their hope? It was because it was otherworldly, not based on any circumstances within the walls of this world. It lay in the future of God. This hope… enabled them to affirm a terrible right to live.”
- Howard Thurman
The Apostles were witnesses to His resurrection; that’s the reason they changed the world!
The reason John gives us the story of Thomas is to show us the transformational power of the Gospel.
You are not a Christian if you are just trying to emulate Jesus.
You are a Christian when you understand His death, burial, and resurrection atones for your sins and grants you eternal life!
Without His doings—no matter how sincere you may be—you are lost and without hope.
Thomas responds to rebuke with the greatest response of belief anywhere in the Bible:
“Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
- John 20:28 (NIV)
John has been recording how Jesus has been communicating His true identity:
"Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?"
- John 8:46 (NIV)
“...If you knew me, you would know my Father also."
- John 8:19b (NIV)
"…If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father..."
- John 14:9b (CEV)
“Before Abrham was, I Am.”
- John 8:58b (ESV)
How do you get to that place where Jesus is your Lord and Savior and not just someone you respect or emulate?
First: Listen to the Apostles.
Now Thomas (also known as Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
- John 20:24-25a (NIV)
There is only one way to discover the real Jesus, feel His power and presence in you, and to sense the friend that is closer than a brother: Saturate your mind with the words of the Apostles!
Second: See His Patience!
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
- John 20:27 (NIV)
Jesus is telling Thomas that He sees everything about him.
God has been watching you for a very long time and has been orchestrating events in your life to compel you to come home to Him.
Three: Look at His Wounds
Only a wounded God—the sight of Divinity at your service, a gored God—is the only thing that will blast through the barriers.
“Unless you have a God with wounds, not just a teacher with wounds, not just a God without wounds, but a God with wounds who came down, descended into greatness, and became worthy of your worship and allegiance, you will not give your heart to him.”
- Tim Keller
Four: Drop Your Conditions
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
- John 20:27 (NIV)
Notice: Thomas did not touch!
Drop your conditions!
These conditions are your real savior, and they will never die for you - they will demand that you die for them!
Until you drop your conditions of obedience and say, “I want to follow You on the basis of what You have already done for me,” you are not a Christian.
Make a Difference