Believe In Jesus (John 20:24-31) Series

Let's start today by rereading last week's passage. John 20:19-22. This is the moment Jesus first reveals himself to all his disciples after rising from the dead:

(19) Then, when it was evening on that day-- the first day of the week, and the doors having been shut where the disciples were because of fear of the Judeans-- Jesus came,

and he stood in their midst,

and he says to them,

"Peace to you,"

(20) and this saying, he showed his hands

and his side to them.

Then, the disciples rejoiced,

seeing the Lord.

(21) Then, Jesus said to them again,

"Peace to you.

Just as the Father sent me, also I send you,"

(22) and this saying, he breathed on them,

and he says to them,

"Receive the Holy Spirit.

(23) If the sins of any, you forgive, they are forgiven them.

If [the sins] of any, you hold/retain, they have been held/retained.

Here, the new stuff begins. Verse 24:

(24) Now, Thomas-- one of the twelve, the one being called "Twin"-- wasn't with them when Jesus came.

(25) Then, the other disciples were saying to him,

"We have seen the Lord."

Now, he said to them,

"Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails,

and I put my finger in the mark of the nails, I will absolutely never believe,"

What we've seen, in John 20, is that Jesus' disciples need different things to come to a full, mature "belief" in Jesus. The beloved disciple needed only the facts-- he saw the empty tomb, the linen grave clothes, and the face cloth rolled up separately, and that was enough. Mary needed to hear Jesus' voice. The rest of the disciples needed to see Jesus-- it wasn't until Jesus was standing in their midst, greeting them, showing them his hands and side, that they were filled with joy.

This brings us to Thomas. The church for probably forever has called Thomas, "Doubting Thomas." It's like Donald Trump gave him an insulting name, and that name has stuck with him for 2,000 years. Sleepy Joe. Lyin' Ted. Crooked Hillary. Doubting Thomas.

But notice that Thomas is almost exactly like every other disciple. Mary had told all of them that Jesus rose from the dead, but no one really believed her. Maybe, their hopes were raised a little. Maybe, they were gathered to talk about her. But if there was no joy until Jesus showed up, then there was no belief.

The bottom line is that the disciples didn't really believe Mary, until they saw Jesus face to face. And Thomas won't believe the disciples, unless he sees Jesus face to face. Thomas is like the disciples, and needs the same thing most of the other disciples needed.

What, then, is distinctive about Thomas? Two things:

Thomas needs the exact same thing as the other disciples. The difference between them, the first distinctive mark, is that Thomas shouldn't need the same thing. The circle of people who have seen Jesus risen from the dead is growing. More and more people's voices are being added to Mary's. But Thomas is unwilling to listen to their testimony.

That said, Thomas is not hopeless. Thomas is open about his doubt, and his skepticism. And what we've seen, over and over in John, is that doubt and skepticism are not deal-breakers (John 1:46). Jesus can work with people like this, as long as they open about where they are at (John 1:47), and open to the possibility of new truth (John 9, esp. verse 36).

The second distinctive thing about Thomas, is that he missed church one week. There was somewhere more important that Thomas thought he had to be. And sometimes when you don't show up, you miss seeing Jesus.

Verse 26-27:

(26) and after eight days, again his disciples were inside-- and Thomas [was] with them.

Jesus comes,

while the doors having been locked/barred,

and he stood in their midst,

and he said,

"Peace to you."

(27) Next, he says to Thomas,

"Bring your finger here,

and see my hands,

and bring your hand,

and put it into my side,

and don't become unbelieving/unfaithful but believing/faithful."

Thomas had told the other disciples that unless he saw Jesus' hands and side, there was absolutely no way he would believe.

And when Thomas said that, Jesus heard him. He heard the skepticism, and doubt. He heard the stubborn refusal to believe the disciples' testimony, unless Thomas sees the same thing they did.

How then, did Jesus respond? What kind of Savior is he? Jesus is the kind of Savior who has a policy: No Disciple Left Behind (John 17:12). He's not angry or frustrated with Thomas. Instead, he comes a second time to his disciples, to give them his peace, and to give Thomas what he needs to come to a complete, full faith. And notice: not even Jesus' disciples are out knocking down the gates of hell yet. They're still locked in a house together. They still need more of Jesus' peace [although Schnackenberg notes that there's no mention of fear. So maybe the emphasis here is on the miraculous nature of Jesus' appearing, more than it is on the disciples' continued fear].