I Want Proof!

Alba 4-20-2025

I WANT PROOF!

John 20:24-31

Have you ever been in a situation where someone told you something, but you just couldn't believe it? You wanted proof? Then you are like Thomas. Thomas is one of the better known disciples of Jesus, even though not much is said about him. Matthew, Mark, and Luke each mention him only once, just listing him as one of the twelve disciples.

Everything else that we know about Thomas is found in the Gospel of John which focuses the spotlight on him on three occasions. For the most part, Thomas’ notoriety is connected to when he doubted the resurrection. As a result, Thomas has been labeled, “Doubting Thomas.” To this day, Thomas is the unwitting poster-boy for doubt, skepticism, and unbelief.

Thomas did believe in Jesus. But after the crucifixion, his faith was attacked by doubts. This should help us if we struggle with the question of faith in our own lives. Like, “How can I believe when I have all these doubts?” His story teaches us that a dose of doubt may be good for our faith.

William Barclay called Thomas “The man who became certain by doubting.” Someone said, “Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith that keep it awake and alert”. So don't let your doubts stop you from trusting Jesus. You can trust Jesus with your doubts.

Jesus welcomes our doubts, and will answer them with evidence that demands a verdict. Actually, not just Thomas, but all the disciples were disappointed and despondent behind locked doors after the crucifixion. And all of them initially doubted the news of the resurrection.

Luke 24:11 says that when the women told the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead, “Their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.” But then, like a shaft of sunlight piercing the dark, we read in John 20:19 the heart-warming words: "then Jesus came and stood among them."

Surely, that’s God’s answer to the need of mankind. The risen presence of Jesus is the remedy for our confusion when we are not able to understand what is happening to us. He blows away the fog of confusion with His words, "Peace be with you," and He gives a sense of purpose for the future. That is what happened when “doubting” Thomas finally met the risen Savior. This encounter shows us what it means to trust Jesus with our doubts. The story of Thomas gives hope to doubters, to those who say, “I want proof!”.

The Gospel of John 20:24 begins the first post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to His disciples with an attendance report. It says: “Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. We are not told why Thomas was absent. Whatever the reason, Thomas missed out on a great blessing.

Look at verses 19-23: “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, 'Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.' And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, '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.'”

Thomas missed out on all of this. And his absence warns us that the weeds of doubt grow fast and strong in the soil of isolation. Faith is cultivated through fellowship with Christ and other Christians. Which is all the more reason to get together with other believers. Feed your faith and starve your doubts by being marked present when the believing community meets together.

So after the appearance of Jesus to the apostles, verse 25 says: “The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” In the Greek, this statement is in a grammatical emphasis that means, “They kept telling him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’” They repeatedly and emphatically reported that they had seen the risen Savior. We should commended the disciples for this. They did not hold Thomas’s absence against him. Instead they made it their business to share the good news with him that Jesus is alive. We who are believers ought to follow their example and share that good news with every unbelieving man, woman, boy, and girl: That Jesus lives today! We serve a risen Savior!

But note, that even though they passionately shared the good news, they could not make Thomas believe. In verse 25 he says: “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”