SEEING IS BELIEVING
John 20:24-31
A few weeks ago I went to Macau, which is near Hong Kong. It was my first trip there, and it is not an easy place to get to. I flew to Hong Kong and took a ferry to Macau. The ferry took one hour and I waited an hour to clear customs and immigration in Macau. It took 4 hours to fly from Tokyo to Hong Kong, and it took 4 hours to get from Hong Kong International Airport to my hotel in Macau.
Macau is famous for its casinos and people go there to gamble. It is very similar to Las Vegas, a city in my country. The casinos are open 24 hours a day and people spend all their time at the casinos, gambling. It was sad to see, because people might get rich by gambling, but it will not give them the fulfillment and satisfaction only Jesus can give.
When I was in my country I went to Virginia with my sisters, and we visited the camps we went to when we were children. The Virginia countryside was very pretty and it was a contrast to the Tokyo metroplex with 35 million people. I also visited a missionary friend in New Jersey.
All the places I stayed in did not have air conditioning, and I was very happy to come back to my air conditioned apartment in Soka and to Simone.
Last week I appreciated Pastor Hirunuma’s message. He asked the question, “Who is Jesus?” We all need to decide who Jesus is and whether we believe in Him or not. We are going to see the unbelief of one of Jesus apostles turn into belief today.
I might also tell you that last year I visited the Hirunuma’s and stayed with them for 2 days when I was in Chicago. I really felt like I was in Japan when I was in their apartment. First, everyone spoke Japanese, like everyone here speaks Japanese. Second a train track went right by their apartment. I live close to the train tracks. And third, every time a train went by the building shook a little. I thought we were having an earthquake. So I felt like I was right back in Japan when I stayed with the Hirunuma’s.
Easter Sunday is one of the most joyful Sundays of the year. It is a time of rejoicing because Jesus has risen from the dead. His resurrection showed He had power over, sin, over death and over hell. Those of us who believe in Him share with Him in that victory. It is our ultimate hope, because like Jesus, our bodies one day too, will be raised from the dead. We have eternal life with Him.
But look with me in the 20th chapter of John’s gospel, because instead of joy there is a lot of gloom. Jesus had spent His last hours with His disciples feeding them, washing their feet and encouraging them. He was preparing them to carry on His mission after He rose from the dead and went back to His Father. The disciples were to continue Jesus’ ministry.
When Jesus was arrested the disciples lost all their hope. And even after Jesus rose from the dead they still doubted. Even hearing the news that Jesus had risen from the dead did not dispel their doubts and fears. In John’s gospel Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and then to the disciples. Jesus’ personally appearing to them was the only thing that turned their doubts and fears into belief.
Think of it this way. Jesus made many promises to the disciples; the promise of eternal life, the promise of a kingdom, and many other promises. When He was arrested and crucified it looked like everything He had promised would not happen. Jesus made many claims about Himself. Now, with His death the disciples were asking if these claims were really true.
We’re going to look at Jesus appearance to one of His disciples, Thomas. He is often referred to as “Doubting Thomas.” A couple of years ago, I called Mrs. Noguchi, my Japanese teacher and told her that one of my cats was going to die. She then told me she just got a cat. He was a kitten and his name was Thomas. She said she wanted to name him after a Bible character. He was very cute because he was only a few weeks old. Thomas was one of Jesus’ apostles. He could be pessimistic. For example in John 11 Jesus received word that Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha was very sick. Jesus had left Jerusalem because the Jews wanted to kill Him. When Jesus decided to go to Bethany, where Lazarus was sick, look at Thomas’ reply in John 11:16.
John 11:16 Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
Thomas was pessimistic. He was also a dedicated follower of Jesus, and he was willing to follow Jesus even if it meant following Him to death.
We see Thomas again in John 14. Jesus was telling the disciples He was going to prepare a place for them, and He would return for them. Thomas asked Him about this in verse 5.
John 14:5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
And Jesus replied with an answer we often give when people tell us there are many ways to heaven.
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
In today’s passage Jesus has already appeared to the Mary Magdalene and to the disciples. Thomas was not with them when Jesus first appeared. Look with me at verse 24.
John 20:24 ¶ Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.
And Thomas did not believe Jesus had risen from the dead. As a matter of fact, not only did he not believe, he refused to believe. We see this in verse 25.
John 20:25 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 it."
There are 2 groups of people. There are those who don’t believe because they do not have all the information they need to know. I remember when I lived in New Jersey and was in junior high school. It was a Friday afternoon, and school was out for the day. I always loved Fridays because it meant we would have the weekend with no school. I don’t know about you, but in my country everyone loves Friday and hates Monday. I always looked forward to the weekend on Friday and I hated having to go back to school on Monday.
I was talking to a friend and someone came out of the school building, saying, “President Kennedy is dead.” I thought he was only joking so I did not pay any attention to him. I did not believe him. But soon another student came outside and said, “President Kennedy is dead. He was shot in Dallas, Texas.” And when I heard more students coming outside saying the same thing, I began to wonder if it really was true. And I told my friend I am going to the office to see what happened.
As I walked to the office I noticed it was very quiet and I could hear a radio. Everyone was quiet, listening to the news on the radio. The news had said President Kennedy had been shot while riding in a car in downtown Dallas. He was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital but he died. It was true, and now I believed it. I didn’t want to believe it. We had studied in my American History class that no President had been assassinated in over 60 years. I was in a state of shock along with most other Americans and probably most people all over the world. But I knew the news reporters were not lying. And for the rest of the weekend, I like most others watched the news on television. Because all the channels were only devoting themselves to covering the death of President Kennedy. And although I didn’t want to believe all that was happening, I had no choice but to believe it. I did not know everything but I knew that what I saw on television was true.
The other group is those who will not believe despite having all the information they need to know. I’ve had many conversations with my family members over who Jesus Christ is. And just a few weeks ago I was talking with my sisters who still refuse to believe that the only way you can have eternal life is by believing in Jesus. They refuse to believe. I can tell them everything I know, but they still want to believe. The problem is not that they don’t have enough information. The problem is a hardened heart and a refusal to believe the facts about Jesus.
This was Thomas. In the verse we just looked at he simply said he will not believe unless he can see the nail prints and touch them and put his hands into Jesus’ side.
It is very easy to get down on Thomas for his refusing to believe. But I think there is some Thomas in all of us. We simply will not believe. It might mean we will not believe in Jesus. Or for those of us who do believe in Him, unless He meets our demands we will not obey Him or follow Him. If you find yourself like this, I have some good news for you. Jesus will meet you at your point of doubt or unbelief. He will show Himself to you and hopefully you will have the same reaction as Thomas will later have.
In these next 2 verses we will see Jesus appear to Thomas and meet him at his point of need.
John 20:26 ¶ 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!"
John 20:27 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."
Did you notice it was a week later Jesus appeared to the disciples again. What was Thomas thinking during that time? We don’t know. And notice, in verse 26 Jesus appears to the disciples in a locked room. And notice in verse 27 He does not rebuke Thomas, but meets him at his place of need. Remember Thomas made some conditions with Jesus. He wanted to see the nail prints, touch them and put his fingers into Jesus’ side. He would not believe if he could not do this.
Look what Jesus does. He tells Thomas to go ahead and do it, but He adds to it; “Stop doubting and believe.” In other words He is telling Thomas, “It’s OK, go ahead and see me and touch me. But now you see that everything I have told you is true and now you can believe in me. It’s OK if you have doubts. But I will show myself to you and when you see Me, you don’t need to doubt.
And did you notice, Jesus knew what Thomas wanted to know even without Thomas telling Him. Jesus knows our needs, and He knows out doubts. He knows without our telling Him. He knew about Thomas’ doubts and He knows about our doubts. And He knew what to do so Thomas would believe. He does the same for us.
There is a lot of uncertainty in my life. I don’t know where I will be next year at this time. But God knows, and He will show me at the right time. Maybe you might be doubting. You might be having a problem at work or in your family that you cannot solve. And you cry out to God and ask for His help. But nothing happens, and the problem only gets worse.
Jesus knows. And at the right time, He will help you and show you what to do. But what is your response when He does answer? Let’s look at Thomas’ response in verse 28.
John 20:28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
It’s a short verse, but a very powerful one. Because did you notice Thomas does not touch Jesus, or put his hands into Jesus’ side. He only says, “My Lord and my God!”
If I were to ask why John wrote this gospel, I would simply show you this verse. Because all through his gospel, John wants us to see who Jesus is. He wants us to know He is the Christ and by believing in Him, we have eternal life.
Thomas, by confessing Jesus as Lord and God agrees with everything John says in the first chapter of this gospel. Listen to these verses.
John 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 ¶ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
These verses are very easy and very difficult to understand, but they tell us who Jesus is; that He existed in the beginning, He was God, and He became a man and lived with men.
Listen to this verse.
John 1:18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
Jesus explained God the Father. That is why I always tell people, and because John also tells us that if you want to know about who God is, He is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. I’ve shared this in the English service, but when I ask my family members if they believe in Jesus, they will tell me that they believe in God, they don’t believe in Jesus.
If you read John’s gospel you will see that you cannot reject the Son without rejecting the Father also. The reason you cannot believe in God but not believe in Jesus is because Jesus Himself is God. Therefore if you don’t believe in Him, you don’t believe in the Father who sent Him.
Thomas was confessing that everything Jesus said about who He was is true. He confessed Him as His Lord. A person who confesses Jesus as Lord is one who follows Him and obeys Him. Thomas was now a true believer in Jesus Christ. Jesus showed Himself to Thomas and Thomas believed.
I have a question for you. Thomas saw Jesus and because he saw Jesus, he believed. What about you and me? I have never seen Jesus but I believe in Him. And most of you believe in Him too. What about those who have never seen Him but believe in Him? He promises a special blessing for us. Verse 29 tells us about it.
John 20:29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
If we have not seen Him and believe in Him, we are even more blessed. Does that mean we are better than Thomas? Not at all, it just means we have a special blessing. Because what is faith? The writer of Hebrews answers that question for us in Hebrews 11:1.
Hebrews 11:1 ¶ Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Even though Jesus is not physically here with us, He has given us many things to help us believe in Him and follow Him.
He has given us His word. The disciples did not have that. And we have gifted pastors and teachers who communicate His word to us. When our church was praying for our new pastor, I prayed God would send us a pastor who loved God, loved His word and loved His people. God answered that prayer by sending Pastor Takao to us.
God has also given us His Holy Spirit. When we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. He teaches, leads, comforts and assures us God is with us. For our 40th anniversary we had some messages on the Holy Spirit.
And just like He did with Thomas, Jesus answers our prayers. These assure us He cares for us, and He meets our needs. So if we believe in Him without seeing Him we are blessed.
Because that is the reason John wrote this gospel; so that we might believe Jesus is the Christ, and have eternal life in His name. We see that in the last 2 verses of this chapter.
John 20:30 ¶ Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.
John 20:31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Thomas wanted proof that Jesus had risen from the dead, and that He was who He said He was. Jesus appeared to Thomas and told him to go ahead, look and touch Him. But He also told Thomas to stop doubting and believe. He also tells us the same thing. If you are here today and you do not believe in Him, He wants you to know who He is and how much He loves you. He will show Himself to you. I remember hearing a pastor once say that God will spend your whole life showing you that He is faithful and you can trust Him. If you do not believe in Him, He wants you to know He loves you and sent His Son to die for your sins. I often think that when I’m having problems, or when God does not answer a prayer the way I want Him to that He does not love me. Have you ever felt that way? God doesn’t love you. But I have come to realize that the greatest proof that God loves me is that He sent His Son to die for me. I’ve shared this verse so many times but we need to read it again. It is one of the best known and best loved verses in the Bible; John 3:16.
John 3:16 ¶ "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
If you are here today and you do not believe in Jesus, I would encourage you to read John’s gospel. John does not record everything about Jesus. But everything he has written was written so you might believe Jesus is the Son of God.
If you are here today and believe in Jesus, then hopefully this message will encourage you in your faith. All of us go through times of doubt, when we question God or maybe we don’t believe what He says in His word. I remember a couple of months ago, I was working on my Sunday message and feeling a little sad. I finally told God, “I know you are there, and I know you love me, but it would just be nice to know somebody else is thinking about me too.” I went back to work on my message and a couple of hours later I saw that a friend sent me an instant message. It was from a friend I did not think I would ever hear from again. It made me very happy to know she was thinking about me and it also showed me God knew my need and my doubts and He would take care of me. That encouraged me in my faith.
Jesus met Thomas at his point of need. He will do the same for you. But you also must be willing to do like Thomas; stop doubting and believe. Because if you keep doubting and don’t believe, then all the miracles in the world will not help you. Be like Thomas. Stop doubting and believe. Jesus will do everything to help you believe in Him and follow Him. Have the same faith that Thomas did. Stop doubting and believe. Let’s pray.
