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DOUBTING THOMAS
John’s Gospel reveals that Thomas was loyal, but pessimistic.
Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16).
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (John 14:5).
But [Thomas] 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” (John 20:25).
A CHANGED LIFE
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!” (John 20:26-28).
Thomas applied to Jesus two titles of deity: “Lord” (kyrios) and “God” (theos). The most outrageous doubter of the resurrection uttered the greatest confession of the Lord who rose from the dead.
Thomas went from “Doubting Thomas” to “Daring Thomas”:
· Thomas may have taken the gospel as far east as INDIA.
“There is a considerable amount of ancient testimony that suggest Thomas carried the gospel as far as India. There is to this day a small hill near the airport in Chennai (Madras), India, where Thomas is said to have been buried. There are churches in south India whose roots are traceable to the beginning of the church age, and tradition says they were founded under the ministry of Thomas.”—John MacArthur, Twelve Ordinary Men, p. 164
Today, Christianity is India’s third largest religion, with approximately 24 million followers, constituting 2.3% of India’s population.—Census of India, 2001
· Thomas was MARTYRED for his faith in the risen Jesus.
“The strongest traditions say he was martyred for his faith by being run through with a spear—a fitting form of martyrdom for one whose faith came of age when he saw the spear mark in his Master’s side....”—John MacArthur, Twelve Ordinary Men, p. 164
BELIEVING WITHOUT SEEING
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
Jesus did many other miraculous 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 Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:30-31).
I have with me three books: Who Moved the Stone? by Frank Morison, Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell, and The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. What do these three authors have in common? All three were once skeptics of Christianity, but were converted when they studied the biblical accounts of the resurrection of Jesus.
· Christianity rises and falls on the RESURRECTION.
· If Jesus rose from the dead, He is LORD.
· If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, the gospel is a LIE.
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 Peter, and then to the Twelve (1 Corinthians 15:3-5).
This passage was probably part of an early Christian creed. Many scholars believe that Paul received it from Peter and James while visiting them in Jerusalem three years after his conversion (see Galatians 1:18-19). If so, Paul learned it within five years of Jesus’ crucifixion. The story of the resurrection was not a legend that grew over time. The disciples started proclaiming the resurrection just a few weeks after the crucifixion (see Acts 2).
How can we who have never seen Jesus be sure that He really rose from the dead?
1. The disciples were TRANSFORMED.
“Perhaps the transformation of the disciples of Jesus is the greatest evidence of all for the resurrection.”—John R. W. Stott, Basic Christianity, pp. 58-59
Then all of the disciples deserted him and fled (Matthew 26:56).
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is
“‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.’
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:8-12).
None of the theories used to deny the resurrection are believable:
· The disciples did not STEAL the body.
“When therefore the disciples began to preach the resurrection in Jerusalem and people responded, and when religious authorities stood helplessly by, the tomb must have been empty. The simple fact that the Christian fellowship, founded on belief in Jesus’ resurrection, came into existence and flourished in the very city where he was executed and buried is powerful evidence for the historicity of the empty tomb.”—William Lane Craig
· The disciples did not go to the WRONG tomb.
· The disciples did not see a RESUSCITATED Jesus.
· The disciples did not HALLUCINATE.
2. Liars make poor MARTYRS.
According to church tradition, all of the apostles, except John, were martyred.
“Men will die for what they believe to be true, though it may actually be false. They do not, however, die for what they know is a lie.”—Paul Little, Know Why You Believe, p. 52
“When a sword is at your throat and you are told to deny the resurrection of Christ or die—what kind of evidence causes you to choose death over life? What prevents you from speaking the simple words, “Well, I never actually saw Him alive. You must be right—He didn’t rise from the dead”? We can imagine that two or even three deluded disciples might be willing to die for mistaken belief in the resurrection of Jesus—but all eleven? Isn’t it reasonable to suppose that at least one of them would cave in when threatened with death? Yet none of them did so. The only explanation must be that, when confronted with death, the minds of the disciples raced back to several rock-solid, airtight reasons for maintaining their unshakeable conviction that Jesus rose from the dead. Without that, what could have kept at least one or two from recanting? Yet none of them ever did so. Why not? Because they not only believed He had risen from the dead, they knew He had. They had spoken to Him. They had seen Him. They had watched Him eat. They had touched Him. They knew.”—Tim LaHaye, Jesus: Who Is He?, p. 266
RESOURCES USED
D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John
Gary R. Habermas & Michael R. Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus
Paul Little, Know Why You Believe
John MacArthur, Twelve Ordinary Men
Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict
Frank Morison, Who Moved the Stone?
Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ
