Stop Doubting and Believe
John 20:24-29
- Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe in honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned acts of God?
- Of all Gods Miracles this is the BEST.
- People have asked me have I seen Miracles before. My answer is YES!
-Besides seeing His physical power I see Life and those that come to know Jesus as a miracle.
-Man has no problem with understanding the Cross and Crucifixion. Resurrection it tales the eyes of God to see that.
I. Thomas
a. He was a twin. (Didymus Means twin)
1. There is not much about Thomas. We don’t know where he came from but we do know or think because of the Dudymus title he was a twin.
2. I want to get all spiritual and look at this from a different angle. Inside of each of us we have a believing part and an unbelieving part. Metaphorically you could say twin me.
3. I have never watched any of the Austin Power movies but I like the picture of a mini me. One big and one Small
a. Which of is the believing part and which is the unbelieving
Matt 8: 23 – 26 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
b. A man of courage.
1. He gets a bad rap when we think of him we think of his doubt
a. John 11. Lazarus has died in Bethany—a suburb of Jerusalem. Before this they (Religious leaders tried to kill Jesus)
b. When Jesus decides to go to Bethany, his disciples tell him it would be suicidal to go back.
1. Thomas says a brief word John 11:16 “Let us go also, that we may die with him”
a. Most Texans see this as sarcasm
2. Maybe he remembered Lk 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to gain his life shall lose it: but whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
2. He did not accept easy answers.
John 14:1-4 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place I am going
a. I think none of the twelve knew what Jesus was speaking of but were afraid to ask.
b. Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?
II. The Resurrection question
a. We forget what it must have been like for the followers. Remember they were in fear of their lives.
1. If I had been there would I have believed or doubted. They had seen him beaten and crucified just scant days earlier. And rising from the dead is not common!!
2. I wonder why they had not thought that just a few weeks earlier they had seen Jesus resurrect Lazarus
3. So the women go to the tomb Luke 24:1-6 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6He is not here, but has risen.
4. Nobody believed at first Luke adds that when the women came and told the apostles what the angel had said, Luke 24:11 “ They did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense” .
b. They were thinking in their Mini me minds.
1. 3 days. The Cross the scourging the thrust in the side. 100 pounds of spices and burial cloth. The stone and the Guards. Nonsense. Even today many say that “Nonsense”
Mark 16:11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.
2. Jesus appears and Thomas is not there
John 20:19-25 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin,d was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
a. Many wonder where he was? Instead I have to ask where would I be?
1. There are a few ways I have noticed people respond to a loved one dying
a. Some seek solace in the company of their friends. They want people around to help them talk it out.
b. Some like me prefer to be alone with their thoughts.
2. I think Thomas was the later He was a broken man and needed to think things out.
c. If you wish to call Thomas a doubter, please do not make him out an unbeliever.
1. He was not a skeptic. His doubts come from devotion to Christ. There is no doubt like the doubt of a broken heart.
c. His doubt sprang from a broken heart.
1. He was a wounded believer. How many in have this same issue. Hurt by circumstances or another person and revert to the Mini me and just have a hard time believing that they can see change
2. Thomas didn’t doubt the miracles. He had seen many of Jesus’ greatest miracles. But this one was too big to take someone else’s word for it.
a. He had to see it to believe it. And who could blame him?
III. The Finale
a. Jesus invited Thomas to see for himself.
John 20:27 “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe”
1. He was not mad at Thomas he speaks to him as one that was weak in his faith
a. Here is the wonderful truth: Doubters are welcome at the empty tomb.
2. The strongest doubters often become the strongest believers
b. Blessings come to those who believe what God has said.
John 20:28 – 29 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
1. This has to be one of the greatest bible verses. Blessed because we have not seen and we believe
Conclusuion
Don’t let your Mini me keep you from Jesus.
You can bring your doubts to the empty tomb, but you have to make a choice.
Jesus said, “Stop doubting and believe.”
