Theme: Stop Doubting
Text: John 20:24-31
Greetings: “The Lord is good and His love endures.”
An Old age pensioner received a letter from the department: Dear Ma’am, “Your pension will be stopped, effective immediately because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.”
Introduction: Jesus appeared to the disciples on several occasions after the resurrection. He appeared to Mary the Magdalene, to the disciples from Emmaus, and to the disciples. However, through this Passage John would like to convey to the readers of this gospel and to the future generations of the Church to learn to live without the physical appearance of Christ, the actual seeing, touching, and hearing of him through the written scriptures. Jesus taught them to walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, he would walk with us, sit with us, eat with us, but in a more profound manner not limited by space and time.
1. Believing through Seeing (John 20:24-25a)
“We have seen the Lord” were the words of the witness by the Ten disciples to Thomas, the one who was not present with them. The ten disciples saw the wounds of Jesus and they were overjoyed. Jesus showed them his hands and his side. These disciples did not touch Jesus but they had seen Jesus who was dead and rose from the dead (John 20:20).
Mathew Henry: ‘The disciples of Christ should endeavor to build up one another in their most holy faith, both by repeating what they have heard to those that were absent, that they may hear it second hand and also by communicating what they have experienced. Those that by faith have seen the Lord, and tasted that he is gracious, should tell others what God has done for their souls; only let boasting be excluded.’
2. Believing through Touching (John 20:25b-28)
“Unless I see and touch, I will not believe” was his declaration by Thomas. Perhaps it was Thomas' emotional reaction to the outcome of his appalling agony and disappointment. Death was real to Thomas. "Doubting Thomas," refers to Thomas one of the disciples of Jesus. He is seen as a natural pessimist, a man very liable to take the despondent hopeless view of the future and see the darker side of everything. Thomas was belligerent in his pessimism. Thomas was the skeptical, stubborn, and proof finder. His Hebrew name was Thomas, and his Greek name was Didymus, which both signify a twin (William Barclay).
Every time we see Thomas as a day of appalling gloom. John 11:16- ‘Let us go too, so that we may die with him.’ Thomas was not impressed with their excitement, not convinced by their testimony. (ref: abideinchrist.)
‘A week later.’ (John 20:26) Jesus appeared to the disciples again. This is theological understanding and emphasis that Jesus comes on every Sunday to visit you in the Holy gathering. He would bless you, give you peace, and leads you to grace. Coming to the Church week after week is mandatory to meet the Lord with the believing group. That strengthens our faith. Church gathering, corporate worship, and small group fellowship play a vital role in our spiritual formation. The coming together of the believers remove doubts solidify faith. Absence from Christian worship quickly moves a believer into a posture of doubt and unbelief.
Reference to Thomas is found in the synoptic gospels only once (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15). Of course, Luke lists him once in Acts (Acts 1:13). John gives us eight references to Thomas as a disciple of Jesus. But this is a beautiful event. Jesus used this method with all eleven of the disciples with many infallible proofs or "demonstrative evidence" of his resurrection (Acts 1:3).
Thomas was projected as an honest truth-seeking disciple. He matured in his faith after having the vision of God. He was blessed by seeing Christ (Matthew 5:8). King George the Fifth used to say that one of his rules of life was: "If I have to suffer, let me be like a well-bred animal, and let me go and suffer alone."(William Barclay).
On the day of resurrection, Mary wanted to touch him. But Jesus immediately barred her not to touching him because he told her that he has not gone to the Father but a week later he told Thomas to touch him. That means he had already been to heaven and met the father and came back. It shows that there was a secret ascension and an open ascension. In the same way, there would be a secret rapture and an open second coming of Christ (John 20:17, 27).
Thomas confessed ‘My Lord and my God.’ John 20: The word "Lord" (Kurios), is used by the Greek translators of the Old Testament to translate Yahweh, the LORD God of the Jews. Jesus is both the "LORD" (Yahweh) and God (Elohim). Doubting Thomas set the tone for the worship of Christ as Kurios and Elohim. Jesus was acknowledged from henceforth as God of the Old Testament. He was, is, and will be as God. Those are words of adoration and reverence. He has converted from total unbelief to total surrender and devotion. Jesus appeared to Thomas and told him to place his hands in his wounds. He tells Thomas not to be faithless (apistos) but faithful (pistos) (ref.:workingpreacher).
Luke 24:52 tells that then they worshipped him. Till this moment of confession, Jesus was not venerated, not worshipped, not equated with God by the Disciples. Disciples treated Jesus as one of the prophets, one of the gurus, and one of the saints. Peter confessed as ‘the son of the Living God.’ But for the first time, Thomas declares him as Lord and God. God brought good out of the doubt Thomas. He can from your failures, doubts, and disappointments.
3. Believing through Hearing (John 20:29-31)
Some of you have never doubted the truths of Scripture. You have never wrestled with the question of his existence, birth, and resurrection, and the millions and billions of believers in Christ have not been blessed with the opportunity to be in the intimate group of disciples who saw Jesus soon after his resurrection. Jesus said: “Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway.” (John 20;29). You are blessed people indeed because God has given you a strong faith.
Believing the written word and its reading or hearing the word of Faith. Jesus is quite clear that Thomas’s ‘proof” is rare: those who come to the Christian faith in the future are not going to have this kind of strut for their belief. But their deeper faith will have a special reward.
The crystal-clear declaration/beatitude, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” This beatitude introduces in a drastic manner the great importance of believing in the risen Jesus without having seen him. It is a special position of the "blessed" (makarioi), worthy of a special beatitude. It is not only the words of encouragement but moving from the state of unbelieving to the state of believing. Seeing produces a degree of compulsion, somehow diminishes the risk, and makes believing easier. Not seeing yet believing involves more willingness, more decisiveness, and more readiness for exposure to all kinds of probable dangers. But here believing seems to acquire a high quality indeed, and to engage more profoundly the whole human being. The people of this category are called blessed. (ref: goarch).
Conclusion:
John has left many signs and wonders in his Gospel. However, many other numerous are left out. Because the purpose is not history, or biography but good news proclamation.
