SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Thomas the absentee (vs 19 & 24).
(2). Thomas the cynic (vs 25a).
(3). Thomas the confessor (vs 26-28).
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• Some people are household names:
• You know who they are, and what they do or are famous for.
• e.g. Ronaldo - Football
• e.g. Picasso - Painting & Art.
• e.g. Einstein - Science.
• e.g. Shakespear – Playwright.
• e.g. Morcombe & Wise - Comedians.
What is true in the secular world is mirrored in the Bible:
• e.g. Joseph & his Coat.
• e.g. Jonah & Whale (?)
• e.g. Samson & Haircuts.
• e.g. Eve & Apple (?)
• e.g. Noah & Ark.
• e.g. Gideon & Fleece.
Some people in the Bible are linked to occupations:
• e.g. Peter the Fisherman,
• e.g. Zacchaeus the Tax Collector.
• e.g. Rahab the Harlot,
• e.g. Luke the Doctor.
• e.g. Lydia the seller of purple.
Some people in the Bible are linked to a particular nickname:
• e.g. John the baptiser.
• e.g. Judas the betrayer.
• e.g. John the beloved.
• e.g. Peter the rock.
• e.g. Stephen the Martyr.
• TRANSITION:
• In our Bible talk this morning, involves a man linked to a nickname.
• Throughout Church history he has been known as ‘Doubting Thomas!’
(We first meet him as…)
(1). THOMAS THE APOSTLE:
Note:
• The New Testament DOES NOT call him the doubter.
• Church history might call him that!
• But the New Testament identifies him in a variety of ways,
• e.g. He is called ‘Thomas the disciple” and also “An apostle.’
• (Matthew chapter 10 verse 3; Mark chapter 3 verse 18; Luke chapter 6 verse 15).)
• A disciple is a follower or learner,
• While an apostle is a messenger who is sent off to accomplish something1
• e.g. He is also called, ‘Didymus.’
• (John chapter 11 verse 16 & chapter 20 verse 24)
• Didymus (??d?µ??, ??, ?) means “twin.” in Greek.
• Thomas (Ta’om) means “twin.” in Hebrew.
• The New Testament does not give us the name of Thomas’s twin.
• We don’t even know if he had a twin brother or sister.
• Yet, throughout Church history he is known as ‘Doubting Thomas’.
• Because when he heard the news Jesus was alive,
• He did not believe! That was his big mistake!
Ill:
• One wit has written:
• "A dentist's mistake is pulled out,
• A lawyer's mistake is imprisoned.
• A teacher's mistake is failed,
• A printer's mistake is corrected.
• A pharmacist's mistake is buried.
• A postman's mistake is forwarded.
• An electrician's mistake could be shocking!"
• TRANSITION:
• Thomas makes one mistake that we know of, and he is never allowed to forget it!
• When he heard the news from the other disciples that Jesus was alive,
• He refused to believe it!
• He was a realist, he knew that ‘when you are dead you are dead!’
• And he had seen Jesus nailed to a cross,
• And nobody in history ever survived a Roman Crucifixion!
(1). THOMAS THE ABSENTEE (Vs 19 & 24):
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked in fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!””
“Now Thomas (also known as Didymus, one of the Twelve,
WAS NOT WITH the disciples when Jesus came.”
Ill:
• One cold winter's day a crowd of people stood in front of a pet shop window,
• And they all were watching a litter of puppies snuggling up to each other.
• One person laughed and said,
• “What a great example of how to be caring for each other!
• Look at how those puppies are keeping each other warm!”
• The person next to him replied,
• “They're not keeping each other warm they're keeping themselves warm."
• TRANSITION: well, those puppies might have been looking out for number one,
• But as Christians we are called to look out for each other.
• The disciples are all huddled together in an upper room,
• Trying to figure out what to do now Jesus was no longer with them!
• Well, not all! There is one exception, one person missing!
Thomas was not in the room!
• We are not told why Thomas was absent from the other disciples,
• But we do know that his absence was costly.
• He missed out on the most incredible experience in history,
• He missed out on seeing the risen Christ.
• Remember this event would change the world forever!
• i.e. In the Western world he split time i.e. BC & AD.
• i.e. Today more people claim to follow the teaching of Jesus than any other person.
• Christianity, with about 2.38 billion followers, is the world's largest religion.
• For whatever reason Thomas was about to miss the most incredible moment in history,
• He missed out on seeing and encountering the risen Christ.
Ill:
• Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson went on a camping trip.
• After sharing a good meal and a bottle of wine, they retire to their tent for the night.
• At about 3 AM, Holmes nudges Watson and asks,
• "Watson, look up into the sky and tell me what you see?"
• Watson said, "I see millions of stars."
• Holmes asks, "And, what does that tell you?"
• Watson replies,
• "Astronomically, it tells me there are millions of galaxies & potentially billions of planets.
• Theologically, it tells me that God is great, and we are small and insignificant.
• Horologically, it tells me that it’s about 3 AM.
• Meteorologically, it tells me that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.
• Watson then says, “What does it tell you, Holmes?"
• Holmes replies, "It tells me that someone has stolen our tent.”
• TRANSITION: Sometimes we miss the obvious,
• But I tell you this obvious statement that jumps out to me from Thomas.
• If meeting together as Gods people (Church) becomes an optional extra to you,
• You are going to miss out big time in your Christian life!
• Meeting with God’s people needs to be a priority,
• If you want to take your faith seriously!
Ill:
A sign on a Church notice board read,
“When you were born, your mother brought you to church.
When you were married, your wife brought you to church.
When you die, your friends will bring you to church.
Why not try coming to church on your own sometime?”
• TRANSITION: For any Christian…
• Meeting with God’s people needs to be a priority if you want to grow in your faith!
e.g. Luke chapter 4 verse 16.
“Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom,”
e.g. Acts chapter 17 verse 2.
“As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue.”
• TRANSITION: If Jesus was a habitual attender to synagogue/Church on a regular basis,
• So do you!
• Thomas missed out because he was in the wrong place!
(2). THOMA5 THE CYNIC (VS 25A):
“So, the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!"
• The other disciples sought out Thomas and full of excitement declared,
• “Thomas, we have seen the Lord.”
• In fact, they go into great details.
• We have had seen the Lords his physical scars and wounds (vs 20)
• "He showed them his hands and side."
• But the words of his friends and fellow disciples:
• Make no impact on Thomas,
• He has allowed his doubts to grow and grow and turn into unbelief.
Thomas’ emphatic and pessimistic reply (vs 25b).
“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.”
• In other words,
• “You might believe that nonsense but not me, l need proof, I want to see them as well!”
• Afterall, “Seeing is believing".
• In the ancient world,
• When you have seen a man pinned to a cross with Roman spikes.
• It takes more than a few enthusiastic words to change your mind!
Note: Remember that Thomas had been with Jesus for three years.
• He had been eyewitness to miracle after miracle.
• The four Gospels record 37 miracles of Jesus.
• Thomas had seen most of them!
• He should have been aware that Jesus could do exceptional things (even raise the dead).
He had listened to Jesus clearly talk about his death.
• Three times Jesus gets the disciples together,
• And talks about his death is detail (the how the where, the why etc)
• The first time Jesus predicted his death.
• (Matthew chapter 16 verses 21-23, Mark chapter 8 verses 31-32, Luke chapter 9 verses 21-22)
• The second time Jesus predicted his death.
• (Matthew chapter 17 verses 22-23, Mark chapter 9 verses 30-32, Luke chapter 9 verses 43-45).
• The third time Jesus predicted his death.
• (Matthew chapter 20 verses 17-19, Mark chapter 10 verses 32-34, Luke chapter 18 verses 31-34).
The importance of Jesus’ death cannot be overstated:
• Because it is at the heart of the Bible (both Old Testament and New).
• It is the number one reason Jesus came into the earth.
• Jesus himself would emphasise that again and again.
i.e. Mark chapter 10 verse 45.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
i.e. John chapter 10 verse 18.
“No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
• 20% of the Gospels are devoted to this overall teaching of his death and resurrection,
• And the death of Jesus is mentioned 175 times in the New Testament.
• It is the key teaching of the Bible,
Ill:
• This old but true story came to mind recently.
• And it might help explain why Jesus needed to die.
• Source: http://www.china.org.cn/china/wenchuan_earthquake/2008-05/18/content_15303108.htm
• Resue workers found a young woman buried beneath debris,
• It looked as if she is performing an ancient ritual.
• The palms of her hands were placed flat on the ground, and she was bent over.
• A rescuer cried out to her, but there was no reply.
• The rescue team was about to move on and look for more survivors,
• When the team captain returned to have one more look.
• He found a baby under the woman’s body.
• He cried out: "A baby is still alive!"
• The three- or four-month-old old baby was wrapped in a quilt.
• Uninjured, the baby was sleeping quietly.
• His sweet, chubby face brought some comfort to those around him at the disaster site.
• Holding the baby up, a mobile phone was revealed.
• On the phone's screen, a text message read:
• "Dear baby, if you survive, please remember that I love you forever."
• TRANSITION:
• Wow! This, woman had made the ultimate sacrifice,
• She had given her life in order to save her babies life.
• The death of Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice.
• The just would die for the unjust.
• The innocent would die for the guilty.
• The perfect Son of God would be given in exchange for sinful people.
• Christ takes our sin and in return he gives us his righteousness!
• He takes our guilt and gives us his forgiveness.
Note:
• Anyone can predict that he or she will die,
• But Jesus gives accurate details regarding his death.
• Jesus never spoke about his death without also mentioning the resurrection!
• He would die but that would not be the end!
• He would rise again!
Ill:
• Erik Weisz, better known as Harry Houdini, was born on March 24th, 1874.
• A Hungarian American,
• He is best known for performing escape acts, illusions, card tricks and outdoor stunts.
• YouTube Video Edit: https://youtu.be/eLue-Iqudr8
• YouTube Video Full: https://youtu.be/XMuh-l-Eqfs?si=HivdiV9VTlXDOw3T
• Houdini was the best of his times.
• And was also one of the highest paid entertainers of his day.
• Houdini boasted that he could escape from any prison/jail cell in the World,
• And he could do it in less than an hour!
• Provided he could go into the cell dressed in street clothes.
• And every time he was given this challenge, he accepted and did just as he promised.
• Houdini spent years campaigning against fraudulent psychics & Spiritualism,
• (a religious movement based on the belief that the dead could interact with the living),
• He promised his wife, Bess, that if it were possible to communicate with the dead,
• He would come back to her, should he die first.
• And he gave her a code to help prove it.
• You will not be surprised to know, that he never returned!
• Houdini might have been able to escape from any prison/jail cell in the World,
• But he could not escape death!
• TRANSITION: But 2000 years ago, one man did!
• Not an entertainer, an escape artist or magician,
• But the Son of God.
• He predicted that he would defeat death itself,
• And he keeps those promises!
(3). THOMAS THE CONFESSOR (VS 26 TO 28).
“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!” 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.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”"
Jesus knew the exact words Thomas had spoken to the other disciples seven days earlier:
• I like the way Jesus deals with Thomas.
• Jesus knew that Thomas not only possessed a questioning mind,
• But he also had a loving heart!
NOTE:
• In verse 25 there are four DEMANDS of Thomas.
• In verse 27 there are four COMMANDS of Jesus.
• Thomas’ first demand: "I must see the nail marks in his hand”.
• Jesus’ first command: "See my hands."
• Thomas’ second demand: "I must put my fingers where the nails were.”
• Jesus’ second command: "Put your finger here".
• Thomas’ third demand: "I must put my hand in his side.”
• Jesus’ third command: “Reach out your hand and put it in my side."
• Thomas’ fourth demand: "I will not believe!”
• Jesus’ fourth command: "Stop doubting and believe!"
Notice: Thomas’ response (vs 28).
• “Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!"”
• Thomas becomes the first person after the resurrection to call Jesus God.
• The first person to publicly acknowledge his deity!
• And in doing so he brings John’s gospel full circle.
• It starts and finish with an acknowledgement that Jesus Christ is God!
i.e. John chapter 1 verses 1&14:
• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
• “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
• And here at the end of the gospel, that same truth is repeated.
• “Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!"”
I love the fact that after the resurrection Jesus gives special attention to two people.
• Who is Peter the denier, and Thomas the doubter.
• He could have dismissed both of them as failures,
• But he doesn’t! He restores their faith and recommissions them into service.
Quote:
"Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker.
Failure is delay, not defeat.
It is a temporary detour, not a dead-end street."
AND FINALLY…
• Thomas made a big mistake and he found reconciliation.
• Question: What about you?
Remember the four points.
• FIRST: God loves you!
• Each one of us are valued by God,
• Therefore, each one of us has the chance to be a friend of God, to be reconciled!
• SECOND; WE have sinned (messed up, got things wrong).
• Thomas’ problem was unbelief and pride.
• What is your problem? Bible says, “All have sinned and fallen short…”
• (Romans chapter 3 verse 23).
• THIRD: Cross is where we find forgiveness!
• Sin cannot be ignored it will be punished for God is just,
• But God is also loving and in Christ we see both the love and justice of God.
Ill:
• Suppose you go to the doctors with red spots all over your body,
• You get examined and the doctor diagnoses measles.
• Imagine he then tried to cure you by covering all the spots with band aids or plasters.
• You’d say, ‘Hang on a minute, that’s no solution.
• The spots are only the symptoms – the real disease is within; it’s in the blood stream!’
• So it is with our sin,
• It’s a heart issue and we can’t fix the problem ourselves,
• By covering up. Or by trying and impress God or cancel out the bad stuff!
• FOURTH: Choice – the question mark.
• By being baptised this morning Lacie has demonstrated her choice to follow Jesus.
• What will you do with Jesus?
Quote: C.S. Lewis.
• 80 years ago this year C.S. Lewis wrote the book,, 'Mere Christianity.'
I• n that book he made this very insight quotation.
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [that is, Christ]: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse…. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=9buGhGI5sgolEABNpI7QrvkddhIulKwB
SERMON VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/Q3w3UnkR06U
