John 20
[19] Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
[20] And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
[21] Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
[22] And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
[23] Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
[24] But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
[25] The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
Title: Are You A Twin?
ILL. You have probably heard it said that everyone has a twin. And what is meant by that of course is that its highly likely that out there in this large world populated with billions of people its likely that there is someone, maybe several someones that look like you or look like you enough that they could pass as your twin. We see examples of this all the time in regards to famous people like Presidents or Actors. Every time we get a new President you eventually see a picture of his look-alike. Now when I ask you to day "Do You Have A Twin" I don’t mean in "appearance" but rather "disappearance" that is in "behavior"?
Now, other than Judas the apostle who gets the worst rap is Thomas. Though his nickname was "Didymus," or “the Twin”, we know him as "Doubting Thomas". We call him "Doubting Thomas" because of his initial refusal to believe that Jesus raised from the dead.
I am not suggesting of course that you are Thomas’s Twin in-so-far as your doubting that Jesus rose from the dead because I am assuming that you don’t have a problem with believing that he did. No rather I want you to consider whether or not your a Twin with Thomas in-so-far as his being absent when Jesus comes?
Look with me there at vv. 19-23
[19] Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
[20] And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
[21] Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
[22] And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
[23] Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Imagine the reality of this scene. It was Sunday night. The doors were shut (no doubt locked) the disciples were all together and hiding in fear from the Jewish authorities.
And in the midst of their fear something happens...
1. Jesus shows up! That is Jesus shows up when and where his people are gathered together.
2. He pronounces peace upon them "peace be unto you" that is "relax, don’t worry, don’t be afraid". Jesus comes to communicate and to comfort.
3. He shows them His hands and His side, that is He proves to them that it really is Him! And look at the result, it says that they were glad when they saw the Lord. So just being in the presence of Jesus they moved from fearfulness to gladness
Jesus shows up when and where his people are gathered together.
4. He not only communicated with them and comforted them but he also commissioned them v.21 "Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you."
Jesus gave them directions. He told them what he wanted them to do. They were told what God’s will was for their life, and that was evangelism.
Wouldn’t that be nice? Wouldn’t you like to be told what God’s will is for your life? Of course you would. The thing is that Jesus shows up when and where His people are gathered together, and He does so for the purpose of communicating with them, comforting them and for commissioning them.
5. But there’s more, because not only did He communicate with them and comfort them and commissioned them but He empowered them to fulfill their calling. v.22+23
[22] And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
[23] Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Now, I have only one question... Where was Thomas?
Of course we are not told where he is, in fact it doesn’t matter where he was or why he wasn’t there, all the matters is that he was absent, like far to many "Christians" Thomas was "missing in action" he was absent and as a result missed out on an encounter with Jesus.
Let me say that again in case you didn’t hear it, it doesn’t matter where he was or WHY .... I’m sure he had, at least in his mind, a good excuse, but "good excuse or not he missed out and missed an encounter with Jesus."
In fact if you really want to know where he was I can tell you all you need to know. Because all you need to know is that he was in the world! Listen there are only two places you can be when the people of Jesus are assembled together, your either with them or your with the world.
Thomas, because he wasn’t with God’s people when they were assembled together missed out on something.... a life changing encounter with Jesus. Look with me there at v.24 which when you think about it is a very very sad verse.
[24] But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
Friends, did you know that Jesus came here last Sunday, and that he came again on Wednesday...did you know that?
Listen Thomas was numbered with the disciples, he was one of the original 12, and when Jesus came he was absent. When Jesus comes will you be absent? I hope not.
Of course Thomas’s absence had nothing to do with his commitment to the other disciples because he does show up later, and we do know that he is going to have his own personal encounter with Jesus. And that Jesus is even going to use this whole thing to make the point we find in v.[29]
"blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
But how different Thomas’s reputation would be had he either been there when Jesus came or had he had faith in the testimony of the other disciples.
Listen Jesus is calling us to FAITHFULNESS, he wants to communicate with us, he wants to comfort us, he wants to commission and empower us... But we have to be committed to meeting whenever and whereever his people are gathered together. You simply can’t experience the blessing of his presence if your absent when He is present.
Look at what Thomas’s absence caused:
[25] The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
1. It caused him to doubt,disbelief, mistrust and skepticism. And doubt disbelief and mistrust of who...the other disciples. It’s sad to think that he doubted so much that he thought they were lying to him, trying to see how gullible he was or were trying to play a cruel joke in him. It’s sad to think that he thought his own friends were capable of such a thing, to lie to him about such a thing.
2. It caused him to a make pretty bold statement, to demand proof. This passage makes it absolutely plain that to demand proof concerning Jesus or the things of God shows an incredible lack of faith.
Absence can lead to and reflect a lack of faith. But thats not all it can cause. It can also lead to humiliation. vv.26+27
[26] And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
[27] Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
Thomas had put his foot in his mouth and now was going to have to eat humble pie and no doubt would have to be apologetic to the other disciples for his behavior.
Contrary to popular opinion absence did not make his heart grow fonder it made it grow colder, it led him to doubt and humiliation.
v.28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Make no mistake about it, under normal circumstances that’s a great confession to make to Jesus, but consider for a moment the humblness and humility involved in saying it. I have a hard time believing that Thomas was on his feet when he made this confession, but rather was probably humbled at the feet of Jesus, how humbling and humiliating and gut wrenching that confession must have been!
But be assured we all will be there one way or the other.
Romans 14:11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Philippians 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Listen, if you don’t want to experience what Thomas went through, if you don’t want to be doubtful, if you don’t want to have to be humbled and humiliated when Jesus shows up there is one solution. Don’t be absent, be committed, be faithful in worship, in fellowship and in in service.
