Only Believe - Learning from 'Doubting' Thomas

Trevor S. Ferguson
July 25, 2010

John 20:19-28
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. 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. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.


INTRODUCTION
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a cornerstone of the Christian faith. If there was no resurrection the story of Jesus Christ would have ended with His death and he would have gone down in history as just another religious leader who tried to change humanity but failed. Worse yet he would have been proven a false prophet, for then much of his sayings would not have come to pass. However we can rejoice in His resurrection, knowing that because He lives we have a hope of eternal life. The sad thing though is that many people today still fail to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, or fail to apply the power of His resurrection to their lives. The gravity of this failure is magnified when we realize that the only way to receive the promise of eternal life is through faith in Jesus Christ, and the consequences of this failure is eternal condemnation. Today I want to help persons move from a place of doubt to a place of faith, by examining the life of Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples, who was known for his doubtful / pessimistic tendencies but whose story ended with a great confession of faith

EXPOSITION
The name Thomas is the Aramaic equivalent to the Greek ‘Didymus’ meaning “the twin”. He is only mentioned once by name in each of the three synoptic gospels, listed as being among the 12 chosen in Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18 and Luke 6:15. John however reports 5 encounters, through which we have a picture of his character. John first mentions him in chapter 11. When Jesus declares that he is going to Bethany after hearing of the death of Lazarus, Thomas says to the other disciples “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Note that this was not just a fatalistic statement but probably represented his commitment to Jesus and his willingness to suffer with Him. By that time Jesus had become unpopular and the Jews wanted to kill Him, but Thomas was so committed that despite the threat of death he was willing to go with Jesus to see Lazarus’ family.

Thomas is next mentioned in chapter John 14. Jesus had just declared that soon they would no longer see him (13:33), then went on to say they knew where he was going and they also knew the way. But Thomas, willing to expose his uncertainties, said Lord, we do not know where you are going and how can we know the way? Jesus’ response was one of the great “I am” declarations – “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father but by me.”

The next mention of Thomas in St. John 20 which is our main text today and concerns the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to his disciples. John records four post resurrection appearances of Jesus. First Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene who went and told the disciples that she had seen Jesus. That same evening He appears to the disciples in Jerusalem but Thomas was not with them. The other disciples reported to him how they had seen Jesus, but Thomas doubted. He stated that unless he saw Jesus for himself, put his finger in the print of the nails, and thrust his finger in his side he would not believe. Eight days later Jesus again appears to the disciples, but this time Thomas is there. Jesus therefore says 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.” What follows next is a lesson to us all: Confronted with the evidence, hearing Jesus voice, seeing His face, removed all doubt from the mind of Thomas as he declares “My Lord and my God”. If he was passionate in his expression of doubt he is more forthright in his declaration of faith. This was not just a passive OK, now I believe, but a transformation from ardent doubter to firm believer. Thomas saw not only resurrected humanity he saw divinity, recognizing him as the great God of creation in the midst of them. Jesus response is a challenge to us today – Blessed are they which have not seen but believed.

APPLICATION
The account of Thomas’ transformation is a lesson to us all. Many person today have not yet applied the resurrection of Jesus to their personal lives. You might have heard the message of salvation. You might have heard of water baptism in Jesus name and the infilling of the Holy Ghost but like Thomas you have lingering doubts and questions that have prevented you from acting on the word of God. Unlike Thomas however, you don’t have to wait another week for Jesus to show up. He is ready to reveal himself to you today. Through the eyes of faith you too can see the print of the nails in His hands as he reaches out to you. You can see wound in his side, out of which the blood that covers all your sins still flows. You can reach out and place you hand in His hand. You can reach out and touch His side. You can declare like Thomas – My Lord and my God. A great blessing awaits you!!