Sunday 04/12/26 – Adams Village Baptist Church
Sermon Title: “Doubting
Thomas” - John 20:19-31
(Welcome
Picture)
According to the Merriam-Webster
online dictionary, the word “doubt” can be defined as:
1.
to call into question the truth of: to be uncertain or in doubt about;
2.
or to lack confidence in: distrust: to
consider unlikely (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doubt).
I begin this message this morning by giving you this
definition of the word “doubt” because this morning we will be talking about the
Apostle Thomas. In our gospel lesson for this morning from John 20:19-31 that
we just read, we hear the story that is often called the story of “Doubting Thomas”.
This story picks up immediately after the Gospel of John Easter Sunday/Resurrection
Sunday narrative that we read last week on Easter Sunday. This story, in John
20:19-31 is often called the story of “Doubting Thomas”, because the Apostle
Thomas would not believe that other disciples had seen the risen Christ. I mean
how can Thomas be sure that Jesus physically rose from the dead on Easter
Sunday? Beyond this, Thomas “upped the ante,” as it were, as he told the
disciples that if saw the risen Christ that he would need to have more evidence
than just seeing the risen Christ. Thomas told the disciples that he also would
need to put his finger in Jesus’ hand nail holes, and then put his hand in the
Jesus side, where the spear entered Christ’s side. Only then would the Apostle
Thomas, or “Doubting Thomas” believe. I mean Jesus’ tomb was found empty on
Easter morning, Peter and John confirmed this, and it was generally agreed upon
that Jesus rose from the dead. So, what is the problem here? Further, should be
judge Thomas in a bad way since he doubted the resurrection of Jesus?
If you were to ask me in the first half of my years in ministry,
I would have been much harder on Thomas than I would be now. I mean Thomas was
with Jesus for three years, and he heard and saw things that we only read about
in the gospels. Thomas was there, and we were not. How could Thomas not
believe? Yet, we are all just so human, aren’t we? All the of the disciples of
Jesus, except the “Beloved Disciple,” or John fled on Good Friday. They were
all afraid of being persecuted and killed like Jesus was. Yet they were all with
Him for three years. If the original disciples of Jesus all scattered but one
on the day of His crucifixion, what does that say about us here today? If Peter
denied Jesus three times on Good Friday, what does this say about us today?
We are just so human, and even so, Christ pursues us and
pursues us some more. Turning to Jesus, repenting of our sin, guilt, and shame,
and coming to Him, is indeed salvation, justification, forgiveness, eternity,
and new life. Yet we are still so human. Every day we are called to live out
our faith, as this world is still what it is. We are called to be loving, kind,
generous, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Yet, we are just so human.
Should the Apostle Peter have denied Jesus three times on Good Friday? No, but
if we feared death, would we stand firm in our faith in Christ? I hope that all
of us here would do so if we were put to the test. If we were offered 30-pieces
of silver like Judas Isacriot, which was the cost of slave at the time, would
we take the money to sell out Jesus? Or would we resist? Would we run away like
most of Jesus’ disciples did on Good Friday, or would we stay with Him?
What I found over the years is that it is really easy to
talk about faith here in the Church, but it can be much harder to live it out
in the world. We are called according to the Bible to have anxiety over
nothing, but to trust God in everything. We are told not to worry, etc. Yet, my
brothers and sisters are just so human. It does mean that we do not believe in
and love God, and it does mean that we do not love Jesus. What does it mean though
is that we live in a broken world, and we are people of faith who are in this
broken world. As we grow closer to Christ, our faith grows and our trust in
Christ grows.
Did the Apostle Thomas or “Doubting Thomas” fail some
today? Yes, He did but have not we all failed at something at some point.
Instead of focusing on the failure though, we can celebrate the forgiveness and
the redemption offered to us all through Jesus Christ. As I said, our gospel of
John 20:19-31 reading for this morning, once again occurs right has the resurrection
narrative that we read last Sunday on Easter or Resurrection Sunday. Let us
look again at our Gospel of John 20:19-31 reading for this morning, that many
call the story of “Doubting Thomas”.
Starting in John 20:19, we hear, once again:
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
19 When it
was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house
where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and
stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20 After
he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples
rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them
again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22 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 retain the sins of any, they are retained’ (Jn. 20:19-23, NRSV).
So, it is the evening of
the first day of the week, or Sunday night. Was this Sunday exactly a week
after Jesus’ resurrection last Sunday? Many Biblical scholars would say yes,
that this “Doubting Thomas” story was likely the Sunday right after the first
Easter Sunday, or the day that Jesus was resurrected from the dead. In fact, in
one place that I read to prepare for this sermon it called the “Doubting Thomas”
story the “Second Easter,” as Thomas had not yet been convinced of the resurrection
of Jesus Christ. So potentially the Sunday right after Easter Sunday, which is
why many Christian traditions this Sunday preach about, you guessed it, “Doubting
Thomas.”
In the gospels and in other places in the New
Testament of the Bible we have what is called post-resurrection or post-mortem
appearances of Jesus Christ. According to the gospels and the rest of the New
Testament, hundreds of people say Jesus alive after His resurrection. In this
story, the disciples, minus Judas Iscariot, who unfortunately committed suicide,
are hiding in a house with the doors locked. They were still afraid of being
arrested, tortured, jailed, and maybe even killed for believing in Jesus. Yet
in the midst of all of this, and Jesus appears inside of this locked house. Did
he walk through the walls? I am not sure, but He appeared to the disciples,
minus Thomas, who was not there at the time. Jesus then tells the ten disciples
that are present ‘Peace be with you.’ After saying this, Jesus showed the ten
disciples his nailed pierced hands, and the spear wound in his side. He was
physically present in front of them. I can imagine that they were surprised by
this, and they of course rejoiced. Once again, the Apostle Thomas was not present,
and Judas Iscariot had taken his own life. Judas Iscariot out of great shame
and guilt for selling Jesus out for thirty pieces of silver, according to Matthew
27:5 hung himself, and then his body fell and burst open, according to Acts
1:18. This was believed to have occurred in what was called “The Potter’s Field,”
which just may have been purchased by Judas with the thirty pieces of silver.
(Peace Be
With You - John 20:21 - Picture)
The ten present disciples
see the risen Christ and they rejoice. Again, as it says in John 20:21 -23, it
says:
“21 Jesus
said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send
you.’ 22 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 retain the sins of any, they
are retained’ (Jn. 20:19-23, NRSV).
For those of us that came to or watched
our Maundy/Holy Thursday and Good Friday services, you might have noticed that
we had a time in the worship of service of “passing the peace of Christ” to each
other. We walked up to each other, shook hands, and said, “Peace of Christ,” or
“Peace of Christ be with you.” Many Christian traditions have, as part of
worship or Mass, depending on the tradition, a place in worship where people “Pass
the peace of Christ” to each other, because Jesus did this in scriptures like
John 20:19-31 for this morning. For example, Jesus tells us in John 14:27, before
His crucifixion and resurrection this:
27 Peace
I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world
gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid (Jn.
14:27, NRSV).
There are other scriptures that speak
to this to, and this is why some Christian traditions, like I said, have an actual
physical practice of “Passing the peace of Christ” in worship. Jesus first
appears to the ten disciples this morning then, to reinforce that He is in fact
risen, alive, and that they can put their full faith and trust in Him. In fact,
Jesus invites them to not worry or be afraid, but to instead have the peace
that only He can give. Jesus then breathed on them the Holy Spirit, which is a
dose of the Holy Spirit, which will be poured fully on the day of Pentecost. On
the day of Pentecost in the Book of Acts 2, the Holy Spirit will pour out in a
powerful way in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, and the disciples will speak in
tongues or different languages. This will be the day that the Christian Church
born, and when the disciples really “get it.” This will be about seven weeks or
forty-days, as Jesus ascends to heaven forty-days after his resurrection. Jesus
appears to convince, to encourage, to share His peace, and to breath doses of
the Holy Spirit of God onto His followers.
So, then Jesus disappears, and shortly
after Thomas (who called the Twin) returns to the house where they have all
been hiding in fear. As we hear in John 20:25, the disciples tell Thomas that
Jesus appeared and all that had happened. Thomas replies in this way, once
again, starting with John 20:25
‘Unless
I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the
nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe’ (Jn. 20:25, NRSV).
Not only does “Doubting Thomas”
not believe them, but he wants put his finger in nails holes in Jesus’ hands
and put his hand in Jesus’ side where the spear pierced Him. At the gospel
continues, picking up in John 20:26, it says, once again:
26 A week
later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although
the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with
you.’ 27 Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and
see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but
believe.’ 28 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 come to believe’
(Jn. 20:26-29, NRSV).
(My Lord
and My God - Picture)
(Thomas
Kneeling in Front of Jesus - Picture)
The Apostle Thomas sees and believes. Jesus then says blessed are those
of us that have not seen and yet have come to believe. I have never seen the
risen Christ in person. Have any of you? Yet, we believe. So, this story end
with “Doubting Thomas,” becoming “Restored in Christ Thomas.”
(Cross with
John 20:29 - Picture)
(Blessed
are those who Have Not Seen - Picture)
Lastly and uniquely, the
gospel of John reading then ends with John saying this in 20:30-31:
The
Purpose of This Book
30 Now Jesus did many
other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this
book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to
believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through
believing you may have life in his name. (Jn. 20:19-31, NRSV).
John said that Jesus did many other signs or showed many
other things to His disciples proving who He was indeed risen. Some of these
are not even written in the gospel of John, John says. The ones that are
written though, are written so that we will read them and or hear them so that
we will come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. In believing
in Jesus, we will have new life in his name.
How then on this First Sunday after Easter, can we take
this story of “Doubting Thomas,” and take it out of the doors of this church
into Adams and world? How can we relate with Thomas and how can we grow closer
to Christ as a result of this story? Here are some application points for us to
considers:
John
20:19-31 details Jesus' resurrection appearances to his fearful disciples,
establishing his victory over death, initiating their mission, and addressing
Thomas's doubt. Key themes include Jesus bringing peace (shifting fear to joy),
breathing the Holy Spirit onto them, and affirming that belief—especially
without seeing—is the basis of eternal life.
Key
Aspects of the Passage
·
Peace and Purpose (vv. 19-23): Jesus
appears despite locked doors, greeting them with "Peace be with you"
to alleviate fear and offer reconciliation for their abandonment. He
commissions them, saying, "As the Father has sent me, I also send
you," equipping them for ministry by breathing on them to receive the Holy
Spirit.
·
Thomas’s Doubt and Confession (vv.
24-29): Thomas, absent previously, demands physical proof to believe. Upon
seeing Jesus, he declares, "My Lord and my God!". Jesus affirms those
who believe without seeing, a message directed at future generations of
believers.
·
Purpose of the Gospel (vv. 30-31): The
passage concludes by stating that these accounts are written so that readers
"may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that
through believing... have life in his name" (https://www.google.com/search?q=meaning+of+John).
Here
is further, how we can we all relate to “Doubting Thomas?” Here is how:
We are
like "Doubting
Thomas" when we struggle to believe without tangible
proof, demand personal experience over hearsay, or wrestle with doubt during
difficult times. Like him, we often refuse to accept easy answers, requiring
deeper evidence before committing our faith. However, this skepticism is a
natural part of human faith, not its opposite.
How We
Mirror Thomas
·
Needing Personal Proof: Similar to
Thomas needing to touch Jesus' wounds, we often demand tangible evidence or
personal, undeniable experiences before we truly believe.
·
Wrestling with Doubt: When faith
doesn't make sense or life is hard, we, like Thomas, struggle with uncertainty.
·
Honest Questioning: Thomas was
not afraid to voice his doubt rather than faking certainty. We are like him
when we honestly grapple with our questions instead of hiding them.
·
Needing to See What Hurts: Often in
grief or disappointment, we refuse to accept shallow reassurances and need to
face the harsh realities ("wounds") before finding hope.
Today “Doubting Thomas,” because “Restored in Christ Thomas.” When have we “doubted?” Amen.
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