That you may believe in His name

Theme: In our flesh, we sometimes need proof for what our heart knows to be true.

Textual Introduction: Please turn with me to John 20:19-31. As you turn, remember that John was the last Gospel to be written. Tradition holds that John wrote it from Patmos when he was late in life. However, we should remember that John was an eyewitness to the events in question. While we know that the Holy Spirit brought back to mind everything John needed for the book, certain events get burned into the mind.

John wrote the Gospel before Revelation which was shortly before his death. Interestingly, Jesus said to Peter “what is it to thee if I have him tarry til I come.” In a way, by seeing the events of Revelation, John did tarry til Jesus came.

But the Gospel of John is different from the other three. It contains much unique material. While all the Gospels present Jesus as God in the flesh, John showcases that. It is the centerpiece of his Gospel. For instance, Matthew focuses on how Jesus fulfilled prophecy. Mark concentrates on the sacrificial nature of Christ’s work. Luke shows Jesus’ humanity more than the others. But John portrays Jesus’ link to Heaven.

In this familiar post-resurrection story, Jesus shows the Apostles that it really is Him. Thomas is absent for the first appearance but not the second.

Read John 20:19-31

John 20:19-31

¹⁹ ¶ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors 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 side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

²⁴ ¶ Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “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 it.”

²⁶ ¶ 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!” ²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

³⁰ ¶ Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Introduction: Have you ever wondered if what we say about Jesus was believed back then? It’s OK. God gave us a brain to use just like He gave us a heart to use. He gave us Scripture to speak to both our mind and our heart. What’s known in one isn’t always known in the other. You’ve heard the saying “what does your gut tell you?” The question has to be asked because our gut and head sometimes differ. But we are whole people. We are not merely animals and certainly not robots. God made us to both feel and think.

Usually, when someone converts, their heart goes first and then their mind. But it isn’t always this way. CS Lewis said that on the night of his conversion, he expected to be the unhappiest man in all England. Instead, he was the most joyful.

Point 1: (19-23) Jesus Appears

The day of the resurrection, after Jesus appeared to the women at the tomb and appeared to the two on the road to Emmaus, Jesus appeared to the disciples. They were gathered in hiding for fear of the Jewish leaders who had killed Jesus just days before. Understandably, they thought they would be the next targets. Jesus greeted them with the customary Jewish greeting of “peace.” He shows them his hands and side. Then they were overjoyed.

Three claims to deity are in this passage. First, Jesus commissions them as his “sent ones” or “sheliqim.” They are to be His ambassadors to the world. He says that He was sent by the Father, that makes Jesus a sheliqim of God. However, a sheliqim cannot assign other sheliqim except in very specific circumstances. By making them ambassadors, Jesus claimed authority that would not be available to normal men.

Secondly, He breathes on them and says “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit was the spirit that came upon prophets and could only be given by God. When Jesus does so, He is saying that He has the same authority that God does.

Finally, Jesus tells them that they will have the power to forgive sins or not forgive sins. When the paralytic man was brought to Jesus in Mark’s Gospel, He forgave the man’s sins before healing him. The pharisees objected in their heads that He was doing what only God could do. They were correct—only God can forgive sins. To show that God still heard His prayers after making such a claim, Jesus healed the man. He now hands this same authority to the Apostles.

In just a few verses, Jesus has made three claims to godhood by His actions and one by His very presence. In the Old Testament, no one rose from the dead without a prophet there. Jesus was alone in the grave but came out.

I am sure in their hearts that the disciples already hoped that He was coming back, but their minds said it can’t be. The empty tomb gave them some hope, but there were other explanations that came to mind. Reasons that were more logical, more reasonable, more everything except these other reasons were wrong.

Jesus didn’t tell them they should have just believed. He showed himself, His hands, and His side. He gave their mind the reasons needed.

Point 2: (24-29) They tell Thomas, and Jesus appears with Thomas present.

Ah, Thomas. The most put upon of the Twelve aside from Judas. He didn’t believe when the others told him. We rip on Thomas for this, but we need to realize something very important. Of the Twelve, Thomas was the only one who had listened to Jesus carefully enough during the ministry that he knew Jesus was going to be killed in Jerusalem. In fact, of the Twelve, only Thomas was willing to die with Jesus. “Let us go and die with Him.” Thomas knew that Jesus had the words of life and that life without Jesus was not worth living. Every time we see Thomas in the New Testament, he makes statements that lead us to conclude that Thomas was a man who lived by facts. In fact, he is paired up with Matthew in the listing of the Apostles. Matthew, the tax collector, a by-the-numbers man, and Thomas, a just-the-facts man.

Now, after seeing your teacher and friend die cruelly (and there was no way Jesus could have survived the cross), wouldn’t you be disappointed also and even doubt that he had risen? Ah, but the others saw and told him! So what? Should he just take other’s eyewitness testimony as fact? Why? The women at the tomb saw it was empty and told the other Apostles. They didn’t believe until they went and saw with their own eyes. Even after he appeared to them, they were afraid until He showed them his hands and side. We give Thomas a bad rap.

Once he saw Jesus, Thomas even dropped part of his requirements. He didn’t insist on touching the holes in His hand and side. Thomas knew upon seeing that Jesus had risen.

When he saw Jesus, Thomas made the greatest turnaround in Scripture. He said, “My Lord and my God.” Thomas wasn’t swearing. As a good Jew, he had been raised better! Upon seeing Jesus risen in the flesh, Thomas knew that Jesus was God incarnate. You don’t find it stated more succinctly than that. Seeing Jesus alive told Thomas that the rest of what they told him was true (that Jesus had given three proofs of being God incarnate).

Jesus’ reply to Thomas is well known: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and have yet believed.” He doesn’t say that Thomas’ faith is invalid. He also doesn’t say that Thomas is wrong to believe that Jesus is God incarnate. His statement is, in fact, “You’re right Thomas, that’s who I am.”

Just like the others, Thomas wanted to believe before. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have gone in the first place. He had hope. His heart held hope, his mind insisted on proof. Jesus gave what Thomas’ mind needed.

Point 3: (30-31) That by believing you may have life in His name.

One of my relatives used to say that you should never ask for a sign from God. “Only a foolish and perverse generation asks for a sign,” she’d say. But Jesus gave signs. Every miracle He performed was a sign to show who He was and the power that He had. Those that Jesus turned down were those who really didn’t want to believe but instead wanted to trap Him.

There is a place for those who need to see before they believe. Paul was just like this. He didn’t believe the Apostles and believers. He killed Christians for the audacity of saying the Messiah had come. And we look past that because of all the good he did for the church after he saw the risen Lord. Do we just assume that Thomas did nothing because after Pentecost we hear nothing from him? On the contrary, Jesus sent Thomas to India as a missionary. Thomas found a Jewish community on the coast. When Catholic missionaries got there centuries later, they found a group of Christians called Nasranis or St. Thomas Christians. Even today, this group likes to name their children Thoma.

Thomas went to the ends of the earth to proclaim that Jesus had risen from the dead. In India, some of the oldest churches (attributed to his design) show Greek influence in the architecture. Thomas was said to be a skilled carpenter (perhaps how he met Jesus). Thomas was killed in India for his faith, run through by soldier’s lances.

By believing, you may have life in His name. By believing, Thomas and Paul gained eternal life. Both men died for their faith in Jesus. Both men made the Kingdom grow. They used their heads and their hearts in service to Him.

Conclusion: Bringing together the heart and the head is what God is doing here. I believe that Thomas wanted to believe very badly, but he didn’t dare get his hopes up. When hopes are dashed, it is a terrible thing. Jesus didn’t hide from Thomas and say that he had to believe before an appearance. Jesus met the question head on, solidified Thomas’ belief, and then Thomas went to India to spread the Gospel.

What do you need to marry the head and heart? This is a church that believes in miracles. Every conversion is a miracle. Jesus offers more to both head and heart than any other claimant on our lives. Where Islam demands unquestioning obedience, Jesus gives reasons to believe. Where Buddhism says that you must put aside all passion and follow only your head, Jesus reminds us that He created feelings in people and that the Holy Spirit speaks to us in our feelings. Because we are human, God wants both feelings and thinking to be part of our response.

He wants all of you. What’s holding you back from giving it all? Do you need proof that the Bible is accurate? Or are you like CS Lewis who knew in his head that God existed but was miserable until he submitted his heart?