THE COURAGE TO BELIEVE
John 20:24-31
S: Resurrection Sunday
Th: Courage to believe
Pr: BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS.
?: Inductive
KW: Steps
TS: We will find in our study of John 20:24-31 how Thomas comes to believe in Jesus.
The _____ step in the process is…
I. DISBELIEF (24-25)
II. DISPLAY (26-27)
III. DECLARATION (28)
Version: ESV
RMBC 20 Apr 03 AM
INTRODUCTION:
1. Have you ever had trouble believing what you have heard?
ILL #464
A man was walking along a narrow path, not paying much attention to where he was going. Suddenly he slipped over the edge of a cliff. As he fell, he grabbed a branch growing from the side of the cliff. Realizing that he couldn’t hang on for long, he called for help.
“Is anybody up there?”
“Yes, I’m here!”
“Who’s that?”
“The Lord”
“Lord, help me!”
“Do you trust me?”
“I trust you completely, Lord.”
“Good. Let go of the branch.”
“What???”
“I said, Let go of the branch.”
(After a long pause)
“Is there anybody else up there?”
Sometimes, it is hard to believe someone or something.
But…
2. We are a people that believe.
When we sit down, we believe the chair will hold us up.
When we go to the doctor, we believe the doctor will do what he can to make us feel better.
When we go to the pharmacy, we believe the pharmacist will give us the right medication.
We are a people that exercise faith in all kinds of situations.
But really…
Some of the stuff people do believe in…
There are people that read their horoscopes faithfully and live by them.
Others go to a psychic that uses tarot cards so that they will know their future.
Many have called the Psychic Network and found out all kinds of valuable information (so to speak) about their lives.
People really believe this stuff.
It is amazing what people believe.
For example, if you tell a man that there are 14,581,678,934,341 stars in the universe, he’ll probably believe you.
But if a sign says “Fresh Paint,” he has to make a personal investigation and go touch it.
Now why is that?
TRANSITION
Today, we are giving consideration to a man named Thomas.
He was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples.
And as we consider this man, we are going to discover that…
1. Thomas had an issue regarding faith and doubt.
If you have ever heard the phrase “Doubting Thomas,” it comes from this guy.
He will forever be labeled this way.
But I have to admit, if this is all we remember him for, we remember him for the wrong reasons.
First, though, let us remember that…
2. He was one of the chosen.
Jesus saw something worthwhile in Thomas.
We know from the biblical texts, that he prayed a longtime regarding who his disciples should be.
And as He prayed, He knew that Thomas was one of them.
We also know that…
3. He was a fisherman.
Like many of his disciples, he was from Galilee.
And he possessed the same trade of some of the others.
Probably, he was at least an acquaintance of Peter, Andrew, James and John who were fellow fishermen.
We don’t know a great deal about Thomas, but we do know this…
4. He was ready to follow Jesus, even to death.
When Jesus was ready to go to Bethany, a town only a few miles from Jerusalem, to deal with the issue of Lazarus who had died, it was only Thomas that understood the implications.
Jerusalem had become the hotbed of opposition to Jesus.
The Jewish leaders had made it known they wanted to kill Him.
Thomas understood that going to Bethany could be very costly (John 11:16):
So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
This does demonstrate the kind of person Thomas was.
He was loyal and had tremendous courage.
And though he was pessimistic, he was willing to follow Jesus at all costs.
But what was also true was that…
5. He did not always understand Jesus.
The last night before His death, Jesus shared a lot of teaching with His disciples.
Some of it went like this (John 14:1-5):
"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. [2] In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. [4] And you know the way to where I am going."
[5] Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"
It is here that we find that Thomas looks for clarification.
He is not getting it.
He is not getting what Jesus is saying.
But instead of not getting it and being silent, He is willing to express his frustration.
And it is to this frustration Jesus answers (John 14:6):
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Thomas may not have understood all that Jesus was saying then, but he is going to get it.
So today…
6. We will find in our study of John 20:24-31 how Thomas comes to really believe in Jesus.
First, let us admit that the other disciples had a decided advantage.
Let me explain why…
When Jesus was arrested, where did they go?
They all ran.
Every one of them promised not to, but they all took off.
And after Jesus was crucified on the cross, they all went into hiding.
They all became disoriented, disappointed and despondent.
But then Sunday came.
And the women came back from the tomb telling an incredible story.
The tomb was empty.
The stone was rolled back.
The body was gone.
They women even spoke about angels.
Peter and John raced to the tomb to investigate, and they too found it to be empty.
Now it is Sunday evening.
They are all huddled together, not knowing what to think or what to believe.
Frankly, they were not sure that the women hadn’t imagined some of it.
After all, it had been a rough few days.
The doors are locked, meaning that there was probably a gate that was locked, and so was the door to the residence.
Then, all of a sudden, in their midst, stands Jesus.
There He is!
He speaks words of peace and comfort.
We don’t know how long He is there with them.
All we do know is that all of a sudden, He is gone.
I have often wondered what they did the moment after He was gone.
My sense is that there was a pause of silence.
Then the celebration began.
They were jumping around, high-fiving each other, and giving gigantic bear hugs.
But there was one problem.
Thomas wasn’t with them.
Thomas missed seeing Jesus.
OUR STUDY:
This brings us to the…
I. The first step in the process for Thomas is DISBELIEF (24-25).
Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."
So we must ask the question…
Why was Thomas missing?
Personally, I think it was because Thomas was emotionally a mess.
He was utterly crushed by Jesus’ death and the disappointment overwhelmed him.
His grief was so deep.
He too had said that he would follow Jesus to death.
He would never fall away.
And being the contemplative, pessimistic type, he went into seclusion.
He would rather spend time alone rather than with the group.
The other disciples do catch up with him and they let him in on the wonderful news.
He is alive!
Jesus is alive!
But Thomas is not happy.
Again, it is my opinion that he is mad and hurt.
Jesus has met them, but not him.
He had been left out.
So, when they confronted him about why he doesn’t believe them, he says that he is not going to believe until he is able to touch Jesus himself.
What they have said was not good enough.
All of sudden, this guy from Galilee acts like he is from Missouri, the “Show-Me” state.
He would have to touch Jesus to believe.
He would not fall to any illusion of wishful thinking.
As we look at this story, we might be saying to Thomas, “Come on, trust your friends. They are not leading you astray.”
But what we are to find here is that honest doubt is better than dishonest faith.
Which leads us to…
II. The second step in the process is DISPLAY (26-27).
Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe."
As we observe here, Thomas has probably stuck with these guys since their report.
And what we discover, we see that there has been an unseen listener.
And here is what we find out…
Thomas finds that Jesus still cares about him.
What I find so touching here is that Jesus came back for Thomas.
And He does not rebuke him.
I think Jesus understands.
After all, it is rare for really dead people to get up again.
But Jesus does challenge Thomas.
The very conditions Thomas had set, Jesus says.
“Come Thomas, touch me.”
Thomas had been on the brink of despairing unbelief.
But Jesus says to Thomas, “Stop disbelieving, Thomas. Believe. Believe it is me.”
Frankly, I think Thomas was relieved.
He was alive.
And, he had to see, because, at this point, it only is Thomas that seems to understand the full implications of Jesus being alive.
Which leads us to…
III. The third step in the process is DECLARATION (28).
Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!”
The first thing I want you to notice is that Thomas doesn’t touch Jesus.
He has already rejected his own requirements, because He is overcome with love and devotion.
For…
Thomas demonstrates the wonder and joy of belief.
This is why the label of “Doubting Thomas” is a bit deceiving.
No one has understood the meaning of the resurrection better or said it better than Thomas.
No one!
“My Lord and my God!”
Jesus was His Lord.
Jesus was His Master.
This Lord was omniscient.
He knew everything, including Thomas’ own skepticism.
This was the Lord, victorious over sin, sorrow, doubt and death.
Truly, He was the Lord of the universe.
Jesus was also His God.
He was Immanuel, God with us.
Jesus was God made flesh.
Thomas understood the implications of Jesus rising from the dead.
This takes power that only comes from God.
It was power that demanded worship.
What Thomas proves to us is that the harder the struggle of faith, the more doubt there is to overcome, the greater is the wonder and joy when the Christ of history becomes one’s personal Savior and Lord.
APPLICATION:
Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
1. For Thomas, seeing was believing; for us believing is seeing.
Thomas was transformed into a great evangelist.
He took the gospel to Babylon and Persia and then on to India.
He believed and he acted on that belief.
The invitation by Jesus still exists today.
He invites us to believe.
He invites us to examine the evidence, and to put away the doubt that we have.
For if we are willing to seek, we will find.
And what is truly amazing is that when we believe, we truly see!
We grow out of doubt.
For doubt is something we grow out of; as faith is something we grow into.
So when we believe, we will see.
We will see Jesus as He is: Our Lord and our God!
So, my encouragement to you today is…
2. BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS! HE IS RISEN!
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are]
The testimony of Scripture is…
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
So stop disbelieving and believe and discover our Lord and our God!
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
