Sermon Text: John 20:19-31
Date: April 16, 2023
Event: The Second Sunday of Easter, Year A
John 20:19–31 (EHV)
On the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you! Just as the Father has sent me, I am also sending you.” 22After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
24But Thomas, one of the Twelve, the one called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26After eight days, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Take your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue to doubt, but believe.”
28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. 31But 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.
Should We Seek to Be a “Doubting” Thomas?
Maybe I’m just more aware of it than I was in the past, but it seems like the concepts of scams and being scammed have become more ubiquitous than it was in previous years. Perhaps that has come with the rise of the Internet’s ubiquity as well, that everyone is so connected that there are more channels to reach more people than ever before. So, people try to take advantage of other people by pretending to be someone they are not, presenting problems that are not real, and looking for resources they are not entitled to.
In an era so prone to scams and being deceived, we are right to be skeptical about things. Things that seem too good or too bad to be true should be double-checked. Does that person really have control of a multi-million-dollar inheritance coming to you from a relative in a foreign country? Probably not—especially if they need some cash upfront to get the process rolling. Is that relative of yours really in jail? Probably not—especially if they need gift card codes to get out.
This is not directly related to the sermon, but it is a big enough problem that it deserves its own side note: if you ever receive a call or an email or text message asking you to pay some bill or fine with gift cards or wire transfers, that is almost certainly a scam. Please do some due diligence to check on the claims that people are making. If a family member is supposedly in trouble, contact another family member to confirm—even if the person who originally called asks you not to tell anyone. A tactic used by these scams is to isolate people from anyone else who could clarify that what they are seeking is not real.
This morning we are presented with Thomas, who is often a bit vilified for his lack of trust in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. But I think we can probably sympathize with him. After all, if ever there was anything that seemed too good to be true, would it not be that the dear friend who was brutally killed was now alive again? That doesn’t happen. That’s not logical. There’s no precedent for that.
On Easter Sunday evening, ten of the eleven disciples were together; the whole group was there except Thomas. Jesus made clear for all of them what a few had seen and what they had heard rumblings about: Jesus was alive! “Peace be with you!” was his greeting, which went back to his promise on Maundy Thursday evening to give the disciples peace, real peace, not worldly peace. Jesus was now able to grant that peace because he had died to pay for their sins and risen to life to show his victory. Jesus had brought true, lasting, eternal peace between God and sinful mankind—the disciples included!
Then Jesus had a task for them. They were to go and tell. They were to go and spread the news that Jesus had risen from death and that Satan had been defeated. He granted them not only the message but the ability to truly forgive sins in his name. On that Easter evening, Jesus was giving his disciples their marching orders that would be in place for the rest of their lives (and that govern the work of all Christians to this day). They would be witnesses of the forgiveness of sins won for mankind over the past three days.
The recipient of their first evangelism sermon was Thomas, “We have seen the Lord!” What joyous news! How glad that would’ve made all of them! But it wasn’t so joyous for Thomas. His response was cold and rational, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
Thomas had reason to doubt, didn’t he? Who could believe such a message? The rest of the disciples were all in varying states of faith, doubt, and confusion until Jesus appeared to them that first Easter night. Why would it be any different for Thomas? And what was the simplest explanation? Was it that Jesus had actually been raised from the dead or that his dear friends so desperately wanted their teacher back that they imagined—wanted to be true—Jesus’ resurrection? Thomas was skeptical—doubting—perhaps to not fall into the same emotional trap. Perhaps Thomas even saw himself as the connection to reality that the rest needed. He would be their rock while they processed their grief.
Do you treat the things you hear in our Bible Classes and from this pulpit with the same sort of skepticism? Do you react to a sermon the same way you react to an email saying that you’ve won a foreign lottery for millions of dollars—a lottery you never entered? Perhaps not, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t go looking for proof. You may trust your pastor, but that doesn’t mean you sit here on a Sunday morning accepting everything you hear, unfiltered, without a moment of critical thought. We all want to be students of the Word and go back to it to bolster what we believe so we are not deceived and so that we do not put our hopes and faith in the wrong place. We want to check with what God has actually said and ensure that what we’re hearing is accurate, that we’re being fed solid spiritual meals, not half-poison meals.
We have a scriptural example of this during Paul’s missionary work. After being run out of the city of Thessalonica, Paul went to the Macedonian city of Berea. He shared with the Jewish believers there that Jesus was the Messiah—come at last!—and that in him they had the forgiveness of sins and the certainty of eternal life. The Bereans were overjoyed at Paul’s message, but we’re told they received the word very eagerly and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these things were so (Acts 17:11).
Faith does not make things a reality, but faith leans and trusts in something real and concrete. Faith is only worthwhile if it’s trusting something reliable. Thomas’ friends could not, by their own wishing it was true, bring Jesus back from the dead. Thomas’ seeking to verify what he heard from his dear friends was not the problem. The problem was that Thomas had already received enough verification to support what they said and he chose to disregard it. He let his senses and feelings override the Word that had been spoken to him. More than once, long before Jesus died, he had promised his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law. He must be killed and be raised on the third day” (Luke 9:22). Jesus had told them that he would live out the sign of Jonah among them. Jesus had told them time and time again that exactly what Thomas’ friends were saying had happened would happen. And the word of Jesus should have been enough for Thomas.
And it should be enough for us too. But is it? When times are difficult, how easy is it for us to lean on Jesus’ promises to always rule all things for our good? Jesus said it; why do we struggle to believe it? When we’re feeling guilty about something we’ve done or left undone, do we always believe that Jesus has really forgiven those sins? Jesus said it; why do we struggle to believe it? When we’ve lost someone to death and we miss them terribly, but we know they died trusting their Savior, are we always completely confident that we will see them again in heaven, that as Jesus was raised, we all will also be raised? Jesus said it; why do we struggle to believe it?
We find ourselves often not taking God at his Word; we find ourselves wishing there was a sign or something to confirm what he’s said. God says, “I’ve promised these things to you.” And we, with Thomas, say, “No, that’s not enough. I need more proof.”
My brothers and sisters, you have the proof recorded in the pages of Scripture. The Bible is God’s love letter to you. It details every step along the path that God took to save you. From the first promise in the Garden of Eden to a manger in Bethlehem to a bloody cross at Golgotha to the empty garden tomb, this Word is your assurance of God’s love. This Word is your assurance of God’s care. This Word is your assurance that you have an almighty God who loves you and is protecting you from all danger. This Word assures us that every moment of doubt, every time we’ve not taken God at his Word or believed the promises he’s made to us, that has all been forgiven.
We do well to examine the Scriptures to check what we hear and what we feel. Are those things accurate to what God has said? In that sense, it’s not bad to be a skeptical Thomas, lest we believe and trust something that is untrue. But, when we find confirmation of those promises in the Word, let us not continue to doubt. Let us silence our conscience or our emotions or whatever would lead us to say God’s promises and words are not accurate, and let our hearts and minds be captive to the Word of God.
As we dig into that Word more and more ourselves, with our family, friends, and fellow Christians here at church, find the comfort that only the promises and work of the almighty God can bring. The one who has promised you everything is the sole being able to give it all to you. Cling to God’s promises, for he is trustworthy. The Holy Spirit builds your faith up with the very words that he himself recorded through the apostles and prophets, words that, as John said at the end of our Gospel: these words 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. As you cling to these promises of God, you will find yourself being the very people that Jesus mentioned to Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” You are blessed, you are happy, and you are loved, because Jesus has given you eternal life. His tomb didn’t stay occupied; neither will yours.
Hear the proof, see the proof, read the proof, rejoice in the proof, believe the proof, for it all comes from God. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen!
