Bible Passage: John 20:24-31
Pastor: Joel Jenswold
Sermon Date: April 16, 2023

Bulletin April 16, 2023

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

Thomas was having none of it.  His friends have told him that they have seen the risen Lord Jesus!  It happened on Easter evening.  They were all locked in a room to hide from the Jews.  For whatever reason, Thomas was not with them.  All of a sudden, the risen Lord was present with them!  They tell Thomas,  We have seen the Lord!  (v. 25)  And for them, seeing was believing!

Thomas is having none of it.  Some will say he comes by his skepticism naturally.  They will point to his “nickname.”  Thomas was also called “The Twin.”   Did Thomas have an identical twin?  If he did, he likely knew all about “mistaken” identity.  He very likely knew how easy it is for people to mistake one person for another.  Perhaps he himself had been mistaken for his twin brother, and vice versa.  Perhaps “in the fog of war” the other disciples just “think” they have seen the risen Lord Jesus.

Thomas lays down the conditions under which he would believe.  Seeing would be part of it.  Unless I see the nail marks in his hands. (v. 25)  Thomas would use his eyeballs, but there would be more!  Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger into the mark of the nails…(v. 25)  Eyeballs can be tricked.  Thomas was going to use the sense of touch as well.  He wanted to touch, to probe, to feel, the nail holes with his own finger.  And put my hand into his side (v. 25).  His examination would include a three-dimensional inspection of the spear wound on Jesus’ side.  The word in our text for what Thomas wanted to do with his finger and hand is “put.”  That maybe a little mild.  The Greek has with it more the idea of “thrust.”  Thomas wanted to vigorously poke around a bit!  If that couldn’t happen, Thomas said, I will never believe. (v. 25)

Thomas could be the poster boy for our modern, secular culture.  For many in our culture, the mantra is “Believe Science.”  We heard that slogan much the last couple years, didn’t we?  Nothing is to be believed that cannot be seen, touched, tasted, somehow felt and experienced with the senses.  This makes it real.  This “proves” its existence.  This leads to, at the very least, a skepticism of anything metaphysical, at worst a denial of anything not “provable.”  Culture is filled with Thomases who say, “Unless I can see it, run my fingers through it, or put my hand into it, don’t ask me to believe it!  Remember…I believe science!”

Doubting Thomas got what he wanted.  One week later, the disciples are all gathered again in the locked room.  Again, Jesus appears in their midst.  “Shalom!” he says.  Then he turns to the Twin.  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.” (v. 27)   We are not told that Thomas actually does what he asserted he needed to do in order to believe that Jesus was risen.  It seems seeing was enough.  Thomas confesses his faith, My Lord and my God! (v. 28)  Seeing was believing!

Jesus even calls attention to this.  Because you have SEEN me, you have believed. (v. 29)  Jesus doesn’t say, “Because you got to touch my wounds.”  He says, Because you have SEEN… And then he goes on to pronounce a most peculiar Beatitude.  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. (v. 29)  Jesus speaks of a “class” of people who have not seen him as Thomas and the disciples did, and yet these people believe.  Without seeing, they believe in the risen Jesus just as much as Thomas did.  Without seeing, they say with the same conviction as Thomas, My Lord and my God!  These people are blessed people.

How does such a thing happen?  John explains how.  Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book.  But these 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. (v. 30-31)  That’s interesting to think about.  Jesus did a lot of miracles that we will never hear about because they weren’t written down.  Like what??  Not important!  Here’s what’s important…John wrote all this down so that we would BELIEVE and have life.

We are the blessed ones of Jesus’ beatitude!  We are the ones who have never seen Jesus, and yet we believe in him.  We believe in him through the written Word.  Through faith, we see the risen Lord!  Peter, who was present on the night our text took place wrote this to, and about, you:  Though you have not seen him, you love him.  Though you do not see him now, yet by believing in him, you are filled with a joy that is inexpressible. (1 Peter 1:8)  This happened through the Word!

We can all be Thomases, can’t we?  There are times we all wrestle with sinful doubts and misgivings.  We all want certainty that Jesus is real, and really our Savior!  This past week I heard about recent studies on the Shroud of Turin.  That is the cloth that many believe was the actual burial cloth of Jesus.  Recent results have convinced many people that this cloth really, truly is the burial cloth of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel accounts that was found at Jesus’ tomb Easter morning.  It’s intriguing to think about.  Do you need the Shroud of Turin to convince you that Jesus rose?  Is that the “clincher” for us?  Is the Shroud our chance to put our fingers into the wounds of Jesus so we believe?  No!  We believe Jesus died and rose for our salvation because the one true God – who cannot lie or deceive – has told us it is so in his Word.

While we are talking about artifacts, in Rome there is a finger preserved in a very ornate case.  It looks about what you would expect a 2000 year old finger to look like.  Visitors are told it is the finger of St. Thomas.  Is it the finger Thomas may have used to probe Jesus’ wounds? Does it matter?  We know this story is real because it is in God’s Word.  Ironically, this story of Thomas’ doubt is recorded so that you never will! It is written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that by believing, you may have life in his name. (v. 31)  For us, believing is seeing!

Amen.