John 20:24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 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.” 26 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.” 27 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.” 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 believed.”

Summary

In our story, one of the original twelve disciples, a man named Thomas, saw Jesus in his risen state for the first time (24). Others had already told Thomas Christ was raised, but he had not believed them.

By the time this encounter occurred, one week after his resurrection, Jesus had already appeared to Mary Magdalene, other female followers, two disciples traveling to a neighboring town, Peter, and to all the other disciples in a locked meeting room.

And though they kept telling Thomas, "We have seen the Lord," he was unwilling to believe it (25). Finally, in a bold statement showing how suspicious he was of their claims, Thomas said, "Unless I see and touch the wounds from the spikes in his hands and touch the wound from the spear in his side, I will never believe" (25).

"Doubting" Thomas

As disciples go, we don't know much about Thomas outside this episode; what we do know hints that he was a pessimistic man. The first time Thomas speaks in the Bible, Jesus was readying himself to go on a journey to raise Lazarus back to life. Someone had told them Lazarus was sick, but Jesus knew Lazarus would be dead by the time they arrived—and he told his disciples so. Still, Jesus said, "I am glad for your sake I wasn't there, so that you may believe, but let us go to him" (John 11:15). Jesus meant that when he raised Lazarus, it would encourage the disciples' faith.

It was a statement of hope, but Thomas didn't hear it that way. He responded by saying to the others, "Let's also go, that we may die with Jesus" (John 11:16). Wow! It sounds like he misunderstood Jesus' intentions for Lazarus and Jesus' statement about his own death. But Jesus had not invited Thomas or the others to die with him!

The only other time Thomas speaks in the Bible is the night before Jesus died on the cross. Jesus told his disciples he was going to his Father's house to prepare a place for them. Thomas replied, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" (John 14:5). His question presents him as a man who was comfortable saying he didn't understand and needed more information.

Both stories might provide the backdrop for the episode we are looking at today. His defeatist and dreary spirit might've kept Thomas from gathering with all the other disciples the week before, so he missed out when Jesus appeared to them in their upper room meeting place. And his questioning outlook likely drove him to demand more information before he would believe.

For this encounter, Thomas has forever received the nickname Doubting Thomas. The disciples didn't call him that—they called him the Twin—but the church has often thought of Thomas as a stiff skeptic whose doubt was almost his downfall (24). But Thomas' demands and doubts serve us well on this Resurrection Sunday. Jesus came to him—with all the others present—and gave him the exact evidence he looked for, all while urging him to start believing. Let's consider three truths that came from this encounter.

1. Jesus Brought The Message Worth Believing

The Apostolic Call

From Thomas' story, we learn first that Jesus brought a message worth believing. Why do I say this?

Well, one of the first things you might've thought about when reading this story is Thomas' privileged position. He demanded to see the risen Christ for himself, and he got to see the risen Christ for himself. We do not have the same luxury, do we? Jesus even addressed this at the end of the encounter when he said, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (29). So, unlike us, Thomas had the privilege of seeing Jesus with his own eyes.

But what I want you to recognize is how important it was for Thomas to see Jesus. He was called to be an apostle by Jesus, and he could not be an apostle without seeing Jesus risen from the dead.

Later, when the disciples sought a replacement for Judas, they all affirmed this—they had to find someone who'd seen Jesus in his risen state (Acts 1:22). Even Paul, who became an apostle years later, had an encounter with the risen Christ before his conversion (Acts 9:1-9, Galatians 1:12). If he was going to be an apostle, he had to. And the week earlier, when Jesus appeared to the other ten disciples in that same upper room, he also commissioned them, sent them, and gave them spiritual authority (John 20:19-23). They were no longer only disciples but apostles. But Thomas had missed that meeting. He had not been commissioned or sent or given spiritual authority as an apostle because he had not yet seen Jesus.

But why? Why did potential apostles have to see the risen Christ? This is where we get our first point that Jesus brought a message worth believing. If all Jesus wanted the apostles to do was go tell everyone about his amazing teachings and stellar example, Thomas already had everything he needed.

But that wasn't the ultimate message Jesus wanted them to share. The message they needed to proclaim was that God had come to live among them as a man. And that he had lived a perfect life so that he could die in place of imperfect people. And that they knew his death on the cross worked as the means of reunification with God because they had seen him after his resurrection. Without the resurrection, the cross did not work, and there would be no hope for lost humanity to be forgiven and known by God!

Jesus Came To Make A Message

This lesson in this story is of great importance because nearly everyone admires Jesus for his life and actions. His golden rule (doing to others as you would have done to you), his sacrifice, his compassion—all of them are attractive to us. And many wonder why we cannot simply celebrate the morals of Jesus without getting into the cross of Jesus.

But what we must see here is that Thomas already had everything he needed to tell people about Jesus' teachings, compassion, and life. But he didn't have what he needed to preach Jesus' message of salvation through his cross—for that Thomas needed the resurrection. And for him to go out preaching Jesus' morals would have meant he was preaching—according to Jesus—an incomplete message.

Know this today—Jesus brought a message of salvation based on his historical actions, not a philosophy of life based on his exemplary actions. He is not simply a good teacher we should glean from. If he was merely a teacher, he was the worst kind of teacher because he set the bar so impossibly high that we could never attain it. Instead, Jesus is the Savior whose perfect life fulfilled God's righteous requirement on our behalf, who then died to receive God's judgment on our behalf—and his resurrection verifies that his death worked!

2. Jesus Is The God Worth Following

Christ's Omniscience

So our first lesson is that Jesus brought a message worth believing, and our second lesson for today is that Jesus is the God worth following. The disciples all gathered eight days later (26). By their way of counting days, this means the following Sunday. So the Sunday after Thomas made his stand against the other disciples, the disciples again gathered.

The setting was similar to the previous week's gathering—the disciples in their meeting place and locked doors because of their fear of the religious leaders—but this time Thomas was with them (26). If Jesus showed up at their first Sunday gathering, Thomas would be there to see if Jesus would appear at their second one.

And Jesus did appear. For the third time since he rose, he said, "Peace be with you" (26). Then he turned toward Thomas and said, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe" (27).

This appearance, along with these words, was too much for Thomas. Clearly, even though he hadn't been there to hear Thomas' words, Jesus knew what Thomas had said a week earlier. And Thomas wasn't under the impression that the other disciples had told Jesus what Thomas had said but that Jesus knew everything on his own, including the reservations in Thomas' heart.

Christ's Patience

Not only had Jesus heard it all, but he'd also remained patient with Thomas as Thomas doubted. He did not come and eviscerate Thomas. There might be a minor note of correction near the end of their encounter, but this is not a rebuke-filled confrontation. Jesus came, announced peace to the whole group, and then condescended to humbly give Thomas exactly what he asked for: You wanted to see and touch my wounds? Here I am, Thomas. See and touch.

Jesus is patient with us. He is not shocked by our doubts. Just like he did for Thomas, he has a front-row seat for all our thoughts. He knows our little arguments against him. He knows our real reasons for not believing. He knows all the dumb or evil things we've ever done or said or thought. And still, Jesus is there, offering himself to you and me. He condescended. He stepped out of heaven and still reaches out today to save us.

Thomas' Confession

As I said, all this was too much for Thomas. The indication is that all week the other disciples had kept on telling him they'd seen Jesus risen. He'd heard of the report from the women, the two on the road, Peter, and the ten in the upper room. All week, this skeptical man had thought through what it would mean if Jesus had risen from the dead.

Remember, Jesus' death would have crushed Thomas. As a Jewish man, he'd hoped Jesus would restore Israel and bring it beyond its former glory. He'd hoped Jesus was the promised descendent of David who would sit on a renewed Davidic throne. But Jesus' death dashed all those hopes. During that long week, he had likely wondered, If he really is alive, why did he die? If he has the power to resurrect, why didn't he use his power to avoid death in the first place?

And as he thought, Thomas might've recalled Jesus' words.

He said he was the I AM—the very title God used (John 8:58)!
He said he and God the Father had been working until now, a statement others saw as a claim to deity (John 5:17-18).
Thomas might've thought about how only God can forgive sins, but that Jesus had blatantly forgiven the paralyzed man (Mark 2:1-12).
Thomas could have thought of the way Jesus calmed the raging sea, just the brand of miracle only God could do in the Old Testament (Mark 4:35-41).
And what about when Jesus said, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father" (John 14:9)?

I think Thomas added it all up and came to a conclusion: If Jesus has risen from the dead, it is because he is God, and I will make him the Lord of my life!

So right there, with Jesus' words hanging in the air, Thomas made the greatest confession ever made about Jesus: "My Lord and My God! (28). Thomas wasn't merely acknowledging the fact Jesus rose, but the implications of his resurrection:

You rose—you are God!
Your cross worked!
I can be saved, so now you are my God!
And because you are worthy, you are now my Lord!
I will do whatever you say!

And—make no mistake—the Apostle John put this story right here to help you say the same things. John was very selective in his writings. He only wrote about a few weeks of Jesus' life, but he used this story as the pinnacle of his record. There are some events that occur after this one, but they merely wrap up some loose ends and prepare for the next stage. But right after Thomas' episode, John wrote:

John 20:30–31 (ESV) — 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 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.

If it sounds like the end of his book, that's because, in John's mind, it is. Everything else is a postscript, appendix material. Important, but Thomas' story helps John drive home his main point. Jesus came. They saw him. They lived with him. He died. Then he rose again, proving his cross worked to save humanity. And they saw him. And Thomas came to the right conclusion: He is Lord! He is God!

John, and Jesus himself, want you to make the same determination and statement today.

3. Jesus Submitted The Evidence Worth Trusting

The Proper Sign

But let's close with one last point. If Jesus brought the message worth believing and is the God worth following, he also submitted evidence worth trusting.

Some of you might be wondering if it was okay for Thomas to look for such evidence of Jesus' resurrection. And you might wonder that because Jesus bemoaned those who always looked for miracles. In one instance, to a man looking for healing, Jesus said, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe" (John 4:48). In another place, the religious leaders tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. Jesus responded by saying, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah" (Matthew 16:1-4).

But what was the sign of Jonah? Thrown into the sea, it seemed Jonah was dead, and he would've been if God had not rescued him with a great fish. Three days later, Jonah was vomited onto dry land.

And Jesus used Jonah's story to point to his own more miraculous story—just as Jonah was three days and nights in the fish, so I will be three days and nights in the grave (Matthew 12:40). The implication is that the one sign Jesus would point to is the sign of his resurrection. After three days, he would rise from the grave.

So even though Thomas is often skewered for his doubt, at least he placed his faith in Christ because of the right sign. He knew the significance of Christ's resurrection. And because Thomas and the other apostles saw Jesus in resurrected form, we have evidence we can trust.

I realize that you and I cannot see Jesus in his resurrected form today. But what we can see in history are early believers who suffered brutally for confessing Jesus had risen. All they had to do to alleviate their suffering was recant, but they never did. People don't do that for something they know to be a lie. Some are willing to be martyred for a lie they think is true, but never for one they know is a lie. And these early apostles were in a position to know if the resurrection was a hoax, yet they all suffered misfortune, disrespect, physical torture, and death for that message. Again, all they had to do was recant, but they never did.

Believe!

And this apostolic testimony is here with us today. Jesus alluded to it. To Thomas, Jesus said, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (29). To be blessed is to be happy—and the person who believes in Jesus is happy because they have him and his salvation. As Peter said:

1 Peter 1:8–9 (ESV) — 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

And Jesus calls all of us to believe in him, his cross, and his resurrection today. For the millionth time or the first time, believe in him. As he said to Thomas, "Do not disbelieve, but believe" (27). That statement literally means, "Get off the path of unbelief and onto the path of belief." Jesus saw a dangerous process of unbelief working its way in Thomas' heart, and he sought to stop it by encouraging faith.

Doubt about Jesus and his cross is a reality—we know this.

Sometimes, this doubt is a right of passage—as when a young person has to search out the faith their parents raised them in.
Sometimes, this doubt is connected to moral choices—as when someone decides not to believe in Jesus because they would like to do things Jesus forbids.
And sometimes, doubt, like it was for Thomas, is rooted in fear or lack of understanding—unanswered questions that require Thomas like investigation.

And for that investigation we have the credible and well-tested apostolic testimony telling us Jesus rose. Let's shake off the habit of unbelief and surrender to him!

My invitation to you today is to—wherever you're at with Jesus—leave the path of unbelief and get on the path of belief.

So, if you have known Jesus for many years, Jesus invites you today to keep on believing in him! Press into him more than ever. Let him be your Lord and God.
If you have known Jesus in the past but have departed from him, Jesus invites you today to get back on the path of believing in him! Come back to him. He loves you and is calling you home.
If you have never known Jesus, he invites you today to trust that he is alive and that he died in your place on his cross. Believe in him so that he can forgive you of everything you've ever done or thought and bring you into God's family.
And if you are merely considering Jesus, he invites you to keep on coming back Sunday after Sunday. Thomas came back the next week and got what he needed, and I want you to know you are always welcome to investigate Jesus here. He loves you, and so do we.

Elijah

In one of the most famous passages of the Old Testament, the prophet Elijah challenged the priests of various false gods to a contest. Whoever's god consumed a sacrifice with fire falling from heaven would be declared winner. And when the God of the Bible was the only one to consume the offering, everyone that day proclaimed, "The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!" (1 Kings 18:39).

But Thomas made an even better confession than the people in Elijah's day. When Thomas saw the risen Jesus, he said, "My Lord and my God! He took possession of Jesus. Today, let's do the same.