John 20:24-31

Well, if you've ever bought anything from the internet, or updated your computer software as I was doing the other day, you will have seen these but probably ignored them.

If you have ever signed a contract for anything, you will have been shown these, and you may have glanced at them at your bank or wherever, but generally just signed your name and ignored them.

If you've entered into any competition from the back of a cereal packet or wherever, you may have glanced at these, but most probably you ignored them.

What are they?

They are the terms and conditions.

I don't know about you, but I tend to tick that box on my computer without even thinking, yeah, just download the software, Mr. Apple, I need it, just get it down here, get on with it.

I just assume I'm going to agree with them.

Do you, or are you a bit more picky?

And let me ask you this question, who gets to set the terms and conditions?

Who gets to set the terms and conditions?

When I updated my wife's iPad software, it was Apple who set the terms and conditions.

When I just now went to get some photos printed at Boots, Boots set the terms and conditions.

If you go to your bank, you don't like the terms and conditions, they're not going to change them.

They'll say, okay, go find another bank.

So the one in the position of power, the one who is the service provider, if you like, is the one who is able to set the terms and conditions.

And yet, and yet, I think most of us probably have, if not written down, at least mentally in our minds, a series of what we could call terms and conditions by which we expect other people will interact with us.

So, I will lend my neighbour my latter, providing he doesn't keep parking his car in the wrong place, providing he doesn't complain about my garden being too messy.

I will help my colleague at work, providing they leave me in peace the rest of the time, or providing they're being good to me as well.

I will give money to that charity person, providing they promise they will never contact me again.

So we all have these little terms and conditions, don't we?

And as we read John chapter 20, we see Thomas had some terms and conditions.

John 20 · chapter mention

But actually, so does the Lord Jesus.

And the question for us is, do we have terms and conditions?

But even before we jump into the passage, well, let's look at terms and conditions, verse 24.

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the twin, was not with them when Jesus came.

So the other disciples told him, we've 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 in his side, I will never believe.

That's Thomas' terms and conditions.

But before we actually look at those in more detail, I want us to notice one thing just in passing.

Why is it Thomas had missed out on meeting the risen Lord Jesus?

How had he missed this?

Earlier in the chapter, we read about Mary running to the tomb that first Easter morning to look for him.

We read about Peter and John running to the tomb to look for Jesus.

We then read about Jesus meeting with all the other disciples that evening.

But Thomas wasn't there.

Thomas wasn't there.

We don't know why Thomas wasn't there.

Maybe he had some other pressing things to do that night, which kept him from being with God's people.

Maybe that was part of his terms and conditions.

And this Jesus seems to have died, I'm going to go away somewhere else and go on my business.

We don't know.

But he missed out because he was not with the rest of the Lord's people on what became the Lord's day, the first day of the week.

Now that's not the main point of this passage, but I want to throw it in because I think John doesn't put this detail in accidentally.

If we are not with the Lord's people, we will miss out.

If we are not with the Lord's people, we will miss out.

That was true of Thomas.

It can be true of us.

People often say, I'm struggling with my faith.

I think one man who came to me once saying, I'm really struggling with these doubts.

And as we got into the conversation, I realised why.

Yes, it was partly colleagues at work who believed different things.

But it was mainly, he was not regularly at church.

He was not regularly with the Lord's people.

So that was Thomas' problem, if you like.

But look at Thomas' terms and conditions.

Well, do you see his attitude?

It might sound, to some people it might sound reasonable.

I want to see proof.

I want to see evidence that Jesus has really been raised from the dead.

But actually, is it really reasonable of Thomas?

Is it really reasonable?

Who sets the terms and conditions?

The service provider, the one in power.

Apple, or Microsoft, or your bank, or whoever it is.

So what's Thomas doing setting terms and conditions?

He's saying, actually, Jesus needs to serve me.

Jesus needs to fit in with my agenda.

Jesus needs to do what I want.

I have a neighbour of mine, a couple of doors down,

who I was reading the Bible with for a while.

And this guy, Paul, had this, to me, very odd idea of God.

He kept on talking about God needing to prove himself.

He kept on talking as if God was a politician trying to secure your vote.

Or if God is a salesman, he's got a sales target,

and is desperate for believers, desperate for people to buy in,

so that he can reach his end-of-month target.

It's like he pictured God as being like Zach Goldsmith or Sadiq Khan,

trying desperately to win our votes for the mayoral election.

And at this point, I should refer you to the website,

so you can see all the other candidates whose names I haven't mentioned,

in the interest of neutrality.

But God is not like that.

And earlier on in this Gospel, Jesus has criticised that kind of idea.

So John chapter 4, verse 48, speaking to an official in Capernaum,

John 4:48

Jesus said to him,

Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.

In other words, you want me to perform,

you want me to meet your terms and conditions.

I wonder how many times, even those who profess to be Christians,

actually set terms and conditions for God.

I'm sure we don't write them down,

I'm sure we don't even necessarily consciously think about it.

But perhaps in our own hearts, we think,

well, okay, I will get more committed to a local church when it's easier,

when the kids are older.

Or I'll get more committed to serving in the church

when work isn't quite so frantic.

Or I'll give more money when I've got enough myself,

when I get a pay rise.

And if you're working in the public sector,

that's probably about 20 years' time.

Sadly.

You see, we can set these terms and conditions for God, can't we?

And people who are not believers do it as well.

So Bertrand Russell,

the very famous British historian and philosopher,

was asked once what he would say

if he found himself standing before God

on judgment day.

And God said,

why didn't you believe in me?

Russell replied,

I would say,

not enough evidence, God.

Not enough evidence.

And in fact,

John says earlier on in this gospel,

the reason people don't come to the light,

the reason people don't believe,

is not because of lack of evidence.

It's because they prefer the darkness.

They prefer to live lives their own way.

There's no intellectual reason

not to believe in God.

There are only moral reasons.

But you see the problem here,

the problem for Thomas,

the problem for Bertrand Russell,

the problem for many of us possibly,

is trying to assert terms and conditions on God.

Well, that's Thomas' problem.

Let's look,

as the story unfolds,

at Jesus' powerful presence.

Verse 26,

eight days later,

the doors are locked.

Presumably the disciples

are still afraid of the Jews.

This time Thomas is there.

Jesus came and stood among them

and said,

peace be with you.

So we're back on a Sunday again,

the way the Jews count days.

Sunday, the Lord's Day.

Thomas this time is with the Lord's people.

And even locked doors

cannot keep the physical body

of the Lord Jesus away.

There are no barriers

he cannot cross.

And Jesus,

he knows exactly what Thomas had said.

He knows exactly

what Thomas' terms and conditions are.

Look at verse 27.

Jesus said to Thomas,

put your finger in here.

See my hands.

Put out your hand

and place it in my side.

Thomas,

I know what you said in private.

I know what your terms and conditions are.

Well,

try me.

See if I meet them.

I don't know if you've ever had that feeling,

that experience,

of somebody,

you saying something about somebody,

that you suddenly realise

they've heard you say it.

I had this terrible moment at school once

where I'd just been letting off

to friends around the lunch table

about my terrible teacher

and how all the work

he was forcing me to do.

At which point I heard,

felt a hand rest on my shoulder.

I said,

Stuart,

you don't know,

you always call me Cashman.

So he's very poised.

He says,

Stuart,

you don't have to do that.

It's your choice.

It's there to help you.

I felt about this small.

How do you think Thomas feels at this point?

As he stands in front of the man

he thought was dead

and Jesus says,

come on,

put your fingers here.

Put your hand in this wound.

It's actually humbling,

isn't it?

But I wonder if you notice something else

about Jesus' powerful presence.

He does not come to lecture Thomas.

He does not say,

Thomas,

you've had your chance.

You were with me for three years.

I explained everything to you.

These guys have told you

I'm alive

and you didn't believe

tough luck,

game over.

He doesn't say that,

does he?

Rather,

he is gracious

and still comes

and says,

peace be with you,

even you who doubt it.

Thomas,

you didn't believe?

Come on,

believe.

Have this peace

that only I can offer.

And you see what the

effect

of Jesus' presence

on Thomas is?

Verse 28.

Thomas answered him,

my Lord

and my God.

See the change there

from being pretty grumpy,

from being pessimistic.

If you read through

the rest of John's Gospel,

Thomas isn't just a doubter.

In chapter 11,

as Jesus is going to Jerusalem,

Thomas says,

okay,

let's go,

we'll go with him and die.

Cheery bloke,

Thomas,

isn't he?

Chapter 14,

when Jesus says,

you know where I'm going,

Thomas says,

no,

I don't know where you're going,

what's going on?

Kind of grumpy,

pessimistic,

possibly scared man.

Yet now he falls

at the feet

of the Lord Jesus.

Humbled,

confronted by the truth,

and above all,

liberated.

Peace be with you,

my Lord

and my God.

See here,

Thomas finally confesses

what John has been making clear

all through this

account of Jesus' life.

Jesus is

100% God.

He is fully divine.

He's not so 50% God

and 50% man.

He's not some creation

of gods.

He is 100% God.

Right at the start,

chapter 1,

verse 1,

John had nailed that.

In the beginning

was the Word

and the Word

was God

and the Word

is with God.

This Jesus

is God.

And Thomas now

sees this for himself.

Death could not hold it.

And do you notice

Jesus' response

to Thomas at this point.

He doesn't say,

no,

get off your feet,

man,

I'm just a man like you.

Every other time

in the Bible

where someone bows down

to worship as God,

either a human being,

Acts 14,

or an angel,

Revelation 1,

the human or the angel

says,

no, no,

don't worship me,

I'm just a creature.

Worship the Creator.

Jesus does not do that.

He is Lord.

He is God.

So he accepts that

from Thomas

as the right response

to the risen Christ.

But also when you see

this is personal.

My Lord,

Thomas says,

my Lord,

I was setting

the terms and conditions.

I was saying

you have to do this for me.

Now I surrender.

You are God.

You are my Lord.

You set the terms

and conditions of my life.

I will not do it any longer.

I wonder,

can you say that?

Can you say that Jesus

is your Lord

and your God?

The one who you'll

surrender to.

No matter what comes.

No matter what life

throws at you.

Whatever the distresses

and sadnesses.

Would you trust

the Saviour

who has been to the cross

who will forever

bear the marks

of that suffering.

Will you trust him

as the Lord and God?

Thomas did.

Faced with that reality.

And Jesus gave him mercy.

C.S. Lewis,

many of you will know

the author of

the Narnia Chronicles

and a great scholar

at Oxford

and eventually

a professor at Cambridge,

wrote about his own experience

of reaching the conclusion

that Jesus is Lord and God.

He writes this,

you can picture me alone

in that room

in Magdalene College

night after night

feeling whenever my mind

lifted even for a second

from my work

the steady

unrelenting approach

of him

whom I so earnestly

desired not to meet.

That which I greatly feared

had at last come upon me.

In the Trinity term,

that's the summer term

of 1929,

I gave in

and admitted

that God

was God

and knelt

and prayed

perhaps that night

the most dejected

and reluctant

convert in all England.

I did not then see

what is now

the most shining

and obvious thing

the divine humility

which will accept

a convert

on such terms.

We see that humility

in Jesus,

don't we?

Accepting Thomas

in some senses

on his terms.

And in his grace

he will break through

some of our resistance

to bring that peace

he promised.

But look at the promise

Jesus makes here as well,

verse 29.

Because you and I

are not like Thomas,

we haven't seen Jesus.

What's the promise?

Verse 29.

Jesus said to him,

if you believe

because you see me,

blessed are those

who have not seen

and yet have believed.

If you're a Christian

here today,

you are blessed,

you're approved by God,

you're delighted in by God,

you are loved

because you've believed

in his son.

You are objectively

in God's family,

objectively on God's side,

blessed

because you have believed

without seeing.

We see Thomas' problem.

We see Jesus'

powerful presence.

Finally,

let's look at John's purpose,

verses 30 and 31.

Now Jesus did many other signs

of the presence of his 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.

Hear what John's saying?

I could have written

lots and lots and lots more.

In fact,

you're in my office,

you see the piles of notes

I'd taken of the stuff

that wasn't going to make

the final cut.

But this is in the final cut

and it's here for a reason.

I'm writing with an agenda

and I'm actually

absolutely clear about it.

My agenda is

that you may believe

that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of God.

So for that reason,

Mark,

John has recorded

seven signs,

signs,

miracles which are

signposts to Jesus'

true identity.

Turning water into wine

in Canaan,

raising the official son

in chapter 4,

healing the lame man

by the pool

in chapter 5,

feeding the 5,000

in chapter 6,

walking on the water

in chapter 6,

healing the man

born blind

in chapter 9,

raising Lazarus

in chapter 11.

All these are written

so we can see

who Jesus truly is.

They're all signs

that he is the Christ,

that is God's

long-promised king,

the one who God

promised to come

and put the world

right again

and establish

his right rule

over a world

that was in rebellion

and following

the devil's ways.

But not only is he

God's promised king,

he is the Son of God,

the one who came

from the Father,

the one who fully

reveals God to us,

the one who shows us

what God is like,

there's nothing

un-Christ-like

about God.

Jesus shows us

fully.

Not only was he

with the Father

in the beginning,

not only did he

come from the Father,

but with the Father

he sends the Spirit

as well.

He says,

the God of the Bible

is a trinity,

three persons in one.

That is why Jesus

can be God

and the Son of God.

God is three in one,

Father, Son and Spirit.

This is the God

of the Bible,

this is the God

John wants us

to believe in.

And do you see

what the terms

and conditions are here?

If you believe,

if you submit

to Jesus

as God's forever king,

what do we get?

Life in his name.

Real life.

What is life

actually about?

Some people think

it's about experiences,

don't they?

Some people travel

the world

searching for something.

I think of my wife's

cousin,

she's constantly

travelling everywhere.

like she's in search

of something.

Some people think

life is all about

having possessions,

having the right lifestyle,

having the right education.

Jesus says life

is worth much more

than that.

Life,

as we look through

John's Gospel,

life is about

forgiveness of sins

rather than condemnation,

about being loved

by the living God,

the God who made us.

Life is about

having light

instead of darkness.

The light of knowing

the truth

that comes from God

instead of the darkness

of stumbling around

with our own ideas,

with our own morality

and where it leads to.

Ultimately,

life,

Jesus says,

John chapter 17,

John 17:3

verse 3,

this is eternal life,

the Emmanuel God

and Jesus Christ

whom he sent.

This is what we are wired for,

this is what we are created for.

This is life.

And there is only one way

to get it.

There is only one way

to get it.

That is by believing

in his name,

believing in this Jesus

who came to die.

And you see,

he is the provider,

isn't he?

He is the one

who provides life.

So he can set

the terms and conditions.

He can say,

you must tick this box,

believe in me,

submit to me

as your Lord

and your God

as Thomas has done.

That is the way

to have life.

It is not good enough

to believe generally

there is a God

out there.

That is insufficient.

James later on

in the New Testament

tells us

even the demons

believe that

and shudder.

It is not enough

to believe that Jesus

was just a prophet

sent from God.

Islam teaches that.

It is not enough

to believe that Jesus

was just a manifestation

of God.

Many Hindus

or Sikhs

will take that idea.

it is not enough

to believe that Jesus

was just the Son of God

but not actually God.

Because that is not

his name.

That is not what

John is telling us

we need to believe in.

Rather we must

fall down with Thomas

and say,

my Lord

and my God.

You see,

to cite what

Burkham and Russell

said,

there is plenty

of evidence.

It is not lack

of evidence

that keeps anyone

away.

so that we prefer

the darkness

to the light.

We want to trust

in ourselves

or something else

and not in the Jesus

who has stepped

into history

to reveal God

to us

and to rescue us

for God.

So the question

as we close

really is

do we trust?

Do we believe

in his name?

Or do we still

have terms and conditions

that we want

Jesus to meet?

May we pray for us.