The Christian Skeptic

As we begin, let me just remind you, as I did on Friday night, that the four biblical

gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are not merely biographies of Jesus.

They do provide biographical sketches of the life of Jesus that are helpful to us, but

that's really not their main purpose or intention.

They are also historical documents.

They are reliable, credible historical documents, even by the estimation of those who do not

believe the message of the gospels, they are regarded as historically accurate and factual.

But these books are not primarily history.

These books are very evangelistic in their nature.

John's purpose in writing this was not just to give you a sketch of who Jesus was, nor

was it just to merely record the historical events of his life.

It was to present certain facts about the person and the work of Christ so that he might persuade

the reader that Jesus is indeed the Messiah and the Son of God.

And everything in these four books pushes forward to the most significant proofs of Jesus' identity

and purpose, which is his death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection from the dead

three days later.

And as we come to this particular study today and as we think about the resurrection throughout

the day, it becomes immediately apparent to us that the resurrection of Jesus is crucial

to the Christian gospel.

I mean, it's absolutely crucial.

And we could point to many different ways.

Let me give you just a few, just to remind you of how crucial this is to our faith as a whole.

First, the resurrection verifies Jesus' divine identity.

Jesus came saying, I am the Father and one.

People were claiming that perhaps this man is a deified figure.

Maybe this man is God.

Jesus is making those claims himself.

And the Bible repeatedly asserts this deity, this divinity of Christ, and his resurrection

is the ultimate validation of those claims.

Without the resurrection of Christ, we cannot say that Jesus is divine.

We see this in Acts chapter 2, Peter's first sermon after the resurrection.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

In verse 24, he says, God raised him up, speaking of Jesus, God raised him up, loosing the pangs

of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

It wasn't possible for him to remain dead.

Why was it not possible for him to remain dead?

Well, partly because he's not just a man.

He is also truly God.

He could not be held by death.

Therefore, the resurrection of Christ verifies the claims of Jesus that he is divine.

Hebrews chapter 1 echoes this.

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

Many places do, but maybe I'll show you Hebrews 1.3.

He is the radiance of the glory of God.

He is the exact imprint of God's nature.

And he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

And here's part and parcel of what goes along with this thought of Jesus's divinity.

That after making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.

Jesus's work as Messiah gives credibility and validity to his claims

as being the son of God.

So the resurrection is crucial to that.

If Jesus doesn't raise from the dead, we have no reason to believe that Jesus is anything other than a good man,

which is what many people claim.

The resurrection changes that, though.

Secondly, the resurrection shows that God the Father accepted Jesus's sacrifice for our sins on the cross.

It was a sinless sacrifice that was necessary.

We see that pictured in the Old Testament sacrifices when they would bring the lambs and the goats and the bulls.

They had to be without blemish and without spot.

Why?

Because God is holy and he demands perfection for one.

But they were pointing forward to a greater sacrifice, the sacrifice of Christ,

which meant that in order for our salvation to be won and for sins to be forgiven,

his sacrifice must be won that is without spot and without blemish.

It would take a sinless man to die for the sins of men.

And if Jesus had not risen from the dead, it would mean that Jesus himself was a sinner,

that his death paid for his own sins.

But Jesus had no sins for which he had to pay.

Therefore, his death was an atonement for our sins.

And the resurrection is what proves this to us.

It's echoed for us in Romans chapter 4.

Romans 4 · chapter mention

Therefore, righteousness will be counted to us who believe in him,

who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,

who was delivered up for our trespasses.

And then this last phrase is so important.

He was raised for our justification.

Our justification and righteousness before God hinges on Jesus' resurrection from the dead.

Because if Jesus had not risen, then he was a sinner.

And there was no way that his atonement would be sufficient for us.

But the Father raises him from the dead,

saying and declaring,

I have received this sacrifice.

It has appeased my wrath for sinners.

Thirdly, the resurrection proves Christ's power over life and death.

Jesus claims over and over in the Gospels

to have the power to give us eternal life.

Those claims would be absolutely meaningless

if he himself was powerless against death.

We think of very simply, John 3.16,

God so loved the world that he gave his only son

that whoever believes in him should not perish,

should not die, but have eternal life.

That's a promise given to those of us who believe specifically

in the person and the work of Christ.

Jesus said himself,

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Well, those claims mean nothing

if Jesus himself does not have power over death.

If he does not have power of life and over death,

then he is a liar.

He's a lunatic, as C.S. Lewis said.

He's either a liar or he's a lunatic or he's the Lord.

And if Jesus doesn't raise from the dead,

he cannot be a good man.

He cannot be a moral teacher.

He cannot be a good example.

He can only be a liar and a wild man.

The resurrection is crucial.

Fourthly, without the resurrection,

the Christian faith would be in vain

and we would remain lost in our sins.

Paul tells us this explicitly in 1 Corinthians 15.

If Christ had not been raised,

your faith is futile.

You are still in your sins.

Those who have fallen asleep

or those who have died believing Christ

have also perished.

If in Christ we have hope in this life only,

we are of all people most to be pitied.

The resurrection is absolutely crucial

to the Christian gospel.

If you remove the resurrection of Jesus,

you effectively dismantle the entire Christian faith.

It's completely destroyed.

There's nothing left.

Everything Christians believe

ultimately hinges upon the reality

that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead.

Even our conviction that the Bible

is the inerrant word of God

hinges first on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

So it's no surprise then

that skeptics through the centuries

have taken the Christian message

and they have targeted the credibility

specifically of Jesus' resurrection.

Because if you can discredit it,

you can completely dismantle Christianity.

And if you can dismantle Christianity,

you can discredit the word of God.

And if you can discredit the word of God,

then you can say,

I am my own God.

I choose my own way.

There is no one for which I am accountable to.

So they target the resurrection.

They have to.

Because if the resurrection is not true,

then all of this is a waste.

All sorts of theories have been developed

through the centuries

in attempts to rationalize

the resurrection of Christ away.

We could go into all of those things.

We won't do it now for sake of time.

But all kinds of things have been presented.

Still, none of those theories

are ultimately compelling.

They're just not.

There is just too much evidence

that they have to overcome

showing that natural reason

does not ultimately have the final word.

It's not ultimately,

does it make sense to our human minds

that something like this would happen?

It just doesn't work.

There's too much evidence to the contrary

that these theories have to overcome.

And not a single theory

going against the resurrection of Christ

has come even close

to being compelling

to dismiss all of the evidence

that's available to us.

But our text

presents for us this morning

a different kind of skeptic.

What we're dealing with here in John 20

is not the skeptic

that we've just thought about.

The skeptic who is trying

to do away with Christianity

and trying to disprove it

that is utterly hardened

and rebellious

toward everything that Christ is

and everything that Christ has done.

That's not the kind of skeptic

that we find here.

Thomas wasn't trying to outright deny

or disprove the resurrection

in the way that,

for example,

the Jewish leaders were in Matthew 28

who upon hearing of Christ's resurrection

literally made up a lie

and told the Roman soldiers,

said just tell them

that the disciples came

and stole the body away

or whatever.

He's been stolen.

Even they, in that moment,

they're trying to do something

completely different.

That's not what Thomas is doing here.

Thomas, like all of the disciples,

would have been devastated

by the surrounding events

of Jesus' crucifixion.

He wanted the resurrection to be true.

He's not trying to deny it

or disprove it outrightly

in an antagonism against Christ.

And yet, he still struggled

with an unbelieving heart.

We might call Thomas

a Christian skeptic.

Friendly toward Jesus,

identifying in some sense

with the Christian community,

but still remaining lost

in unbelief.

I think there's many Thomases

that fill churches

every single Sunday.

They're friendly toward Jesus.

In some sense,

they identify with the Christian community,

but ultimately,

they are lost in unbelief.

And there may be a few here this morning

that fit that description quite well.

The resurrection demands something of us

that most people are unwilling to supply.

Total faith.

That's what it demands.

And the issue of belief

is at the very heart of this passage.

And my goal this morning

is to allow the text of Scripture

to call you to the same belief

that the risen Christ

called Thomas to possess here.

The three things I want to point out to you

as we work our way through the narrative.

First, I want you to see

an unbelieving heart.

An unbelieving heart.

Verse 24.

Now Thomas was one of the twelve

called the twin.

He was not with them when Jesus came.

So the disciples told him,

we have seen the Lord.

But he said to them,

unless I see in his hands

the mark of the nails,

place my finger into the mark of the nails

and place my hand into his side,

I will never believe.

That's a strong statement.

I will never believe

unless my conditions are met,

Thomas says.

Let's think for just a minute

about this man Thomas in the Bible.

There's not a lot that the Gospels tell us

outside of the general list

that are given of the disciples.

And one other occasion in John chapter 21,

John 21 · chapter mention

we see that Thomas is just with Peter

and some of the others as they're fishing.

And Galilee.

Other than that,

there's only two places

in the Gospels

where we find any kind of detail

at all about Thomas.

Both of them are found

in John's Gospel.

And I just want to look at them quickly

to give maybe a little bit

of a character sketch of this man.

In fact, just turn with me first

to John chapter 11.

John 11 · chapter mention

You're already in chapter 20.

Just turn a couple of pages back

to John chapter 11.

John 11 · chapter mention

You remember the disciples

had been around the area of Jerusalem

and it had become very clear

that the Jews were trying to arrest

and murder Jesus.

They left the vicinity of Jerusalem

and they were serving.

Jesus was teaching

and was doing things in another place.

Well, while they were away,

Lazarus, Jesus' friend,

brother of Martha and Mary,

died.

Word was sent to Jesus

that he was near death

and that he had died.

And then Jesus decided

to remain in that area

for a couple of days.

And then he tells the disciples

in verse 7

that he wants to go back to Bethany,

which is just outside of Jerusalem.

And the response of the disciples

in verse 8

is, are you crazy?

Essentially.

They're trying to kill us there.

Why would we go back?

And Jesus goes through

and he explains exactly

what's happening

and why he's going to go back.

And then it's during this discussion

about going back toward Jerusalem

that John records

a brief statement from Thomas.

It's in verse 16.

So Thomas, called the twin,

said to his fellow disciples,

let us also go

that we may die with him.

Let us also go

that we may die with him.

Now let me tell you

what this isn't.

This is not an exhilarating

battle cry from Thomas.

You know, there are those,

you know, there are those crazy people

who just love war.

Like they're just,

they get themselves

all worked up over it

and they're ready to go.

That is not Thomas.

That's not any of these disciples

except perhaps Simon the Zealot.

Peter shows some aggression

in a couple of instances.

That's not what Thomas

is saying here.

He's not trying to

muster up some kind of courage.

This is a combination of Thomas

and his tendency to battle

with faith and doubt

all at the same time.

Spurgeon says this about this text.

It's a singular mixture

of faith and unbelief.

Thomas so believes his master

that he's willing to die with him.

He so doubts his master

that although the Savior

had plainly told him

that he was immortal

till his work was done,

Thomas is afraid

that his master

and all of them

will be put to death.

Thomas loves Jesus.

He wants to be with Jesus.

He maybe will even

commit to dying with Jesus

as a friend

but he does not fully

believe Jesus' words.

He says,

well, we might as well

go with him

and all die

in the process of it.

It tells us a little bit

about this man,

doesn't it?

This mixture of faith and doubt.

The next one is in

John chapter 14.

John 14 · chapter mention

Just flip there quickly.

John chapter 14.

John 14 · chapter mention

John chapter 14.

John 14 · chapter mention

John chapter 14.

John 14 · chapter mention

This is

the night of Jesus' arrest.

This is in the upper room

at the Last Supper.

John records part

of Jesus' final words

to the disciples

on the night of his arrest here

and he was preparing them

for his approaching death.

He was comforting them

with the promise of heaven

for all who believe in him.

And I want you to notice

in verse 4.

Jesus says,

I'm leaving

and he says,

and you know the way

to where I am going.

Where is it that Jesus is going?

He's going to the Father.

It's a picture of heaven

but he's going to the Father.

That's the point

of the statement

that he's making.

And he tells the disciples,

you know the way there.

You know the way to God.

And look what Thomas says.

Lord,

we don't know

where you're going.

How can we know the way?

And that produces

this amazing statement

from Jesus.

I am the way

and the truth

and the life.

No one comes to the Father

except by me.

Now I want you to notice

the emphasis

of Thomas' statement.

He does not ask

how they are to know the way.

That's not what he's asking.

As if he needs to gain

some type of information

to be more pliable

to the things

that Jesus is saying.

That's not what he's saying.

Giving what he thought

to be a mystery

in Jesus' words.

He asked how they

could possibly know.

Lord,

we don't know

where you're going.

How could we possibly

know the way?

This is another moment

of skepticism

and pessimism.

There's a sense

even in which

Thomas was pushing

against Jesus'

assertion

that they knew

the way to God.

He says,

how could we possibly know?

And this helps us

understand a little bit

Thomas' tendency

toward pessimism

and skepticism.

So when the other disciples

declared to him

back in John chapter 20

John 20 · chapter mention

that they had seen

the risen Lord,

it's not entirely surprising

that Thomas,

having been absent

on that occasion,

faced another troubling

battle of unbelief.

It's his continual struggle,

it seems.

And the issue for Thomas

and for us

is not a lack

of evidence.

The issue for Thomas

is a stubborn,

unbelieving heart.

Now I want you to consider

for just a moment

the credibility

of the evidence

that Thomas had

in John chapter 20.

John 20 · chapter mention

First,

the scriptures

had foretold

that Jesus would rise

from the dead.

All of the ultimate,

the Old Testament

pointed to the death

and resurrection

of the Messiah.

Think about Isaiah.

53 first

in verse 10.

When his soul

has made

an offering for guilt,

he shall see

his offspring.

He will see

his offspring

after he's been

put to death,

meaning that

he will not

remain dead.

There will be life

after this death.

He shall

prolong his days.

The will of the Lord

shall prosper

in his hand.

That's beyond

becoming

a guilt offering

for the sins of man.

How about

Psalm 16?

This is what

Peter quoted

in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

He looked at

David's words

and he said,

for you will not

abandon my soul

to Sheol

or to death

or let your

holy one

see corruption.

Peter is saying

David wasn't

talking about himself

and the reason

we know he wasn't

talking about himself

is because his tomb

is right over there

and if you go

open it up,

you'll see

David's bones

are still there.

He's still dead.

He wasn't

talking about David.

He was talking

about Jesus.

Now,

why would you think

that Peter

would go to Psalm 16

and use that

as a proof

for the resurrection

of Christ?

Because as we just read

in Luke 24,

Jesus himself

sat down with Peter

and with all

the other disciples

and opened their minds

to understand

all that the Scripture

said concerning him

and no doubt

in that setting,

Jesus had opened up

to Psalm 16

and said,

look,

David's still dead,

men.

This is about me.

Matthew 12,

Jesus himself says

that Jonah

was a sign

for the resurrection.

But he answered them,

an evil and adulterous

generation

seeks for a sign,

but no sign

will be given to it

except the sign

of the prophet Jonah.

For just as Jonah

was three days

and three nights

in the belly

of the great fish,

so will the Son of Man

be three days

and three nights

in the heart

of the earth.

The Old Testament

had prophesied this

and had pointed

towards this moment.

That was evidence

that Thomas had.

Secondly,

Jesus plainly

told his disciples

this was going

to happen.

Mark chapter 10,

Mark 10 · chapter mention

Jesus says,

see,

we are going up

to Jerusalem

and the Son of Man

will be delivered

over to the chief priest

and the scribes.

They will condemn him

to death,

deliver him

to the Gentiles,

they'll mock him

and spit on him

and flog him

and kill him

and after three days

he will rise.

That's the third time

Mark records

Jesus telling Thomas,

I'm going to die

and then I'm going to rise.

The evidence

was there for him.

Third,

look at the credible witnesses

that declared

this news to him.

These were not people

just off the street.

These were not people

Thomas didn't trust.

These were Thomas'

closest friends.

People he trusted thoroughly

and they came to him

and they said,

we've seen the Lord

and he says,

I don't believe it.

I won't believe it,

he says.

The issue is not

the evidence.

The evidence was there

for him.

The issue is a stubborn,

unbelieving heart.

1 Corinthians 15 again,

Paul helps us here,

doesn't he?

Jesus appeared to Cephas,

that's Peter.

He appeared to the twelve.

He appeared to more than

500 brothers at one time,

most of whom are still alive.

In other words,

Paul says,

go to the people

that saw him

and ask,

they will verify

what they saw.

He appeared to James,

he appeared to the apostles,

last of all,

he appeared also to me.

The issue wasn't

lack of evidence,

the issue was

an unbelieving heart

refusing to trust

the evidence

that was provided.

Thomas tried to set

his own terms for faith,

declaring,

I will never believe

until my conditions

are met.

And maybe you're

in a similar situation

to that this morning.

The issue isn't evidence.

The issue is

you just don't want

to believe.

And unless God

meets your demands,

whatever they may be,

you refuse

because of the hardness

of your heart.

You may say,

unless Jesus appears

to me himself,

I'm not going to believe it.

Unless I finally get

a satisfying answer

for the problem

of evil in the world,

I'm just not going

to believe.

Unless people start

being nicer to me,

I'm not going to believe.

Unless all of this stuff

works out,

the things I've been praying

for,

all of these prayers

that I've been asking

that have gone unanswered,

unless they are answered,

I will not believe.

And you try to set

your own terms for faith.

It doesn't work.

More than enough

credible evidence

has been provided.

You've decided

to set your own,

maybe even intentionally

impossible,

terms for faith.

And perhaps you do think,

if Jesus were just

to appear to me,

if he would just

make it easy

and just come

and just kind of

do in this room

this morning

what he did

for those disciples

in whatever room

it was that they were

in on that day,

then finally I would believe.

But no, you wouldn't.

Because the problem

isn't evidence.

The problem is your heart.

You have a hard heart.

Stubborn, unbelieving heart.

And here's why I know it.

Because Jesus himself said it.

In Luke chapter 16,

Luke 16 · chapter mention

telling the parable

of the rich man and Lazarus.

He gets to the end

and remember,

the rich man is crying out

to Abraham and he says,

if you will just send

somebody from heaven

to go to my brothers

who are still living,

somebody from the dead,

then they'll repent

and believe.

And Abraham says,

no they won't.

They have Moses

and the prophets.

They have the scriptures.

And if they will not receive

the testimony

of the scriptures,

even if somebody

raises from the dead,

they will not believe.

And you sit here

and you think,

if Jesus would just appear,

I would finally believe.

No, you wouldn't.

Because the issue

is not the evidence.

The issue for you

is your heart.

And if he were to appear,

you'd find some kind of way,

unless he touches your heart,

you'd find some kind of way

to dismiss it.

Well, I must need

to take my medicine today.

Well, I must be

hallucinating again today.

That can't possibly

be what it is.

Pastor Jared's pulling

one of those

faith healer tricks on me.

No, it's not the evidence.

It's your heart.

So we see an unbelieving heart.

Secondly,

we see encountering

the risen Lord.

Encountering the risen Lord.

Verse 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.

And he said to Thomas,

put your finger here.

See my hands.

Put out your hand.

Place it in my side.

Do not disbelieve,

but believe.

And here's what I love about this.

It's another glowing example

of God's patience

and grace towards us.

Despite his doubt,

Jesus graciously,

mind you,

very graciously,

confronts Thomas,

meeting him

at his weakest moment.

He comes to where he is.

And there's three simple things

that I want to point out

to you about this.

The first thing is this.

Jesus came to Thomas.

Jesus came to Thomas.

There's so many people

that think for Jesus

to be willing to save them,

that they have to make themselves

savable first.

They burden themselves

with all of this religious practice

and the pursuits

of self-righteousness,

hoping that it will be enough

for God to grant them salvation.

salvation.

And if that's you this morning,

you've totally missed the point.

You've totally missed everything

that's happening here

in the Scriptures.

The Scriptures teach us

that salvation comes

by God's grace alone.

And Thomas' encounter

is just one of many illustrations

of this in the Bible.

Jesus didn't wait for Thomas

to get his act together

before he was willing

to appear.

No.

He graciously pursued Thomas

in his sin

and doubt.

Jesus came to him

graciously,

mercifully,

lovingly,

appears to Thomas

in this moment.

It reminded me,

thinking of this this week,

some of you may remember

this song.

It was an old

Squire Parsons song.

I remember my dad singing

when I was growing up.

He came to me.

Do you know that song?

He came to me.

He came to me.

When I could not come

to where he was,

he came to me.

That's exactly

the point of the Bible.

We could never come

to where he is.

You will never be good enough

for what God's law demands.

So God graciously comes to us

in the person of Jesus Christ.

And we see it all over again

right here with Thomas.

Jesus coming to him.

Secondly,

Jesus announced his peace.

He announced his peace.

Shalom is the common greeting

of peace among Jews.

But the peace that Jesus announced

was more than a simple greeting.

In spite of his refusal

to believe the reports,

Jesus did not appear

to Thomas in anger.

He appeared to him

with a comforting peace.

And this peace that he announces

to Thomas and the others

was the peace with God

that he had just won for them

on the cross.

In other words,

when Jesus appears to Thomas

and he says,

peace be with you,

he is announcing

that he was God's messenger

of peace

for the very sin of unbelief

that Thomas was living in

at that moment.

I have brought peace to you,

Thomas.

To be sure,

judgment,

God's wrath

awaits all unbelievers

at the end of this life.

But right now,

it is not a message of judgment

that Jesus comes and brings.

Right now,

it's a message of peace,

his peace,

won through the cross.

And it's one

that he brings to you today.

We see this all over

the New Testament.

Romans 5,

therefore being justified

by faith,

we have peace with God

through our Lord,

Jesus Christ.

So Jesus comes to Thomas.

When he comes to Thomas,

he doesn't say condemned.

When he comes to Thomas,

he says peace.

And then notice thirdly,

Jesus calls him to faith.

He calls him to faith.

Do not disbelieve, Thomas.

But believe.

Now I love that

Jesus hasn't appeared

to the disciples

since that night

a week before.

At least it doesn't appear

that way in the scriptures.

Thomas has not yet seen Jesus.

Jesus wasn't there physically.

Wasn't there physically

when Thomas tells the disciples,

unless I put my fingers

in his wounds,

I will not believe.

But notice that the first thing

Jesus says after he announces

his peace is he says,

Thomas, put your finger here.

Put your finger here.

Faith is necessary.

But God does not bring us,

he does not demand of us

a blind faith.

He gives us verifiable

evidence for that faith.

And he reaches out his hand

and he says,

put your finger here.

Put your finger here.

Put your hand here.

See me.

Touch me, Thomas.

Don't disbelieve.

Believe.

And after showing Thomas

his wounds,

he calls him

to stop doubting,

to believe.

You see,

the only way

to receive the peace

won by Christ

on the cross

is by believing

in who he is

and what he has done.

And genuine faith

does not preclude

sincere investigation.

But true faith

is ultimately

at the heart

of the gospel message.

And saving faith

is more than just

assenting

to historical facts.

It is to turn from sin

and to turn from self

and to turn from doubt

to trust wholly

in the person of Christ

alone

for eternal life.

And it is to this kind of faith

that Jesus calls Thomas.

And it's to this kind of faith

that he calls

each and every one of us

stop disbelieving

and believe.

Remember John 11, 25?

This is again

in the whole scene

with raising Lazarus

from the dead.

But before he does it,

he's talking to Lazarus' sister.

And he tells her,

I am the resurrection

and the life.

Whoever believes in me,

though he die,

yet shall he live.

And everyone who lives

and believes in me

shall never die.

And then notice

what he says to her.

Do you believe this?

Will you believe?

And Jesus does that

with Thomas.

He says,

look at my hands

and look at my sight.

See me.

Listen to me.

Hear me.

Will you believe?

And it's unfortunate

that Thomas has gained

this popular nickname,

Doubting Thomas.

I say it's unfortunate

because not one

of Jesus' followers

immediately believed

the news of his resurrection.

Not a single one of them.

When the women

saw the empty tomb

and the angels

said to them,

he has risen,

he's not here.

They didn't believe

the angels

until Jesus appeared to them.

And then they go

and tell the disciples

and the disciples run,

at least Peter and John do.

They run to the tomb

and they see the tomb

is empty,

but they don't believe

the ladies.

They go home,

they're amazed

at the circumstance,

but they do not believe

the message

until the risen Lord

appears to them.

And then we get here

to Thomas

and we see this dramatic

refusal to believe

until his conditions

are met

and we give him

this name,

Doubting Thomas,

but he's no different

than any of the others.

He's no different

than any of us.

And I want you to notice

that the scripture

never says

that Thomas actually

went so far

as to touch Jesus' wounds.

He doesn't say

he did that.

He doesn't say

he actually touched him.

I don't think

he had to

because an encounter

with the risen Lord

is all that it took.

Coming to him,

announcing his peace,

and saying,

believe,

calling him to faith.

A personal encounter

with the risen Christ

is necessary

for saving faith.

It's necessary.

But that doesn't mean

we must physically see

and touch Jesus

to believe.

Jesus said

that our stubborn hearts

are moved to faith

through the work

of his spirit.

John chapter 16.

John 16 · chapter mention

When the spirit

of truth comes,

he will guide you

into all truth.

He will not speak

on his own authority,

but whatever he hears,

he will speak.

And he will declare

to you the things

that are to come.

He will glorify me.

For he will take

what is mine

and declare it to you.

In other words,

what the spirit's

going to do

is he's going to say

everything that relates

to me.

He's going to glorify

my death and resurrection.

He's going to open

your hearts to believe.

And what you need

this morning

is not for Jesus

to appear before you.

What you need

is for his spirit

to move within you

because an encounter

with the risen Christ

through the work

of the spirit

is essential

for saving faith.

If you don't have it,

you will not be saved.

You cannot be saved

because you will not believe.

So,

we see an unbelieving heart.

We see encountering

the risen Christ.

Thirdly and finally,

we see responding

in faith.

Responding in faith.

Verse 28,

Thomas answered him,

my Lord and my God.

And Jesus said to him,

have you believed

because you have seen me?

And he's not saying

that's a bad thing.

He's just acknowledging

that's the reality

of what has happened.

Have you believed

because you've seen me?

Blessed are those

who have not seen

and yet have believed.

Blessed are those

who have not seen me

yet they believe me.

Blessed are those

who do not have

all of their questions answered

and yet they believe.

Blessed are those

who are still wondering

and still struggling

with hurt and doubt

and all the things

yet they believe.

Blessed they are.

And this is the only

appropriate response

to an encounter

with the risen Lord.

Notice Thomas' affirmation

is twofold.

He says,

my Lord,

showing he was now

wholly committing

his life to follow

and obey Jesus.

My Lord,

my God.

Proclaiming that Jesus

would forever be

the object of his

affection and worship.

Loved ones,

this is true saving faith.

It does not merely

agree to a set of facts.

It is taking those truths

and casting yourself

wholly on Christ

as Lord

and Savior

and God

turning away from all else

and saying,

my Lord,

my God,

I will follow you.

I will obey you.

I will love you.

I will worship you.

That is true saving faith.

Now notice Jesus' reply.

It was necessary

for all the apostles

to have a physical encounter

with Jesus

after his resurrection.

That was actually something

that must have happened.

He had specifically

chosen them

to be his witnesses,

particularly witnesses

of his life

and his death

and his resurrection.

But that would be

impossible for them to be

if they had not

actually witnessed it.

At some point,

Jesus was going to appear

physically

to Thomas

because that's why

he had chosen Thomas.

He had chosen him

for that purpose

and you can read about that

further in Acts chapter 1.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

But Jesus also says here

in verse 29

that all who believe

without seeing him

as a result

of the apostles' witness

that we read even now

that they would be blessed.

And blessed in this case

is not simply a word

for happiness.

That's not what he means.

It means that all

who believe in Christ

will receive

the eternal blessing

of God

in forgiveness of sin

and peace with him.

That's the blessing.

And it does not come

through your best effort.

It comes through your faith.

Faith in what?

Faith in Christ

according to the witness

of the apostles

in the word of God.

That's the faith.

Peter wrote about it.

1 Peter 1

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

obtaining the outcome

of your faith

which is the salvation

of your souls

without having ever seen

the physical Christ.

Has this ever been

your response to Christ?

My guess

in getting to know

all the people

that are in this room

at this point

my guess is that

this is not your

first Easter service.

You've probably been

to many

maybe dozens.

You've heard the stories

you've read the chapters

maybe you read them again

this morning

in your personal devotions

you're willing to assent

to the historical facts

because you can't find

a way to disprove them

at least

so you might as well

agree that

okay this must have

happened

but has this ever been

your response

to those things?

My Lord

my God

it's one thing

to be friendly

toward Christ

and Christianity

but salvation

belongs only

to those who trust him

as Lord

and God

it is not enough

to be a friend

of Christians

you must be

a Christian

and you cannot

be a Christian

without faith

in his gospel

you can't

let's finish

with verses

30 and 31

John says

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

it's through the Holy Spirit

of God

that Jesus

comes to us

and announces his peace

and calls us to faith

but it is the written

word of God

that the Spirit

uses

to draw us

to faith

and to give us life

in all of the evidence

supporting Jesus

his resurrection

of all of it

nothing is as powerful

and as necessary

as the testimony

of God

in the Bible

more than any other

historical figure

or historical document

you can read all about

Josephus'

estimations of Christians

and what they believed

and what his thoughts were

on the apostles

on the apostles

and on their faith

none of that compares

to the power

of the written word

of God

it is our highest authority

it is our most

preeminent

evidence

because it comes

directly from him

Romans 10 17

so faith comes

by hearing

hearing comes

through the word

of Christ

the Bible

the scriptures

God used John

to write these things

so that we would believe

that Jesus is the Messiah

and the Son of God

and that by believing

we would receive

eternal life

through him

because the resurrection

is the very pinnacle

of the case

for Christ

without the resurrection

there is no Christianity

it doesn't exist

and without believing

in the resurrection

you cannot be a Christian

Romans 10 verse 9

Romans 10:9

if you confess

with your mouth

that Jesus

is Lord

and believe

in your heart

that God

raised him

from the dead

you will be saved

nothing more

nothing less

without the resurrection

there is no Christian faith

and without believing

in the resurrection

you cannot be

a Christian

and my curiosity

this morning

is to think of

how many of us

are the Thomas

from verse 25

you're saying

unless

these demands

are met

I will not believe

and what I want

to call you

to become

is the Thomas

of verse 28

my Lord

and my God

and in the words

of Jesus

say to you

do not disbelieve

but believe

asNINGNINGNING

as