Seeing and Believing (John 20:19-31)

John chapter twenty, starting in verse 19.

When it was evening on that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews.

Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, Peace be with you.

Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, I also send you.

After saying this, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit.

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven.

If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

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

So the other disciples were telling them, We've seen the Lord.

But he said to them, If I don't put the mark, if I don't see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.

A week later his disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them.

Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you.

Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here, look at my hands.

Reach out your hand and put it into my side.

Don't be faithless, but believe.

And Thomas responded to them, to him, My Lord and my God.

Jesus said, Because you've seen me, you have believed.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.

But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Lord, I thank you so much for your word.

I thank you for your love, for the sacrifice of your son on the cross, so that by faith in him we could have restored relationship with you, forgiveness of sins, Lord.

I thank you for your love and your care.

I ask that you fill me with your spirit to teach.

Amen.

Go ahead and have a seat.

So we are, as we continue in John 20, they're having a busy day.

So they started out going to the tomb early.

Mary going to the tomb.

And the stone had been removed from the tomb.

And then you have Peter and the one Jesus loved who got there first, seeing that the tomb is empty.

And then they returned.

Mary, which we went over last week on Easter, encounters Jesus in person.

But the disciples had already left.

So just Mary sees him, and then he returns to the disciples.

She returns to the disciples.

I have seen the Lord and told them what he said to her.

So as a whole, where are we at right now?

Because it's all happening on the same day thus far.

Because we see in verse 19, it was evening on that first day of the week that the disciples were gathered together.

They know the tomb is empty.

There's no body.

They know that Mary Magdalene is asserting that Jesus is alive and that she saw him and encountered him.

And that's all they know right now.

So, what is the state of the disciples at this point?

They are gathered together and they're locked in because they feared the Jews.

Now, why did they fear the Jews?

Well, it turns out resurrection is not normal.

When a body disappears, the first forensic analysis is not, they must have gone back to life and gone somewhere else.

So my assumption is that the disciples are there with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, because they are prime suspects for the theft of the body of Jesus.

So it ain't a good time to be a disciple.

Because even if even if Jesus had risen from the dead, which spoiler alert he did, that would be a challenging thing to assert to the Roman soldiers who appear.

That, like, no, no, no, we, his followers, his devoted followers, we didn't take the corpse.

It got up and it left from the inside of a tomb that was guarded by you guys.

So what did you do with them?

Ain't gonna go well.

So this is what I love though.

In this thing, is their state at this point is they are locked in because of fear.

That's their state right now.

And then what happens?

Jesus came, he stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you.

And having said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

So you have an empty tomb, you have a witness saying that she saw Jesus, and then they're in this room, locked in for fear, and then Jesus just shows up.

How does that happen?

We don't have the slightest idea what that looked like.

We know that they're locked in the room, we know that he appeared among them and said, Peace be with you.

That's all we know.

But this is the cool thing here.

What is the first thing that he does to address their fear, even before he says anything, he stands among them.

The very first thing is his presence, which is so cool.

And then he says, Peace be to you.

Which we go, okay, cool.

He's coming and he's saying, Peace be to you.

This is actually a really, really, really big deal because um the last time that the disciples encountered Jesus, they were running away.

As he was being arrested before being tried, before being executed, before being buried.

So needless to say, the relationship was uncertain at that point in time because they have no idea how Jesus is going to react.

And I love here that here's what he doesn't do.

He doesn't go, you know how long I was waiting at that tomb, guys?

I told you I would rise again on the third day.

I needed a ride.

You know what didn't rise from the dead?

My phone.

So I couldn't call an Uber.

I'm stuck, and you weren't there.

Where were you?

We don't see any of that.

Which is so cool.

Because he's coming in and he's saying, Peace be with you.

And then, having said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

He shows them the reminder of his sacrifice and his purchase price.

Which is cool because, first of all, when John 14, 27, when we were going over that roughly six years ago, the he tells them, peace I leave with you.

My peace I give to you.

I don't give to you as the world gives.

Don't let your heart be troubled or fearful.

Jesus promises them a peace that surpasses understanding beyond what the world gives.

And he also leads with the reminder of the scars of the sacrifice he paid for them.

We see in 1 Peter 2, 24 and 25.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that having died to sins, we might live for righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed.

For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

So I love this, because the first thing he does is he has his presence there.

Then he proclaims peace to them in midst of uncertainty, and then he shows them the reminder of the restored relationship, the price, the purchased price for their sins.

Super cool with that.

Because what was their state before?

They're afraid.

They're huddled together and they're terrified.

They don't know what's gonna happen next.

What changed?

They still don't have any more answers for the religious leaders.

They're still not gonna say, oh no, we saw Jesus, it's cool.

He's alive.

It isn't gonna work that way.

Their circumstances did not necessarily change, but the reminder of Jesus' presence.

This is really, really, really cool.

I don't talk about my uh life through the week a whole lot with this, but um, I have a day job, it turns out, and uh I'm currently dealing with some stuff where I get the fun adventure of partnering with HR to address some issues through the proper channels with somebody in a person of power.

That's not fun.

I stand to gain very little and to lose a whole lot as a result of that.

This is real time.

It's harder when I have a it sometimes can feel harder when I have kids who like to um eat and they like shelter, turns out, different things like this.

And so what's I've experienced this as I've been prepping for this.

A lot of my prayers in the last couple weeks have just been, God, I'm afraid.

I am afraid of what's going to happen, what could happen.

And I honestly I don't even know what's gonna happen, ultimately.

Um the circumstances haven't changed, but every time I just am reminded of his presence.

And I'm reminded of his victory over sin and death, of his price that he paid for this uh on the cross for my sins, of the inheritance that we have reserved in heaven, undefiled, imperishable.

And that's what's so cool, is how faithful he is to bring about reminders that he is with us, even though the circumstances haven't changed.

So, yeah, it is an interesting thing how the best remedy for uncertainty and fear is not necessarily a changing of circumstances, it is a reminder of his presence and his faithfulness and his goodness.

So cool.

Just things have been walking through in this season.

So and I love that he greets them as friends.

Peace be with you.

Now, I mean, in Mark 16, 14, he does rebuke them for their hardness and heart and unbelief.

Those do go hand in hand with that, but ultimately he doesn't rail on them for not understanding what was going on.

He meets them, he reaffirms them, and what's the result?

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord in verse 20.

It's kind of an understatement, I would think.

They gave up everything to follow him, to uh follow this rabbi, and then he was arrested and executed, and they are destitute.

He comes back to life.

He stands in them, amongst amongst them, in a locked room, and does not uh condemn them.

And it says, The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

I have a feeling this is a big rejoicing.

Their fear is turned to joy in the presence of the Savior.

Praise God for that.

And so what happens next?

Verse 21, Jesus said to them again, peace be with you.

As the Father has sent me, I also send you.

He reaffirms his peace, and he gives them their commission.

As the Father has sent me, I also send you.

So first he gives his presence, his proclamation of peace, his reminder that the price has been paid.

He reaffirms that peace, and then he commissions them and tells them, I am sending you.

As the Father sent me, I am sending you.

What does that look like?

It's declaring the kingdom of Jesus and salvation through Jesus, which we're going to see in the book of Acts in real time.

And then after saying this, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit.

Okay, turn to your neighbor and breathe on them.

Please don't do that.

You know, I wish it had lined up for us to go through this passage during COVID just to see what would have happened at that moment.

Yeah, I have a feeling that it would have gotten spicy really quick.

But having that said, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit.

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.

If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

Nothing controversial there, right?

We're clear with that?

Okay.

First of all, why did he breathe on them and say, Receive the Holy Spirit?

What do we know?

We know that ultimately the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.

We see that in Acts 2 at Pentecost.

And then the result of that.

We know that through confession and belief and putting our faith in Jesus, we have an indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

So what is he doing here?

Well, there's there's a lot of different theories in this.

We don't see this happen any other time in any other way.

So it's really hard to build a camp on this.

It's really hard to be like, this right here, this is what we really need to have down.

But at the same time, it is there, so it's important.

So, um, a couple different things.

Number one, I see in Genesis 2, verse 7, when God creates life, he breathes the breath of life into them.

Genesis 2:7

Which is so cool.

So he forms them, forms people, and then he breathes life into them.

And so I see a parallel there here as he is breathing new life into them, as they are seeing his resurrection and believing in him.

And also, one theory that I think is I think is a cool theory is that idea that he is, okay.

How do I say something really complicated in a really short amount of time?

Different opinions about how the Holy Spirit works, right?

The dispensational viewpoint of how the Holy Spirit works is that prior to Pentecost, the Holy Spirit did not indwell somebody, but could come upon them, uh, or was with them at that point in time, and then didn't stay there necessarily, but could come and go.

After Jesus' death and resurrection, the new life, new believer, the Holy Spirit lives inside of them and does not leave.

We see, like Saul, the King Saul, the Holy Spirit, he didn't know that the Spirit had left him.

That doesn't happen with a believer.

It lives inside of us.

And then we see also that the Holy Spirit can come upon, like at Pentecost and other places, to do even more abundantly in that work.

And so it is possible that prior to Pentecost here, Jesus is giving them a little bit of a top-off, if you will, of the Holy Spirit being basically upon them prior to the pouring out in Pentecost.

It's a theory.

We don't really know for sure, but what we do know with that is that Jesus is uniquely qualified to be able to do this.

So I'm good with it.

But ultimately, what I love is that the mission they are called to, proclaiming his gospel, is tied to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Wouldn't it be weird if he says, I'm sending you, and he doesn't mention the Holy Spirit?

Because that's the means by which the Lord's work is done.

Now, here in verse 23, if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.

If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

So what do we know?

We know that the arbiter of salvation and forgiveness is God.

We know that the cross is the determining factor.

Faith and belief in Jesus brings about forgiveness of sins, right?

That's what we see through all of Scripture ultimately is that forgiveness of sins is not something that is withheld arbitrarily.

That it is the uh faith and confession, for sins are forgiven.

It's not like you can do that, and somebody is like, mmm, you didn't fill out form 23j.

So we're gonna have to ask you to go to the back of the line and you might receive forgiveness.

We know that forgiveness is found through Jesus.

So we know that that's not necessarily what this is.

What I believe this is, is a through the Holy Spirit the heart being discerned.

What do I mean by that?

Well, if we look in the book of Acts, we see awesome things happening in Acts 2, everybody having everything in common, taking care of one another.

And then you have this really awkward situation of Ananias and Sapphira, where they are, they end up, they have a plot of land, they sell it, give the proceeds to the church, which is great, nothing wrong there, very kind of them, but then they lie about it, because they held some of it back and said that they gave all of it.

They could have just said, look, we hear some of it, and that's fine.

It's not like that was the issue.

The church didn't shake them down, but the issue was the heart, the idea of wanting to appear this way while acting this way and lying about it in that way.

Later in Acts 13, you have Simon the Sorcerer.

Awesome stuff going on in the church.

You have this guy, he asks to pay money to receive the Holy Spirit so that he can do the cool stuff too.

And the response is, I perceive that you are bound up in bitterness.

Uh so this is what I see with this idea of sin, if you forgive the sins of any, they're forgiven them.

If you retain the sins of any, they are retained, is that through the Holy Spirit they can determine or they can perceive the heart of the individual.

Best thing I can do with that information, because we know that they are not going to be uh intermediaries between God and people, scripturally speaking.

That makes sense?

Yeah.

Cool.

So that's the end of that scene.

And then we have, I don't know, we don't know what happened to Jesus after that point.

Did he just walk out the door?

Because he could, he was like, okay, we're done here, and then he leaves.

Did he just go, we don't know.

We have no idea.

But he ain't there anymore.

And in verse 24, but Thomas, called twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

This needed to be, this needed to happen in like a really cool narrator voice.

For like the movie guy, to where they have this cool theme, and then the narrator says, But Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

And that sets up the scene in verse 25.

The other disciples were telling him, We've seen the Lord.

Imagine walking into the room, and that's what he is met with.

We've seen Jesus, the one that you have clearly seen crucified and buried.

We've seen him.

I love this because this is the first post-resurrection gospel presentation, and it goes horribly.

And that is so encouraging.

Jesus commissions them.

I'm sending you as I have been sent.

He gives them the Holy Spirit.

And they turn to somebody they know well.

One of the people they've spent the last three years with is like, we've seen Jesus.

And he's like, No, you haven't! They're like, We didn't have this part in the playbook of what happens next with that.

Thomas's response, Thomas called twin.

Why is he called twin?

I don't know.

You have a group of people together for three years, you're gonna get some weird nicknames.

We don't know why he's called twin.

And they're like, we've seen the Lord, and he says, if I don't see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.

That is intense.

Thomas's response here is not like he says, I am unpersuaded by your assessment of the situation.

He goes all the way to eleven and says, if I don't put my hands in his wounds, I will never believe.

Never I wasn't there, so I don't know, but my assessment of this is this this is what it looks like to respond from deep disappointment and hurt.

Imagine giving up everything, spending three years with Jesus, following him, believing he is the Messiah, and then he's arrested.

And then he is brutally killed.

And now people keep coming to you and say, no, he's alive.

He's not dead.

It's fine.

Everything's great.

It's like they're putting their fingers in his wounds in that sense.

And that response of stop.

I will never believe what you are saying.

So intense.

How do you address such a response?

Such a response based on hurt and disappointment.

Let's see what happens.

In verse 26, a week later, his disciple.

Okay, stop for that for a second.

A week later.

We like to think this is like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, this happens.

What do you do when you're in a room and you're gathered together, and the vast majority of the people there are just effervescing with excitement because their savior and messiah is alive, and you got the one guy who's just like for a week.

And they're just bubbling with excitement, and he's like, and they're like, yes, and then Jesus is alive.

No, he's not.

I was like, okay, if you say so, sure, whatever.

This went on for a whole week.

A whole week.

Dinner was awkward, undoubtedly.

And this time Thomas is with them.

In verse 26, even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you.

The doors being locked is what you call a metaphor.

For the state of Thomas.

He is unyielding, unwilling to believe.

Again, what's the prescription?

Jesus' presence.

We don't read that that whole week the disciples worked on very persuasive arguments that were done logically, that were done thoughtfully, and therefore they were able to persuade Thomas to see the validity of what they're saying.

Now there's nothing wrong with those things.

I'm not ripping on that.

But ultimately, that's not what changes Thomas here.

His change of heart is not anything that seemingly the disciples say or do for that whole week.

What changes them?

Jesus.

His presence again.

Again, his presence.

And him saying, peace be with you.

And I love that here he doesn't say, peace be with you, except that guy, to Thomas.

Once again, his presence and then his affirmation of his peace with them and of their relationship.

The greeting as a friend.

And then in verse 27, he said to Thomas, put your finger here and look at my hands.

Reach out your hand and put it into my side.

Don't be faithless, but believe.

So he could have written Thomas off.

He already appeared to the other ten disciples, right?

It's a good batting average, really.

You know, the attrition rate is well within range of what we would expect for discipleship.

And he could have gone, like, okay, we got our guys.

Sure, whatever.

He didn't do that.

He goes after the sheep.

The hurt one, the lost one, the broken one.

And I love that because the way that this scene plays out, it is like the exact same situation a week later.

Said now, what was Jesus doing for this week?

I really would love to know what he is actually doing at this point in time.

I think he deserves some well-deserved time off, but with that in mind, same scene, his presence, peace be with you, and he addresses Thomas specifically.

And he does not berate Thomas.

He does not expose Thomas in a way that is belittling, critical.

He could have said, Thomas, I heard you had something to say to me.

I heard that you have requested me.

Would you like to say what you said last week?

He knows their hearts.

He already knows what's going on with that.

But I love that he offers to Thomas, look at my hands and put your finger in here.

Put your hand into my side.

Don't be faithless but believe.

I love that his response to Thomas is like, this is what this is what you think you need?

Don't be faithless but believe.

To respond to Thomas's assessment, I will never believe unless that happens.

And Jesus' presence and his person is like, Thomas, I'm here for you, buddy.

I gotcha.

Don't be faithless but believe.

He doesn't leave it at, hey, this is what you need.

I can be whatever you need.

He says, Don't be faithless, rather believe.

And what's Thomas' response?

He confesses Jesus as my Lord and my God.

Isn't it great that Thomas was wrong?

He started out with, I ain't never gonna believe unless this happens, and then he's here he is confessing.

What changed him?

It didn't, uh it wasn't the persuasive argument, it wasn't circumstances, it was encountering Jesus.

That is greatly encouraging.

I love how well this passage spells out that the responsibility of the follower of Jesus is to be able to joyfully proclaim we've seen Jesus.

I've seen Jesus, I found Jesus, He's I've encountered him, and I have been changed by Him.

The results are Jesus is doing through the work of the Holy Spirit.

But that's what's encouraging.

Now, we say that, and sometimes we can be empowered by the works, the results are the works of Jesus doing, and that can translate to I can be a jerk and get away with it.

That's not what I'm saying.

What I am saying ultimately is that if we are joyfully proclaiming we've seen the Lord, all we are are witnesses.

And then the individual must encounter Jesus through the work of the Spirit.

So cool with that.

Verse 29, Jesus says, Because you've seen me, you have believed.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.

So we're gonna talk about belief here.

Look, you've believed because you've seen me.

Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet believed.

Do we have any believers in Jesus in the room?

He's talking to you.

He's talking to me, which is cool.

Guess what?

You're blessed.

You know who says that?

Jesus.

Jesus is never wrong.

So that's amazing.

It's such a blessing that faith comes from hearing, hearing from the Word of God.

And if you have seen, have believed, even without seeing with that, you are blessed.

It's not like he's telling the apostles, yeah, well, you guys actually got the clearance version of salvation because you saw me and believed.

But there are going to be people who don't believe, they get the real version.

There's no difference in that.

But ultimately, I believe John is recording this statement that Jesus is writing, the blessing of that, so that we know that we're blessed if we have put our faith in Jesus and yet have not seen him face to face.

And then we go back into narrator mode for John.

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.

Well, these ones weren't enough.

Raising someone from the dead?

All these different things, healing blind people, the craziness of this, turning water into wine, okay, that's not as cool as raising someone from the dead, but it's still pretty cool.

That's not the point.

It is a demonstration of who God is in that way.

It is a showing and visualization of him rolling back sin and death in the grave.

However, that's not the whole point, is to record the workings of an ancient miracle worker.

Makes for a good story.

That's not the point.

What is the point?

Thank you, John, for filling that in for us.

Verse 31 These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

We've referenced this verse many times as we go through the Gospel of John.

It's the thesis of the book, as far as I am concerned.

John is letting us know why this is written down.

It is not to hear about a great teacher.

It is not to hear, simply to hear about awesome miracles.

It is not simply to hear about a scrappy group of underdogs who took on the Roman Empire and the religious institution.

It is written so that you may believe.

John is putting forth his statement that he has seen the Lord.

Which is how he starts 1 John.

1 John 1, that which we have seen, that which we have seen with our eyes, our hands handled concerning the word of life.

He's giving personal eyewitness testimony.

Believe what?

Believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

So, Messiah, Hebrew, Christ, Greek, same word.

The promised one, the Savior.

The Son of God.

So his assertion here, all of these things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Savior and the Son of God.

But it didn't stop there.

And that by believing you may have life in his name.

It's not simply so that you have the right answer on the cosmic test.

It is so that you may have life in his name.

Isn't that cool?

So cool.

Such a blessing with this.

We get to see here John doing what Jesus commissioned him to do and do it to us.

He's proclaiming to us, we have seen the Lord.

And I have written all these things down so that you may believe that Jesus is the one who can provide atonement for sin, who can provide reconciliation to God through faith in him.

And as a result of that believing, you have life, true life, real life, life everlasting in his name, and no other name at all.

It is the only name by which we may be saved.

He is providing the only means by which we may be made right with God, and the result being life in his name.

I love this passage for how Jesus is restoring scattered people.

He is restoring a group of people who have abandoned him.

He is restoring a group of people who are locked in, who are fearful, who are trapped, who seem that, who seem to think that following him has resulted in their impending demise.

And his response is their presence, is his presence, is his peace, is his spirit.

And that is the means for salvation.

Faith in Jesus.

I love that.

I love how cool that is.

This is the crux of the whole gospel of John that we've been going through.

What changes people?

God.

His presence.

Do the work of the Holy Spirit.

Pressure's off, guys.

That's a blessing.

What does he commission us to do?

Just give a reason for the hope that we have.

Proclaim.

What better gospel presentation is there than we've seen the Lord?

That's pretty accessible.

Jesus goes after his sheep.

He goes after those who are scattered.

He doesn't count the whole number and go, that's okay if we lose a few.

We have a good margin here, actually.

He cares.

And he knows and he goes after people that are really, you know, Thomas really kind of a big bummer that whole week, probably.

And that's the one that Jesus goes after.

Just so cool with that.

And so here's the thing.

For people who have not put their faith in Jesus, two really important things to know.

Number one, we believe and abide Calvary.

The only way to salvation, to righteousness, to being made right with God is through confession and belief in Jesus.

That his death on the cross paid the price for our sins, which were what separates us from God.

And that by putting our faith in him and our belief on him, we can have restored relationship with God.

Simple as that.

And the second thing to know is that God wants you.

He's not looking for you to figure out the puzzle.

He is coming for you in a good way for your good.

For those of us who have put our faith in Jesus, this is the best rallying cry for the proclamation of the gospel ever.

Because it's as simple as proclaiming the reason for the hope we have.

It doesn't have to be fancy.

It doesn't have to look successful because, well, that was kind of a D-if you're looking at the disciples' results here.

The result is to give a reason for the or the purpose is to give a reason for the hope we have, and then to let the Lord do the work in that.

Let's pray.

Oh Lord Jesus, I thank you so much for your love.

I thank you for your presence.

I thank you that when we had no hope, when we were dead in our sins, you paid the price for our sins on the cross.

You rose again, proving that the price was paid and indicating the new life we walk in.

I thank you that you did not then pay the price and leave, but rather you came and restored your people and interacted with them and commissioned them and equipped them.

So Lord, first and foremost, for anybody who is hearing this, I ask that anybody who is hearing this who has not put their faith in you, I ask, Lord, that by your spirit you would be speaking to them that you want them.

That you love them, that you are reaching out for them, and the price has already been paid if they are willing to receive it.

I ask that by putting their faith in you, through the work of your spirit, Lord, that they would grab hold of that gift and have new life.

That by believing they would have life in your name.

For those of us who do know you, who have put our faith in you, Lord, I ask that you would continue to spill out of us, that we would not feel the pressure of the method, but rather that we would be joyful uh harbingers of your gospel, messengers who are simply stating how you have encountered us, changed us, and grow us.

And Lord, I thank you ultimately.

I thank you for the cross.

I thank you for the empty tomb.

I thank you for your love and that it is never ending.

Be glorified in your name.

Amen.