Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 20. John chapter 20. While you're turning there, I'll remind you of the biblical testimony concerning the resurrection of our Lord, the best that I can tell with the help of a couple of different men. These are the order of appearances of our Lord Jesus when he came. out of the tomb on the third day.
He first appeared to the women who had left the tomb according to Matthew 28 and then to Mary Magdalene, John 20. He appeared to Cleopas and the unnamed disciple on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. He then appeared to Peter sometime that same afternoon, Luke 24 and 1 Corinthians 15. He appeared to the 12 minus Judas and Thomas on the day of resurrection in the upper room.
He invited his disciples to touch him and he ate broiled fish and honeycomb among them in Luke 24. He appeared a week later to his disciples. This time Thomas was present. Again, Jesus invites Thomas to touch his wounds.
He appeared to seven of his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias or the Sea of Galilee and prepared and ate breakfast with them. He appeared to the eleven on a mountain of Galilee. This occasion could have possibly been the one when he also appeared to more than 500 people. Paul alludes to that in 1 Corinthians 15.
He appeared again to the 11 on the occasion of his ascension into heaven, and of course he appeared to Saul of Tarsus sometime later, according to Acts chapter 9. The post-resurrection appearance that we're going to consider this morning is when our Lord Jesus met with Thomas, the one we refer to affectionately as doubting So I just want to read the section beginning in verse 24 and we'll read to verse 31 in John 20.
Scripture Reading: John 20:24–31
Now Thomas called the twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, we have seen the Lord. So he said to them, unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and put my fingers into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days, his disciples were again inside and Thomas with them.
Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, Peace to you. Then he said to Thomas, Reach your finger here and look at my hands, and reach your hand here and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God, Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. And truly, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. Amen.
Let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for the written word. We thank you for this testimony to our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you again that he is risen, that he sits enthroned at the right hand in this current session. We look forward to his return in glory when he shall judge the living and the dead.
Our hearts desire and are earnest pleased that everyone gathered here this morning would be prepared to meet Him, clothed in a righteousness not their own, clothed in the righteousness of Christ Himself, received by grace through faith in Him. We ask that You would just wash us now and purify us and cleanse us from all sin and transgression. We pray that Your Holy Spirit would be at work in our hearts and in our minds and in our lives, Lord God. that you would take the word and make it effectual unto each and every one of us. Edify your people, strengthen each and every one of us.
God, for those who are not your people, may today be the day of salvation. May you open hearts and may you cause there to be a closure with Christ Jesus. And it's in his most blessed name that we pray. Amen.
Introduction
Well, Thomas is certainly an interesting character in the Bible. As I said, we affectionately refer to him as Doubting Thomas. And as we move through the exposition this morning, we'll see that in many respects, that's a bit of an understatement. Thomas doesn't just doubt.
Thomas declares unequivocally, unless my conditions are met, I will certainly not believe. And I think there's a bit of Thomas in unbelievers today. Oftentimes they say, well, if he just provide more evidence, well, if he just make my life a little better, well, if he just fixes things that are going wrong in my particular situation, well, then I'll believe. We ought to see the wretchedness of the creature putting demands upon the creator.
We simply do not have the right or the privilege or we have not been given the benefit of making demands upon our God. Traditionally, or typically, as parents, we really don't like it when our two-year-olds try to put conditions on their situation. If you give me what I want, then I'll clean my room. Which one of you fathers would take kindly to that response?
Which one of you mothers wouldn't have it well up in you to want to administer a little bit of loving and biblical justice unto that? You see, it is simply unacceptable for us the creature to put demands upon our God and in a sense make Him jump through particular hoops before we'll believe or before we will side with Him. So when we go through this particular passage, ask, is there a bit of Thomas in my own heart? Is there a bit of this sort of of an incorrigibility in my soul.
Do I not come to Christ because He hasn't satisfied all of my longings or He hasn't promised to alleviate all of my hardships? Do I not come to Christ because I don't think there is sufficient evidence out there? The Bible says evidence isn't the problem. The Bible says that you know God exists.
The Bible says is that you... what the Bible says is that you suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Your issue today is not a lack of evidence. Your issue is a heart hardened against the God of heaven and earth. And the only way that heart can be dealt with is through the beloved Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel.
Well, as we consider Thomas, we ought to remember that he probably had a melancholy spirit. He seems to be a glass half-empty kind of guy. You know, there are those out there that say the glass is half-full. There's others of us that say it's half-empty.
Thomas seems to be of that peculiar mindset. We notice him in chapter 11 when he expresses his willingness to die with Jesus, though we need to remember He did not. We as well meet him in chapter 14 when he is perplexed about the way that the Lord Jesus is speaking. It's on the heels of that when Thomas mentions or Thomas questions or queries the idea of the way when Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father but through me." I heard Ravi Zacharias say one time that Thomas, subsequent to the ascension of the Lord Jesus, was a missionary to India. And Ravi made the perceptive observation that Thomas, of all the disciples, would have needed to hear the exclusivity of Christ alone. He's going to India where there is a plethora of gods. He is going to India where there is a multitude of gods, a virtual pantheon.
Thomas would need to go insisting on the reality of John 14.6. Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. And then we come to chapter 20. Basically, in verses 1 to 10, we have the empty tomb.
The Lord then appears to Mary Magdalene in verses 11 to 18, and then the Lord appears to the disciples without Thomas in verses 19 to 23. This takes place on a Sunday. When it refers to the Thomas meeting eight days later, that again is a Sunday. When you include the Sunday and all the days of the weeks and then that Sunday, this is the eighth day.
Jesus is appearing to his disciples on the Lord's day. He is appearing to them. He is coming to them in corporate worship or in a corporate fashion according to the pattern for which the church would then meet with reference to their worship of the living God. So that's the context.
Post-Resurrection Appearance with Thomas
Let's move on now to verses 24 to 31. We'll take it up in two considerations. First, the post-resurrection appearance to the disciples with Thomas. And then secondly, the purpose of John. in writing the fourth gospel.
The Character of Thomas
But note first the character of Thomas. Again, it's good for us to consider the men that we are dealing with in the biblical testimony. The character of Thomas, verses 24 and 25, Thomas called the twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, we have seen the Lord.
So he said, unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. He's probably hurt. Don't give him that. He is of a melancholy spirit.
He's one of those sorrowful souls. What would promote sorrow more than the death of the Master? He had spent years with Jesus. He had spent years with the Messiah.
And the bridegroom, Christ, was violently taken from them. He had witnessed the crucifixion. He had witnessed the mockery. He had witnessed this whole spectacle wherein the Son of God was delivered up, wherein the Son of God was not spared by the Father Himself, wherein the Son of God ultimately cries out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Certainly if you had a close associate, that you had spent three years with, one that you grew to esteem, one that you grew to love, one that you grew to see as the very Messiah Himself, when He is violently stripped from you, certainly there would be a sorrowful spirit. Certainly you would be a sad man or a sad woman. The reality that the beloved Master had been stripped from this disciple group, was now affecting Thomas. So he certainly was hurt.
But as we move through this description in verses 24 and 25, he is more than hurt. He is obstinate. Again, I don't want to pick on the brother. I would be just like this, I am certain.
But it's not Jim that's in this particular text, it's Thomas. We need to see wherein we are like Thomas and we need to repent of this because he's obstinate. Again, he's placing conditions upon the master himself by which he will believe. Notice, the disciple dictates the terms by which he would believe.
Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails and put my hand into his side. You see, some men consider this the litmus test of rationality. If I can't touch it, if I can't taste it, if I can't see it, if I can't feel it, it must not exist. We'll apply that to love.
Apply that to the laws of logic. Apply that to the mathematical truth that 2 plus 2 equals 4. You see the effect of 2 plus 2 equaling 4, but you don't see that law. There's all manner of things out there that we don't test for the truthness of their existence by virtue of touching. tasting, or feeling.
There's a whole host of things out there that we have never touched, never tasted, or never felt that we believe are there. You may never have been to Texas. You probably believe that it's there. You don't say, unless my feet touch that dirt in Texas, then I will not believe.
You see, Thomas has put himself as the arbiter of what is and what isn't truth. Thomas has taken to himself in an arrogant fashion this idea that he must be the ultimate judge in all things religious. And this goes on very often today. Persons say that Christians are fools, that we live with a blind faith commitment.
There's no blind faith whatsoever. The God of heaven and earth has revealed himself in 66 books, 39 in the Old Testament, 27 in the New Testament, the consent of the parts, the unity of the whole, the heavenliness of the manner. All of these things contribute or all of these things converge on the reality that when by God's grace a sinner believes on the Lord Jesus, it's not a leap of faith. It is being welcomed by the Savior of sinners.
It is by being brought into this life of grace and faith that the Lord God has purposed by which He will save man. So you see, Thomas has put himself in the unlikely position of being the arbiter of truth. Again, ask yourself, is this true for you? Well, unless he does this.
Unless he puts in an appearance. Unless he shows himself. I'm sure that I've told you all before about that great debate between Dr. Greg Bonson and Gordon Stein.
The very end of the debate, somebody asked from the audience, Dr. Stein, what would it take for you to believe in the existence of God? That was the proposition under debate. Does God exist?
Dr. Bonson, advanced the pro position. Yes, God exists. Dr.
Stein advanced the contrary position. No, God doesn't exist. So it's a legit question. Dr.
Stein, what would it take for you to believe that God exists? And Stein's response was twofold. He said in the first place, if the deity put in a personal appearance. If the deity came to one of our meetings of atheists, then I would believe him.
Why doesn't he do that? Why doesn't he just wander in to the Free Thinker Society and show them his stuff? This was one of the things that Stein said, if the deity puts in a personal appearance. The second means of evidence was that if the pulpit, he didn't call it a pulpit, I'll call it that, The lectern, whatever you call it in a non-church setting, that thing that people stand behind.
He said, if that raised up from the ground, and it was obvious that there were no wires, it was obvious that there were no motors, it was obvious that it was in fact a miraculous deed, Dr. Gordon Stein said, I would then believe in the existence of the deity. And Dr. Bonson's cross-exam was brilliant.
He said, that would not happen, Dr. Stein. If the deity put in an appearance, or if this pulpit levitated right before our eyes, you would spend time, energy, and effort trying to put a naturalistic spin on it. It's not evidences, or rather it's not these miracles that make men believers.
You must be born again. You need to have your worldview change. You need a new heart. Remember Jesus upbraiding the cities in which He ministered in Matthew 11, 20-24.
Woe to you, Bethsaida! Woe to you, Chorazin! He said it'll be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for those cities. Why?
Matthew tells us. Because they saw His mighty miracles and they did not repent. You see, miracles don't necessarily make Christians. Proofs don't necessarily make Christians.
Thomas is in the bad position of neglecting the doctrine of total depravity and total inability and neglecting the doctrine of God's sovereign power in salvation. He should have thought concerning James 1.18 of his own will. He brought us forth by the word of truth. It's up to God Most High.
And this is why it's called grace. This is why we say, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. We trust in the power of God. We trust in the ability of God.
We trust in the grace of God. So the disciple dictates the terms by which he would believe.
Thomas's Emphatic Denial
Secondly, the disciple makes an emphatic denial of the resurrection. Makes an emphatic denial. There's a whole host of ways, especially if you use a program like Microsoft Word. You can underscore and highlight and really make people know what you think is important, right?
I mean, you've all used that. You've sent an email, or you've written a document, you're writing to your gardener who ruined your grass, and you underline it, and you bold it, and you do everything you can to put the emphasis upon it. You make it emphatic. That's what Thomas does.
This is emphatic. This isn't a little bit of groping in a dark room. Unless I see, I will certainly not believe. The same convention and the same structure is used in John 6, 37.
All that the Father gives me will come to me. And the one who comes to me, I will what? I will certainly not cast out. It's a double negative.
In Greek, a double negative does not make a positive. In Greek, a double negative makes a really big negative. I will not believe. Unless my conditions are met, I will not believe." Calvin says this concerning Thomas.
The stupidity of Thomas was astonishing and monstrous. For he was not satisfied with merely beholding Christ, but wished to have his hands also as witnesses of Christ's resurrection. Thus he was not only obstinate, but also proud and contemptuous in his treatment of Christ. You see, in this denial, in this rejection, look at what Thomas is rejecting.
He's rejecting the testimony of the Old Testament. Psalm 16 is clear. God will not allow His Holy One to undergo decay. The Lord Christ will rise again.
The prophet Isaiah, chapter 53. I think the clear teaching in Daniel chapter 9. The one who is cut off will ultimately be raised again from the dead. Thomas knows this.
Thomas is a pious Jew in the first century. He knows his Old Testament scriptures. Remember when Jesus has dealings with Martha about the death of Lazarus, and he mentions to her about the resurrection, and she says, I know that he will raise or be raised on the last day. It's just simply a fallacy to think that the early Jews or the Jews in the first century did not have some sort of a consciousness of the resurrection.
They most certainly did. Thomas had that consciousness and Thomas is rejecting it. As well, he is rejecting the testimony of Christ. How many times in the earthly ministry have we just seen in Matthew's Gospel, Matthew 16, Matthew 17, Matthew 20, what does Jesus testify to His disciples on many, many occasions?
That He must go to Jerusalem, He must suffer many things, He must die, and He must be raised the third day. Thomas, your brethren are telling you that Jesus is raised according to His Word, and you say, I will not believe? And consider the fact that Thomas rejects apostolic testimony. What do they say?
We have seen the Lord. We have seen the Lord. Brethren, when an apostle of Jesus Christ tells you something, you need to listen. You need to believe that.
They are representatives, designees of the Lord of Glory. They speak the truth under the inspiration of the Spirit. And when they say, we have seen the Lord, you do not have the right, the prerogative, or the privilege to say, unless I see, unless I touch, unless I do, unless I empirically verify these things, then I will not. Thomas is not doing well in this passage.
Again, I know I sound harsh on the man, certainly Calvin calling him monstrous and obstinate and contemptuous in his treatment of Christ. Those are some pretty heavy words. We need to realize that Thomas is ultimately saved by grace through faith and not his ability to rightly interpret the situation.
The Grace of Christ
Notice, secondly, the grace of Christ. He comes to the disciples again on the Lord's Day. And he pronounces peace. He says, peace to you.
For Christ to say this, this is not a cheap wish. I don't know if the hippies really affected Canada in the 60s like they did in America. I'm sure I should know that, but I don't. I think I've heard of Nelson and places like that where maybe hippies went.
You know, the big thing in the 60s was peace, man. Peace, brother. Peace, peace, peace to everybody. You know, at some point, that becomes a cheap wish from a guy who probably doesn't care about you whatsoever.
But when Jesus says, peace to you, This is the one who has wrought peace between God and sinners. This is the one who brings peace to churches. This is the one who sets things aright. This is the one who heals.
This is the one who brings health. This is the one who brings wholeness. And for Christ to say peace to you, to these disciples on this Lord's Day after His resurrection, this is a blessing. And then notice what Jesus says.
Jesus was not present. Isn't that the emphasis of the section? Is that Jesus is not present when Thomas makes this condition. Thomas says, and less and less and less.
What does Jesus do when he gets that? Jesus says, I've been reading Calvin, Thomas, and you're monstrous. I've been reading Calvin, Thomas, and you're holding me in contempt. I heard this sermon by a guy on Sermon Audio, and he described you just akin to a monster.
That's not how Jesus deals with them. This is what's truly amazing, that even in the midst of a man who has put himself as the arbiter of what is true and what isn't, what would you do? You'd show up and say, what are you talking about making demands upon me? Again, go back to your kitchen.
You tell the two-year-old, I want you to go clean your room. Well, unless you make me a grand dinner of cakes and pies, I will not do it. What are you talking about? You chase him up the stairs.
You wouldn't say, okay, come on over here, let's work on these cakes and pies. I wouldn't. I gotta tell you, I would not work on cakes and pies with such an obstinate one like that. I'd eat a cake and pie while they were locked away in their room, but that's beside the point.
Tell them outside, I'm eating cakes and pies that you sacrificed because of your obstinate, rebellious, incorrigible attitude. Look at what Jesus says to Thomas. Then he said to Thomas, reach your finger here and look at my hands, reach your hand here and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.
Notice Jesus does not say, do not be doubting, but rather be believing. The contrast is between unbelief versus belief. When Thomas says, I will not believe, that's not a doubt. He's not feeling his way along in a darkened room.
He says, unless these things are true, I am simply not going to go into that darkened room. So Jesus comes to him using the exact language that Thomas has already voiced, the same expression, the same convention, Jesus says to the disciples, peace to you, and then he addresses Thomas specifically. Now Thomas knew that Jesus wasn't there when Thomas made this particular statement. What does this indicate?
What does this tell us about Jesus? That though he isn't physically present with you, he still knows what's going on in your heart, he still knows what you're voicing in private, he still knows what you're telling sinners, or telling your friends or your companions. It's not like some Santa Claus, you know, some threat. He knows what you're doing.
If you don't toe the line, you're going to get a piece of coal in your sock. That's not the point. Christ is omniscient. As the God-man, Christ knows of our rejection.
Christ knows of our rebellion. Christ knows every time the gospel is preached at the Free Grace Baptist Church. Christ knows every time you go home unchanged, every time you go home rejected, every time saying, you know, but he hasn't done this, that, or the other for me yet, and when he does, then I'll believe. Christ knows these things.
Christ knows your hearts. You know, I'm not using this as a mallet to pound you into shape. She needs to realize this. You are not dealing with some piker god.
You're not dealing with some ghetto deity. You are not dealing with Baal. You are not dealing with Moloch. You are not dealing with the gods of the heathen.
You are dealing with the omniscient eye of the Christ of Scripture. When you reject, and you rebel, and you resist, and you forsake, and you write it off, and you say, when I'm older, when I'm stronger, when I'm at my wits end, whatever the condition may be, Christ knows this rebellion. And in this particular instance, but not always, in this particular instance, Christ, in His grace, says to Thomas, reach your finger here. Look at my hands and reach your hand here and put it into my side.
Do not be unbelieving but believing. We've seen the character of Thomas, the graciousness of Jesus.
Thomas's Lofty Confession
Notice thirdly, the lofty confession of faith. Thomas makes what Owen calls a gracious discovery of our Lord Jesus. He says to Jesus, my Lord and my God. It's important for us to see those two little words to him.
There are those who deny the deity of our Lord Jesus. There are those who deny that Christ is, in fact, God. There are those who change John 1, 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
They change it to was a God, a little g God, which puts them in the awkward position of now being polytheists, but that doesn't seem to bother them. These men are so opposed to the deity of Christ that they'll embrace absurdity instead of receiving the truth. And these selfsame people that changed John 1.1 try to explain Thomas here as just making an explanation. Perhaps you've been in your garage and you pounded your thumb with a hammer.
Hopefully not intentionally. Please don't go do this. But you know, you're pounding nails. I would imagine our carpenter brothers can testify to this.
Though nowadays it's probably not pounding your thumb with a hammer, it's shooting it with a nail gun. We've perfected pain via the nail gun. Honey, here's your new nail gun. Thank you, sweetie.
Right in the thumb. What happens when that happens? Or you stub your toe? Or you fall over something?
There's exclamation. Sometimes Christians need to guard their hearts. They blaspheme God in such a situation. They say, Oh God, and they're not praising, worshipping or praying.
Or they say, Oh Jesus, and they're not praising, worshipping or praying. Or they use euphemisms, O-G-E-Z, O-G-E-Z. Oh yeah, you're clever. You're getting around the whole thing now.
This is awesome. Keep doing it. Or the O-M-G. All of this stuff, brethren, in light of the third commandment, is not authorized.
Don't know why we think, just because we live in the 21st century and we text, we can blaspheme the name of God. We do it in abbreviations, but we do it nonetheless, you see. See, the Jehovah's Witnesses try and explain that what Thomas does here is he makes this exclamation. This is akin to, my God, I just hit my thumb with a hammer.
My God, I just stubbed my toe. No Jew in the first century would do such a thing. Ever. Even the apostates wouldn't do that.
They would not make exclamations with Jehovah, with God as his name, or with the name of God on their lips. But John specifies that Jesus says it to, or Thomas says it to him. He's not making an exclamation, he's making a confession. And he says to the Lord Jesus, my Lord and my God.
You see, it's a beautiful structure that John has put together in the Gospel. He starts with an inscription of the deity of Christ in John 1.1. Before he gets to his purpose in writing in verses 30 and 31, he wants to remind us again that Jesus is Lord and Jesus is God. This is such a theologically driven and such a structurally beautiful way to finish the Gospel. 21's an epilogue.
It's certainly part of the Gospel of John, but the meat and potatoes end at chapter 20. Thesis statement, verses 30 and 31. He did a lot of signs. If I wrote them all down, you wouldn't be able to have the The world couldn't contain the books, but these are written with a specific purpose, John says, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
Isn't it beautiful that on a precursor to that statement, we have Thomas, who was the chief skeptic, who was the chief rebel in terms of intellect. who was the arbiter and the judge who said, I will not believe unless my curiosity is satisfied. This one professes to Jesus, my Lord, my God. Isn't that beautiful, too, that he uses the personal pronoun, my? Isn't this the sum and substance of Christianity?
It's not just there's a Lord and there's a God. He's my Lord. He's my God. It's like Paul says in Galatians 2.20, he loved me and he gave himself for me.
Can you express that? Do you know Christ in this way? You may objectively affirm the Christian faith, yes, in terms of Buddhism or Islam or whatever the other religions are. Christianity has an internal logic, it has a coherence, it has a consistency.
I reject it fully but I see that. There may be that. You may make the mental ascent. You may say that Jesus is better than Muhammad.
You may say that Jesus is better than the Buddha. Can you say, my Lord and my God? It was grace that taught my heart to fear. It was grace that gave Thomas this personal pronoun.
It was grace that enabled Thomas to lay hold, as it were, of Christ. You see, Thomas is monstrous in his unbelief. Thomas holds the Son of God in content. Thomas disregards the Old Testament.
He disregards the word of the Lord Jesus. He disregards the apostolic testimony. And Jesus comes and deals with him in grace. What else could Thomas say but, my Lord and my God?
You see, those of us who have been pulled out of holes that are pretty deep and nasty, when we come out on the other end, this is our confession, isn't it? My Lord and my God. Those who have been saved by grace understand what's in view. They understand what's in play.
It's not my works. It's not my goodness. It's not my deeds. It's not my righteousness.
It's God most high who reached down and changed my heart. What is the legitimate response to the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me? My Lord, my God. George Beasley Murray says, so it comes about that the most outrageous doubter of the resurrection of Jesus utters the greatest confession of the Lord who rose from the dead.
His utterance does not simply acknowledge the reality of the resurrection of Jesus, but expresses its ultimate meaning. That is, it is a revelation of who Jesus Christ is. And notice what Jesus does. He receives this, doesn't he?
It's an interesting statement. You know, if you've been following the debate or you've been following the emails, the doctrine of impassibility is being debated in Arbca. And one proof text for that doctrine, at least in the Westminster Confession, is Acts 14.15. When the Apostles say to the men of Lystra, we are men of like passions, what's the implication?
God is not God is the James 1.17 God. There is no variation. There is no shadow of turning. As Manton so eloquently says, there's no wrinkle upon the brow of eternity.
Do you know what else happens in Acts 14? The men of Lystra try and worship Paul and Barnabas. Do Paul and Barnabas receive that worship? Do Paul and Barnabas say, you have seen it?
Rightly. Bow down to us. No, they reject it. They say, man, we are of like passions with you.
We're in the same genus. We are humans alongside of you. You do not worship us. Creature doesn't worship creature.
Creature worships creator, the one who is without passions. The same thing in the book of Revelation. What happens when the angel speaks to John and John wants to worship? What does the angel say?
He says, don't do that. I'm a fellow servant with the prophets. You don't worship the creature. It's intriguing that Jesus receives this.
Jesus doesn't rebuke him. Jesus doesn't say, Thomas, get up. Don't ever exclaim again in my hearing, my Lord and my God. Jesus affirms this because it's true.
Jesus is His Lord. Jesus is His God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1.1.
John 1.14. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John chapter 8 and verse 58 when the Lord Jesus is disputing with the religious leaders and he says, before Abraham was, I am.
Well those men understood the implications of that assertion both with reference to the burning bush in Exodus 3.14 and with reference to the prophet Isaiah where several times Yahweh of Israel reveals himself as I am. So what do they do in response? They pick up stones to throw at him. What's John's point along the way?
This Jesus is God. This Jesus is able. This Jesus is sufficient. This Jesus is powerful.
This Jesus can save you. This Jesus lived. This Jesus died. This Jesus rose again the third day.
This Jesus is at the right hand of the Father Most High. And all those who believe on this Jesus will have everlasting life. And
The Final Beatitude
notice the Lord's last beatitude, the last well-spoken word. He says in verse 29, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Now there may be a little, a little bit of a chiding of Thomas.
You know, Thomas, you believe because you've seen. Blessed are those who believe without seeing. It's probably more likely it's the idea of transition. Jesus has risen from the dead.
Jesus is going to ascend on high. He leads captivity captive. He gives gifts to men. He sends preachers to his churches where they proclaim the everlasting gospel.
So what Jesus says is, blessed are those who believe, those who haven't seen, but who by God's grace receive the word of truth. They hear the proclamation of the gospel and they come to Christ and they confess Him as Lord and God. He says, blessed are those who have not seen. and yet have believed.
The Purpose of John's Gospel
And that brings us finally to the purpose of John in the fourth gospel. Verse 30, and truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book. He says it elsewhere, that the world itself, the end of chapter 21, he says, and there are many, also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books. that would be written. Isn't that a beautiful testimony?
You know, what we're getting in the gospel records are the summary. This is not a multi-voluminous set of books. In many respects, it's thumbnail sketches. You follow Jesus day by day, not even the world itself can contain the books.
Here's a man full of grace and truth. Here's a man upon whom the Spirit dwells without measure. Here's a man who's so full of love and so full of kindness and so full of generosity. You know, we just read about that one instance in Luke chapter 7 when he comes to the city of Nain and he sees that funeral procession.
He sees the widow of Nain weeping and wailing and crying because her son is dead. Think about that, brothers and sisters. The widow of Nain, she doesn't have a husband. Her dead son in the casket is her livelihood.
Yes, there's a natural affection. Yes, there's the love of the mother. Yes, there's the heart strings being tugged at the reality that death has separated them, perhaps prematurely. There's also the financial reality.
She's going to be begging now. There's no welfare office that she can show up at on Monday morning. There's no food stamps. There's no system in place to care for the widows.
That's why James tells us in one. He says, pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God and the Father is this. What? To visit widows and orphans in their distress.
Go see them. Bring them food. Bring them clothing. Bring them kindness.
You see, Jesus sees this widow of Nain, and the text tells us very specifically, He felt compassion for her. She raised her son from the dead. Imagine, just following Jesus around and recording everything he did. John tells us the world itself couldn't contain the books.
The world itself couldn't. Back to 2030. Truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book. Notice very specifically, but these are written.
Why is John's gospel here? Why does John write? Why do Matthew, Mark, and Luke write? They have one agenda.
They have one function. They have one purpose. It is that you believe. That you come to Christ.
These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. D.A. Carson makes this observation. John's purpose is not academic.
It's not academic. It's not not academic. We are to be accommodations and study these things and learn what the Bible says. But his purpose primarily is not academic.
He writes in order that men and women may believe certain propositional truths. The truth that the Christ, the Son of God, is Jesus. The Jesus whose portrait is drawn in this gospel. But such faith is not an end in itself.
It is directed toward the goal of personal, eschatological salvation. That by believing you may have life in his name. That is still the purpose of this book today and at the heart of the Christian mission. That's why we exist.
That's why we're here. That's why we've been saved. It's to testify that the Lord Jesus saves to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto God through Him. And if you are here this morning and you are not a believer, listen to John.
These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And that believing you may have life in His name. Consider the implication, but consider rather the converse. If you don't believe that Jesus is the Christ, if you do not believe that He is the Son of the Living God, then you do not have life.
As John says previously in 3.36, the wrath of God abides on you. You see, there's only two options. There's life or death. There's heaven or hell.
There's Christ or the devil. Christ or your sin. Christ or your way. Lay down your arms and come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Life is blessed in Him.
Application: Evidence for the Resurrection
Well, in conclusion, the fact of the resurrection, we need to consider the reality, the scriptural testimony and the words of Jesus Christ. I alluded to a few instances earlier in the sermon. The scriptures are filled. This isn't just haphazard.
Well, you know, we think he might have said that. No, the scriptural testimony and the words of Jesus Christ. Consider that the first person Jesus appeared to was a woman. Now, in our, you know, particular age, that might sound a bit offensive for me to even recite or rehearse that reality.
But in that day, the testimony of a woman was not admissible in court. And yet, who does Jesus come to? A woman! You're trying to pad your case.
You're trying to make it look legit. You don't put a woman on the witness list. Again, I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, dear sisters. He hurt my delicate sensitivities.
This was not constructed. This is not a cunningly devised fable. This wasn't woven together. and conspiracy theory hatched by a group of men that wanted to hold the wool over the people's eyes, or to force religion down their throats, or to impose their power and authority structure, or to make money. Now because some in the church abuse it and they make money and they exercise power, it is a fallacy to say that therefore Christianity is wrong.
Because there's idiots in a certain segment of society, we don't say that entire segment of society is therefore idiotic. But how many times are we in the church held to account for the foolish, wicked, sinful actions of some within a particular segment? Just be honest. If you're going to argue against Christianity, don't do it with ad hominems, don't do it with abuse, do it from the facts.
The scriptural testimony, the words of Jesus, the first person Jesus appeared to was a woman. The Mishnah reports that the testimony of a woman was not admissible in court. Thirdly, consider that there was a lot of unbelief connected with the fact among the disciples. Again, if you were going to put together a hero story, wouldn't you leave some of those unfortunate details out?
It's one of the proofs of inspiration in the Old Testament scriptures, the fall of King David. You see, biographers don't typically rehearse and recite the dismal failure of their heroes. And yet the author in 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, tells us very specifically that David, the hero of Israel, committed murder and adultery. The same thing is true here.
Truth has nothing to hide. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John do not shy away from saying, you know, there was a Thomas and he doubted. doesn't shy away from Matthew 28 just prior to the ascension on high. Some believe, some doubted. You see, if we were constructing a fable or a hero story, we'd leave out the unsavory details.
There's a man by the name of Otto Scott, I believe he's with Christ now. He was an atheist. He was a man resistant to biblical truth. Why he sent his child to Sunday school, no one will ever know.
But his child started going to Sunday school. So he said, I'm going to take up the Gospels and read so I can educate myself concerning this particular myth of Christianity. One of the things that stood out to him, he was subsequently converted, believed the Gospel. One of the things was the fact that the Gospel, the resurrection narratives, were not smoothed out.
That spoke to him. He said, if men were going to lie, they'd smooth it out. Now, I'm not suggesting anyone here ever does this, but if you concoct a lie, you try to make it as savory as you possibly can. Right?
You don't leave some glaring holes in your fabrication, and so people say, wait a minute, that just can't be. There's not contradictions, but it takes a little effort to see and harmonize the various accounts. But harmonized they can be. I did that prior to us even reading John 20.
Consider the nature of his appearances. He appeared to individuals, to a pair of disciples, to small groups, to large assemblies, to women and to men, in public and private, at different times of the day, both in Jerusalem and Galilee. This is not the testimony of a massive hallucination. You know, this isn't five guys sitting out in Nevada at midnight with a bottle of wine saying, yeah, we saw these lights in the sky.
I'm not necessarily saying that's, they're wrong or they're false, but, you know, come on, is there some third party that can verify this? We don't have that in the gospel records, the nature of the appearances. And then consider the threat to both the Roman Empire and Judaism in the claim of Jesus' resurrection. If anyone ever had a vested interest in saving a body to prove that it did not rise from the dead, certainly the Romans and the Jews had that interest.
They'd put him under glass. They would display him publicly. They'd put him in the city square to say, your master did not rise from the dead. Your master is dead.
He's right there. He's under glass. And then consider the apostolic testimony and the consistent report of the church throughout the centuries since the resurrection. You can't escape it.
You may place conditions upon God. You may set forth your stipulations. You may say with Thomas, and less, and less, and less, and less. But deny the fact of the resurrection.
You cannot do. You cannot do it. It's much better to embrace it, to see the truth of it, and to confess with Thomas, this disciple, Jesus is in fact my Lord and my God. Believe on him, as John the Apostle says, and you will have life in his name.
Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for the Word of God and we thank you for the fact that he is indeed risen, just like he said, just like the Old Testament scripture declared, just like the apostolic testimony has rehearsed. and the church throughout its many, many centuries of existence has proclaimed. God, we pray that all over the earth today the empty tomb would be preached, the death of Christ would be preached, the gospel facts that he lived, he died, he rose again, and that all those who by your grace look to him will in fact live. We thank you for your mercy and your grace to us. God, several of us, so many of us, set conditions down.
We tried to make you conform to our particular understandings. Thank you for the grace that taught our hearts to fear. And thank you that Jesus is our Lord and our God. And we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.