John 20:19-31
“I demand evidence!”
Almighty God, grant that we who have celebrated the Lord’s resurrection may by Your grace confess in our life and conversation that Jesus is Lord and God; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. [2]
Thomas had enough! Of this secrecy! James and John. Had met with Jesus - in
secret - Asking to be seated. One at His left and the other at his right. The
Council. Had met - in secret - To obtain an arrest and a secure a conviction.
They had met - in secret - With Pilate. To secure the
tomb. With a watch and a seal.
And now. After all this. His so called “friends” had come up with this
fabricated story - of Jesus suddenly appearing before them. “I don’t buy it! I
don’t believe it…Unless I see with my eyes the marks of How wounds and place my
finger in his hands and my hands at His side, I will not believe it!”
1. Like Thomas we do not have an eye-witness experience
of the risen Christ.
Why wasn’t Thomas present with the rest on the night
Jesus appeared? What are we to make concerning his absence? The Scriptures are silent. We really don’t
know.
We could speculate, I suppose. Possibly he had simply
given up. Checked out. And moved on. All Thomas knew was the mere fact that
Jesus was dead. What more could be said? So why remain with the other
disciples? Why continue?
He had invested three whole years of his life
following Jesus. And his devotion was noteworthy. When He learned that Lazarus was sick Jesus
told His disciples they were going to Judea.
It was Thomas who had said, "Let us also go,
that we may die with him." – John 11:16
Possibly he was distracted. Investing and involving
his time in some other activity so he wouldn’t have to concentrate on the
present reality – an empty tomb. Maybe it was simply out of necessity that
Thomas just needed some space. To process in his mind what had just taken
place. Maybe he needed a time out. To figure out on his own what he would do
next. Possibly he simply needed to be left alone and suffer in silence.
Perhaps something deeper is going on here. After all,
Thomas had been invited by Jesus to be an apostle. John gives us eight references to Thomas as
a disciple of Jesus. He was chosen and
appointed by the Lord Jesus to be one of His followers. Jesus had said,
"No longer do I call you servants . . . but I have called you
friends." -John 15:15
So, if Thomas is to be numbered with the rest of the
apostles. And if they had experienced firsthand the risen Christ. Why not
Thomas also?
He too wanted to have the same experience as the rest…
to see with his own eyes the marks of His wounds… and to place his finger in
His hands and put his hands at His side. Maybe he simply wanted to be treated
as the rest. If they had been witnessed of the Lord’s resurrection. Why not
Thomas?
So, what about you? How do you make sense of all this?
The resurrection happened some 2,000 years ago. We do not have the experience
of seeing Jesus with our own eyes. The resurrection happened in time and space.
But not in our time. Can you have faith without witnessing Jesus Christ alive
from the dead? And if so…how?
Transition:
Like Thomas we have not personally witnessed Jesus Christ alive from the dead.
The Easter proclamation is powerful beyond comprehension.
2. The message of the Resurrection is incomprehensible.
Dead men do NOT come back to life again. Thomas had
been there. He personally witnessed the crown of thorns. The nails. The spear.
He knew Jesus had died. He had witnessed Jesus’
burial. He knew of the safeguards the Elders had arranged with Pilate. A tomb
sealed. And the guard which was posted.
If Jesus were alive. He would have to appear before
Thomas just as He had to the rest of the disciples. That is, if he were to be
considered a legitimate apostle. He
would have to witness the marks of Jesus’ Passion. These scars and visible
marks on Jesus’ body would let him know that the same Jesus who had died by crucifixion
was in fact alive. Those true tokens of Christ’s passion. Thomas would have to
be witness. A counterfeit Christ would not do.
What convincing proof does this world need to believe
in the resurrection? The claim is still true. Today, 2,000 years later – dead
men do not rise. Faith calls for us to trust in the testimony of those
eyewitnesses. John, in his first epistle, would later write,
“What was from the beginning, what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our
hands, concerning the Word of Life.” 1 John 1:1
Transition:
Thomas’ life was literally changed once he became an eyewitness of Jesus bodily
raised from the dead.
3. Seeing is believing.
Upon witnessing Jesus’ appearance. Thomas changed from
a skeptic to a believer. These visible scars now become the marks of faith. All
speculation of what might have happened were now gone. Thomas too became an
eyewitness of Jesus’ resurrection.
We have today the testimony of these early
eyewitnesses. The testimony of Scripture is undeniable. The testimony of these
eyewitnesses remained consistent. Starting in Jerusalem, spreading throughout
the world, the testimony of those first eyewitnesses remains constant. “We
are witnesses of these events.”
The Savior’s words to Thomas are meant for your ears this day. “Blessed are those who believe even though they have not seen!” Lord, grant us such a faith as this! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
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Passive Sentences –13%
Readability –76.4%
Reading Level – 4.9
[1]
Image of St. Thomas the Apostle found at: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cc/Caravaggio_incredulity.jpg
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