Close Encounters

John 20 first 19. On the evening of that first day of the week when the disciples were together, with the doors locked fear of the Jewish leaders. Jesus came and stood among them and said, peace, be with you. After he had said this, He showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the lord.

Again, Jesus said, peace be with you. As the father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that, he breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone sins, their sins are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.

Now Thomas, also known as didymus, 1 of the 12, was not with the disciples when Jesus came So the disciples told him, we have seen the lord, but he said to them, unless I see the nail marks in his hand, and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I will not believe A week later, the disciples were in the house and Thomas was with them. 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. See my hands. Reach out to your hand.

And put it into my side, stop doubting and believe. Thomas said to him, my lord, and my god. Then Jesus told him, because you have seen me, you have believed blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of god, and that by believing you might have life in his name Okay.

John 20, let's, let's pray. Father, we thank you for these amazing, encounters that the risen lord Jesus Christ had with his followers. We thank you for his grace that he was willing to come to, fearful doubting disciples and to restore them. We pray that as we have a think about, Thomas here. So, and called famously called doubting Thomas that you would, you would help us to understand this story and, that by your spirit you would apply it to our hearts and minds and that you would increase and strengthen our confidence in the risen lord Jesus who is our lord and our god.

Help us in his name. We pray, our man. Well, on Monday, the 20 third, since Georgia's day at 11 o 1 AM, the latest member of the the royal family was born. Another boy, fifth in line to be, fifth in line to be king, fifth in line to the throne. And, as you, as you will have read and seen in the news, there was all the usual excitement about the arrival of a new member of the royal family, mainly from tourists, I think, but also from, from bookmakers as well, the name was was being hotly debated as it always is.

Arthur, Frederick, James, and Philip were all potential names, and Arthur was the favorite at 6 to 1. But they completely got it wrong and a total outsider, Louis at 20 to 1 with the bookies. 1 there. And of course, it's interesting, isn't it? Cause the net, they always make a very big deal of the name.

When is the name gonna be announced? And how significant is it gonna be? And are they gonna go for something historical, or will they go for something modern? Will it be from his side or her side? Will it be going down traditional roads?

Or is it gonna be a bit of a left field name? What's it gonna be? What's it gonna be? And still today, I mean, lord lord willing there's there's quite a few babies due this year. In the church.

And, 1 of the things that people like to talk about is have you got any names? Do you agree on any name choices? Have you got a short list? You know, have you have you narrowed it down to just a few? What's he gonna be?

What's the name gonna be? On Amazon, I was looking this up this week, 1 of the best selling baby books is the big book of baby names, 60000, to choose from. Now the idea of going through 60000 names is exhausting, I think, but it's meant it's meant to actually help you with with that big decision. And what also helps is that some names are just automatically ruled out completely and they're not gonna be chosen. Detaters, for instance, are generally generally a no go.

In several countries around the world, it is actually illegal to name your child Hitler or Osama bin Laden or whatever else you might want to. And for good reason, really, I think we we understand the connotations aren't exactly brilliant. But as well as that, there are many people from ancient history who are ruled out. Judith is 1 of them. The connotations surrounding the name Judith are just too bad.

We associate that name with betrayal, with murder, with deception. And for that reason, I've never met anyone called Judith. Maybe you have, but I've never ever met a Judith. And apparently in Belarus and I guess in some other Russian speaking countries, the Russian name for Thomas, which is Fama, apparently, is 1 of those names. And the reason is because of this story because of doubting Thomas, it's interesting, isn't it?

That there are some countries in the world which view this act of unbelief in the same light as Judith's betrayal. And I have to say, although I don't have a personal attachment to the name Thomas, I think I think it is a little bit harsh. And yet despite that, I think I think there might be something worth exploring in this in in what they think there. You see, most people see doubting Thomas or some people maybe see doubting Thomas as a positive story. He didn't just believe He waited until he saw the evidence for himself.

He wasn't gonna be taken in. He was shrewd He was sensible, and that is why Jesus blessed him because he was an evidence man. The world would like that sort of religion, wouldn't it? He was an evidence person. He's a good example to you other religious folk who just have blind faith You should you should learn from Thomas and wait till you've actually got some evidence before you believe.

But the question is, is this actually meant to be a positive example, or in the context of this chapter, is it more of a warning? It seems to be the second option. Now, I think to I think to outlaw his name is probably a bit harsh maybe, but maybe maybe those Russians have actually got it right. Let's have a look at John 20 verse 8 to 9 and just have a think back to some of the stories we've already seen. This is the the moment when, Peter and the other disciple who Jesus loved, which is often thought to be John, are coming to the tomb.

Finally, the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went inside. He saw and he believed They still did not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. So whatever this belief is, it is based on what they can see and not on scripture. It is site based rather than promised based. In verse 13, same chapter, the angels asked her, woman, Why are you crying?

They have taken my lord away, she said, and I don't know where they have put him. So just like the other disciples, we can assume from this that Mary wasn't expecting a resurrection as Jesus had promised, she was searching for a body, sight, not scripture. Verse 30 to 31. Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of god, and that by believing you may have life in his name. The whole point of this gospel is that we might believe on the basis of a testimony We might read these eyewitness accounts of the apostles, and we might trust and have life in the lord Jesus Christ.

Scripture, not sight is the purpose of the gospel. Now in every case in all of these stories we've looked at, Jesus comes and he meets these particular individuals with grace and and with mercy, but you can see the pattern here. They're not believing in Christ on the basis of his words, but only when they see something, when they see some some kind of sign. And Thomas, I think as a character, seems to fit into that into that pattern. Just turn with me back to John chapter 11 in verse 5.

This is 1 of the first kind of times we really meet Thomas. It's not an awful lot said about him, but, here are a couple of cases. Just to give you an idea of the kind of guy he probably was, So this is John 11, the famous story about about lazarus, and we'll start with verse 5. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was 2 more days, and then he said to his disciples, let us go back to Judea.

But rabbi, they said. A short while ago, the Jews there tried to stone you and yet you're going back. And then verse 14 a bit later, Jesus told them plainly lazarus is dead, and for your sake, I'm glad I was not there. So that you may believe, but let us go to him. Then Thomas, also known as didymus, said to the rest of the disciples, let us also go that we may die with him.

So either he's thinking Right. If if Jesus is going back to Jude, he's dead. The persecution there is rising, is mounting. If he's gonna go, we're gonna go. If he's gonna die, we're gonna die with him.

It's an expression of kind of maybe not really understanding what Jesus' mission is all about, but he's ready to die. If needs be. Or we could take this the other way in that he's a bit of a faith in this, and he's thinking, oh, well, okay, let us go with him. If he dies, he dies, that will be the end of it. We'll die.

He'll die game over. That's the end that's the end of the show. You know, either maybe he's thinking like that. In other words, he's got he's got kinda strong opinions about things and he's quick he's quick to he's quick to speak and let you know his mind. Now turn to John 14 verse 5 Start, actually, start verse 3.

If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I'm going. Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where you're going. So how can we know the way? And that again, I don't think is a positive question.

He still doesn't know where Jesus is going and he still doesn't seem to understand that Jesus is the way to that place, wherever it is. And so it's like he's saying Jesus, look, you haven't made clear. You haven't given us enough evidence. You haven't you haven't spell it out in language. We can understand what you're really about.

We need something concrete We need to be some more evidence for what what you're saying here. So you see, kind of character he is, quick to speak, strong-minded, but he seems to be lacking understanding and and a true sort of faith, really, in what Jesus is saying. And so with that brief biography in mind, let's go back to John 20, and here's the first point. The conditions of a skeptic I won't unless. The conditions of a skeptic, I won't unless.

Let's read it again. Verse 24, Now Thomas, also known as Didymus, 1 of the 12, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him We have seen the lord, but he said to them, unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand in his side, I will not believe. And in some translations, it's even stronger. It says I will never believe.

I'll never believe. So this is a bit like, I think when you if you've ever kind of applied for college or university, 1 of the things that you have to do is send off your predicted grades along with a personal statement. And when you do that, you get you get what's called a conditional offer. In other words, in principle, that particular institution is happy to offer you a place on the condition that you get the grades that you said you're you're predicted. Or another example, at the bottom of most official forms, you have what called the terms and conditions, which we all say we read all the time, before we move on.

And the terms and conditions are basically are basically there to say, look, the agreement that you're making has certain conditions and if you violate them, things change. In regard to this agreement. Okay? So for instance, if you if you buy a car from a dealership, they might offer you a warranty as part of that package but in order for the warranty to be valid, you have to have it serviced regularly or the warranty is void. And then in order for the services to be valid, you can only use places which use the official parts that your particular car has.

If you don't do those things, your warranty is void. Okay? So in all kinds of areas, we understand there are these conditions and you get the idea from Thomas that he's got his own. Unless this happens, I will never believe it. Unless my conditions are met, I'm not gonna accept your testimony.

So thank you for it. I can see disciples. You're very excited. You've obviously had an experience of some kind. You've seen the wounds that's good for you, but the only thing that is gonna satisfy me is real evidence.

Unless I see it and hear it and feel it, I will not believe those are my conditions. And as I said, although our world may view that kind of skepticism in a very positive way based on what Jesus says to him, this is this is not a positive thing. It's actually a lack of confidence in the truth. It's an expression of doubt in the Apostle's testimony, which is the basis of our faith. 1 commentator says this about Thomas.

What we have here is an expression of doubt from someone who has suffered massive, religious disappointment. In other words, Thomas Thomas doesn't react like this because in the last 8 days, he's become an atheist. Okay? He hasn't become an atheist. He was a deeply committed religious Jew who would have believed in the Messiah.

Who would have known the proud history that god's people had with yahweh, their creator and their redeemer. That all of he would have been steeped in that kind of religious tradition, but now his his great hopes for the Messiah and for the kingdom of god seem to have collapsed. Christianity hasn't delivered for him. So this is the doubt of a disappointed man. The same writer says that doubt is not the same thing as unbelief, at least not complete unbelief.

The Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus were full unbelievers, but the man who cried out, I believe help my unbelief was not a full unbeliever, but a doubter. Doubt then is not a total absence of faith. It is often true faith with weights of unbelief, which threaten to see us. I think that's really helpful, isn't it? Doubt is not the total absence of faith.

It's often true faith with weights of unbelief. Which threaten to sink us. That's the kind of thing I think Thomas is experiencing here. But even if we do go with that definition, I think it is a helpful definition. It doesn't actually let Thomas off the hook.

I'm afraid. Many, many, many times Jesus had told them that he would do this. He was so clear that he was going to be mistreated. He was going to be handed over. He was going to be tortured and killed but praise the lord, he was going to rise again.

He had said to them, I have authority to lay my life down and to take it up again. He had done miracles before them, sign after sign after sign to authenticate the truthfulness of his word. Thomas had been staring at the evidence for 3 long years. Watching every word come true. And now he want now he wants evidence.

You see, when Jesus says stop doubting and believe He he puts his finger on the problem. There's nothing wrong with a concern for the truth. In fact, the Bible never asks us to believe something that isn't true. The Bible never asks us to believe something on blind faith. But Thomas had been with Jesus.

The apostles had told him we have seen the risen lord. And still today, that is the basis for our faith. The Apostle's testimony that the lord is risen. And he said, I will never believe it unless I see. I will not believe.

Now as we'll see in a minute, there is there is grace for doubting believers like this, but we mustn't we mustn't miss this this gentle rebuke that Jesus gives to him. God has given us some rock solid foundations for faith. We know from the scriptures god has been promising and fulfilling promising and fulfilling promising and fulfilling for thousands and thousands of years, not 1 of his good promises has ever failed. In our own lives, we are a witness to the saving power of the gospel. In this church, we witness the truthfulness of the word of god over and over again.

The witness of the apostles faithfully recorded lovingly preserved through the generations is the basis for our faith not to mention the stunning, created world all around us, the conscience that god has set in us. There are so many foundations. And of course like Thomas, most of us probably won't move away into atheism. But to live as if his word was not trustworthy despite having a massive record that bears truthfulness, faithfulness, to live as if his word was not good and that our word was better than his to accuse Jesus of not understanding us when things get tough is in a way to question his faithfulness and to doubt the goodness of his word. And that's why I definitely, and I guess others need need need to hear Jesus' words.

Stop doubting and believe, or as other versions have it, stop being unbelieving, but believing stop being unbelieving, but believing. The first thing we see here is the conditions of a skeptic. I will never unless. Secondly though, the compassion of Christ, the compassion of Christ. Verse 26.

A week later, his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, peace be with you. Now, if you've kind of read that and you're getting deja vu a bit, you you know, you're you're absolutely right. It is the exact same thing we saw last week. The disciples are locked in a room and Jesus somehow manages to navigate that problem.

And as he navigates the problem of the locked door, we find him coming to his disciples and bringing a blessing of peace. Except this time, he doesn't just say it generally to everybody in the room, although that would would be there as well. He he focuses in on just 1 man, and then he does this in verse 27. Then he said to Thomas, put your finger here, see my hands, reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.

And so can you see alongside the gentle rebuke Jesus's grace here. He is willing to meet Thomas's conditions to the letter. Unless I see see my hands. Unless I put, put your finger. Unless my hand, reach out your hand.

Every 1 of his conditions he meets. And the interesting thing is Jesus wasn't even there when Thomas made those comments. And so in doing this, what he's doing is he's revealing his all knowing power As we're gonna see in a minute, Jesus is making it clear that he is both lord and god. He comes with a gentle rebuke, but he also comes with grace in meeting his conditions. And so what do we learn from that little Well, the truth is that just just as Jesus Christ knew Thomas and his weights of unbelief and doubt, He also knows us.

He knows our doubts. He sees the little weights of unbelief that are threatening to sink us at any moment, but the beautiful thing about this story is that Thomas's doubts don't drive Jesus away, they draw him in. You see, I'm sure we can all remember times in the Christian life when we have felt full of faith. We've been singing the song that we love, going through a season where we're reading our bibles and praying and we feel alive to the things of God. We've been making decisions about our future prayerfully We've had a concern for holiness of life and for evangelism, but then we lost then we lost that job or that relationship began to crumble or that person got sick, or life just didn't turn out how I wanted it to.

And suddenly, Jesus seems to have led us down. Or maybe not big things like that. Maybe it was just hundreds of little decisions that we made, little coping mechanisms unwise choices that we made to deal with the problems of life. And now years on, we might think, gee, I'm not I'm not even sure I'd believe this. Anymore.

I'm not even sure about this. I was speaking to a friend of mine recently who was telling me about a conversation he had with 1 of his pastor friends. And they they hadn't they hadn't seen each other in years, but they happened to bump into each other on the street. And, he found out that this pastor friend has now left the ministry. And, my friend was telling me that this guy was, was an excellent preacher, apparently.

He was a lively Christian He was he was well known in Christian circles. God had used him very powerfully in lots of people's lives. And so he said to him, why have you left? Why have you left the ministry? And he simply said, it doesn't work.

People people don't really change Years go by. I found myself saying the same thing all the time and people just stay the same or they even start to drift. It doesn't work. It doesn't work. And he wasn't saying I'm not a Christian anymore, He just feels totally disappointed and has started to doubt whether the word of god really works.

And as well as hearing that gentle rebuke, which is needed, stop doubting stop doubting, repent, and believe you've got no grounds to think like that. We must see the grace here in this story as well. This story is an encouragement to Christians who experience doubts and struggles with their faith. Jesus doesn't dismiss those followers. I mean, to be honest, This appearance is basically for Thomas's benefit, isn't it?

Jesus didn't want him to remain in his unbelief and his doubt and his anxiety. He wants him to know for sure that his lord is alive. And the apostle's testimony is true. I mean, let's be honest, it's it's hard to imagine anything more tiresome to Jesus than this scene, isn't it? Hard to imagine anything more annoying than 1 of the 12 his friend for 3 years just flatly refusing to believe the news that the lord is alive.

And so what what compassion he shows here to come alongside him and to show him fresh grace and to restore his faith. Last week we saw Jesus giving grace to fearful disciples. This week we learn he brings grace to doubting disciples. He knew Thomas's heart and he came alongside him with kindness. And why is that?

Because our doubts do not drive him away. They draw him in. Whatever locked doors we might have in here, they're not a problem for Jesus. He can find his way in and he's ready to to break in with fresh restoring grace for his people. And actually, I think that that also helps us not only personally.

I think it helps us to pastor and look after 1 another. JC Ryle, an old, minister of this country said this, right on this passage, I think this is brilliant. Our lord has many weak children in his family, many dull pupils in his school, many raw soldiers in his army, and many lame sheep in his flock. Yet he bears with them all and he casts none away. Happy is that Christian, who has learned to deal likewise with his brethren.

There are many in the church who like Thomas are dull and slow, but for all of that, like Thomas, are real and true believers. I think that's wonderful, isn't it? And so so with god's help, because this can be all of us, can't it? Let let's be honest. This is all of us.

Let's apply that to each other. There will be times for the gentle correction. You need to stop doubting and believe. Stop doubting and believe, but always the reminder that Jesus bears with us all and he casts none away. So we've had the confessions of the skeptic, we've had the compassion of the savior, and thirdly, the confession of faith This is the confession of faith.

Have a look at verse 27. Then he said to Thomas, put your finger here. See my hands reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. Now the funny thing is we don't actually know whether Thomas did that.

We don't know whether he did what he wanted to do. We're not told that he actually went through with his demands and actually put his hands and his fingers where he wanted to, may maybe maybe he did do that. We don't know. But it seems like finally Jesus' word is enough for him. And so he says, my lord and my god.

Then Jesus told him because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed 1 of the things that, that, Muslims and others will often say is that Jesus, never claimed to be god and that he never gave any evidence to people that he was anything more than a prophet, but it I mean, it is just so far from the truth. John's gospel is full up to the brim with these amazing words which make it crystal clear that Jesus is God. Think about it. If you have seen me, you have seen the father.

What an amazing thing for him to say before Abraham was, I am So wonderful. But alongside those places, this is a great way to place to go. If Jesus was just a prophet, He would not receive this worship. In fact, this would be Thomas's greatest blast for me. And Jesus would have rebuked him in no uncertain terms.

That's that's what happens throughout the Bible. When Cornelius, you might know this from acts when Cornelius falls before Peter to worship him in the in the book of acts. He says, stand up on your feet. I'm a man. What are you doing when the people of Listra try to sacrifice animals to Paul and barnabas They rip their clothes and they're just broken that anyone might have mistaken them for a god and they say, get up men.

We are as you, we are men do not worship us. That's how people respond in the Bible and that kind of blasphemy goes on. But here, there's not even a suggestion that Thomas has put a foot wrong. Not only does Jesus accept what he says, he blesses him for recognizing it. It's amazing, isn't it?

In this moment, he understood the heart and the soul of true Christianity Jesus Christ is the crucified and risen lord and god of this universe. 1 of the things I loved about the, the baptism last Sunday night, and they're always just just always such encouraging events to be at. And, the bit the bit that I always like the most is that last sentence before somebody goes under the water. They're in the pool. They've given their testimony.

We've heard the word of God preached and just that last thing they say before they go under is Jesus Christ is lord. And without wishing to over spiritualize it, it feels like in those moments that the gates of hell themselves are rocking, doesn't it? That the evil forces in the universe are cowering away again because they know That is the confession of truth. They are reminded. All of the spiritual forces are reminded of the victory of the lamb.

And I like to think the same thing is going on here. Jesus Christ, my lord, and my god. And the universe rings with truth. That is who he is. It's such a such a short statement, but it is so full of glory.

And so this is an amazing scene here because because what we have at the end of John chapter 20 is is like the completion of the circle. It's like the gospel of John has come full circle, hasn't it? He began if you remember by telling us in John chapter 1. He told us who Jesus was. He took us back into eternity and said Jesus Christ is the eternal word of god made flesh.

That is who he is. Our lord and our god has come to dwell among us, and now right at the end, we have a doubting troubled sinner, fairly sure of himself but largely clueless coming face to face with the eternal word. And recognizing for himself. This is my lord and my god. And the question I think that we have to face in this last part of the story is will we confess the same thing to be true?

Verse 29, because you have seen me, you have believed, but the lesson doesn't end here. Notice notice how he moves beyond the immediate here. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. And so even though we here today cannot see him yet. We cannot see him in the same way Thomas did.

Will we believe? Will we trust the word of god? Will we trust the eyewitness testimony and be blessed? That is the question. You see often I think we we believe that if only we could actually see Jesus If only we could have some proof that he really is at work, if he could just come for 15 minutes and just show me who he is, then I'd be so much more stable in my faith.

I'd be set for life just with 1 sight. But actually we need to realize that Thomas was no better off than we are. In fact, it may well be the opposite. 1 Peter 1 verse 18 brought it out in his prayer. Though you have not seen him, you love him.

And even though you do not see him now, you believe and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. We don't see but we believe how blessed it is and we are filled with this glorious joy. And so for believers here, I think in light of this story, we need to return to the lord Jesus Christ and ask him to replace whatever doubts that we have with the inexpressible and glorious joy of unseeing yet believing Christian faith. Jesus Christ is not just a lord and a god. He is your lord, and he is your god.

And he draws near to you this morning by his spirit with fresh grace to those who doubt. And if you're not a Christian, still exploring and you're you are maybe 1 of these people who's like Thomas and say, no, unless he comes, unless I see him, Let's I touch him. Let's he proves himself to me. I'm not gonna believe. All sounds very good, but I need to see it for myself.

This story says, I'm afraid, in the end, that won't be good enough. In this book, the Bible you have all the eyewitness testimony that you need. And by believing in the son of god who died for your sins and rose again, you can have life. That's what it says. What a wonderful savior we have.

He is our lord and our god, and what a joy to experience the moment when 1 of his most failing disciples comes to realize that for himself. Let's take a moment of quiet and, maybe you'd like just to read over that story again or think about anything that was said this morning and use this opportunity maybe to say sorry to god and ask him that you would stop doubting and believe Maybe to ask him for the grace, which he offers us, he draws near to those who doubt to restore them. Maybe just to quietly thank him in your heart that he is both lord and god. Let's have a moment to pray.