Is seeing believing?

Is Seeing Believing?

John 20:24-31

Introduction: A couple of years ago my brother was visiting us here in Boothbay and we heard there was a charity auction of sports memorabilia for the benefit of the special Olympics.  We went, and one of the players we met there was Garo Yepremian, who was an excellent place kicker for the Miami Dolphins, once hitting 20 consecutive field goals without a miss and was even the MVP of the pro bowl once when he kicked 5 out of 5 FGs to win the game.  Meeting Garo was a bigger deal for my brother than for me, since he is, for some reason, a lifelong Miami fan!  For all the good that Garo Yepremian did for the undefeated Miami Dolphin Football team in 1972-73 (he was the leading scorer for the team that ear, scoring over 100 points) he is perhaps most (in)famous for “the pass.” Miami was leading 14-0 and the team was lined up to kick a field goal that would have essentially put the game out of reach. The field goal attempt was blocked, and Yepremian was the first person to get the ball. Rather than just falling on it and letting the defense take over he started rolling right and attempted a “pass.” The ball went straight up in the air, he got another hand on it and tipped upward like he was playing volleyball, and it was then intercepted by the other team and returned for a touchdown. “All is well that ends well,” Miami held on to win the Superbowl 14-7 and completed a perfect 17-0 season. But even though Garo was Miami’s leading scorer that year, even though he would be a two time probowl player, he will forever be remembered for “the pass.”  The scene we look at today in John’s Gospel focuses on the Apostle Thomas. Thomas was a faithful follower of Jesus, but because of the episode we look at today, is always thought of as “doubting Thomas.”

The Big Idea: Faith means believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and trusting Him alone for forgiveness and life.

I. Is faith blind, or is seeing believing? No, it means taking God at His Word (24,25).  After the amazing appearance of the resurrected Jesus to the disciples you might think that solidarity and faith would be overflowing. But there is a little interlude that only John reports: John 20:24-25  “Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  ²⁵ 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 finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’" Missouri is called the “show me” state, I guess we can say Thomas was the “show me” apostle. The other disciples had to be excited, overwhelmed, about what they had seen on that first Sunday night, the Master had appeared to them. He was alive!

             “But Thomas…” The other disciples met Jesus on Sunday night, but someone was missing. Thomas was not with them, and so he comes back to the group hearing excited reports that Jesus was alive. His friends had experienced what was probably one of the most exciting moments in human history, and he had missed it!  This is not the first time we read of Thomas in John.

       The first was when Jesus determined to go to Bethany, to the house of Mary and Martha after the death of Lazarus: We read in John 11:16  “Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with Him.’" Not exactly optimistic, but at least he is committed!

     Later, in the upper room, Thomas has a question as Jesus is teaching the disciples and preparing them for his departure.  We read in John 14:4-6  

"And where I go you know, and the way you know."  ⁵ Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  ⁶ Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Jesus was teaching the disciples about his impending death and resurrection, and they could not grasp what he was saying. Thomas didn’t either, but at least he speaks up and asks a question. To be truthful, Thomas was not exactly a bastion of faith and understanding at either of those moments. But missing out on the Easter night appearance of Jesus was probably the most memorable moment involving Thomas in the gospels. This was “the pass” for him.

            His statement in 20:25 seems to be stubborn determination not to believe. “Unless I see… I will not believe…” He is essentially telling his friends, “you can talk all you want, I won’t believe you unless I can see it for myself.”

            To be fair to Thomas, that has been something of a characteristic of Jesus’ countrymen as He walked among them. The prolog summarized the reception Jesus got, “He came unto His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). John uses the word “sign” to talk about the miracles that Jesus did that revealed something about his identity. The other writers preferred the word “miracle,” dunamis, “an act of power,” or the word “wonder,” teras, which emphasized the reaction of the people to what Jesus did.  But in John’s gospel they are usually called semeia, signs, because they revealed something about Jesus, they showed He is who He claimed to be. He did things that only God could do. But John makes it clear that “signs” are not enough to convince the Jews to believe.

       Sometimes the “signs” resulted in someone “believing”, even if it was partial and immature faith. The very first miracle in Cana had that result for the disciples: John 2:11 “This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.”   We read also at the end of that chapter, John 2:23 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.”

      But then we also had people like Nicodemus who, “…came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him" (3:2). He recognized something in what Jesus was doing, but still did not understand, did not believe. Later, when a father asks Jesus to heal his son, Jesus says in John 4:48, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." Then there is the multitude in John 6:2 that “…followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.”

     Seeing the signs may lead to faith, but the healing of the man born blind in John 9, and the raising of Lazarus in John 11, make it clear that no matter how compelling the evidence, there is a spiritual supernatural element to seeing with faith and responding to the God who has revealed himself in Christ. The religious leaders knew what God’s Word said, but they didn’t know God, so they couldn’t take Him at His word.  Faith means taking God at His word, believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and trusting Him alone for forgiveness and life.

II. Grace and Revelation (or, better yet, “The Grace of Revelation”): Jesus appears once again, further revealing his character and attributes to the glory of God (26, 27).   

Jesus came to the disciples repeatedly, strengthening their faith and preparing them: “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!"

 Jesus graciously meets us at the point of our need, speaking to us in our struggles. Notice: Even though he wasn’t physically in the room when Thomas returned and expressed his doubts, Jesus knew exactly what had happened, everything that Thomas had said, and He makes sure Thomas understands that:

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" (John 20:27).

It’s like He says, “Really Thomas, is that what you need in order to believe? Here I am! Touch me and see, I am really here, I did what I said I would do, I AM who I claimed to be!” There is no indication that Thomas needed to actually follow through and touch the wounds in Jesus hands and side. Seeing Him and hearing Him no longer left any room for questioning. How do you feel about the fact that Jesus know all about you: every struggle, every failure. You may have wished “the pass” in your life went unseen, but He saw that too. And He never gives up on you. People might, but Jesus still says, “Come, peace be with you, I Love you, I died for you. The nail prints in my hands, the opening in my side, it’s all for you.” Faith means believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and trusting Him alone for forgiveness and life. 

III. Faith means believing who Jesus is, and trusting Him personally (28). ²⁸ And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Consider exactly what Thomas said.

First of all He calls Jesus “…Lord...”  Kurios could be simply a polite way of saying “sir.” On the other end of the spectrum it was also used in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) to translate the divine name, “Yahweh.”  The Jews avoid pronouncing the Lord’s name. Until this day. when it is encountered in the Hebrew Bible, they will substitute “Adonai,” i.e. “Lord.” When the translation to Greek was made, the word “kurios” was used in place of the divine name.  Which did he mean? “Sir” or “Yahweh”?  In the context of John, where Jesus has repeatedly revealed himself with the phrase “I AM” and considering the parallel statement in this very verse it is clear…

He called Him Lord and “…God…”  This is what John has been trying to make clear since in opening verses of the Gospel: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus repeatedly revealed himself as the “I AM,” God incarnate, revealing His glory in His works and His words. Now, on the lips of one of the disciples, what John has told us repeatedly throughout the Gospel is affirmed: He is God! Thomas may forever be known for “the pass,” he may always be “doubting Thomas,” but of all the disciples he is the one who called Jesus theos, “God.”

But notice this: Thomas not only calls Jesus Lord and God, but he says, “…my Lord and my God…” He not only used these titles, but he personalized them, “My Lord and my God…”  At this moment Thomas is not speaking for anyone else, it is just Jesus and him.  The declaration he makes is a clear statement of personal faith in Jesus: Now he believes!  There is a difference between knowing the facts of the Gospel, and knowing about God, and personally resting your trust in Him, knowing Him personally. Being raised in a Christian family won’t save you. Going to a Bible teaching church won’t save you. We can only be saved by grace through faith in Jesus. Faith means believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and trusting Him alone for forgiveness and life.

IV. The blessing of faith: Hearing and believing is the path to life (29-31). We have Jesus’ response to the confession of Thomas, and John’s summary of His purpose in writing down the story of Jesus.

       First, we have Jesus’ word to Thomas (v.29). “Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." I don’t think Jesus is minimizing the uniqueness and importance of the eyewitness testimony of the disciples.  Paul points to this as an important evidence of the message he preached in I Corinthians 15. “He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve…” (I Cor 15:5).  The truth of the resurrection is testified to by the eyewitnesses. Similarly John begins his first letter emphasizing the testimony of eyewitnesses:

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life --  ² the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us --  ³ that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (I John 1:1-3).

Our faith is reasonable. It is important that we have the witness of the apostles to the Gospel Truth. We have the testimony of those who saw Him that gives evidence which assures us that God’s Word is truth.

We have not only Jesus’ word to Thomas, but also John’s word to us (30,31).  “Many other signs did Jesus that are not written…” John was purposeful and deliberate in what he included in his gospel (as was the Holy Spirit who inspired him to write!).  “…these are written that you may believe…”  We have this written account of the life and teaching of Jesus to evoke life giving faith in Him.  John wants this written Word to lead us to know Him, the One who is way, the truth and the Life. Friends this is why we teach the Bible here. This is why we urge you to read the word, and study it, and to hide it in your heart. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.  John wrote not only to preserve an eyewitness testimony to what Jesus said and did, but to lead us to believe in Him. But believe what? He had two major concerns:

       The first was Christological: John wrote so that the reader might believe “…that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God…” Who is this Jesus? John clearly wants us to understand rightly who Jesus is. Not simply a great teacher or a great example or even a great prophet. Any “church” or religion that does not go further than that is false. He was those things yes, but He is so much more. He is the one the Old Testament predicted would come, the Messiah and Savior. But get this: He is God, God the Son.  

       His second concern was pastoral, or maybe what we could call “evangelistic.”  “…and that believing you might have life in His name…” The faith that He is hoping to evoke in the reader is the faith that gives life, eternal life, the abundant life of blessing that He wants us to have.

What is God saying to me in this passage? We may have moments in life like “the pass.” But you know, they needn’t define us, in the big picture, that doesn’t really matter. The question that matters is “what will you do with Jesus?” If you know Him as your personal Lord and Savior, in Jesus, you win!  The evidence is clear. The facts are certain. Faith means believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and trusting Him alone for forgiveness and life.

What would God have me do in response to this passage? First of all, our study in John calls for a response. Do you see, in the light of the evidence? Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? Will you trust him as your savior, and submit to him as the Lord of your life? We are saved by grace through faith. Faith means believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and trusting Him alone for forgiveness and life. It’s a simple as A.B.C…  And for those who have taken that step the Bible is clear that we live by faith, that is we live in the light of who Jesus is, in recognition of his provision and his presence, and in submission to his authority. The disciples left everything to follow Jesus. Will you make Him the center of your life? Will be make knowing Him, and making Him known your purpose in living?  Think about that, amen.