TEXT: John 20:24-31

MESSAGE: “How The Resurrection Changes Everything”

“The earliest Christians believed in the resurrection not because they couldn’t find a dead body but because they found a living Christ.” — Barry McCarty

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book…these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” — John 20:30-31

“When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate… I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games.” – Brennan Manning

“The mystery of one man is too immense and too profound to be explained by another man.” ― Henri J.M. Nouwen

QUESTION: How does Jesus navigate the doubts of Thomas and the doubts that we might have today?

He does it in three ways. By uncovering…(1. A Conditional Belief 2. A Critical Decision 3. A Deeper Conviction)

1. A Conditional Belief (v. 24-25)

“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

2. A Critical Decision (v. 26-28)

“Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

“Peace be unto you offered to all who were present, the Lord at once addresses Thomas. The injunction be not faithless implies that there can be no permanent faith in Jesus expect faith in him as the risen Lord who still bears the scars of His atoning death. Thomas was faced with the alternative either of Christian faith or unbelief.” – Randolph Tasker

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life…” – 1 John 1:1

“For a Jew to say to another man, ‘My Lord and my God,’ was blasphemous. Thomas has crossed the line; he now believes in the incarnation of God.” – Dr. Mark Moore

“It is unexpected, but extraordinarily convincing, that the one absolutely unequivocal statement, in the whole Gospel, of the Divinity of Jesus should come from Doubting Thomas. It is the only place where the word ‘God’ is used of him without qualification of any kind, and in the most unambiguous form of words.” — Dorothy Sayers

3. A Deeper Conviction (v. 29)

“Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1

“If ours is an examined faith, we should be unafraid to doubt. If doubt is eventually justified, we were believing what clearly was not worth believing. But if doubt is answered, our faith has grown stronger. It knows God more certainly and it can enjoy God more deeply.” — Os Guinness

TAKEAWAYS: How can our doubts be transformed? Let’s ask three questions.

* Is your faith conditional?

* Have you asked the hard questions?

• “A faith without some doubts is like a human body with no antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask the hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person’s faith can collapse almost overnight if she failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.” – Tim Keller

* Do you believe his wounds are for you?

…“Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”