A Sermon Manuscript from Adam Miller
Read: John 20:19-31
Have you ever been caught talking about someone behind their back, only to have them standing right behind you? It is a common trope in movies and television comedies because it is so relatable. When it happens, you get a rush of embarrassment, guilt, shock, and confusion. We are well aware of how foolish we must look, but we still try to make excuses about our behavior. “I didn’t mean to say that.”
When we look at the story of ‘Doubting Thomas,’ we get a glimpse of one of the great Apostles that we can all relate to. Mary Magdalene had already told the disciples that she saw the risen Jesus. However, the disciples didn’t believe her until that evening when Jesus revealed Himself to them. They were all gathered in the upper room, except for Thomas. For a week, they had tried to convince him that they had witnessed the wounds in Jesus’ hands and side. But Thomas did not believe 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.”
I have always wondered why this story was included in the Gospel of John. It stands out like a sore thumb. Thomas seems like a minor character as far as Apostles go. Yet, this story is followed by the primary thesis to John’s Gospel, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but 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.” Obviously, this story is incredibly important to the Gospel narrative.
Thomas: The Apostle
Many of Jesus’ disciples were witnesses to the risen savior, but it was essential that all of the Apostles would see the resurrected Christ with their own eyes. They would lay the foundation to the New Testament Church with their testimonies. Therefore, it was important for all of the Apostles to receive the same experience. In order to be counted alongside Peter, John, Mathew, and the others, Thomas needed his own encounter with Jesus.
The Gospel of John was written after the other Gospel writers had already solidified the narrative of Christ. John is not simply adding a fourth biography, he is choosing specific stories so that the readers would get a clear sense that Jesus is both the Christ and the Son of God.
John’s contemporaries would have been able to check his sources. They could have interviewed the witnesses of the resurrection and talked to people who knew Thomas personally. Apologists have used this text to argue that no one could deny the eye witness accounts of those who actually saw Jesus after His resurrection.
John is setting this story up for us by giving Thomas a speaking part. He doesn’t say anything in the other three Gospels. In Chapter 11, when Jesus said He was going to Judea, Thomas was the one who told the other disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” And in chapter 14 when Jesus said He was the way, truth, and life, Thomas said, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
It’s obvious that Thomas is playing a crucial role in John’s Gospel, but the question still remains as to why?
Thomas: The Confessor
We have seen many people responding to Jesus throughout the Gospel of John. The Samaritan woman in chapter 4 said, “Can this be the Christ?” In chapter 11, Martha said, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” But no one has said what Thomas says when he sees the risen savior for the first time, “My Lord and my God!”
This is the purest of all of the confessions. It gives testimony to the fact that Jesus was God. Throughout John’s Gospel he has been using the various “I Am” statements of Jesus as a narrative structure. Jesus is subtly proclaiming that He is God, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Yet, no one has confessed it yet until Thomas.
This is what John has been building up to for twenty chapters and it is a beautiful pay off. Thomas was a lot of talk when the other disciples were telling him that they had seen and touched Jesus, but now, he falls to His knees in worship of the God who had died and risen so that He might be saved.
Thomas: The Sympathetic Doubter
Every encounter Jesus has in the Gospel of John is unique. They are all tailored for the recipients. Nicodemus was a religious pharisee who had dedicated his entire life to full time ministry. Jesus tells him that he has to be born again. The woman at the well had built up a wall against everyone around her. She was defensive and argumentative, but Jesus told her everything about her and offered her eternal life. Thomas was an outspoken follower of Jesus, but he wouldn’t accept the testimonies of the other disciples that Jesus was alive. He was unable to relate to their excitement. He felt left out, like an outsider. So Jesus revealed Himself again to Thomas and then says, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Thomas would eventually become a missionary of the gospel to the far east. He would have to share the gospel with people who had never seen Jesus. These were people outside of the Roman empire and would not be able to research the claims of the resurrection. They would have to rely on Thomas’ testimony. Don’t you think that his own experience would give him a unique ability to proclaim the Gospel with empathy? Surely this would be evident among those to whom he witnessed.
Not only that, but for generations after the Apostles have died, followers of Jesus have had to rely on the testimony of those first witnesses to the resurrection. We might all feel a little bit like Thomas at times. We want to see so that our faith would be reinforced, but we have a great blessing to believe without seeing. And that is what faith is all about.
Do you also believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? Can you join in with Thomas’ confession and say with him, “My Lord and my God” ?
Recite the Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord;
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit;
Born of the Virgin Mary;
Suffered under Pontius Pilate;
Was crucified, died, and was buried;
He descended to the dead;
On the third day he rose again;
He ascended into heaven;
He is seated at the right hand of the Father;
And He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit;
The Holy Christian Church,
the Communion of Saints;
The Forgiveness of sins;
The Resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting.
Amen.
Adam Miller is the president and host of Songtime Radio and serves as the pastor of South Chatham Community Church. This article is a condensed version of one of his sermons.