Psalm 51. Have mercy upon me,
O God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude
of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me
thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For
I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight,
that you may be found just when you speak, and blameless when
you judge. Behold, I was brought forth in
iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, you desire
truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part you make me
to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall
be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter
than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones you
have broken may rejoice. Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O
God, and renew steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away
from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me by your
generous spirit. Then I will teach transgressors
your ways, and sinners shall be converted to you. Deliver
me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation,
and my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord,
open my lips and my mouth, show forth your praise, for you do
not desire sacrifice or else I would give it. You do not delight
in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit, a broken and contrite heart. These, O God, you will
not despise. Do your good pleasure in Zion.
Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then you shall be pleased with
the sacrifices of righteousness. with burnt offerings and the
whole burnt offering, then they shall offer bowls on your altar. Let's pray. Dear Father, most
of all, we ask you to be with Pastor Don today as he preaches
the word of the Lord. We ask a heart to be broken.
We ask fences to be mended. We ask a gracious spirit. We
ask mercy on one another. Please be with Pastor and Pam
as they are enjoying recreation and revigoration. What we know
not, please teach us. What we are not, only You can
make us. And what we need the most, only
You can provide. We ask these things and pray
these things in Christ's name. Amen. We're going to be examining
a portion of Scripture this morning out of John's Gospel. I invite
you to turn with me to John chapter 20. John chapter 20. You know, on Wednesday mornings
we often talk about the fact that the first three Gospels
are called the, ladies, synaptic Gospels because there's a lot
of repetition in the first three Gospels, a lot of similarities
in the first three Gospels. The Gospel of John is rather
unique. It's the fourth Gospel, Matthew,
Mark, Luke, John. John chapter 20, I'm going to
be reading verses 24 through 29. Now Thomas called the twin, one
of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 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. And after eight days, his disciples
were again inside. This time, Thomas was there. He was present. He was with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut,
and stood in the midst and said, peace to you. 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. And Thomas answered and said
to him, my Lord and my God, Jesus said to him, Thomas, because
you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not
seen and yet have believed. Thomas was a real historical
person. a real historical figure. In
fact, he is mentioned specifically three other times in this gospel.
In chapter 11, in chapter 14, and in chapter 21. Thomas was a real historical
personage, but that's not all he was and is. He's a representative person. Now, what do we mean by that?
He represents so many people today. in relationship to the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is what makes this passage
so relevant to preach on, not just during the Easter season,
but all year round. Now, I have divided this passage
into four parts, beginning with the skepticism of Thomas. The skepticism of Thomas, we
again Read verse 24, Now Thomas called the twin. One of the twelve
was not with them when Jesus came. 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. Thomas was a skeptic when it
came to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And he was a skeptic,
in spite of the fact that the other disciples, in unequivocal
fashion, dogmatically, without reservation, said, categorically
said to him, that Jesus had risen from the dead, for they had seen
him. We have seen the Lord, verse
25. Now perhaps you're here this
morning, and you can really relate to Thomas, for you too have been
told by numerous people, by numerous Christian people, that Jesus
Christ has risen from the dead. Maybe you've heard that from
a colleague at work, or from your parents, or from your tennis
partner, or from your children, or from your grandparents. You've
certainly heard it here. And yet you too remain skeptical. Interesting, not sure I buy into
that. Interesting assertion, I'm not
sure I ascribe to that. Now if that's the case, I want
to share with you some important truths this morning. Number one,
your skepticism does not negate. the truth of the resurrection
of Jesus Christ. Folks, whether or not you believe
it, whether or not you subscribe to it, whether or not you ascribe
to it, some 2,000 years ago, the second person of the triune
Godhead came to this earth. He became incarnate. Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in
the form of God, did not regard equality with God as a thing
to be held on to, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon
himself the form of a servant that was made in the likeness
of men." Philippians 2, 5-7. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. John 1, 1-3, and verse 14. Christ Jesus came into this world,
1 Timothy 1.15, whether or not you believe it, whether or not
you ascribe to it, whether or not you subscribe to it. Some
2,000 years ago, the second person of the triune Godhead took upon
himself flesh and blood. And whether or not you believe
it, whether or not you ascribe to it, whether or not you subscribe
to it, After living approximately 33 years, he died on a cross
with real wood and real nails. And there he paid the penalty
for the sins of lost humanity. And whether or not you buy into
this, whether you ascribe to it, whether you subscribe to
it, three days later, he arose from the dead, physically, visibly,
and triumphantly. And whether or not... You hold
to this, if you don't trust in Christ and in Christ alone for
your salvation before the end of life's short day, you're going
to wind up in a not very nice place. What the Bible calls the
lake of fire, for you see, Jesus is the exclusive way. That's
what He said in John 14, 6, I am the way. He did not say I'm one
of many ways. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. In John 10.9 he said, I am the
door. The apostles preached in Acts
4.12, there's none other name under heaven, given amongst men
whereby we must be saved. Your skepticism this morning
does not negate the truth of the resurrection. Let me share
something else with you. The skepticism of other unbelievers The anti-Christian rhetoric of
other unbelievers, who many people have a very high regard for.
Individuals like Christopher Hitchens, and Richard Dawkins,
and Stephen Hawkings, and Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. Hollywood actress Jodie Foster. Their rhetoric. Their anti-Christian
rhetoric does not negate the truth of the resurrection or
of the gospel, generally speaking. Your skepticism does not negate
the truth of the resurrection. The skepticism of other believers
does not negate the truth of the resurrection or of the gospel,
generally speaking. You know what else? The skepticism
of unbelievers should never bother us. And it certainly should never
cause us to hold back when it comes to our witness for Christ. Because, folks, we're speaking
the truth. You know, not everybody is going
to buy what you have to say when it comes to the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus, when it comes to the gospel. which reminds
me of what took place in the city of Athens in Acts 17. Do
you remember what took place there? Paul, on his second missionary
journey, walked into the city of Athens, a very avant-garde
city, the Paris of antiquity. And he was looking around the
city and he got teed off. You know why? Because he saw
that the city was lined, the streets of the city were lined
with false idols. You know, it was said it was
easier to find an idol in Athens than it was to find a man. The
streets were lined with false gods. And he's looking around
and observing, he's getting teed off and more teed off. And yet he preached the gospel. clearly, very definitively. And not everybody bought into
what he said. Some mocked him. Some said, you know, it's interesting
what you're talking about here. We'll hear you again on this
subject later. And some believed. What's going to happen to us
as we preach the gospel? Skeptics are going to mock us.
Some are gonna say, you know, we'll hear you again on this
matter. These are some interesting reflections. I'd like to hear
more of what you have to say. And some will believe, irrespective
of all of that, we need to keep hammering away, for again, what
we are dealing with here is the truth. Now we see here next the appearance
of the Lord Jesus. The appearance of the Lord Jesus.
Actually, what we read about here, was more than just an appearance,
it was a confrontation. See, through this appearance
of the Lord Jesus, Thomas was confronted first of all with
the omniscience of Jesus. With the omniscience of Jesus.
We read in verses 26 and 27, and after eight days, his disciples
were again inside. This time Thomas was with them.
This is a week later. Jesus came, the door is being
shut, and stood in the midst and said, peace to you. 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. Now, of course, the Lord Jesus
was responding here to what Thomas said in verse 25, unless I see
in his hands the print of the nails. By the way, just as an
aside, this is the only time in the New Testament where we
read about nails that were put in Jesus' hands when He was on
the cross. The only time. But the fact that
it's in here confirms the inspiration and authority of the Old Testament
Scriptures, specifically Psalm 22.16, they pierced my hands
and my feet. Unless I see in his hands the
print of his nails, and put my finger into the print of the
nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now
how in the world did Jesus know that Thomas made this statement
here in verse 25? I mean, Thomas did not make it
in the presence of the Lord Jesus. And the other disciples did not
tell Jesus that Thomas had made that statement. I'll tell you
how Jesus knew that Thomas made that statement. He knew because
he's the omniscient God of the universe. What does that mean? That means
he knows all things. Hebrews 4.13 applies to Christ,
neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight,
but all things are naked and open before the eyes of Him with
whom we have to do. Proverbs 15.3 applies to Christ,
the eyes of the Lord are in every place keeping watch on the evil
and the good. Through this appearance, Thomas
was first of all confronted with the omniscience of Christ, but
that's not all he was confronted with. He was also confronted
with the grace of Christ. Why is it that the Lord Jesus,
the God of the universe, the creator of all things, the second
person of the triune Godhead, why did he come to this earth
some 2,000 years ago and be born as a baby in a manger in Bethlehem? It was because of his grace.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that though
he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through
his poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8, 9. And why did Jesus hang on a cross
and suffer and bleed and die for poor lost sinners? Again,
it was because of his grace. And why did Jesus make this appearance
to Thomas here? In order to bring him to faith
in himself, again, it was because of his grace. Oh, how gracious
Jesus Christ is. He's full of grace. That's what we read in John 1
17, the law came by Moses, but grace and truth came through
Jesus Christ. Christ is loaded with grace,
which means what? Which means he's got grace enough for you. Christians sometimes sing marvelous
grace of our loving Lord. Grace that exceeds our sin and
our guilt. Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured. There the blood of the lamb was
spilled. Grace, grace, marvelous grace. Grace that will pardon and cleanse
within. Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that is greater. than all
my sin." Through this appearance, Thomas was confronted with the
omniscience of Christ and with the grace of Christ. You know
what else he was confronted with? He was confronted with evidence
for the resurrection, with hard, empirical evidence for the resurrection. Again, we read in verse 27, 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. You know, folks, this is one
of the things that makes Christianity unique from every other religion
in the world today. See, Christianity, unlike every
other religion in the world today, is an empirical faith. It is
rooted in objective, historical, verifiable evidence. And we might
add, not in a little bit of evidence, not in a small amount of evidence,
Christianity is supported by overwhelming evidence, by amount
of evidence, folks, The tomb of the Lord Jesus Christ on that
first Easter Sunday morning was empty. And had it not been empty,
the moment the apostles started preaching the resurrection, they
wouldn't have done so. They weren't even anticipating
a resurrection. But let's just say for the sake
of discussion that they started to preach the resurrection. When
there was no resurrection, you know what the Jewish and or Roman
authorities would have done? They would have gone to the tomb
of Joseph of Arimathea where the body of Christ was laid.
They would have opened the tomb. They would have produced the
body and paraded it down the streets of Jerusalem and said
to everybody, look, here's the body. What these apostles are
preaching is ridiculous. Here it is. They couldn't do that. Well, of course they couldn't
do that. The body was stolen. The Roman or Jewish authorities
stole the body. Think about that for a moment.
You know, there are actually people who believe that. The
body was stolen. Are you kidding me? What reason
would the Jewish or Roman authorities have? What motivation would they
have to steal the body of Christ? They didn't want to start the
Christian movement. They wanted to stomp out the
Christian movement. No, no, you're getting me wrong.
The disciples stole the body. Really? What motivation would
they have to steal the body of Christ? Do you know what the
disciples went through for preaching the resurrection? If church history
is correct, every single one of them, without exception, apart
from John, died a horrible martyr's death. And John was banished to the
Isle of Patmos. Why would they steal the body?
They had no motivation to do so. to preach a false resurrection? Now the reason the tomb was empty
is because Jesus had risen from the dead. And the tomb was not
only empty that first Sunday morning, but Jesus made all sorts
of post-resurrection appearances, not just here, but on so many
other occasions, including on one occasion, Paul writes in
1 Corinthians 15, to 500 brethren at one time, Paul goes on to
say, of whom the greater part remain unto the present, but
some have fallen asleep. And you know what Paul is saying
there, of those 500 brethren, that Jesus appeared to on that
one glorious occasion. Most are still living. Most are
still alive, which means you can put them on the stand and
interrogate them and see if they're Alnetso. Christ showed himself alive after
his passion, Acts 1.3, by many infallible proofs being seen
of them for 40 days and speaking of things pertaining to the kingdom
of God. Now, what this means for you
this morning is this. It's absolutely irrational for
anyone to reject the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You know, some
people think that Christians are wooly-minded mystics, that
you have to abdicate your intellect in order to become a Christian.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Christianity is the
only intellectually satisfying faith in the world today. It and it alone is a faith founded
upon fact, as so many brilliant people have testified down throughout
the years. Lord Lindhurst, Otherwise known
as John Singleton Copley, who was considered to be one of the
greatest legal minds in British history, said, I know pretty
well what evidence is, and I tell you such evidence as that for
the resurrection has never broken down yet. And Professor Thomas
Arnold, who was appointed the Chair of Modern History at Oxford
in England, He was the author of that famous three-volume work,
The History of Rome, said, the evidence for our Lord's life
and death and resurrection may be and often has been shown to
be satisfactory. It is good according to the common
rules of distinguishing good evidence from bad. Thousands
and tens of thousands of persons have gone through it piece by
piece as carefully as every judge summing up on a most important
case. I have myself done it many times
over, not to persuade others, but to satisfy myself. I have
been used for many years to study the histories of other times,
and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written
about them, and I know of no one fact. in the history of mankind,
which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort,
to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than the great sign
which God hath given us, that Christ died and rose again from
the dead." Through this appearance, Thomas
was confronted with the omniscience of Christ and the grace of Christ,
and he was confronted with hard evidence for the resurrection,
and he was also confronted with a command from Christ. Again, we read at the end of
verse 27, Jesus said to Thomas, do not be unbelieving, but believing. If you're an unbeliever here
this morning, that's Jesus' word to you. Do not be unbelieving. Get rid
of your skepticism. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. See, based upon the evidence, the hard evidence, that's the
only logical thing for you to do. And it's not only the only
logical thing for you to do, it's the critical thing for you
to do. For that's the only way you're going to get into heaven,
through believing. That if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10, 9. What we see here next, the reaction
of Thomas. the reaction of Thomas, and Thomas,
verse 28, answered and said to him, my Lord and my God. You know, Thomas' statement here
reveals that he moved from incredulity to confidence, that the unbeliever
became a believer, just like so many others. Other unbelievers have become,
down throughout the years. Thomas' statement here reveals
that he became a believer. And his statement here also gives
us some insight into the nature of true saving faith. What does a true saving faith
involve? Well, it first of all involves
acknowledging who Jesus is. Thomas acknowledged here that
he was God. It involves acknowledging what
Jesus has done. Thomas believed that Jesus had
risen from the dead. And it involves taking Jesus
Christ as your personal Savior. As your personal Savior. Resting
on Him personally. Now Thomas exclaimed here, my
Lord and my God. Can you say that? Jesus is my
Lord. He's my God. He's my Savior. Now Paul wrote in 2nd Timothy
2a, remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised
from the dead according to my gospel. Can you say that the
gospel is your gospel? Jesus is my Lord. He's my Savior. He's my God. The gospel is my
gospel. Finally, we have here the declaration
of Jesus. In verse 29, Jesus said to him,
Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed
are those who have not seen. Listen to this. Blessed are those
who have not seen and yet have believed. You know who Jesus
is talking about here specifically? He's talking about Dennis. Dennis,
stand up. He's talking about Harold McDonald.
Harold McDonald, stand up. He's talking about Dr. Chris.
Chris, stand up. Who else is he talking about?
Stand up. If Jesus is talking about you
here, stand up. Thank you, you may be seated. Blessed are those who have not
seen and yet have believed. If you indeed have fallen to
that category, you are truly blessed. You first of all have
been liberated from the penalty of sin. In accordance with what
we read in Romans 8.1, there's no condemnation to those who
are in Christ. And in accordance with what we
read in John 5.24, He who hears My word and believes
in Him who set Me as everlasting life, and shall never come into
judgment, but is passed from death into life." Wow, you talk
about being blessed. You've been liberated from the
penalty of sin. You have heaven to look forward
to, the glories of which are unparalleled. You have an inheritance,
1 Peter 1.4, that is incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth
not away, reserved in heaven for you. You have the abiding
presence of the God of the universe in the here and now. Hebrews
13.5 applies to you. I will never leave thee nor forsake
thee. You have the promise of satisfaction
in the here and now, which is why Jesus could say in John 6.35,
I am the bread of life, he that comes to me shall never hunger,
and he that believes in me shall never thirst. And why Jesus could
say what He said to the woman at the well in John 4, whoever
drinks of this water, this H2O will thirst again, but whoever
drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But
the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain
of water, springing up into everlasting life. Ho, everyone who thirsts, let
him come to the waters. And you who have no money, come
buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without
money and without price." Isn't he thirsty this morning? Drinks
are on the house. You're so blessed. You've been
liberated from the power of sin in your daily experience. You
don't have to go back to heroin. You don't have to go back to
meth. You don't have to go back to
coke. You don't have to go back to alcohol. What shall we say then? Shall
we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall
we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? You have
the privilege of prayer. You know, we could talk all morning
about these things. The point is, we who have seen
Christ, not with our physical eye, but with the eye of faith,
are so incredibly, incredibly blessed. And one day we are gonna
see Jesus with our physical eye. Beloved,
now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we
shall be, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like
him, for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3.2. So the blessings for believers
in Jesus Christ are just going to continue and continue and
continue and continue. Are you a doubting Thomas this
morning? Thomas said to them, unless I
see in his hands the print of the nails, sorry guys, I'm a
skeptic, can't buy it. If you're a doubting Thomas,
do not be unbelieving, but believing. That's the only logical thing
for you to do. And it's the critical thing.
For as Jesus declared in John 8, 24, if you do not believe
that I am He, you will die in your sins. You know, it's one
thing to die a pauper. It's one thing to die all alone
with no family around. It's quite another thing to die
in your sin Well, how'd you avoid dying in
your sin? Do not be unbelieving, but believing. Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.