John 20: 24-31\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Easter 2011<\/p>\n
24 <\/sup><\/em>Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 <\/sup>So the other disciples told him, \u201cWe have seen the Lord!\u201d <\/em><\/em><\/p>\n But he said to them, \u201cUnless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n 26 <\/sup><\/em>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, \u201cPeace be with you!\u201d 27 <\/sup>Then he said to Thomas, \u201cPut your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n 28 <\/sup><\/em>Thomas said to him, \u201cMy Lord and my God!\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n 29 <\/sup><\/em>Then Jesus told him, \u201cBecause you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n 30 <\/sup><\/em>Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 <\/sup>But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. <\/em><\/p>\n Seeing is believing<\/em> so the saying goes.\u00a0 But sometimes that is not so.\u00a0 People may see a lot of things and still not believe.\u00a0 The people of Israel saw God shake the land of Egypt with ten devastating plagues.\u00a0 They saw the Red Sea part before their eyes, a pillar of fire and cloud.\u00a0 They saw fire and smoke come upon Mount Sinai and the ground shake beneath their feet.\u00a0 But six weeks later when Moses came down the mountain what did he find?\u00a0 A golden calf they had made to worship.\u00a0 All that seeing did not translate into believing in the Lord.<\/p>\n Think of Jesus.\u00a0 People saw Jesus perform countless miracles yet some still demanded:\u00a0 Give us a sign<\/em>.<\/p>\n Shortly before his death, the agnostic British philosopher Bertrand Russell was asked:\u00a0 If when you die, you discover there really is a God, what will you say to him?<\/em> Sir, why did you not give me better evidence<\/em>.<\/p>\n Years ago the godless French philosopher Voltaire said:\u00a0 Even if a miracle should be done in the open before a thousand witnesses, I would rather mistrust my senses\u2026\u201d <\/em>Then <\/em>there are the so called scholars today, some even in the church, that call the miracles of Jesus a myth.\u00a0 For some people all the miracles in the world will not result in their believing even though the accounts of Jesus\u2019 resurrection have passed every historical test,<\/p>\n But we\u2019re not here to shake our heads at others.\u00a0 We\u2019re here to rejoice in a very special blessing God has given us.\u00a0 It comes across here.\u00a0 What did Thomas see in Jesus? \u00a0What you and I also see this blessed Easter morning \u2013 our risen Lord and God<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy for us who have celebrated so many Easters to be critical of Jesus\u2019 disciples this first Easter.\u00a0 I imagine they would look back with disappointment as they remembered how faithless they had been.\u00a0 Jesus had told them what was going to happen.\u00a0 He would suffer, die and then rise again.<\/p>\n Yet that first Easter evening they are a mess of emotions.\u00a0 They huddle in a locked room fearing that they will be next on the list of suspects.\u00a0 Jesus appears in their midst.\u00a0 Peace be with you <\/em>he says.\u00a0 He shows them his nail scarred hands, his glorified wounds.\u00a0 He once again pronounces a peace this world cannot give.\u00a0 Eirene<\/em> in the Greek, like the name Irene.\u00a0 Shalom in the Hebrew.\u00a0 It\u2019s that peace which passes all understanding, peace won by his cross and guaranteed by his empty tomb.<\/p>\n We sinners have peace with God!\u00a0 We can\u2019t see it or hold it in our hands.\u00a0 We only begin to taste it here in this world where so much is wrong out there and in my own heart.\u00a0 Peace be with you<\/span>, the risen Lord says to his followers. What will it be like to know that peace in all its fullness?\u00a0 What will it be like to know that peace forever?<\/p>\n But one of the apostles was not there.\u00a0\u00a0 24 <\/sup>Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 <\/sup>So the other disciples told him, \u201cWe have seen the Lord!\u201d But he said to them, \u201cUnless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it<\/span>.\u201d We\u2019re not told why Thomas was not there.\u00a0 Maybe he just had to be somewhere else.\u00a0 But maybe he went off to brood by himself because he thought all his hopes in Jesus were now shipwrecked.<\/p>\n Well one thing is sure.\u00a0 Thomas missed out that first Easter evening.\u00a0 You see the worst thing you can do when doubt or grief darken your life is to go off alone.\u00a0 The worst thing you can do is cut yourself off from the family of believers.\u00a0 The best thing, even when you don\u2019t feel like it, is to go where believers gather around the gospel.\u00a0 It\u2019s to go where Christ comes to us in his Word and Sacrament and says to us Peace be with you.\u00a0 The best thing is to go where the voices of those around you can lift you up and outside of yourself.\u00a0 If we are not here, we miss out like Thomas did that day.<\/p>\n This incident has caused some to label Thomas, Doubting Thomas<\/em>.\u00a0 It may very well be unfair.\u00a0 If you heard your best friend cussing in a moment of weakness, would you write Cussing Kathy<\/em> on her tombstone?\u00a0\u00a0 In another place, Thomas calls on the other disciples to go with him and die with Jesus.\u00a0 That hardly sounds like doubt.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s no denying it. When Thomas heard the excited report that Jesus alive, he did more than doubt.\u00a0 He flatly refused to believe unless his demands were met.\u00a0 Unless I see, unless I touch.\u00a0 It was kind of arrogant for Thomas to insist that Jesus jump though his self-chosen hoops before he believed.<\/p>\n But hold on.\u00a0 Yes, Thomas did doubt.\u00a0 But so did the others when they heard the women.\u00a0 They doubted —and so do we.\u00a0 Ever since Satan slithered into a Garden long ago, he\u2019s been injecting doubt into our hearts like a hypodermic needle.\u00a0 Did God really say.\u00a0 Can you really be sure?<\/em> When it comes down to it we are really not much different than these doubting apostles.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what makes their testimony so compelling.\u00a0 They are not gullible men, easily fooled or easily convinced.\u00a0 Easter is not just about their wishful thinking or dreaming.\u00a0 When they testify that Jesus has physically risen, that Jesus lives, they speak as men brought out of the darkness of doubt into a bright, new certainty.<\/p>\n One week later they are all together again.\u00a0 This time Thomas is with them.\u00a0 Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, \u201cPeace be with you!\u201d 27 <\/sup>Then he said to Thomas, \u201cPut your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.\u201d 28 <\/sup>Thomas said to him, \u201cMy Lord and my God!\u201d <\/span> Thomas had no business demanding, but Jesus gives him the proof nevertheless.\u00a0 Thomas is overwhelmed.\u00a0 What does he now see in Jesus?<\/strong> His God and his Lord.<\/strong><\/p>\n 29 <\/sup>Then Jesus told him, \u201cBecause you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed<\/span>.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus is talking about you and me.\u00a0 We might wish that Jesus would come and show himself to us or to that Uncle Charlie who refuses to believe.\u00a0 But here Jesus wants you to know how blessed you and countless others are to believe without seeing him.<\/p>\n That\u2019s Christian faith.\u00a0 Not seeing is believing but believing is seeing.\u00a0 Seeing not with these eyes but with the eyes of faith.\u00a0 \u00a0That\u2019s what Jesus is getting at here.\u00a0 Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.<\/span><\/p>\n There are lots of things we have not seen.\u00a0 We were not there to see the creation of the world.\u00a0 We did not see Christ feed five thousand people or walk on a stormy sea.\u00a0 We did not see him brutally die and then stand before us showing himself to be alive.\u00a0 And there\u2019s much more we could have seen.\u00a0 30 <\/sup>Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 <\/sup>But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.<\/span> Did you hear that?\u00a0 These are written that you may believe.<\/p>\n We do believe.\u00a0 By the grace of God we believe and now with Thomas, we can see blessed things.\u00a0 Think about it.\u00a0 God tells us that the blood of Jesus has erased every foolish, ugly thing we\u2019ve ever done.\u00a0 Who can see that?\u00a0 In Christ, we walk by faith not by sight.<\/span> The Bible tells us that the Gospel changes hearts, that the word and water of baptism wash away sin.\u00a0 The Bible tells us that under the bread and wine of Jesus\u2019 supper, he gives his true body and blood to assure us that we are forgiven. \u00a0\u00a0Who can see these things?\u00a0 Faith is being certain of what we do not see. <\/span><\/p>\n Then think about this.\u00a0 We plant the seed of the gospel into the hearts of our children, our friends, a city or nation.\u00a0 Who can see the real results, today, tomorrow or a lifetime from now? But in Christ, We walk by faith, not by sight<\/span>.<\/p>\n We also believe with Job and Paul when trouble and heartache comes into our lives.\u00a0 We believe that God is good and loving even when we don\u2019t understand what he allows or sends our way. \u00a0\u00a0We believe that our Redeemer lives and so shall we even when death is all around us.\u00a0 And whether we are young and friendless or old and all alone, we know there is One who says to us: \u00a0I am with you always<\/span>.<\/p>\n But who can see him?\u00a0 With Thomas, we see Him by faith.\u00a0 Christ is risen!\u00a0 My Lord and my God.\u00a0 Believe this and you will believe the rest.<\/p>\n Of course, we would love to see these things with our own eyes.\u00a0 But the fact that we don\u2019t doesn\u2019t make them any less real.\u00a0\u00a0 You don\u2019t see the air you breathe.\u00a0 You don\u2019t see the love of your mother.\u00a0 Yet you know they are there for you.<\/p>\n And the things we do see.\u00a0 What do we find?\u00a0 Think of an especially beautiful day where everything was just right.\u00a0 Or think of a wedding which was so wonderful to attend.\u00a0 Maybe your son or daughter. \u00a0Those moments are so fleeting.\u00a0 We want to hold on to them but we can\u2019t seem to and before long they are a distant memory.<\/p>\n But then we sing the hymns of Easter.\u00a0 They point our sometimes tired hearts to a place where countless souls arrayed in white wave palm branches in triumph.\u00a0 Some of them we know, a mother, a husband or wife, a child who died too young, loved ones who have gone before us and left an empty place in our hearts.<\/p>\n Someone gives you the right to look forward to seeing them again .\u00a0 \u00a0The one who had been there and left there for us.\u00a0 The one who returned there and will one day take us there.\u00a0 You say, you have not seen Him.\u00a0 You have not seen his hands and side.\u00a0 Neither did Job.\u00a0 Yet he believed when it seemed that all was lost.\u00a0 I know that my Redeemer lives\u2026I myself will see <\/strong>him with my own eyes.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" John 20: 24-31\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Easter 2011 24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, \u201cWe have seen the Lord!\u201d But he said to them, \u201cUnless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":235,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232\/revisions\/235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}