Learn from Thomas; 向多馬學習

4/15/12 Sermon by Rev. Rong-Fu Lu

Below is the English translation by Elder Howard Chang

Learn from Thomas

Bible verses: John 20:19-31

This is the first Sunday after the Easter and many people call it the “low Sunday”. It is because on this Sunday, not only the attendance is low, but also for those who come to worship, they are at the emotional low as well. It is hard for people to maintain the emotional high after celebrating the Easter. However, Apostle Thomas who was overlooked by the synoptic Gospels provided another dramatic event. His confession of “My Lord and my God” makes this Sunday another “high Sunday”. If you ever went to see movies portraying Jesus’ resurrection, you most likely had seen the doubting Thomas made a deep bow and knelt down at that moment. All other students were also bowed down to Him. Jesus was no longer just the master for them; He had become the Lord and the God.

Today’s Bible verses can be divided into 3 sections. First section, from verse 19-23, depicts the first night after Jesus resurrected. Second section, from verses 24-25, describes their weekday activities and Thomas was with them. The third section described the events happened on the 8th day when Jesus reappeared to the apostles for the second time after the resurrection.

During Easter Sunday, we frequently sing Hymn 131 declaring “The day of resurrection, earth tells it out abroad…” In fact, on that day, many people still could not believe it was really happening. Mary Magdalene could not recognize the resurrected Jesus until He called her name. Some disciples were on the road to Emmaus, walking and talking with Jesus the whole day, but only recognized Him after He gave thanks and broke bread at dinner time. These testimonies were only shared among the believers and they did not dare to proclaim the good news to outside people. Bible says that they gathered with door locked. They were afraid that they would be persecuted and put in jail by the Jews if they were found to be the followers of the Christ. Their fears and anxieties were dispelled when Jesus miraculously appeared in their secret locked chamber and greeted them in His usual manner, “Peace be with you!”

In fact, Jesus had been trying to tell them many times before His crucifixion emphasizing that he had given them peace and told them He would conquer the world. Bible said that He showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. This first “high Sunday” truly proved to them that Jesus has indeed risen. He had appeared to them supernaturally and peace would be with them. But Thomas was not there to witness this event. Despite other disciples eagerly sharing their joy and excitement, he insisted that “unless 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.” He was saying that unlike others could believe by just seeing Him; he would have to go all the way by touching those holes to verify for himself in order to believe.

He was later nicknamed as Doubting Thomas to be poked fun at his suspiciousness. I, however, like his character. He is sensitive and straightforward. He did not try to pretend or be dishonest. He just told as it was. I don’t know why the other 3 Gospels did not mention about Thomas, but in Gospel John, Thomas was mentioned in 3 different places. His words were important, but the Lord’s responses to his words were the quintessential to the true good news.

The first time Gospel John mentioned about Thomas was in chapter 11. At that time, Jesus had heard that his friend Lazarus was sick and He told his disciples that he was going back to Judea. His disciples warned him that it would be very dangerous as Jews were trying to stone him twice within the last few days. But Jesus told them that Lazarus had died and insisted to go. While disciples most likely were still quite worried, Thomas spoke out, “let us also go, that we may die with him.” (verse 16) It showed that Thomas had similar determination like Jesus, “If it be thy will, I do.”

The second time, Thomas was mentioned was in chapter 14 when Jesus was telling the disciples that He was going back to the Father to prepare rooms for them and will come back to take them with him. He asked them not to let their hearts be troubled. Although the apostles were not quite understood the message, but no one dared to ask except Thomas. He asked “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” With this question, Lord Jesus clearly declared “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well…” The difference between Christianity and other religions is, we truly believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him. Without knowing Jesus, we will not have eternal life and will not be God’s children.

The Q & A must leave a deep impression on Apostle John. Even at his old age, he continued to remind Christians in the warring time that “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God” (1 John 4:15), “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:12), “No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23).

The third time John mentioned about Thomas was in today’s Bible verses. It recorded the determined attitude of Thomas. He would only believe if he could have ironclad evidence. He would not believe if he just heard or saw; he would have to physically touch the nail holes to believe. His straightforward request was coming out of his heart. Jesus heard him with empathy and granted his wish. Jesus appeared to Thomas on the so call “low Sunday” and asked Thomas to touch his wounds. This personal exchange invoked Thomas to make the greatest confession of his faith. He declared to the whole world and human race that Jesus of Nazareth, son of Virgin Mary, the one was crucified, was indeed the Messiah, the Lord and the God!

I like to share of a few thoughts with you about the story of Thomas:

1. A loyal and sincere heart is hard to find and is very precious. Thomas showed this aptitude in John 11. When Jesus was determined to go to Lazarus in Judea, although it was life threatening, he did not have second thought. Just follow Jesus, even if he might die with him. How many of us have this kind of loyalty and obedience

2. In Chapter 14, he demonstrated that he did not feel ashamed to ask questions. When he did not understand, he would try to ask questions to get to the bottom in order to have a full picture. When we face the problem of our faith, we need to seek answers from God’s words. If we only understand part of it and try to guess answer ourselves, we will get into trouble. Worst yet, we may even look to the wrong place to find answers. Once I heard that there was a Christian boasted that he was born into a Christian family and he had familiarized Bible and Christian teachings since very young. Therefore, he decided to read other philosophical books in order to gain more understandings about Christianity. May God have mercy on him. The Lord said, “Seek, you will find; ask, you will get; knock, the door will open for you.” The entire Lord’s teaching and the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven are in His words. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, He will give you wondrous reply.

3. There are 2 greatest confessions of faith of all time in the Bible. One is when Jesus questioned Peter, “Who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Of course, the other one is by Thomas in today’s sermon: “My Lord and My God!” Peter’s confession is more generalized and more evangelical. It will be up to the person who heard to decide whether to believe. On the other hand, Thomas’ confession is personal and more direct to help people to receive grace and salvation. I pray that our brothers and sisters will evangelize like Peter, but I also hope that you will be more inclined to do personal confession like Thomas to spread the gospel.

Lastly, I would like to point out that because Thomas, our Lord releases another blessing. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Brothers and sisters, we are blessed! We did not witness the resurrection of the Christ, and yet we all believed. I pray that we will be like Thomas as true seekers, always go to the source---The Words of God, to find answers from Jesus. For those who are not yet a believer, I hope you will believe without getting physical confirmation. Pray to Him, ask to know Him. He is a Faithful God. He would not deceive us. If you seek Him, you will find Him; rather, He will find you. What is the blessing for believing? You will become God’s children once you believe! Amen.