I’ve Seen Enough

EASTER RESCUE! Sermon Notes Pastor Brad Myers

I’ve Seen Enough! March 17, 2024

I’ve Seen Enough! The Journey of Thomas

• Doubting Thomas: John 20

John 20:24 (NKJV)

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

• WHY not there? Don’t know.
• Twin? Thomas looked like someone possibly Jesus.
• Disciples take off to find Thomas

John 20:25 (NIV)

So, the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

• Accepting and rejoicing? NO!!
• Skeptical? I don’t believe it! YES!!

John 20:25 (NIV)

…..But he said to them, “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.”

• I need proof.
• Thomas saw Jesus perform signs and wonders but now wants resurrection proof!

A Week Later!

John 20:26-27 (NIV)

²⁶ 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, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.

Q) What happened to change Thomas mind in only a week?

Thought: If God never does another thing for me, I have seen enough to know he is the real deal, the real thing! BUT, it’s so easy today to be skeptical!

• Today, we ask Google, Alexa, Siri,….
• Makes us feel powerful!
• How many times have we grabbed our phones to look it up?
• WHY? We are Skeptical!

Thought: If you tell me right now some new thing, I’m immediately skeptical. Why? Because I’ve seen enough. I demand proof! Why? I’ve been tricked before. I’m not sure who to believe anymore. Why? Because, in all of us, there is more skepticism than ever!

• Enter Doubting Thomas.
• His friends tell him Jesus has risen from the dead.
• Doubt sets in and he hesitated to believe; suspicious.
• Doesn’t know if I want to believe.
• Just like us today: Skeptical

Thought: Even with compelling evidence you still need faith to believe something. We need to choose to believe!

• It takes faith to believe and not believe.
• It takes faith to live!

Thought: Thomas’ big mistake has defined him even though we do the same thing every day. He was skeptical.

Thought: We see ourselves as we see Thomas, defined by a moment in time.

Thought: God has the capacity that we don’t have; not to remember what we can’t forget.

Thought: Thomas the doubter should be called Thomas the honest.

• We’ve picked one big moment in time to define Thomas’ life.
• We don’t we pick a good one?
• Thomas was someone who was actually honest.

Example: John 14: Jesus telling disciples he was going to heaven.

• Everyone’s in agreement except Thomas.

John 14:1-4 (NLT)

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. ² There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? ³ When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.”

Thomas’ the Honest interrupts.

John 14:5 (NLT)

“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Thomas is also the Committed: John 11

John 11:16 (NLT)

Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.”

• Thomas the honest, the committed, the consistent!!
• BUT, Thomas left Jesus’ crucifixion with the same skepticism the other 10 disciples had.
• There’s Hope for us skeptics!

Thought: Thomas is part of the Easter Rescue plan. Through his eyes and his story it all begins with absence and unbelief!

Absence & Unbelief

Thought: The greater the absence the greater the unbelief.

• Thomas was not with the other 10 Sunday evening!
• No encouragement, no support, no discussion, rallying around the cause, nothing!
• Thomas was absent!

Thought: Thomas caved and gave in to unbelief because he had an easier time doing so because of his absence.

Thought: This wasn’t lone ranger time: it wasn’t private prayer closet time; it wasn’t my time, this time, anytime. It wasn’t quarantining time or social distancing time. It was strategizing time and Thomas wasn’t there!

Why the scriptures say…..

Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)

This is not the time to pull away and neglect meeting together, as some have formed the habit of doing…..

• We need each other!
• Thomas felt abandoned so he abandoned.

Proverbs 27:17 (ESV)

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Q) What happened to change Thomas’ mind?

Kindness & Persistence shows up

Thought: The disciples responded to Thomas absence and unbelief by being kind and persistently trying to reach out to him.

They went looking for Thomas!

John 20:25 (AMP)

So, the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!”

• He didn’t believe it!
• Unless I could stick my finger in the nail holes

The original Greek indicates an ongoing continuation of discussion

John 20:25 (J.B. Phillips New Testament)

The other disciples kept on telling him, “We have seen the Lord”,……

The disciples were persistent with Thomas

John 20:26 (NLT)

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them.

• They spent 8 days convincing Thomas.
• Disciples were Kind and Persistent
• Even though he didn’t believe the disciples stuck with him!

Thought: Some of us are kind but not persistent, while others are persistent but not kind. Kindness and Persistence are what prepares people to have an encounter to with Jesus!

Q) What happened to change Thomas’ mind? Kindness and Persistence set the stage for Thomas to have an encounter and receive an invitation.

Encounter & Invitation

• Thomas’s journey from this Sunday-to-Sunday space of time.
• Because his friends were kind and repeatedly invited him he had an encounter with Jesus. Thomas is there.

John 20:26 (NLT)

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said.

• Doors locked, Jesus comes anyhow.
• No condemnation for Thomas only “Peace”

Thought: God always speaks hope to those who are skeptical.

• Thomas had an encounter with Jesus because he prioritized being there.
• He showed up. He seized the opportunity.
• Nothing ventured, nothing gained,
• In fear, in anger, in all of it, he still was willing to open up the scripture and ask God to talk to him.
• Encounter is easy but the invitation is awkward.
• Jesus: I heard you want to put your finger in my wounds.
• Thomas now having second thoughts.

The Invitation

John 20:27-29 (NLT)

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” ²⁸ “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. ²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

• Thomas demanded to touch Jesus to believe.
• Jesus gave him the opportunity, but he no longer needed it.

Thought: When Thomas finally received what he thought he would need to believe, (invitation) he realized he didn’t need it after all.

Jesus Said:

“You believe because you have seen me”, not “You believe because you touched me.”

• Thomas realized he had enough proof just hearing & seeing how his friends reacted.
• Thomas was creating objections based on how he thought God should work.
• Exactly how we operate today.

Thomas realized he wanted a powerful God not a circus performer

Declaration and Demonstration shows up!

John 20:28 (NLT)

“My Lord and my God!” ….

• Theologians: One of the most powerful and most concise declarations of deity anywhere in the New Testament,
• Pretty cool for a guy that started out as a doubter of the Resurrection story.

Thomas’ Declaration

• “My Lord” Not The Lord: Placing Jesus on the throne of his heart.
• “My God” Recognizing Jesus is on the throne of the universe.

Thomas’ Demonstration

• Thomas went forth from that room a changed man declaring Jesus as King until he was killed for his faith buy what many believe having been stabbed by a spear. Pretty good for a doubter.