Sunday's Coming (Part 2)

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” 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.” (John 20:19-25 NIV).

The resurrection is the most important event in the Christian faith. It is a transforming event. There are four areas of transformation that we will look at in the next few mornings. The first of these is the transformation from unbelief to belief. This is Thomas’ story. He was not with the others after the crucifixion and resurrection. Perhaps he just needed time to be alone, to think, to sort things out. Or, maybe he needed to be alone, just to forget, to forget it all and let his mind think on more pleasant thoughts. Whatever the reason, because he wasn’t with the other believers, he missed out on a real blessing and a great opportunity to have his faith strengthened and renewed. Like most people in that day he had two names. “Thomas" was his Aramaic name, and “didymus” was his Greek name. They both mean twin. We don’t know whether Thomas had a physical twin, but there are many in the Church today who are his spiritual twins. Many have not learned the lesson from Thomas and they choose like Thomas to be alone to work things out on the own rather than meeting with other believers and having their faith strengthened and renewed. Because he wasn’t there he had to endure yet one more week of doubts, fear, unbelief and suffering. The next week Thomas returned to the others. There he met the risen Lord. When Thomas saw Jesus his unbelief was turned into belief and he fell to his knees and cried, “My Lord and My God."

There is something about encountering a man raised from the dead. There is something about standing face to face with the risen Lord that causes a man to understand transformation from unbelief to belief. In the 1930’s a British lawyer named Frank Morrison set out to prove that the resurrection was a fable. As a lawyer he felt he was well qualified to weigh the evidence and come up with a verdict. However, as he researched he did not find things as he expected. The book is called “Who Moved the Stone?” His conclusion was that the resurrection overwhelming was supported by fact. He considered the fact that Jesus lived, the prophecies that were fulfilled in His birth and life, and the transformation of history afterward, and all of it transformed him from unbelief to belief. The resurrection of Jesus is powerful. It transformed Thomas and the other disciples. It transformed Frank Morrison. It has transformed me and millions of others. Has it transformed your life? Read the end of Thomas’ story and make it yours today!

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!” 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.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:26-29 NIV).