Sunday's Coming - Part 2

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:19-25 ESV).

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!

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although 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, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:26-29 ESV).