God of Second Chance (John 20:19-29)
The four Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - include in their Passion/Resurrection narratives a series of episodes related to the appearances of the risen Christ to his disciples. In these episodes the disciples, after passing through a phase of doubt, unbelief, trouble, confusion and astonishment, come to the point of believing that Jesus has been risen indeed.
THE APPEARANCE OF THE RISEN CHRIST TO HIS DISCIPLES
John is the only Gospel writer who has preserved the story in which Thomas is depicted as moving from unbelief to belief after his encounter with the risen Lord (Jn. 20:24-29).The episode took place one week after Jesus had appeared to the disciples in the absence of Thomas (Jn. 20:19-23). In the above mentioned appearance of Jesus to his disciples, he showed them his hands and his side and the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord (Jn. 20:20). BUT THOMAS (called Didymus, one of the 12, was not with the disciples when Jesus came V24.
WHERE DID HE GO?
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ABSENT FROM THE SCHOOL OR CHURCH WHEN MATTERED MOST?
In John 20:24-26, the disciples tell Thomas, “We have seen the Lord” Thomas’ response to the information/witness offered by the other disciples, includes “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails … I will not believe”
THE APPEARANCE OF THE RISEN CHRIST TO THOMAS
The event occurred eight days after the appearance of Jesus to the other disciples.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF 8- A New Beginning. Ours is the only God who gives His own the second chance even more than second. To the idols, once an opportunity is lost, it can not be recovered but that is outside the Kingdom of God.
As they were gathered in the house, behind closed doors, the risen Christ came and stood among them (Jn. 20:27). This time Thomas was with them. Jesus, after greeting them with the traditional, “Peace be with you,” without any delay turns to Thomas and addresses him: “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side, and do not be unbelieving but believing” Obviously, Jesus accepts the challenge, if not the provocation, of Thomas and invites him to proceed with the demanded test. The unbelieving disciple already sees Christ, but he is now asked to complete the test by adding the touching of the hands and of the side.
+ Isn’t amazing that Jesus showed up because of just one disciple? It is like me preaching here last week and someone was absent and I said I would repeat the sermon because of him! But to God, one matters.
He began the creation of humanity with one- Adam;
He started the chosen race with Abraham;
He spared Noah to preserve humanity.
Jesus told some parables where one is important- PARABLES OF; THE LOST SHEEP Luke 15:3-7; THE LOST COIN 15: 8-10; THE LOST SON-PRODIGAL SON: 15: 11-end. Many pastors love crowd but love not people. Individual matters. One woman was healed of broken bones in Australia during the Benny Hinn and the Man of God said "If it is only because of this woman this crusade is organized, it is more than enough"! Many preachers wanted crowd but look for individual. Bishop T.D Jakes once said, "Many Pastors love the crowd but hate people"! When an individual is missing in your church, look after him or her.
With a giant step Thomas moves from the state of unbelieving to the state of believing. Suddenly he is convinced that the one whom he sees, is the risen Lord, the very same Jesus whom he knew, after having been with him for three years. “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God.” This declaration of faith is unique.
Thomas’ exclamatory statement is followed by a very important response from Jesus. Upon hearing his believing words, Christ addresses him with a remark and a beatitude: Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and (yet) have believed (Jn. 20:29).”
The first part of the statement, taken either as a question or as a recognition of fact,[14] speaks of believing in the risen Lord as a result of seeing him. There is no doubt that Jesus clearly speaks here of an undeniable phenomenon of faith, a faith which is the consequence of a visual, a sight experience. As several exegetes[15] have pointed out, there is no need to discern in this instance an implied diminished value of such a way of arriving at the state of believing.
The second part of Jesus’ statement is a beatitude which presents a different type of faith, namely a faith not depending on visual experiences: “Blessed are those who have not seen and (yet) have believed.” Who are the recipients of such a blessing? Probably a number of the larger circle of the disciples who have not seen the risen Lord with their own eyes but relied on the eyewitness of the other disciples. But most certainly, they are the Christians living around the end of the first century AD for whom John the Evangelist writes his Gospel.
.There is no doubt that John’s central theme in the Thomas incident (Jn. 20:24-29), is the relation between seeing and believing. This theme seems to run through the two final chapters of the Fourth Gospel (Jn. 20 and 21). It is, however, in the splendid narrative of Christ’s appearance to Thomas that the question of the relation between seeing and believing receives its definitive answer.
++How many times did Thomas expressed doubt? ONCE! HOW COME HE WAS LABELLED DOUBTING THOMAS. People could be using an event that took place on 30 minutes to describe you in 30 years! But God doesn’t. He did not call Moses a murderer or Jacob, a supplanter or Peter cursing disciple!
But was Thomas a doubter throughout? No. There was a time he said he and other disciples should follow Jesus to go and die with Him. But here it was another side of him.
THE TWIN METAPHOR
Thomas was a twin. The psychologists said there are two sides of every individual- THE IDEAL and THE REAL. The Idea is what God wants us to be and what we all wish to be but the real side is what we manifest once in a while. Haven’t you did a mistake and you regretted immediately? …
Jesus said where 2 or 3 shall agree concerning a request, it would be done. When are you going to agree with your ideal you and begin to receive from above?
Apostle Paul while wrestling with his flesh cried out for deliverance from the "this body that is subject to death?". He found the answer in Jesus: "Thanks be to
God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
I urge you too to do the same now. Jesus is waiting for your cry and He is ready and willing to set you free. Receive the grace now in Jesus name.
Foot note: What God sent our way yesterday in our church. May the blessing of the service locate you wherever you may be in Jesus name.
The four Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - include in their Passion/Resurrection narratives a series of episodes related to the appearances of the risen Christ to his disciples. In these episodes the disciples, after passing through a phase of doubt, unbelief, trouble, confusion and astonishment, come to the point of believing that Jesus has been risen indeed.
THE APPEARANCE OF THE RISEN CHRIST TO HIS DISCIPLES
John is the only Gospel writer who has preserved the story in which Thomas is depicted as moving from unbelief to belief after his encounter with the risen Lord (Jn. 20:24-29).The episode took place one week after Jesus had appeared to the disciples in the absence of Thomas (Jn. 20:19-23). In the above mentioned appearance of Jesus to his disciples, he showed them his hands and his side and the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord (Jn. 20:20). BUT THOMAS (called Didymus, one of the 12, was not with the disciples when Jesus came V24.
WHERE DID HE GO?
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ABSENT FROM THE SCHOOL OR CHURCH WHEN MATTERED MOST?
In John 20:24-26, the disciples tell Thomas, “We have seen the Lord” Thomas’ response to the information/witness offered by the other disciples, includes “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails … I will not believe”
THE APPEARANCE OF THE RISEN CHRIST TO THOMAS
The event occurred eight days after the appearance of Jesus to the other disciples.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF 8- A New Beginning. Ours is the only God who gives His own the second chance even more than second. To the idols, once an opportunity is lost, it can not be recovered but that is outside the Kingdom of God.
As they were gathered in the house, behind closed doors, the risen Christ came and stood among them (Jn. 20:27). This time Thomas was with them. Jesus, after greeting them with the traditional, “Peace be with you,” without any delay turns to Thomas and addresses him: “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side, and do not be unbelieving but believing” Obviously, Jesus accepts the challenge, if not the provocation, of Thomas and invites him to proceed with the demanded test. The unbelieving disciple already sees Christ, but he is now asked to complete the test by adding the touching of the hands and of the side.
+ Isn’t amazing that Jesus showed up because of just one disciple? It is like me preaching here last week and someone was absent and I said I would repeat the sermon because of him! But to God, one matters.
He began the creation of humanity with one- Adam;
He started the chosen race with Abraham;
He spared Noah to preserve humanity.
Jesus told some parables where one is important- PARABLES OF; THE LOST SHEEP Luke 15:3-7; THE LOST COIN 15: 8-10; THE LOST SON-PRODIGAL SON: 15: 11-end. Many pastors love crowd but love not people. Individual matters. One woman was healed of broken bones in Australia during the Benny Hinn and the Man of God said "If it is only because of this woman this crusade is organized, it is more than enough"! Many preachers wanted crowd but look for individual. Bishop T.D Jakes once said, "Many Pastors love the crowd but hate people"! When an individual is missing in your church, look after him or her.
With a giant step Thomas moves from the state of unbelieving to the state of believing. Suddenly he is convinced that the one whom he sees, is the risen Lord, the very same Jesus whom he knew, after having been with him for three years. “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God.” This declaration of faith is unique.
Thomas’ exclamatory statement is followed by a very important response from Jesus. Upon hearing his believing words, Christ addresses him with a remark and a beatitude: Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and (yet) have believed (Jn. 20:29).”
The first part of the statement, taken either as a question or as a recognition of fact,[14] speaks of believing in the risen Lord as a result of seeing him. There is no doubt that Jesus clearly speaks here of an undeniable phenomenon of faith, a faith which is the consequence of a visual, a sight experience. As several exegetes[15] have pointed out, there is no need to discern in this instance an implied diminished value of such a way of arriving at the state of believing.
The second part of Jesus’ statement is a beatitude which presents a different type of faith, namely a faith not depending on visual experiences: “Blessed are those who have not seen and (yet) have believed.” Who are the recipients of such a blessing? Probably a number of the larger circle of the disciples who have not seen the risen Lord with their own eyes but relied on the eyewitness of the other disciples. But most certainly, they are the Christians living around the end of the first century AD for whom John the Evangelist writes his Gospel.
.There is no doubt that John’s central theme in the Thomas incident (Jn. 20:24-29), is the relation between seeing and believing. This theme seems to run through the two final chapters of the Fourth Gospel (Jn. 20 and 21). It is, however, in the splendid narrative of Christ’s appearance to Thomas that the question of the relation between seeing and believing receives its definitive answer.
++How many times did Thomas expressed doubt? ONCE! HOW COME HE WAS LABELLED DOUBTING THOMAS. People could be using an event that took place on 30 minutes to describe you in 30 years! But God doesn’t. He did not call Moses a murderer or Jacob, a supplanter or Peter cursing disciple!
But was Thomas a doubter throughout? No. There was a time he said he and other disciples should follow Jesus to go and die with Him. But here it was another side of him.
THE TWIN METAPHOR
Thomas was a twin. The psychologists said there are two sides of every individual- THE IDEAL and THE REAL. The Idea is what God wants us to be and what we all wish to be but the real side is what we manifest once in a while. Haven’t you did a mistake and you regretted immediately? …
Jesus said where 2 or 3 shall agree concerning a request, it would be done. When are you going to agree with your ideal you and begin to receive from above?
Apostle Paul while wrestling with his flesh cried out for deliverance from the "this body that is subject to death?". He found the answer in Jesus: "Thanks be to
God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
I urge you too to do the same now. Jesus is waiting for your cry and He is ready and willing to set you free. Receive the grace now in Jesus name.
Foot note: What God sent our way yesterday in our church. May the blessing of the service locate you wherever you may be in Jesus name.
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