Sermonette: The Apostle Thomas

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Given 05-Mar-94; 14 minutes

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Although the apostle Thomas has some negative associations (i.e. 'Doubting Thomas'), he also has positive, admirable traits which we should emulate. Though Thomas was pessimistic, when he saw what he was supposed to do, he did so without hesitating, as demonstrated by his urging the disciples to follow Jesus to Judea before the resurrection of Lazarus, even at the peril of their lives. When Thomas did not understand, he asked questions, seeking instructions for how to do what he was supposed to do. Even though he had a skeptical, show-me approach, needing rock-solid proof, he totally embraced the truth, believing with all his might. Like Thomas, we are all skeptical disciples, but should enthusiastically embrace our belief, acting upon it, after we are convicted.


transcript:

The apostle Thomas, I am sure you have heard, has been labeled "Doubting Thomas" by theologians down through the centuries, and this incomplete story of Thomas or statement about Thomas has overshadowed a few of his admirable qualities and traits. And I feel that he is a valuable example of us today and there are certain traits of his that we can learn from, especially in this pre-Passover season.

Now, although there are eight passages concerning Thomas in the New Testament, in the first four he is only listed as an apostle, so Thomas is only stated as being one of the 12 apostles in four of those. And then in the other four, we would not know anything about Thomas if it was not for John and his personal statements about Thomas in the other four verses. You know, it is interesting that half of what is mentioned about Thomas is just that you know of his name and that John is the only one who highlights his name.

Let me just go through quickly and summarize some of the highlights of Thomas' life. Some of these you will recognize, but I want to give you just an overview of what is stated about Thomas in a general way.

As far as gospel history is concerned, we know absolutely nothing about his kinsman, his place of residence, or his occupation. So nothing there is stated. It is certain that he was a Jew and probably a Galilean. Acts 1:11 gives you that indication. And then from legend we gather that he was born of poor parents who brought him up to the trade of fishing and who gave him useful education, instructing him in the knowledge of Scriptures whereby he learned wisely to govern his life and his manners. And then, as I just mentioned, Thomas is listed as one of the apostles in four places, Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; and Acts 1:13. Now he is linked with Matthew in Matthew 10:3 and with Philip in Acts 1:13. And what I mean by linked, you might see, say, Paul and James and it might say, for example here, Thomas and Matthew or Philip and Matthew. They are linked together with commas after the groupings of names. So apparently there was some type of commonality there, whether it be a close friendship or whether it be similar interests or most probably joint responsibilities where they were linked together. So Thomas was linked together with Matthew and Philip on two occasions.

The name Thomas comes from the Aramaic word, teoma, which means twin. So from that we feel very strongly, those who have studied it and you and the theologians and all, that "the Twin" was his nickname meaning that he was a twin of possibly one of the apostles, but we have no idea whose twin he was. That is an indication that is possibly there in the name. John three times uses the Greek version, which is didymus. And Thomas was present at the raising of Lazarus and showed his loyalty to Christ in John 11:16. He asked Jesus the way to the Father's house in John 14:5. As I said, I am just listing the highlights here to begin with and giving you an overview. He was skeptical about the resurrection in John 20:25. Then Thomas saw Christ after the resurrection. That was in John 20:26-29, and then finally he dwelt with the other apostles in Jerusalem, and we see that in Acts 1:13-14.

So that gives you a general overview of the facts that are available in God's Word in the New Testament regarding Thomas. The facts are very few but there are some things that we can pull out of these scriptures that are quite obvious in the way of lessons that we can learn from Thomas's traits. I would like to cover three traits today.

The first trait was that when Thomas saw what he ought to do, nothing kept him back. Now if you would turn with me to John 11 please. When Jesus expressed His intention of going back into Judea to raise Lazarus from the dead, Thomas urged the disciples to accompany Christ, even though it might mean death. That is the overview of chapter 11 here. Now if you will notice, when Jesus heard about Lazarus' sickness He said:

John 11:4 "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

And then we read down here in verse 7 that the disciples did not think it was a good idea to go to Judea. Actually, Christ said, "Let us go to Judea" again in verse 7. Then in verse 8, "The disciples said to Him, 'Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?'" So all 12 of the disciples were very concerned about going back into Judea with Christ for fear that they might all, Christ especially, run into danger. And then as we read on, in verse 11 Christ mentions that Lazarus sleeps and the disciples did not understand that, and then Christ clarifies that in verse 14, and He says plainly, "Lazarus is dead." And then in verse 15, let us begin reading again,

John 11:15-16 "And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him. Then Thomas, who was called the Twin [Didymus], said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."

It is interesting to note the contrast in this segment of Scripture that here Christ, in verse 4, was on the positive glorifying note of saying, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." And then on the other hand, here is Thomas, who tended to be pessimistic at times and negative, had the wonderful trait of being willing to go and die with Christ. But at the same time, he was somewhat negative in that he almost appears to expect that he is going to die going into Judea with Christ.

But the point is that when Thomas saw what he ought to do, nothing kept him back. So even though he was pessimistic in this case, he was still willing to go with Christ, even if it meant unto death. So the dedication was there.

Now if you keep in mind that Simon Peter, just before Christ was going to be arrested, said that, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." But then his deeds or his actions showed that after the cock crowed three times that he was not really. Not to be down on the apostle Peter at all, but just to indicate that yes, these apostles were human. They did have human carnal traits and they had to develop godly character just as we do today. And so here, Thomas was willing to go to death and at a later period of time, the apostle Peter was not even though he stated that. So there was an admirable trait with Thomas that he was not only stating that he was willing to die, but that he was willing to go through it as well.

The second trait that I would like to cover is that when Thomas saw what he ought to do, he urgently wanted to know how to do it. If you turn with me to John 14, just over a few pages, and we will read verses 1 through 6, which as you may remember, are also read during the Passover service quite often.

John 14:1-6 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." [Here is Thomas speaking] And Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" [So Thomas is saying, "But Jesus, we don't understand where You are going, and we don't understand the way." But then in verse 6,] Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

So Jesus was showing that He was telling Thomas that the way is through Christ, following His example and doing what He did. But you will notice there that, you know, Thomas was honest enough, and he was forthright enough, and he was also concerned enough about the truth to ask the question, "Well, why? Where are we going? No, we don't understand." He could have just sat back and let one of the other apostles ask the question, or he could have just let the question go by and not be concerned about the truth there. But the apostles were not individuals who just sat on the log blindly and were taught by Christ. They were questioning as far as wanting proof, they wanted to know and understand what Christ was teaching them, so they were very intent on that, and here it shows that Thomas was as well.

It is also interesting to notice the contrast here. That Christ spoke cheerfully of His return to His Father, though Thomas could see nothing cheerful in the hopelessness of the separation that was coming before them. So again, there is Thomas with his pessimistic attitude or negative attitude, compared to Christ, who is always positive. So remember, that when Thomas saw what he ought to do, he urgently wanted to know how to do it.

Then the third trait was that when Thomas saw what it was he had to believe, he wanted to prove that it was right, and then to him there was no doubting it. If you will turn with me to John 20 we will pick up the account here. After Christ's resurrection, Thomas refused to believe that it had happened. Once convinced of the resurrection, his faith was stirring, and we will see that here, beginning in verse 24.

John 20:24-28 But Thomas, called the Twin [Didymus], one of the twelve, was not with them when Christ came. The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands in the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." And after eight days, His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your own hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." And then Thomas answered [and this is probably the climax of the book of John] and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

So Thomas finally came to that realization after all the teaching that he had from Christ, that this was indeed God and his Lord and Master. In a little bit of defense for Thomas at this point, I would like to say that if you will remember when Jesus appeared walking on the water to the disciples earlier, that all the apostles thought that He was a spirit. They could not believe that it was Christ. And you know, if Thomas was to be called Doubting Thomas, well, the apostles would have to be called the Doubting Apostles. It was not necessarily that Thomas was the most doubting of them. He was just typical of the apostles, as he is typical of us today. We tend to doubt.

But if you will notice in verse 29, here is where we can be encouraged.

John 20:29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

So as we are in the Passover season and move toward the actual Passover service, we need to remember this: that the apostles saw Christ, and they believed, and that was a wonderful blessing. But Christ, here, pronounces an extra blessing upon those who have not seen Him and not seen Him resurrected by sight. That blessing is pronounced upon us and all those throughout the history of the church who have not seen Christ resurrected, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

What we need to do going into this Passover service coming up is keep in mind that we have a wonderful blessing. A blessing that we, as God's people, should be genuinely believing that this is (thinking to yourself), "my Lord and my God," as Thomas said.

MGC/aws/drm





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