16. John 20:19-31 NKJV
The Apostles Commissioned
19 Then, the same day at
evening, being the first day of
the week, when the doors
were shut where the disciples
were assembled,
17. for fear of the Jews (as few
as 13 of them), Jesus came
and stood in the midst,
and said to them,
“Peace be with you.”
27. 23 “If you forgive the sins
of any, they are forgiven
them; if you retain
the sins of any, they are
retained.”
28. Seeing and Believing
24 Now Thomas, called the
Twin, one of the twelve, was
not with them when Jesus
came. 25 The other disciples
therefore said to him,
“We have seen the Lord.”
29. So he said to them,
“Unless I see in His hands
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.”
30. 26 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!”
31. 27 Then He said to Thomas,
“Reach your finger here,
and look at My hands;
and reach your hand here,
and put it into My side.
Do not be unbelieving,
but believing.”
34. 29 Jesus said to him,
“Thomas, because you
have seen Me, you have
believed. Blessed are those
who have not seen (that
would be us!) and yet
have believed.”
35. That You May Believe
30 And truly Jesus did
many other signs in the
presence of His disciples,
which are not written in
this book;
36. 31 but these are written
that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of God, and that believing
you may have life in His
name.
John 20:19-31 NKJV
37. *Thomas was somewhere
else pouting that first
Resurrection Sunday.
*But, whatever his reasons
were for missing that
assembly that day,
Thomas missed much.
38. Notice what he missed
that day:
1.) v. 19 – He missed the
Presence of the Lord.
2.) v. 19 – He missed the
Power of the Lord.
39. 3.) v. 19 – He missed the
Peace of the Lord.
4.) v. 20 – He missed the
Praises of the Lord.
5.) v. 21 – He missed the
Promotions of the
Lord.
43. Seeing and Believing
24 Now Thomas, called the
Twin, one of the twelve,
was not with them when
Jesus came.
John 20:24 NKJV
44. A) Thomas the Pouter
*When Jesus died on the
cross, Thomas’ world
was shattered!
*He no doubt became
despondent, depressed
and discouraged.
45. Thomas was broken-
hearted and felt that their
dream had reached an end
and he is a good picture
of why being faithful to
Sunday night services is
so vitally important.
46. *You never know what
you will miss when you
fail to come to church on
Sunday nights.
*People have all kinds of
reasons and excuses for
missing on Sunday night.
47. We are so busy, our lives
are hectic, our children
are busy with sports and
other activities, and
sometimes God fails to
get first place in our
priorities.
48. *Sometimes God doesn’t
even rate second, third
or fourth place.
*He might not even be in
the top ten in some cases.
*His worship must come
first!
49. *People have all kinds of
excuses that they offer as
to why they missed
church.
*An excuse is just the skin
of a reason stuffed with a
lie.
50. Why not just tell the
truth?
People don’t come
because they had rather
be doing something else.
51. They don’t come because
Jesus isn’t first in their
lives.
They don’t come because
their hearts aren’t where
they ought to be.
52. Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV
24 And let us consider one
another in order to stir up
(motivate, stimulate, spur
one another on to) love
and good works,
53. 25 not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves
together, as is the manner of
some, but exhorting one
another, and so much the
more as you see the Day
approaching.
Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV
55. *He decided to build them
a church and when the
people gathered, they
marveled at its beauty.
*Then someone asked,
"But where are the lamps?
How will it be lighted?"
56. *The nobleman pointed to
some brackets in the
walls.
*Then he gave to each
family a lamp to bring
with them each time they
came to worship.
57. * The nobleman said,
"Each time you are here
the area where you are
seated will be lighted, and
each time you are not
here, that area will be
dark.
71. When the other disciples
first heard the news that
Jesus was alive, they
didn’t believe either, look
at: Mark 16:9-11.
72. Mark 16:9-11 NKJV
9 Now when He rose early
on the first day of the
week, He appeared first to
Mary Magdalene, out of
whom He had cast seven
demons.
73. 10 She went and told those
who had been with Him, as
they mourned and
wept. 11 And when they
heard that He was alive and
had been seen by her, they
did not believe.
Mark 16:9-11 NKJV
74. The whole group was so
overcome with grief and
disappointment that they
could not bring
themselves to believe.
75. *The only reason the ten
believed was because
they had seen Jesus for
themselves.
*Thomas was only asking
for the same proof they
had already received.
76. Most of us can identify
with Thomas.
We have a hard time
believing what we cannot
see with our own eyes.
78. *We also sometimes put
off trusting completely in
Jesus.
*His claims are amazing!
*What the Bible says
about Him is hard for the
human mind to grasp.
79. *Delay no longer!
*Look to Jesus and believe
the testimony of His
Word and of those who
have seen Him for
themselves because He
is the only hope we have!
80. Some class members here
today have lived lives
shaken by one
disappointment after
another.
81. You are disillusioned and
think the claims of Jesus
coming to give you the
abundant life are difficult
to believe and are too
good to be true.
82. But, the thing that makes
them so good is the fact
that they are true!
Jesus can do for you what
He has promised He can
do.
83. *He can do for you what
He has done for others.
*He can save your soul;
forgive your sins; make
you a child of God; free
you from spiritual death
and from the bondage of
your sins;
84. Jesus can give you the
abundant life!
He can do it for you, and
He will do it for you if
only you will believe in
Him.
88. 26 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!”
89. 27 Then He said to Thomas,
“Reach your finger here,
and look at My hands;
and reach your hand here,
and put it into My side.
Do not be unbelieving,
but believing.”
91. 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.”
John 20:26-29 NKJV
93. While they are there, Jesus
again appears in their
midst.
This time, He focuses His
attention on Thomas.
94. He repeats the very words
of Thomas (v. 25) back to
him and invites him to
touch Him and satisfy his
need to know.
95. Then Jesus tells him to let
go of his doubts and trust
what he knows to be true.
There is a difference
between doubt and
unbelief.
96. *Doubt is a problem of the
intellect.
*The person wants to
believe, but has
questions.
*Unbelief is a problem of
the heart.
97. *Unbelief will not believe
no matter what it sees.
*Thomas was plagued by
doubt.
*When his questions were
answered, he did not
need to touch the risen
Jesus;
98. seeing Him was enough.
Thomas utters one of the
greatest confessions in the
Bible.
99. He calls Jesus both “Lord
and God” and he claims
the Lord as his own.
All of his pouts and his
doubts are now settled.
105. He died for the Lord he
once doubted.
Those today who doubt
can do what Thomas did
over 2,000 years ago.
106. They can get past their
doubts, their fears, their
pride, their sins and the
other things that hinder
them from coming to
Jesus.
107. If they would come to
Him and “be not
faithless, but believing”,
they would find that Jesus
can fill their lives with
peace, joy, praise, and
blessing.
109. *Jesus can take anyone
just like they are and
transform them like he
did Thomas.
*He will keep them, bless
them, use them, thrill
them and amaze us all.
110. No matter who you are;
what you have done; or
where you have been, you
need to know that Jesus
Christ can and will give
you the abundant life if
you will just come to Him.
112. In verses 29, Jesus tells
Thomas something we
need to hear today.
113. John 20:29 NKJV
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.”
114. Jesus tells Thomas that
he had believed
because of what he had
seen with his own eyes.
115. *Then He says that
those who believe
without seeing are as
blessed as Thomas.
*That is good news
for us today!
116. Since our lost friends
will not see the physical
Person of Jesus in this
life, they must believe
by faith what the Bible
says about Him.
117. *If they can get passed
their doubts and
believe Him, they will
be saved by Him!
*What keeps them from
believing in Jesus?
118. *What would it take to
convince them?
*What holds them back?
*Whatever it is, it is not
worth the eternal price
they will pay for not
coming, Mark 8:34-37.
119. Mark 8:34-38 NKJV
34 When He had called the
people to Himself, with His
disciples also, He said to
them, “Whoever desires to
come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his
cross, and follow Me.
120. 35 For whoever desires to
save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for My
sake and the gospel’s will
save it. 36 For what will it
profit a man if he gains the
whole world, and loses his
own soul?
121. 37 Or what will a man give in
exchange for his soul?
122. 38 For whoever is ashamed of
Me and My words in this
adulterous and sinful
generation, of him the Son of
Man also will be ashamed
when He comes in the glory
of His Father with the holy
angels.” Mark 8:34-38 NKJV
123. Have you been
allowing yourself to be
absent from this place
where God meets with
and blesses His people?
124. If the Lord has spoken
to you and convinced
you of the need to draw
closer in your walk
with Him, come to Him
today and believe.
125. You are as close to God
as you want to be!
See James 4:8
126. James 4:8 NKJV
8 Draw near to God and
He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you
sinners; and purify your
hearts, you double-
minded.
127. Let Jesus take your
pouts and your doubts
and turn them into
shouts for His glory!