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In the name of Jesus, amen. You may be seated.
How can this be? Where’s the proof? During this Advent season, the focus has been on how the Lord has worked in and through certain apostles. Tonight’s apostle focus will be on Saint Thomas. Saint Thomas the misunderstood. St. Thomas, the man on a mission, St. Thomas, the missing link, St. Thomas, the minister, St. Thomas, the misunderstood.
It’s because of John 20 that he is in that way of being present but not present at that time that he appeared the first time, but the second. And it labeled him doubting Thomas. But first, we need to look, there’s two things. It was more than just doubting. It was denial of belief. Unless I see, he said. Secondly, he wasn’t asking for a privilege. If true, all he wanted was the same proof that the other disciples had received earlier.
There were those times, if you remember, that the others also did not believe. Remember, Luke 24, 11, the apostles did not believe the women when they came back from the tomb after the angel had given proclamation to them to tell the disciples. Remember, Matthew 28, 17, the eleven were on the mount before Jesus’ ascension, and they worshipped, it says in Scripture, but some doubted, even there.
What about you? When confronted by Jesus and his word in times, have there been those moments in your own life? How does this work? Where’s the proof? Of course you have. But the question asked was not the issue with Jesus. It was what was behind it or what was not behind it. Like Mary, when the Annunciation by angel Gabriel came to her, she asked the question, how? I’m a virgin. But not like Zachariah when he was told that his wife would be with child. He said, how? I’m old. Both were given a promise. Mary believed, but Zachariah did not.
Like Peter, when he was in the boat with the disciples and they saw Jesus walking on the water, Peter asked, can I come to you? Jesus said, come. Like Gideon in tonight’s Old Testament lesson, make it wet, make it dry. Can you give me some proof? The Lord answered.
In the time of the question, is faith present even when we don’t know the details or the outcome? Is faith present in the time of the question, even when we don’t know all the details or the outcome?
And Mark 9, a father brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus and said, if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. Jesus said, if you can, all things are possible for one who believes. Immediately, the father confessed when he cried out, I believe, help my disbelief. Jesus heals His Son. When you and I lift up our petitions to the Lord in prayer, are we not asking Him to intervene for our good, trusting in Him, not knowing the details or the outcome as we ask that His will be done in our lives and not our own?
While he was acting, St. Thomas, the man on a mission, he was all in as a disciple of Jesus. He is mentioned eight times in the New Testament, four times in those lists of the twelve. That cloud of his title, doubting, we overlook this chapter here, John 11. There’s this tension that is high between Jesus and the religious leaders. When the Lord Jesus says, let us go to Judea again, his disciples said, rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and you are going there again? Then when they realized that Jesus was going back into the den of opposition, it was Thomas. It was Thomas who spoke up boldly and told the others, let us also go that we may die with him.
But on that evening of the third day after Jesus’ crucifixion, it was St. Thomas. He was that missing link. He missed out. Easter night, ten gathered behind locked doors. They were all fearful for the Jews, believing that they might be the next ones. Immediately in their midst, Jesus appeared, peace be with you. Not just words, but words that work peace. He gave proof of His death and His resurrection. He showed them His hands and He showed them His side.
And at that point, St. Thomas, who was not there, would have been included with all of the saints that would see Jesus through the eyes of faith and not by sight. So, when he arrives later, though, he hears the good news. And what they were saying, we have seen the Lord, and they believed and they were proclaiming. But then there was St. Thomas stating, unless I see, and with three conditions, followed by, I will never believe. And this is how that evening ended.
But in the middle, St. Thomas finds himself a week later. Unknown to us, the apostles had not moved toward Galilee as spoken in Mark 16, providential in providing time for Jesus to retrieve the unbelieving Thomas. Together, once again, including Thomas, Jesus provides a repeat. He appears and He begins with, ‘Peace be with you.’ Giving Thomas the proof, saying to him, ‘Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Jesus’ prohibition comes with power to believe. And Thomas responds, my Lord and my God was not because of a surprise, but one of confession and faith and an act of worship.
Through the words and the Holy Spirit, faith was not only created but sustained as the eyes of faith look to Jesus, his perfect life lived in our stead, his death on the cross to pay the price for our sins, and his resurrection as that exclamation mark that we too shall rise from the dead.
Jesus tells Thomas in the presence of all the other Apostles, those gathered, have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Jesus was talking about you. Jesus was talking about me. Jesus was talking about the church throughout the history that is described in our epistle lesson this night that has grown from the preaching and the teaching from these eyewitnesses themselves.
This night, we have the privilege to witness a disciple of Jesus who will stand before you and confess his faith. Like you and me, he’s not perfect. Like you and me, he does not have all the answers, but he believes in the words and the works of Christ Jesus, the Lord of his life and the Savior of his soul for him. Like us, he is a forgiven sinner. And Nick, the Lord bless you and keep you.
And finally we see St. Thomas the minister. He is a participant on the day of Pentecost as the apostles stood in the streets of Jerusalem proclaiming the good news about Jesus in the different languages. When the church was scattered due to persecution in Jerusalem, tradition says that St. Thomas ministered to the Parthians, the Medes, and the Persians of what we now call modern-day Iran. Some say that he went as far as India to witness about Jesus. And the evidence of that is that today in India, there is a group of believers who call themselves Christians of St. Thomas. It is believed that it was in India that Thomas died because of the gospel, his faith in Jesus. It is said that he died on July 3rd, 72 A.D. as he was being stabbed with spears.
To brothers and sisters in the faith, how can this be? Where’s the proof? We look in the sacred scriptures. In the Old Testament, at all the promises of the coming Messiah and in the New Testament on how Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled them all for you and for me and all the world. Even in their death, the Apostles gave witness to this truth, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, for you and for me and for all people, amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.