The Reason For The Written Word
Or
That You May Believe
Sunday Oct. 15, 2023
Scripture To Consider:
“And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas was 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 hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’”
“And Thomas answered and said to Jesus, ‘My Lord and My God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.’”
“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 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 20.26-31
Something To Consider:
Eight days earlier Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus appeared to them. And when Thomas was told of Jesus visiting with them, Thomas was skeptical to say the least. His exact words were, “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.”
The early disciples did not have the benefit of reading Hebrews 11.1, which reminds us, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Nor were they able to be encouraged and cautioned by Hebrews 11.6, which states; “But without faith it is impossible to please Him [God], for he [or she] who comes to God must believe that He is [that God is God], and that He [God] is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Suddenly, Jesus appeared again, doors shut, and He stands in their midst. What would it have been worth to have seen the astonished look on Thomas’ face? Because Thomas had declared in so many words, show me the proof, and then I will believe!
How many of us live our lives based on the same rule of unbelief, show me the proof, then I will believe! But faith is believing without our being able to see the proof, or it is not faith. Faith is taking God at His Word. And if we do not trust Him and His Word, how can we say He is our God? How can we out of one side of our mouths praise God and call Him Lord, when we are anything but truly believing in His written and preserved Word of God?
Something Else To Consider:
Eight days earlier when Thomas boldly made his doubtful claims, Jesus was not physically in the room with Thomas and His disciples. But on this day Jesus appeared to them and 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.”
Thomas had been caught red-handed in his own unbelieving doubt. But more importantly, Jesus was revealing a hidden and yet enlightening revelation to His early disciples and to all disciples of every future generation. What was and what is His hidden revelation now being revealed in our text today?
Jesus was and is attempting to plant a spiritual seed of awareness that He is never far from us. The question must be asked. Where was Jesus when Thomas was declaring his unbelieving doubt eight days earlier? Though they could not see Him, Jesus was right there in their midst. He was right there in the same room with them listening to every word spoken and unspoken.
Yes, Jesus was there though He could not be seen, and He heard every word and knew every thought perceived by not only Thomas but every other person who was assembled together in that room. This is by far one of the most needful lessons of a lifetime for leaders and leaders in training to learn and to pass on to others. Jesus is at this very moment, in our presence wherever two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is in the midst of them, both then and now! Let us by all means learn this life-changing lesson.
Something More To Consider:
John understood the spiritual significance of this lesson of a lifetime and included it in His gospel. According to John, “These [these things] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.” And yet, the truth is, that many will not believe no matter the miracles, and no matter the conviction of the Holy Spirit due to their sin! Though it is God’s will that none perish, in the end, many in every generation have perished and will perish because of their unwillingness to believe and confess their sin.
At the mock trial of Jesus, as He faced the sin-hardened hearts of the so-called religious leaders, Luke records in Luke 22.67, as the elders asked Jesus; “If You are the Christ [Messiah], tell us.” And Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will by no means believe.”
How sad a situation to be so deceived, to be so disillusioned to refuse the revealed truth when it was standing directly in front of them! And yet, many still choose to reject the reason for the written Word of God, that they may believe.
A Few Final Words:
Believing the written Word of God unlocks the spiritual eternal rewards laid up for the righteous individuals who desire to live godly lives in and through Jesus Christ. And yet, these spiritual eternal rewards include abundant life now as we abide in Christ. And yet, our enjoying these eternal rewards now never lessens our reward and or eternal life with Him forever.
According to John, “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 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.”
Have we believed in the written Word of God? Are we present tense believing in the preserved record of the written Word of God? Be careful how we answer! Jesus is in our presence whether we can see Him or not. And He already knows the truthful answer to that question!
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, increase our faith that we may believe in Your Son, our Lord, though we cannot physically see Him, but we shall see Him. Help us Father to be found looking unto Jesus, of whom is the Word of God. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 