Jesus, My Lord and My God!

John 20:24-29 (ESV) 

24Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,[a] was not with them when Jesus came.25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 

26Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but 

believe.”28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 

Introduction: Charles Darwin’s slippery slide into unbelief. 

- Annie (2nd of Charles’ 10 children) fell ill with a mysterious ailment. - On April 23, 1851, Annie Darwin dies in her Charles’ arms. 

- Death, Darwin implies, is a natural part of the universe’s impartial laws. 

In this passage, we observe Thomas experiencing a “crisis of faith.” When the other disciples said, “We have seen the Lord,” he dismissed their testimony about the risen Christ and his pierced hands and feet. Christ, however, was patient with him. Jesus addressed his doubts and granted him the blessing of faith. Our passage today reveals that unbelief is personal, rooted in disappointment, fear, and unmet expectations. But our resurrected Christ meets us where we are and gently restores us by drawing us closer to him to hear his life-giving word. 

I. The peril of withdrawing from Christ

Thomas’s doubt and unbelief begin with his withdrawal. We 

know very little about Thomas: 

- “Let us go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16) 

- “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can 

we know the way?” (John 14:5) 

A. “Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came” (20:24). Thomas was absent. It’s not surprising that, while the other disciples grew in faith, Thomas sank into unbelief because of his absence from the fellowship. 

- He withdrew from “hearing” the Word 

- He withdrew from “seeing” the Living Word 

- Alexander McLaren, “The worst thing that a man can do when disbelief, or doubt, or coldness shrouds his sky, and blots out the stars, is to go away alone and shut himself up with his own, perhaps morbid, or, at all events, disturbing thoughts. The best thing that he can do is to go amongst his fellows.” (Hebrews 10:24-25) 

B. “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (20:25) 

- He won’t be persuaded. He went through a crisis of faith. 

- If you doubt what you’ve heard about Christianity, approach the Bible with an open mind and heart. 

II. The patience of Christ toward the hard-hearted 

A. Jesus came in peace and offered the gift of peace to his disciples - “Peace be with you” (John 20:26) 

B. J.C. Ryle – “It is hard to imagine anything more tiresome and provoking than the conduct of Thomas …. But it is impossible to imagine anything more patient and compassionate, than our Lord’s treatment of this weak disciple…He deals with him according to his weakness, like a gentle nurse dealing with a forward child.”

C. “Christ’s atoning death definitively ended God’s wrath 

against sins and summoned us in saving and surrendering 

faith.” (Richard Phillips) 

- If you doubt Christ, remember the cross, the 

cost of our restoration, and His compassion 

toward you. 

III. The power of Christ’s word to conquer unbelief 

A. How did Jesus minister to Thomas? He did so by His word, by revealing the truth of His humanity and His deity. 

B. Christ’s personal self-disclosure overwhelmed the unbelief and drew Thomas to Christ as a servant and worshipper. The goal of witnessing is to confess Jesus as Lord and worship him. 

One of the great professions of faith: “My Lord,” here Thomas begins to offer his confession of Psalm 16:2, “I say to the Lord, ‘you are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” Then he said, “My God,” here, Thomas professes the supremacy of Christ. 

C. With Thomas's confession, John brought his Gospel to its highest point. He began with an assertion about the deity of Jesus, “and the Word was God” (1:1), and he ended with a “doubter” becoming a “believer,” confessing “my God” (20:28). (Richard Phillips’ observations) 

D. To John, the FG is not only true but saving truth…. “By believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31) – EVANGELISTIC PURPOSE OF THE GOSPEL. 

E. John 20:27 literally renders “stop unbelieving, start believing.” F. It ends with a “beatitude.” 

Conclusion and application: 

1. Be honest about your doubts and unbelief 

2. Be humble in bringing your doubts and unbelief toward Christ 3. Hunger for God’s word

4. Heart for the harvest – we don’t only invite people, but we “command” unbelievers to believe “that Jesus is the Christ, 

the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).