John 20:19-31

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may believe/ continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

Let's begin at the end this time for our message. Why? Because verse 30 and 31 is the Thesis Statement for the Gospel of John, telling us clearly and beautifully why all of this has been painstakingly written and preserved over the centuries by the direction of God.

Usually, I read this text on Easter or around Easter and I find myself tearing up in church most times I read it year after year. My voice cracks, or wavers in strength and tears well up, clouding my vision so that I have trouble reading my sermon notes. Why do you think that is?

Part of it I think has to do with the satisfaction of a good ending, where the audience is let in on the point of it all. That is pretty gratifying when you finally get it... "I finally figured it out!"

I try to be a person who focuses more on the "big picture" than on the minutia. I try pretty hard to not miss the forest for the trees. These two verses give us a big piece of the meta-narrative... or the grand story... of what God is doing within His Creation on a worldwide scale. Verse 30 and 31 provide a very big picture indeed!

What is God's intent for The Gospel of John? How is The Gospel of John to be understood and/or embraced and/or applied? We need to know the answer! These words were put to page so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him you will have life! It just feels good to be let in on the Grand Tapestry of God's redemptive plan!

I also think tears come a little easier to me when reading this verse because I'm pretty overwhelmed that God cared enough about me to send His Son so that I might be brought back home into the fold once again! That really does mean a lot to me personally. God cares for us deeply and I truly believe knew us by name 2,000 years ago and made sure that The Gospel of John said what it needed to say for our benefit and the benefit of humanity.

"These are written so that Ryan may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him he would have life." We could go around the room couldn't we... "These are written so that ________ may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah...." This is not some cold textbook or merely a clinical historical record. These scriptures have been revealed for a glorious purpose flowing from an eternal and unfailing love for us! What a gift we have received! "These are written that YOU may believe!" YOU! God has reached out to all of us on a personal level!