the appearance of the risen christ to thomas · unbelief renders god and his word suspect. unbelief...

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The Appearance of the Risen Christ to Thomas

Rev. C. G. Vreugdenhil - John 20: 26-28

(Easter sermon)

Sing: Psalter 402: 1, 2

Read: John 20: 19-31

Sing: Psalter 415: 3, 4, 7

Sing: Psalter 342: 4

Sing: Psalter 427: 8

Congregation, the text for this service can be found in John 20 verses 26 – 28.

26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then

came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto

you.

27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and

reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

This portion of scripture speaks about the appearance of the risen Christ to Thomas.

We will consider three thoughts:

1. The seeking love of Christ

2. The kind rebuke to Thomas

3. The appropriating faith of Thomas

1. The Seeking Love of Christ

Congregation, one of the greatest sins is the sin of unbelief. It was the first sin of our

parents Adam and Eve. Unbelief renders God and His Word suspect. Unbelief makes God a

liar. The apostle John says in I John 4:10, “He that believeth not God, hath made Him a liar,

because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son.”

Unbelief is a slap in the face of the Lord Jesus. Unbelief renders us guilty before God. It is

the evidence of our lost state before God by nature and whosoever persists in this unbelief

causes his own destruction. From our side we are hopelessly unable to get rid of this

unbelief. If believing would depend on us, we would never be saved. But, oh marvelous

wonder, behold, the King of Easter, the risen King of Easter! He lives! And therefore today

the door of the gospel opens wide because He not only manifested Himself to His disciples,

Rev. C.G. Vreugdenhil – The Appearance of the Risen Christ to Thomas


but He also reveals Himself today to all His followers. Are you one of them? Are you a

follower of Christ? Does He take the first place in your life?

As I said, with us there is no hope. But from His side, there is! He can do all things. He is

able to break asunder the strongest bars of unbelief, the thickest chains of unwillingness

and the deadliest bonds of inability. The risen Prince of Life has said, “I am alive forever

more, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” (Rev. 1:18).

He is able to break the power of unbelief, and He is also willing to do so. The history of

our text is a clear proof of that. Read with me in verse 26 of John 20, “And after eight days

again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them; then came Jesus…” Eight days

before the Lord Jesus rose from the grave. After that He showed Himself to a number of

people, also to the disciples as they were gathered together.

But, Congregation, when the Lord appeared unto His disciples for the first time, two

were absent. One was Judas; he no longer lived. He had betrayed innocent blood. The

other one that was absent was Thomas. You probably know him already a little bit. As he is

presented to us in the gospels, he was a somewhat heavy-hearted person. He could not

believe so easily. Nevertheless, he was also a courageous man. Why? Well, earlier, when

the Lord Jesus began to foretell of His decease which would be accomplished in Jerusalem,

the other disciples attempted to arrange things in such a way that He would not go to

Jerusalem. At that time it was Thomas who said “Let us also go that we may die with Him.”

He was a courageous but somewhat downhearted person. But Thomas was also loyal,

because, as we will see later, in spite of his unbelief, he still went to visit the disciples.

However, the first time when the lord Jesus appeared to His disciples, Thomas was not

there. He took the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross so hard that he couldn’t bring

himself to join the other disciples. Jesus’ death was a very bitter disappointment for him, so

much so that the ship of his hope was dashed on the hill of Golgotha. When Christ died,

Thomas’ future with Christ was cut off; he concluded that there was no future left for him

or for the Kingdom of God. And so Thomas withdrew himself from the company of the

disciples.

But, Congregation, in that manner he robbed himself of many blessings. Because exactly

at the time when Thomas was absent, it pleased the Lord to reveal Himself to His disciples.

So while the other disciples experienced the joy and peace of Easter as Jesus showed them

His hands and His side, Thomas missed out on it all. He could have been there, but he was

not.



The disciples were overjoyed with Jesus’ appearance and related to Thomas, “Thomas,

we have seen the Lord!” They wanted Thomas to share in their joy, but he refused to

believe; as we can read in verse 25, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and

put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe!”

Do you hear that? “I will not believe.” In Greek it says, “I will in no wise believe.” Poor

Thomas! How he is to be pitied! After this expression of unbelief followed a week of

loneliness and sadness. A week in which he wandered around in darkness, a week during

which unbelief gained the upper hand. And Congregation, when unbelief reigns, darkness

will wash over us, love will languish and hope will be exchanged for despair.

And so Thomas wandered in darkness because of his own fault, while the other disciples

were privileged to enjoy the light of God’s countenance. Thomas was groping around and in

his heart it sounded, “I will not believe; it cannot be true; I will never believe.”

Congregation, we can learn from this that we should not be absent when the

congregation meets for worship. Generally speaking, the Lord reveals Himself where the

congregation gathers.

Notice that Christ did not visit Thomas during that week, while he went along in

darkness. The Lord visits us with His salvation by way of the means, by way of the

ordinances He has instituted, namely, the preaching of the gospel and the administration of

the sacraments in the midst of the congregation.

There are people who only come to church once per Sunday, while they have no lawful

impediments to justify not coming twice. Sure, I am glad that you came this morning but

know that if you neglect the second worship service of the congregation while you have no

lawful impediments, you rob yourself of the blessing that the Lord might give you, if you

were here.

He who withdraws himself misses the visits of Christ and severs the communion of the

saints; he brings darkness upon his soul, becomes spiritually impoverished and barren. His

view becomes distorted, he becomes narrow-minded and eventually loveless.

You probably know the expression: he who wishes to get wet must get into the rain.

Well, he who wishes to meet God, must come where God is wont to be met.

It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe (1Corinthians

1:21). God’s children can testify to it that it has pleased Him to reveal Himself time and

again by the preaching of the Word. Congregation, most of God’s children have surrendered

to God here in His house, under the preaching of the gospel. It was here in God’s house that

almost all of God’s children received the grace to look away from themselves, upon their

precious Savior Jesus Christ, Who was crucified and was raised again. It was here that their

eyes were opened and their minds enlightened under the preaching of the Word for He has



said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them”

(Matthew 18:20).

We pity Thomas that he was absent when the brethren met. But not only that. He is also

to be blamed that he did not believe the testimony of his brethren. He said, “I will not

believe…” How sad it is that those who have known times of spiritual prosperity fall into

unbelief. When after received grace unbelief gains the upper hand, prayer is diminished and

love grows cold. Also, hope vanishes and the view of the future inheritance becomes dim.

The earth which before was fruitful is turned into a dry land and we wander in darkness and

feel lonely. We become like those who do not feel they belong to God’s Church, yet they do

not feel at home in the world either.

Such became the condition of Thomas, called Didymus. Do you know the meaning of the

name ‘Didymus’? It means ‘twins’. Thomas may have had a twin sibling. Perhaps he has one

here in the church today. One who must say, “It has become dark for me.”

And yet, there was more going on in Thomas’ heart. His unbelief caused him to mourn.

He had not grown indifferent. He had not broken with everything, because we see him once

again visiting the disciples. Deep down, he could not miss the Lord. And this is the reason:

because Christ had not let go of him.

And so we read in verse 26 that after eight days the disciples were gathered, “and

Thomas with them.” The brothers had not expelled him. They had not said, “Thomas, you

should have been here last week; now you are no longer welcome.” Congregation, I do not

think that Peter had much to cast into Thomas’ teeth. After all, he had denied his dear

Master.

As Christ visits His disciples again we see that He is the First and the Last, who will never

forsake the works of His hands. Therefore He repeats His Easter visit; and again He

pronounces the Easter blessing “Peace be unto you.” The Good Shepherd again visits His

sheep. A visit which was entirely by surprise, because the doors were shut. We do not know

for sure whether those doors were shut for fear of the Jews, as verse 19 mentions, or

because the evening had come. One thing is sure, He always comes by way of a miracle.

No bars or bolts stand in His way. No closed doors. No impossibilities.

Congregation, the same is true today. There can be strong bars behind which people can

be shut up. Bars of fear; of darkness and unbelief; bars that shut out the Lord.

Discouragements, afflictions, doubts and sorrows. It is impossible for us to break those bars

asunder. But we have to do with a living Lord, a King Who has received all power in heaven

and on earth. The Prince of Life breaks through it all. Yes, when our doors are shut fast,



when our mouths are closed, when we stand guilty and lost before God, Jesus comes and

says, “Peace be unto you. I am the Door. I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.”

When all earthly comforters must fall silent, the heavenly comforts of the risen Lord of

Life become precious. The beams of the sun are the brightest if they pass through dark

clouds. In like manner we receive the most precious visits of our Lord and King, when we

can’t believe it any longer, when it has become impossible for us.

Let’s be honest, so often our heart is open for all kind of things while we ignore the many

callings that come to us from the Lord! He invites so sincerely and repeatedly! Oh, come

then to Him, for Scripture says, “him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.”

Jesus came when the doors were closed. Suddenly He stands in their midst. That is how it

ought to be: Jesus in the midst; He in the center and His disciples around Him. Christ is the

axle around which everything revolves. He is the heart and the Head of His Church. And,

even though at this visit He comes especially for Thomas, yet Jesus stands in the midst of all

His disciples. Not Thomas, but Jesus is in the center. That is His proper place; then only will

He (and not man) receive the honor He deserves.

That is also how it ought to be now. In the preaching of the cross, man may not be in the

center, but only the King. He does not accept the sharing of that place with others. Neither

does He accept the sharing of the interest of our heart with others —He must have the

highest place in our hearts; He must be the center point of our life. When He takes up that

position, everything else must yield. Everyone conquered by the Prince of Life says to sin,

“Be gone; I do not wish to serve thee anymore” and says to Christ, “Whom have I, Lord, but

thee on high; none else on earth can satisfy.”

When He is in the midst, all is well. Then the disciples live in close communion with each

other. Then Peter will not point a finger to Thomas, accusing him. When Jesus is in the

midst, they cease arguing who will be the greatest. Instead, they sing, “Behold, how good,

how pleasant is the union; when brethren in the Lord have sweet communion.”

Christ greets them with these words, “Peace be unto you.” When He comes, He brings

everything in His train. Then the disciples will indeed receive that peace, for, He speaks and

it is done; He commands and it stands fast. The peace He obtained on Good Friday He

carries with Him, just as it was with Him when He visited them the week before and shared

it with them. Indeed, His hands hold this peace and He gives it liberally, also this time. What

profound joy these disciples experienced! The text says, “They were glad when they saw

the Lord.” Their hearts rejoiced when the peace, purchased on Good Friday, became theirs

during that first visits and it is this same peace Christ again carries with Him. Congregation,



this peace He always carries with Him. Where Jesus is, there is peace. Where He is, it is

good. When we may sit at His feet, when He is in our midst, there is peace, always.

But then the Lord addresses Thomas. All of a sudden it is as if the whole sermon is meant

for Thomas alone. It is as if for a moment the Lord Jesus leaves the 99 sheep in order to

gather this one lost sheep. For we read in verse 27, “Then He saith to Thomas, reach hither

thy finger and behold my hands, and reach hither they hand and thrust it into my side, and

be not faithless but believing.”

That brings us to our second point:

2. A kind rebuke for Thomas.

“Then He saith to Thomas…” Jesus says, as it were, “Thomas, come over here, please.”

Why does He single out Thomas? Well, because at this time he needs it the most. When

Thomas came to the disciples he had been comfortless and distressed. Unbelief had the

upper hand in him, while the other disciples were all filled with joy and happiness. They

were privileged to enjoy a blessed Easter. So much so that they had exclaimed, “We have

seen the Lord; the Lord is risen indeed.” And so, all of them were happy, except for one:

Thomas.

He had demanded three signs in his unbelief. First he had insisted on seeing the print of

the nails, secondly he had wanted to put his finger into the print of the nails, and thirdly, he

must put his hand into Christ’s side. He had said, “Unless I see these signs, I will not

believe.”

And suddenly, on this special evening, the Lord Jesus enters the room, the crucified and

risen Savior. He turns Himself to Thomas and says, “Thomas, come over here, please and

take a look. What do you see, Thomas? Take a good look!” He shows him His hands and

says, “Thomas, reach hither thy finger and behold My hands, and reach hither thy hand and

thrust it into My side, and be not faithless but believing.”

Congregation, I hope you can grasp what is taking place here. When the Lord Jesus

exhibits in this manner His love and loving kindness towards Thomas, Thomas can no longer

keep up his resistance. What a wonder! Instead of punishing him the Lord Jesus reaches out

His pierced hands to him, Thomas. This, then, Thomas cannot fight. Oh, he suddenly realizes

how horribly he had behaved. In stark contrast to his awful unbelief are the pierced hands

of his Master. How great is Christ’s love for Thomas! He could have let Thomas perish in his

unbelief. He could have written him off. But instead He visits him and speaks to him in

peace.

No, Thomas cannot persist any longer in his sinful unbelief. Deeply ashamed of it, his

heart breaks. And yet, at the same time he is filled with joy as the realization of the



wondrous love of his Savior sinks in. What a wonder that his master still thinks on him – on

such an unworthy one as he is.

Congregation, Thomas encounters here an all-knowing Redeemer, a King who knows all

things, who sees all things and who hears all things. The doors were shut but the Lord Jesus

knew precisely what had been discussed. He had heard the language of unbelief which

Thomas uttered. And now the very same words which he in his unbelief had uttered to the

disciples, are returned to him, as the Lord Jesus quotes them literally in verse 27, “Reach

hither thy finger and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side,

and be not faithless but believing.”

Thomas had said, “I must see and feel…” and thus the Lord stoops down to him and says,

“Thomas, go ahead. See and feel that it is I. Look, Thomas. All this for your sins. Look how

they pierced My hands and My feet for your sins.”

These words of Christ conquer and break Thomas’ heart. Unable to resist any longer the

depth of this conquering and overcoming love of the risen Redeemer, he falls down at

Jesus’ feet, whose words discover and comfort at the same time. They comfort, for He lifts

Thomas out of the unbelief and fear in which he had sunk. But the Lord Jesus also discovers,

because He repeats the same words of unbelief that Thomas had spoken. Thomas must be

convinced of his unbelief and learn that it is the gravest sin. That is the reason why the Lord

reproves him with, “Be not faithless, but believing.”

Do you hear that? These words contain both a reproof and a command. “Be not

faithless.” Thomas should have believed God’s Word in which it is written that He would

rise from the dead. Read the prophets and the psalms, “For thou wilt not leave His soul in

hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine holy Christ to see corruption” (Psalm 16).

On top of that, Thomas should have believed the words Christ had spoken Himself when

He had solemnly repeated unto His disciples three times that He had to suffer and die, but

would rise again the third day.

Finally, Thomas ought to have believed the testimony of the brothers and sisters who

told him that Jesus was risen from the dead. But Thomas had been foolish and slow of heart

to believe. “I will not believe” he had said.

When at such a time the Lord Jesus graciously manifests Himself in His condescending

goodness and comes to Thomas in His own person, offering that which Thomas had

demanded in unbelief, saying “Reach hither thy finger, Thomas” - oh, then Thomas is filled

with shame, causing his heart to break. But, Congregation, through this his unbelief was

removed at once.



Congregation, this is still how the Lord works today. Perhaps some of us here in God’s

house know something of the sorrow after God—people who lament their sins and the guilt

of their lost life before God, who feel the curse of God weighing upon them because of the

transgressions of His law and their persistent rejection of the gospel. Each time when the

Lord Jesus is presented as the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world, you

say, “Yes, that may be true but I dare not believe. I cannot believe. I will not believe. Yes, it

may be for others. Yes, God’s people are a blessed people, but no, it is not for me.”

Well, then you are like Thomas. You cannot believe that God’s heart is filled with pity

over such a sinner as you are. Indeed, you deem it utterly impossible that for such

miserable ones He spilled His blood and allowed His flesh to be torn. You cannot believe

that He would have such great love for an enemy such as yourself, that He became Surety

for you. “No,” you say, “that is impossible. My sins are too great; I am too unworthy; that is

not for me; I will not believe.”

Well, then you are like Thomas, foolish and slow to believe. Then you reject God’s Word,

you despise all of the Old and New Testament, which testify of Christ the silent Lamb of God

who was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. Yes, He did that for

miserable and lost sinners. And yet you say, “Yes, it may all be true, and it may all be

written in the Bible, but for me it is impossible.”

On top of that, you also reject the testimony that Christ Himself gave. Perhaps He even

spoke to you. He does do that, mind you! He most certainly speaks to each who lives before

Him. Perhaps there was a time when you went through life burdened and oppressed but

then that sweet and inviting voice of the gospel came to you, “Come unto Me all ye that

labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Do you then still dare to say, “It is not for me; I will not believe!”?

Finally, just as Thomas did, you also reject the testimony of your brothers and sisters

who have shared with you that they themselves had failed God miserably just as you do,

but that there was still hope for them. Yes, they had been in the same condition as you with

the same sins and the same sinful heart and the same fears and darkness. However, the

Lord Jesus appeared and they surrendered all to Him and their hearts were enabled to

choose Him forever.

Well then, unbelieving Thomas’s in our midst, none of God’s people in the past were

ever more fit for Christ than you. He came exactly for this purpose, to seek and to save

those that are lost. Do you dare refuse Him? Do you insist upon rejecting this

condescending Jesus?



He stretches out His pierced hands in the preaching of His resurrection, in the

proclamation of the gospel of His suffering and death. In all His preciousness, He bows

down to you and speaks to you softly, “Oh, poor sinner, look unto Me!”

Congregation, boys and girls, do you dare to continue refusing Him? Outside Him is

eternal destruction; but in Him is everlasting life. Believe His Word of comfort and

redemption. Will you continue to reject Him by insisting, “Lord Jesus, I will not believe!”?

Oh, the Lord would be just if He would withdraw Himself from you and would let you perish

forever in your unbelief.

Notice, congregation, what Jesus is like. See how He deals with Thomas. In like manner

He still wants to deal with sinners today. For what does Christ do? He not only stretches out

His pierced hands to Thomas, He also does that to us in the administration of His Word and

the sacraments. For by those means Christ is set forth as the crucified Mediator who was

delivered for our offences and raised for our justification.

In the sacrament of Holy Baptism - and how often have you not seen it? - the drops of

water are sprinkled on the forehead of the little child and with that the Lord Jesus testifies,

“As certainly as you see that water sprinkled, so does My blood cleanse from all sin.”

In the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper Christ condescends by displaying His wounds through

the signs of the broken bread and the poured out wine. He says, as it were, “Oh sinner, twin

brother or sister to unbelieving Thomas, you who cannot believe that it may also be for you,

reach hither your finger and behold My hands, and reach hither your hand and thrust it into

My side, and be not faithless but believing.”

“Is it not sufficient that My hands were pierced for your sins? Do you think your sins are

too great? Am I not the Son of God who completely satisfied the justice of God’s demands?

I have paid the price of your debt in full, the debt which now fills you with terror. I bore the

heavy penalty. For that I agonized in the garden; for that I agonized on the cross. Therefore,

sinner, now, at Easter I come unto you as the conquering King, with the signs of My

suffering and death, and I call unto you, “Have faith in Me!”

“Reach hither thy finger…” Oh what sweet bowels of mercy there are in the Lord Jesus

Christ! Does His love not exceed all knowledge? How could anyone, even the most

hardened sinner, resist such sweet persuasion? Does it not break your heart? Do not your

eyes flow rivers of tears when you may view the self-sacrificing love of the Lord Jesus, when

you may, as it were, touch the print of the nails that wounded His hands?



Congregation, does not your heart burn within you when Christ is evidently set forth

among you? Be no longer unbelieving, but believing. For here is not only a prohibition to

remain unbelieving, but also a command to believe.

“Be not faithless, but believing.” Christ said to Thomas and also to us today, “Look at My

hands, look believing. See My wounds, look at them believing. The chastisement of your

peace was upon Me and through My stripes you are healed.” Let that faith be in exercise.

Be not faithless but believing. Let faith have her perfect work and keep it in your heart, for

“faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

Christ emphasized this in His conversation with Thomas when He said, “Blessed are they

that have not seen and yet have believed.”

“They that have not seen” – that is us, congregation! We have not seen Jesus, for He

does not stand before us in bodily form. Yet, faith has eyes. Yet, faith looks unto Jesus and

His pierced hands and His pierced side. For even though Thomas was privileged to physically

see and touch Him, yet Christ also comes very close to us in the preaching of the gospel and

in the administration of the sacraments. Those are the means and we may not demand

additional signs from the Lord besides those which He Himself has given. Faith does not

come by seeing with the eye. Paul says in Romans 10:17, “Faith cometh by hearing and

hearing by the Word of God.” That is also true for us today.

Faith rests on the Word. That is the sure foundation upon which the believer stands. In

the manifestation of His gospel, the Lord Jesus comes to us time and again. That is solid

ground. That which proceeds from His lips stands fast and is unmovable, so that you may

exclaim, “Here it says, in His Word. In God I trust and I praise His infallible Word. He spoke

to me and I heard it.”

Therefore we ought not to give heed to all manner of visions or audible voices, for they

deceive. When we begin to judge matters by our feelings and after our own experiences,

we will fail miserably. Scripture says in 2 Corinthians 4, “We look not at the things which are

seen, but at the things which are not seen.”

Blessed he who in this way is enabled to find rest in Christ and by faith looks at the

wounds of the Savior. In this way the Savior becomes suitable and necessary to a desperate

sinner who thirsts for forgiveness. How dear He is as Surety and Mediator!

Is He that also for you? Do you know that hunger and thirst after the Lord Jesus; after

Him who deals so lovingly with His foolish disciple Thomas? Do you know this communion

with Him? Does your heart go out after Him? Can you not live without Him anymore?



Was it your prayer this morning before you left for church, “Lord, may I meet Thee today.

May I see something of Thee, the living Savior, the resurrected King?”

Come, unbelieving Thomas; be no longer faithless but believing. And when you feel that

you cannot believe, repeat after the father who brought his child to Jesus, saying, “Lord, I

believe; help Thou my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).

Congregation, our third thought is: The appropriating faith of Thomas, but first we sing of

Psalter 342: 4.

Thy servant like a wand’ring sheep

Has lost the path and gone astray;

Restore my soul and lead me home,

For Thy commands I would obey.

3. The appropriating faith of Thomas

We read in verse 28, “And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God.”

The Lamb that was slain showed the prints of His victory, the signs of His love. His pierced

hands speak of the blood of reconciliation, the blood which speaks better things than the

blood of Abel.

Upon this view of Jesus’ pierced hands Thomas all of a sudden sees himself engraved in

both these hands. He falls on his knees and exclaims in adoration, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus speaks as one having authority. In that manner He broke the unbelief of His child and

revived his faith. He awakened Thomas’s faith, as it were, from a deep sleep. Thomas

regains his consciousness, so to speak. Here the faith which the Lord Himself had planted in

Thomas’ heart is awakened from the deep sleep of unbelief.

You can compare it with a fire. It appears to have gone out, died down with a layer of

ashes over it. You would say, completely extinguished. And such was the case with Thomas.

But when the Lord Jesus meets him, He blows all those ashes away, as it were, and the

flames appear again. The fire of faith flares up and its flames reach up with such

vehemence, to such heights and with such a vigor, that he worships Him and says, “My Lord

and my God.”

You see, faith had not died down within Thomas. It was not in exercise, but now it is

awakened again. Faith has returned. Joy and peace become alive again in the heart of

Thomas. Now he partakes of the same joy as the disciples had when they saw the Lord the

first time. It becomes Easter for Thomas. What will have been the experience of his soul? I



think, contrition and shame, along with unbounded joy and happiness. Oh that precious

Jesus, who did not leave him in the mire, but who graciously visited him again and

overpowered him in his unbelief!

“My Lord and my God.” These are but few words, yet very powerful. Lord - A word full of

meaning. Lord or in Greek, Kurios. It shows that Thomas acknowledged Jesus’ power, given

to Him by the Father. Thomas worships Him as his sovereign Ruler, his King, and his Captain

unto whom he willingly submits himself. He surrenders entirely unto Christ.

That is what we all need to do, congregation: to surrender unto the Lord Jesus when He

comes to us through His word, saying, “Give heed unto Me and obey My voice. Cast away

your idols and put your confidence in Me alone!” You and I must do as Thomas did and say,

“My Lord, I surrender to Thee!”

Because that is what Thomas did. He said, “My Lord and my God!” In his confession he

acknowledges the divinity of Christ - a very significant confession in this context. As you

know Thomas’s unbelief was in regard to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, so when he

now calls the Lord Jesus his God, he thereby witnesses that he now does believe in the

resurrection. Paul touches upon the same subject in his letter to the Romans, “And declared

to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection

from the dead” (Romans 1:4). The divinity of Christ is connected to the resurrection of

Christ. And therefore Thomas confesses Him as such when he says, “My God,” and with that

he confesses that Jesus is risen from the dead indeed, that He is the same Jesus of the time

before Good Friday.

The other thing that strikes us in Thomas’s confession, is that it reaches very far. He says,

“My Lord and my God.” Before Good Friday there were some of whom we find beautiful

confessions recorded. Think of Nathaniel—“Thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of

Israel” (John 1:50). or Peter when he said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”

(Matthew 16:16). But Thomas’ confession goes further, for he does not say, “Lord and

God,” but “My Lord and my God.”

The difference is quite significant. It lies in this: faith says ‘my’, it owns. Faith, by its

nature, appropriates. Otherwise it is not faith. Faith finds expression in possessive

pronouns, “My Lord and my God.”

In business, one can appropriate something to oneself if there is enough money in the

bank to actually purchase it. But in the matter of faith appropriating is done without money

and without price, by entirely relying on the surety-ship of Jesus only. Faith that never

comes to this appropriating of Christ is not true faith. True faith, may it ever be so small,



ever so weak, ever so short-lasting in its experience, yet it says, “My Lord and my God” in

looking unto the Lord Jesus alone. But, congregation, faith appropriates not without a solid

foundation. This appropriating faith, welling up in the heart of a needy and poor sinner, a

sinner burdened with guilt, is founded on Christ, the promising and redeeming Surety.

Appropriating faith confesses sin and breaks with it. It acknowledges God’s justice, but it

also says, as expressed in our Catechism that not only to others, but to me also remission of

sin, everlasting righteousness and salvation are freely given by God, merely of grace, only

for the sake of Christ’s merits.

“My Lord and my God.” Thomas confesses, “Lord, from henceforth I belong to Thee. I will

never stray from Thee anymore. I will never doubt Thy grace again, and I will never have

low thoughts of Thee again.”

In this manner the lost, but found-again sheep embraces His shepherd. He embraces

Christ by faith. Here Thomas experiences what the bride said in the Song of Solomon, “I am

my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. He feeds amongst the lilies” (Song of Solomon 6:3).

“My Lord and my God.” Congregation, how is it with you? Today is Easter and we

proclaim you that this confession can also become yours. How do matters stand with you?

May you call the Lord Jesus your own? A very important question! Or do you say, “Well,

look, we will have more Easter Sundays I hope, and I really have not given it much thought.

Actually it does not really hold my interest….” Then you might as well say, “I care not for

these things.” But remember, the greatest sorrows of hell are brought on by the knowledge

that we could have been saved, but we would not, for we loved other things more than

Christ.

Perhaps you say, “Ah, He my Savior? How dare I think that? That is too great for me! No,

I have too much guilt. I am too vile.” But friend, you would do better by turning that

reasoning around. If indeed you are so wretched, how dare you continue refusing Him?

Especially seeing He condescends in His preciousness and says, “Be not faithless but

believing. Look, the print of the nails!”

Perhaps you say, “Yes, I have seen it at times.” Certainly, it is great and precious to have

seen, by faith, Jesus as the Surety and Redeemer and that it was also possible for you. But,

if you never come any further, then you never have said, “My Lord and my God!” And you

must come to that point. The Lord wants that. After all, it is to His honor and the comfort of

your soul! Was there safety in the mere knowledge that there was an ark of refuge against

the flood? You need to personally find shelter in the Ark! So then, do not rest until you have

embraced this Savior and received Him in your own heart and life. Not only once, but time

and again. Do not rest in your hunger and thirst after righteousness, for that hunger must



be satisfied and the thirst be quenched, so that our minds may be enlightened by the Holy

Ghost and we may see the Lord Jesus Christ coming to us in the word of reconciliation, with

all His merits, in all His glory, bearing the marks of the nails, visiting unbelieving Thomas’s.

I hope that you may look unto Him, the beloved King, whose beauty is beyond praise and

into whose lips grace is poured forth, for vile sinners such as you are. May you, in spite of

your sins, in spite of your unworthiness, submit yourself to the grace of Christ, as He comes

to you, condescending in the fullness of His grace.

Then you will be able to say, “Yes, Lord, I come. I surrender to Thee. I cannot resist any

longer.” Just as Thomas said, when he saw Christ before him, “Lord, thou hast overcome. I

give up. Thou hast become too strong for me.” Well, that is what we need, time and again.

How good, how sweet to confess His Name! To confess Him before the Father and

before men and personally for yourself. For you know what you will receive in that way?

Peace. Peace with God. And joy. “The disciples were glad when they saw the Lord” (John

20:20). When that happens, congregation, you want to lay at His feet the rest of your lives.

Isn’t that precious? How gracious is this King! Is He not worthy that we will fall at His feet

and so confess His name as Lord and King?

Does not your heart leap for joy when you are drawn to that precious Redeemer, when

you may see something in the precious signs of His sufferings? May you then deny Him the

titles He deserves? You may not say, “I am so unworthy, I still don’t dare.” Does that really

honor the Lord? He is honored and duly praised when you make use of Him as He presents

Himself to you. He is honored when you appropriately name Him ‘My Lord, My Saviour.’

Oh, I pray you, do not continue to look inside yourself, but look unto Him, Who has

gained such an important place in your heart, because you have such a great place in His

heart. And bow with Thomas in worship and admiration, in brokenness of heart rejoicing

“He is my Lord and my God!”

That would be a blessed Easter indeed!

Amen.

Closing Psalter: Psalter 427: 8

Thou art my God, I will extol Thee,

And magnify Thy majesty;



My God, in glory none excel Thee,

Thy praise be to eternity.

Let all exalt Jehovah's goodness,

For most compassionate is He;

His mercy, excellent in fullness,

Endureth to eternity.

the appearance of the risen christ to thomas · unbelief renders god and his word suspect. unbelief...

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