Watson, always trying to impress Sherlock Holmes with his attempts at deductive reasoning says, “I see millions of stars, and even if a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like Earth, and if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life.”

Holmes replies, “Watson, you idiot. Somebody stole our tent!”

There are times when we need to be jolted out of our understanding of what is happening - times when we need to come face-to-face with the reality of what is really going on. This morning we need to be moved beyond the resurrection.

Please turn with me to John 20:24-29. As your turning let me set the scene for us - looking at what’s happened earlier in chapter 20.

The Sunday after the crucifixion was a day of confusion and fear for the disciples. Mary Magdalene and some other women had discovered the empty tomb. Peter and John came to the tomb later. But they left - having no explanation for what they had seen. Later Mary would claim to have seen and talked with Jesus. Throughout the day others would claim to have seen Jesus alive. All this didn’t make sense. It was hard to understand.

They had seen Jesus treated with inhuman brutality. Watched as He struggled to carry His cross. Heard the sound of hammer blows as nails were driven into His hands and feet. Heard the thud of the cross being dropped into place. They watched Him hang in agony. So many times they had turned away unable to watch. Finally they had seen Him die - taken down off the cross - heard the deafening silence as the stone sank into place before the tomb. It was impossible that Jesus should be alive.

By the evening of third day after the crucifixion the disciples are hiding in a locked room - confused - hopeless - fearful - afraid of what their countrymen might do to them.

In that room Jesus comes and stands before His disciples. He speaks words of reassurance, “Peace be with you.” He shows them the wounds in his hands and side. This is not a ghost story - a mass hallucination. The reality of Jesus’ resurrection breaks through into their lives. The disciples believe. They rejoice. Jesus is alive.

Jesus speaks with His disciples - commissions them to share the Gospel - the reality of His resurrection - what they have experienced - share it with others, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send You.” Then He’s gone. A scene impossible to imagine unless we would have been there. Life changing had we been there. (John 20:1-18)

In John 20:24 - we read that: Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus - a Greek word meaning “twin” - Thomas was called Didymus because he may have been a twin - Thomas was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” That’s probably an understatement. They we’re probably tripping over their words - interrupting each other - bubbling with excitement - trying to tell Thomas what they had experienced.

But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

Thomas was a realist. Four days earlier - while Jesus and the disciples were sharing the Passover meal - the Last Supper - Jesus had been talking about going to His Father’s house and preparing a place for His disciples. Jesus said, “You know the way where I am going.” While everyone else just sat there - focused on other things - it was Thomas who came to the point. Thomas asked, “Where are you going? How do we get there?” (John 14:1-5)

We have to appreciate that kind of honesty. His skepticism makes sense. People don’t just rise from the dead. Dead is dead.

There may be people here today who don’t believe in the resurrection. All this may be a great tradition for the family - a religious experience. Jesus may have been a great teacher - someone in tune with God. It’s okay. Be honest. Ask questions. There are answers - a tremendous number of proofs of the resurrection. In fact, next week we’re going to look at some of them.

Thomas - the realist - says to the other disciples, “You say you’ve seen Jesus alive with His wounds. How can I believe you? What proof is there?”

Verse 26: After eight days His - Jesus’ - disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side, and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

We don’t know if Thomas actually went and put his finger in Jesus’ wounds or his hand in Jesus’ side. We do know that Jesus comes and speaks specifically to Thomas - gives Him a gracious invitation to touch and feel and believe - to have his questions answered - his doubts satisfied.

Verse 28: Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and My God!” “My Lord” - meaning that Jesus is now sovereign over his life. “My God” - the clearest statement of Jesus’ divinity in Scripture. Spoken to the risen Jesus - it’s a statement of faith in Jesus - God and man - the Savior. Thomas believes.

Then verse 29 - Jesus speaking to Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

That’s a crucial statement. A statement that should jolt us out of our understanding of things and move us beyond the resurrection.

Thomas is privileged. For 3 years he has followed Jesus all over Palestine. Seen miracles. Heard His teaching. Asked Jesus questions. Shared intimate moments. Only a few men in all of history have had this privilege. Then, in His doubt and confusion - his understanding of how things are - the resurrected Jesus physically comes to him - and he’s invited to touch the risen Savior. Thomas believes.

Then Jesus moves beyond Thomas. “What about those who have not seen - who haven’t had the privilege that you’ve had? They will be blessed when they believe. But, how will they believe unless someone who has seen will tell them what they’ve experienced.”

The Apostle Thomas went to India to share the Gospel - to those who had not seen - to Malabar on the west coast of India - then to Madras on the east coast - where he was martyred - run though with a spear while he was praying. Today there are around 6,000,000 Christians in India - called St. Thomas Christians - 6,000,000 St. Thomas Christians who claim that it was Thomas who first shared the Gospel with their forefathers.

Consider the others in that room - following the command of Jesus - going to wherever and to whomever God would lead them - regardless of the circumstances - passionate to share the resurrection with those who had not seen. James - the son of Zebedee - was beheaded. James - the son of Alphaeus - was beaten and stoned to death by a mob. Matthew was run through with a sword in Persia. Bartholomew was flayed alive in Armenia. John miraculously survived being boiled in oil only to die in exile. Peter, Philip, Simon, Thaddaeus, and Andrew were all crucified. Andrew - in Greece - hung on a cross for three days while he preached the Gospel to his persecutors until he died.

The privileged going to those who need to believe in the resurrected Savior.

The tragic sinking of the Titanic has intrigued and captured the hearts and imaginations of generations. It’s been the source of movies - an award-winning Broadway show - best selling books. The sinking of the “unsinkable” ship - the death of so many of the world’s most wealthy and powerful people - the senseless death of so many in such horrific circumstances.

Perhaps no image is more unsettling than what happened after the Titanic sank - the accounts of those who had jumped or fell into the ocean. Of the twenty lifeboats that had been launched - some of them half-empty - only one returned to rescue those dying in the frigid waters. Three days after the sinking - when the funeral ships arrived form Nova Scotia - they found 328 life jacketed men, women, and children, floating in the water, frozen to death.

They died, not because the Titanic sank, but because the people who were already saved wouldn’t go back for the people who were not. (1) Tragically, too many Christians remain content in their own place of safety - of privilege - in Jesus while the world around them is dying in sin.

Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15) Declaring the salvation of God in Jesus Christ is a mandate given to us by our resurrected Savior. It’s not an option or a command that we obey at our discretion. To “go” is a command and we must obey. It is what Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ do.

The command of our Savior is not just a theological concept. It comes from the heart of the loving God who is passionate about each one of us - who sent His Son to the cross to die - to the tomb to be resurrected - desiring that no one should suffer life apart from Him and the judgment of eternal death. (2 Peter 3:9) With this passion we’re to “go.”

Consider those who have not yet believed - those you love - those you work with - the reality of those around us who are perishing without Jesus. Consider these words from Scripture - not theologically or doctrinally - but as they apply to real people:

Matthew 4:16: “People living in darkness...those sitting in the land and shadow of death.”

John 3:36: “He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

1 Corinthians 1:18: “Those who are perishing…”

Ephesians 2:12: “Having no hope and without God in the world…”

Hebrews 2:15: “Those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

Revelation 20:15: “Thrown into the Lake of Fire.” - that is eternal judgment - separation from God.

All over the world today people will come to churches and celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. That belief - if our lives have been changed by personally meeting the resurrected Jesus - that belief requires the dedication of our lives to the cause of telling others that He lives. We need to be jolted into the reality of what is really going on. People are going to Hell without Jesus and we have the privilege of sharing His Gospel of resurrection and salvation with them.

There’s a story - first published in 1953 - it may be familiar to some. I’d like to share it with you this morning because it challenges us to think about what is really important in our lives and in the life of the church.

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a life-saving station. The building was primitive and there was just one boat. But, the members of the life-saving station were committed and kept a constant watch over the sea. When a ship went down, they unselfishly went out day or night to save the lost. Because so many lives were saved by that station, it became famous.

Consequently, many people wanted to be associated with the station to give their time, talent, and money to support its important work. New boats were bought. New crews were recruited. As membership in the life-saving station grew, some of the members became concerned that the building was so primitive and that the equipment was so outdated. So they replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in a newly constructed building.

The life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members. They met regularly and when they did, they greeted each other, hugged each other, and shared with one another the events that had been going on in their lives. But fewer members were now interested in going on life-saving missions.

As the years passed the new station evolved into a place to meet regularly for fellowship, for committee meetings, and for special training sessions about their mission. But few went out to the drowning people. So another life-saving station was founded further down the coast.

History continues to repeat itself. If you visit that seacoast today, you will find a number of adequate meeting places with ample parking and plush carpeting. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.(2)

May we never forget the reality of our calling as Christians and as the Church of the resurrected Jesus Christ.