A missed meeting - "But Thomas ... was not with them when Jesus came."

 

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 24 APRIL 2022

JOHN 20 VERSES 19 TO 31

 

What a difference a week makes!  Verse 10 “Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.”  They had turned from the tomb and went home.  Mary was different – she waited and had a wonderful experience.  She saw the risen Saviour.  A real meeting with the Lord that day.  Peter and John missed it.  Thomas also missed out on a meeting a short time later.  He didn’t gather with the disciples on that first Lord’s Day.  Let’s look at some lessons from a missed meeting.

 

Thomas learned about the failure in his attempts – verse 24 “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus (meaning twin), was not with them when Jesus came.”  It was a costly error for him.  The disciples gathered together.  Imagine what it was like.  They went into the Upper Room, closed the doors behind them and turned the locks.  They sat around talking about what had happened.  Their master had been taken from them.  For 3 years they sat with him, walked with him, talked with him, ate with him but now he was gone.  They were afraid of what might happen now their master had been crucified on the cross – what would the leaders do to them?  Imagine them making that decision to come together and discuss all that had happened – verse 19.  “Then the same day … came Jesus and stood in the midst and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”  But Thomas was not present.  We don’t know why he missed the meeting.  Some commentators are very critical of Thomas.  Things hadn’t gone the way they had planned when they last gathered to share a meal together.  The disciples noticed Judas leaving earlier and were not sure why. Jesus takes them outside, through the brook Kidron and into the Garden of Gethsemane.  Then as they sat in the garden, they could see the soldiers coming with their lanterns and shouting.  Again the disciples wondered what it was all about, they don’t understand what is happening.  Judas.  there in front – why is he there?  He is one of our friends, he had sat with them, he had seen the miracles being done.  He came into the Garden and went straight to Jesus kissing him.  The disciples see Jesus being arrested, being manhandled out of the Garden by this mob.  Peter draws a sword and cuts off the ear of Malchus.  Thomas cannot understand what is happening.  Each of the disciples make their way away from Christ.  They have had enough.  Thomas sees Peter following the mob, moving to the Judgment Hall, denying the Lord.  Now he hears about this meeting of the disciples, but Thomas decides not to go.  The very meeting, he misses was the meeting he needed.  He found that out in his failure to attend.  He needed to be where the Lord was.  The Lord said, “where 2 or 3 are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst.”  We are coming together as the people of God in his name that the Lord should be in the midst – that is the purpose of meeting together today.  Thomas decided not to go.  In Acts 4 we see there was so much going on that they came to their own company and began to pray.  The disciples were concerned about Thomas.  He missed out on the meeting with the Lord.  The disciples were concerned about him that they went out to look for him and tell him about that meeting with Christ – “We have seen the Lord” Verse 25.  The Lord appeared in their midst, coming to where they were.  We pray for God to break into our meeting, to come in all his power but do we tell others about our meeting with the Lord?  The disciples didn’t talk about how they met together but rather what happened in the meeting.  This was a special meeting for the fact that the Lord had come.  Imagine if they had met together and the Lord never came?  Thomas missed the meeting, and his faith was damaged, not because of having the meeting without him or because of who was present but rather by the presence of Jesus.  Thomas wanted to see the nail prints, to actually touch them – then he would be convinced.  This was the same man who sat with Jesus when he talked about going back to heaven.  Thomas had asked “how can we know the way?”  The scriptures tell us about the missing of a meeting.  Hebrews 10 verse 25 explains why we do come together – to encourage one another.  That is the purpose of our coming together today.  We can be encouragers today, and God can encourage us too.  Thomas wasn’t there and his faith was damaged as a result.  Our responsibility is our spiritual welfare.  To be in the place where we are nurtured in the things of God.  Many have been damaged as a result.  For some long COVID has affected them badly, physically and mentally.  Many have been isolating, haven’t spoken to anyone.  Without regular attendance at the fellowship our spiritual welfare declines.  There are those who have never come through COVID spiritually speaking.  Now it is even easier to miss out altogether.  There is no substitute to coming to the house of God.

 

Thomas learned that his focus had changed.  The focus shifts from Jesus to Thomas.  He is doing what he wants to do.  Now his desire is to stay away from that meeting.  It doesn’t say for what reason.  When we cut ourselves off from the Lord self becomes more important, we forget about the Lord.  It doesn’t happen instantly.  It is a gradual decline.  It becomes easier to miss the meeting.  Our focus changes.  Thomas had been a faithful follower of the Lord.  In John 11 word came that Lazarus was sick.  Mary and Martha had sent word and Jesus told the disciples later of his death.  Jesus decided to visit Mary and Martha, but the disciples questioned whether he should go because the last time they were there the Jews wanted to stone him.  Look at what Thomas said in response to that decision – “then said Thomas, which is called Didymus unto his fellow disciples, let us go that we may die with him.”  His focus now has shifted.  He didn’t want to be present.

 

Thomas learned about the feature he had missed.  He was not going to miss the meeting now 8 days later.  He was present this time when Jesus came.  Jesus stepped in and said, “Reach thither thy finger and behold my hands and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless but believing.”  Thomas immediately answered, “my Lord and my God”.  It didn’t take him long to realise Jesus was there in his very presence.  The reality – it didn’t matter where they met or how many were present, it was the presence of Jesus that was important.  In chapter 21 verse 2 we read that Thomas was present later when Jesus met them for breakfast and again in Acts 1 verse 13 when they met to wait on the presence of the Holy Spirit to come.  We don’t read why Thomas missed the first meeting, but we learn the lesson of a missed meeting!