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JOHN: TRIUMPHING IN LIFE'S MOST CRITICAL ISSUE
Part VII: The Resurrection Of The Messenger Of Salvation
C. Christ's Credibility Seen In His Post-Resurrection Appearance To Thomas
(John 20:19-31)
  1. Introduction
    1. For our Christian faith to be true, Christ must indeed have bodily risen from the dead, 1 Cor. 15:17-19.
    2. Well, since a bodily resurrection is a miracle, an exception to known current experience, it is important that we validate such an unusual event as factual, a goal John had in writing his gospel, John 20:30-31.
    3. One of the significant evidences available to us favoring Christ's actual resurrection is that which John unwittingly supplies that he could not have known at the time of his writing was an evidence (as follows):
  2. Christ's Credibility Seen In His Post-Resurrection Appearance To Thomas, John 20:19-31.
    1. John records an appearance of Jesus to His disciples when the disciple, Thomas was absent, Jn. 20:19-24.
    2. Thomas reportedly flatly disbelieved the report of the other disciples that Jesus had risen: he declared that unless he saw and physically handled the crucifixion wounds of Jesus' risen body to make sure it was Him, and that He was thus alive, he would not believe He had risen from the dead, John 20:25.
    3. This information coupled with contemporary scientific knowledge provides us with invaluable evidence independent of the Apostle John's awareness that helps to test John's record validating the resurrection:
      1. In John 20:24, we learn that Thomas was named also Didymus, and the meaning of both words in two different languages is "twin," [Hebrew = teom for "twin" and rendered "Thomas"; Greek = didumos for "twin" and rendered "Didymus", cf. Arndt & Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon, p. 191].
      2. With this information that Thomas was a twin, we have invaluable insight from today's scientific findings that JOHN would not have known that sheds light on the credibility of his record's thesis:
        1. Thomas' act as a twin to doubt the report of the disciples on Jesus' post-resurrection appearances has intrinsic value in view the findings of scientists Mussen (Univ. of Cal., Berkeley), Conger (Univ. of Colorado Sch. of Med.) and Kagan (Harvard), Child Development and Personality, p. 56.
        2. According to "all the research on the genetics of personality," these scientists write that when even an adult twin shows "fear of strangers" or "introversion", he reveals a genetic bent to do so.
        3. Thus, by expressing such strong doubt as a twin, Thomas, who would have been badly hurt by the death of One thought to be his Messiah, as a protection, was thus genetically and strongly disposed to think the resurrection appearances were staged by an impostor to be shunned.
        4. However, such scientific insight was absent in John's day, let alone in John who wrote the gospel of John. Thus, were he to report a significant change in Thomas' unbelief of the resurrection, it would provide us a heightened validity to John's report of a miracle free of John's insight itself!
    4. For the record, John reports Thomas thoroughly changed his mind about the resurrection's validity:
      1. Eight days later, with Thomas present among them, the disciples met together behind closed doors for fear of the Jews, John 20:26a,b with 20:19.
      2. Jesus appeared, saying His typical, "Peace be unto you," and then reportedly asked Thomas to examine His body and tell that it was indeed the crucified, risen body of Himself, John 20:26b-27b. This event revealed to Thomas that Jesus heard his claim of doubt, and thus was the all-knowing Lord God!
      3. Then Jesus, in keeping with His own personality, ordered Thomas not to doubt, but believe, Jn. 20:27c.
      4. Thomas responded by not even bothering to examine Christ's body, but confessed Jesus as His Lord and God, an event becoming a powerful evidence that Jesus is Incarnate God in His risen body, 20:28.
      5. Jesus accepted Thomas' confession, but said a greater blessing awaited for those who had not seen the risen Lord but had believed. That announcement is a great encouragement to us today, John 20:29.
Lesson: As John reports Thomas was a twin, and of Thomas' doubting the validity of the reported resurrection appearances of Christ as tested by insight from science on twins that John did not have, his record of Thomas' change of mind argues in significant favor of John's thesis that Christ arose.

Application: We have significant evidence independent of the knowledge of John, the witness of the events himself, to validate both his integrity as a witness and his record that Jesus arose from the dead.