Seeing Is Believing (John 20:24–31)

·25 min·2 clips

Thomas insists he must touch Jesus' wounds to believe he rose from the dead.

The episode begins with readings from John 19 and 20, detailing Jesus' crucifixion, burial, and the discovery of the empty tomb. The speaker then introduces the main text, John 20:24-31, about Thomas's doubt. He opens with the 1917 Cottingley Fairies hoax, where photographs of fairies fooled many, including Arthur Conan Doyle and Kodak experts, to show that visual evidence can be deceptive. The sermon is structured into three parts: the evidence Thomas was given, the evidence we have, and why it matters. Thomas insists on touching Jesus' wounds before believing, which Jesus later allows, leading Thomas to declare 'My Lord and my God.' The speaker notes that Richard Dawkins called Thomas the 'patron saint of science' for demanding evidence. He argues that while we cannot touch Jesus today, John's Gospel provides reliable eyewitness testimony, similar to how we accept historical events like the Great Fire of London or legal jury decisions based on witness accounts. The speaker shares an anecdote about a friend who lost faith after theology professors denied the resurrection, emphasizing that Thomas and the apostles were actual eyewitnesses. The final section connects belief in Jesus' resurrection to receiving eternal life, as stated in John 20:31. The sermon closes by relating this to communion, noting that without the resurrection, the cross's work would be incomplete, but because it happened, believers have life in Jesus' name. A prayer concludes the episode.

As heard by us

A steady sermon treats Thomas's demand for proof as a path toward trusting apostolic testimony.

Thomas's demand for touchable proof gives this sermon its clearest pressure point: what can sustain faith in the risen Jesus when the word of friends is not enough?

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Why you'd press play

You can follow Thomas from demanded proof to "My Lord and my God."

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