Then Jesus went on to show them His hands and side, showing them that it was He.

"Didymus" is a Greek name, also meaning "twin".

It’s kind of like calling me "Richard" or "Ricardo". They’re two forms of the same name, but in English and Spanish.

If Thomas had a twin brother or sister, we don’t know about them.

This is the man that gives us the phrase "doubting Thomas"

The tragic thing was that he had missed Jesus.

print - tupos – the mark of a stroke or blow; a figure formed by a blow or impression

put … into … thrust – ballo – (the same word is used in both phrases) to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls; to put into, insert

The disciples are apparently still in Jerusalem.

But this time Thomas was in church.

In fact He said it twice.

reach – (phero) – to carry some burden (like Thomas’ own hands); to bring forward

Almost as if Jesus is saying, "Thomas, bring your little hands over here …"

An orphaned boy was living with his grandmother when their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to get upstairs to rescue the boy, perished in the flames. The boy's cries for help were finally answered by a man who climbed an iron drain pipe and came back down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck. Several weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and the town's wealthiest citizen all gave the reasons they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home. But as they talked, the lad's eyes remained focused on the floor. Then a stranger walked to the front and slowly took his hand from his pockets, revealing severe scars on them. As the crowd gasped, the boy cried out in recognition. This was the man who had saved his life. His hands had been burned when he climbed the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw his arms around the man's neck and held on for dear life. The other men silently walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those marred hands had settled the issue. And so it is with Jesus. His nail-pierced hands remind us that he has rescued us from sin and its deadly consequences.

It would be better to translate this "become not an unbeliever but become a believer"

"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic, on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool; you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or, you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

All he had to do was see, and he believed.

We are going to be the ones who most likely won’t have the opportunity to see, but who do have the opportunity to believe.

Jesus has ascended back to heaven.

It’s more than just the miracles that Jesus did, these were miracles with a purpose, these were miracles that were supposed to tell you who Jesus was.

He wants those of you who read it, to come to the place of believing in Jesus.

Then can I issue you a challenge?

Will you read through the Gospel of John and ask God to reveal Himself to you?

When Elizabeth Barrett became the wife of Robert Browning, her parents disowned her because they disapproved of the marriage. The daughter, however, wrote almost every week, telling them that she loved them and longed for a reconciliation. After 10 years she received a huge box in the mail that contained all the notes she had sent. Not one had been opened! Although these "love letters" have become an invaluable part of classical English literature, it's really pathetic to think that they were never read by Elizabeth Barrett's parents. Had they looked at just one, the broken relationship with their daughter might have been healed.

He’s written many of them, and they’re all here in the Bible.

Will you take the time to read of God’s love for you, and perhaps allow God’s Words to melt your heart?

He’s the Messiah, the Savior.

He’s saved us from our sins by paying the penalty for our sins with His own death on the cross.

And instead of receiving the penalty of death for our sins, we are given eternal life, to live eternally with God.

For two and a half years, many of the saints in our church have prayed for Bill Cable, and many have witnessed to him about the life that is found in his Messiah, Jesus.

A week ago last Wednesday, one of the elders in our church was given the privilege of praying with Bill as he finally opened up his heart to his Savior, and Jesus gave him eternal life. He told the elder that he felt that God had brought him to our church, and that he even wanted to be baptized at our next baptism.

Just last Sunday, Bill was chatting with another member of the church, telling him about the new joy in his life, and the changes that Jesus had made.

Early Friday morning, Bill was hit by a car while riding his bicycle, and died.

But I’ll tell you where he is today.

He’s in heaven, with his Messiah, worshipping before the throne of God, because he finally allowed his Messiah to pay for his sins.

Bill was a reluctant skeptic for a long time.

To many of us, he told us over and over through the years that he wasn’t ready for Jesus.

But Bill eventually gave his heart to Jesus.

Just in time.

"Today is the day of salvation"

Have you given your heart to Jesus?

Are you ready to become a believer?

There is no guarantee you’ll have a tomorrow to think about it.