“MATTHEW AND THOMAS – HUMILITY AND DOUBT”
SELECTED SCRIPTURES

I. Introduction
If I were to take a poll this morning and ask you to name the worst possible sin, what would you say? Some would probably say that killing someone is the worst possible sin. After all, the sixth commandment says, in KJV English, “Thou shalt not kill,” doesn’t it? Well, actually, it doesn’t. What it says is, “Thou shalt not murder.”

There are no less than seven Hebrew words for killing. Taking another’s life by accident, that is, without intention, or in self-defense, is certainly killing, but it is certainly not mur-dering. The Hebrew word translated “murder” is “râstach.” (raw-stakh´) It carries with it the ideas of intention and premeditation. Furthermore, the word speaks only of the taking of a human life. Man is made in the image and likeness of God Himself. There-fore, human life is sacred in a manner in which no other form of life is or even can be.

This is why picking a rose, or cutting down a tree, or swatting a mosquito, or shooting a deer is killing it, not murdering it, as some out on the fringes of the radical environmental and animal rights movements so vehemently claim. And it is why the deliberate abortion of an unborn child is murder, both intentional and premeditated.

So there is a monumental difference between killing and murdering. If there were not, then a soldier, while in the service of his country, killing an enemy soldier would be a murderer. And he is not. And a man killing an attacker in the defense of his wife and children would be a murderer as well. And he is not.

But back to my original question – what is the worst possible sin? “You shall not mur-der,” is number six in God’s list. If murder is the worst sin, why didn’t God make it number one? And what about the others? How are we supposed to rank them? Is the breaking of number five somehow worse than the breaking of number eight? Is the breaking of number nine somehow less serious than the breaking of number seven?

Or what about this? “Honor your father and your mother” is the fifth commandment. Does that mean that dishonoring your parents is worse than murdering them, which is forbidden by the sixth commandment? Do you see how foolish it is for us to rank sins according to our standards of which sins are more serious than others? Ranking sins is what sinners do. We always assume that our favorite sins are far less serious than some-one else’s. And who doesn’t think that murdering someone is worse than lying to them?

It is easy to solve this dilemma when you take a moment to understand that the Ten Commandments are not ten individual laws (or suggestions) which you and I can decide to take, leave, or pick from. You know what I’m talking about. “Personally, I’m rather fond of four, six, and seven, but I really don’t care much for two, three, and ten.”
You say, “No one would really say that.” You’re right. Few people would actually say such a thing. But the hard truth is that many of us live our lives exactly that way.

When we treat God’s Commandments as ten separate laws (or suggestions) from which we can pick and choose, we completely miss the point that the commandments are not ten, but one. The Ten Commandments are God’s moral Law (singular), not laws (plural). They are not primarily a list of “don’ts.” They are a description of God’s character. So it doesn’t matter which one of the commandments you break. If you break any part of God’s Law, you have broken God’s Law. No one makes this point more forcefully than the Apostle James.
*James 2:10-11
10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

The purpose of the Ten Commandments is not to give us a standard that we can attain or obey, but to clearly show us that we cannot attain or obey God’s standards, His perfect moral Law. Therefore, we find ourselves in need of God’s mercy and grace. Remember? All have sinned. And this is why we need the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ.

What drives us to break God’s Law even when we know full well what it is? There is a one-word answer – “pride.” All right, a two word answer – “human pride.” Listen…
“I am the LORD your God…you shall have no other gods before Me.”
“But I want to worship something You made, Lord.”

“You shall not make for yourself an idol…”
“But I want to worship something I made, Lord.”

“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…”
“Yeah, but I only do it when I’m really ticked off…”

“Honor your father and your mother…”
“Yeah, but did you see how they treated me?”

“You shall not commit murder.”
“Yeah, but he deserved it.”

“You shall not commit adultery.”
“But I will have her (or him, as the case may be).”

“You shall not steal.”
“But I want it.”

“You shall not lie.”
“But I have to hide my sin.”
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, his wife, his goods, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
“But I want it all and I want it now.”

“I will, I want, it’s all about me.” Do you see? It’s human pride. Where does this come from? It comes from the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve wanted what they wanted when they wanted it. “I will, I want, it’s all about me.” But where did they get the idea? They got it from Satan himself, didn’t they? He wanted what he wanted, too.
Isaiah 14:13-14 (God speaking to Satan)
13 “…you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north.
14 ‘I will ascend above the height of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”

But God said, and I am paraphrasing now, “No, you will not! I will destroy you.” It was pride that caused Lucifer (whose name literally means “shining one”), the most beautiful of God’s angels, to become Satan. It was pride that caused Adam and Eve to commit the first sin. And it is the sin of pride that causes you and me to break God’s Law. “I will, I want, it’s all about me.”

Isn’t it ironic that the One Man who had a right to be proud before God chose not to be?
*Philippians 2:5-8
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.
7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

You see the great here irony, don’t you? The created one, regardless of whether he is a man or an angel, has absolutely no right to personal pride. But he turns out to be pride-ful. The Creator, on the other hand, who has every right to personal pride, turns out to be humble. And who are we to emulate? Do you see why James says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6)? Do you see why Proverbs says, “Pride goes before destruction…” (Proverbs 16:18)?
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II. Review
We’ve been looking into the lives of the apostles, those men whom Jesus chose to train for the purpose of establishing and building His church after His return to heaven. Today we are going to consider two more of them, Matthew and Thomas. Matthew is remem-bered primarily for the gospel that bears his name.
Thomas is usually remembered because he was a “doubter.” But there is more than that to know about them. Just like the other apostles, Matthew and Thomas were unique indi-viduals. Each one of the twelve had a different personality. Each one of them had his own strengths and weaknesses. And Jesus used each one to accomplish His eternal pur-poses. Let’s take just a minute and look back at the first six apostles.
• Andrew was quiet, gentle, and humble. He preferred to remain out of the limelight. He never seemed to seek after any prominence at all. But he brought people to Jesus. If you are like that God can use you.
• Peter, Andrew’s brother, was bold, strong, a “take charge kind of guy,” a talker and a fighter. But Peter could make some big mistakes, and he sometimes did. If you are like that God can use you, too.
• James, one of the “Sons of Thunder,” was passionate, uncompromising, insensi-tive, and ambitious. But he was “on fire for Jesus.” Are you like that? God uses people like that all the time.
• John, James’ brother and the other “Son of Thunder,” was also passionate and ambitious. But his passion manifested itself in love, tenderness, and a real heart for people. If you have a real heart for people God can use you as well.
• Philip was analytical, skeptical, and pessimistic. He often struggled with a weak faith. But he truly loved Jesus. Do you truly love Jesus? God can use you.
• Nathanael was a seeker of truth, a deep thinker, honest, and full of a rich faith in his Lord and Savior. If you’re like that it should be obvious that God can use you.
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III. Text
What about Matthew? What kind of a man was he? We learn much about him through one incident in his life. Mark and Luke tell us about it. So does Matthew himself.
*Matthew 9:9-13
9 …Jesus…saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax office; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he rose, and followed Him.
10 And it happened that as (Jesus) was reclining at table in the house, behold many tax-gatherers and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples.
11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax-gatherers and sinners?”
12 But when (Jesus) heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.
13 “But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not sacri-fice, for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

These are the only words Matthew speaks about himself in his entire gospel. Not only that, other than his name being listed among the twelve apostles, they are the only words any of the gospel writers speak about him.
Why would Matthew choose to report this incident but no other? I think it’s because he, possibly more than any of the other eleven, knew how great a sinner he was. He felt the full weight of it. In the previous eight verses, Matthew 9:1-8, he had seen a vivid demon-stration that Jesus had come to forgive sin.
*Matthew 9:2
2 And behold, they were bringing to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed; and Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Take courage, My son, your sins are forgiven.”

So it is in v. 9 that Matthew speaks of himself. His line of reasoning must have gone something like this: “If Jesus can forgive sins I need Him to deal with me because I am such a vile sinner.” Not only did Matthew know he was a sinner, so did everyone else. He had a terrible reputation among his own people.

I remember the Englishman who led me to the Lord in 1973. He knew he had a bad repu-tation as well. In fact, he often referred to himself as, “A sinner of great repute.” Matthew was a sinner of great repute too.

It is interesting that in Matthew 10:3, where he names all twelve apostles, he mentions only one profession. He humbly refers to himself as, “Matthew the tax-gatherer…” You can be sure he did not do that because he was proud of his chosen profession. By the time Matthew wrote his gospel he had become a genuinely humble man, fully aware of his own sin and unworthiness. He didn’t hesitate to admit who and what he was.

Is that a problem for you? It really shouldn’t be, you know. Every true Christian should be willing to admit that he or she is just like Matthew – a vile sinner saved by grace.

There has probably never been any culture where a tax-collector is high on the list of honored professions, but among the Jews of the first century, no one was respected or honored less. Matthew was a Jew who went over to the Romans to work for them. To make matters worse, he worked against his own people, taking everything Rome wanted. Then, over and above that, he took all he could take for himself as well. Rome didn’t care how much their tax-collectors took as long as they got all they wanted.

So it isn’t hard to see why Matthew was hated and despised by his own people. I have often heard people say that they really don’t care what others think of them. I have my doubts about that. Down deep inside I don’t think any normal person relishes the thought that he or she is hated by others.

No matter how rich and powerful Matthew became, the only friends he could hope to have would be other tax-gatherers. They, like him, were traitors, thieves, and outcasts. They had money, but little else. Matthew was doing very well for himself in earthly terms and outward appearances, but inwardly his conscience must have been in a constant state of turmoil, anguish, and torment.
He knew he was hated by men and a sinner before God. So when Jesus approached him He said the same thing He had said to Philip. “Follow Me!” There was no discussion. Matthew 9:9 says, “And he rose, and followed Him.” It’s as if Matthew couldn’t wait to be saved, to put his faith in Jesus and follow Him. He was so convicted of his sin, and so desperate for forgiveness that this rich and powerful man instantly left everything he had. He walked away from it and he never looked back.

I know that most people don’t get saved like that. But some do, and Matthew did. And unlike the fishermen who walked away from their nets, and could go back to them if fol-lowing Jesus didn’t work out, Matthew wouldn’t be able to work for the Romans again. You can be sure that Rome had Matthew’s spot manned and ready to go the next day.

In Matthew 9:10 we see Jesus in Matthew’s home. He is reclining at table and is sur-rounded by Matthew’s friends, all of whom are other tax-gatherers and “sinners.” How did Jesus’ come to be there? Luke gives us some details that Matthew does not.
Luke 5:29 (Luke calls Matthew by his former name, Levi.)
29 And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax-gatherers and other people who were reclining at the table with them.

Jesus is invited to Matthew’s home. It’s the home of a hated man, filled with despicable people, and what you and I might call “lowlifes.” Isn’t it fascinating that, in this crowd of criminals and misfits, Jesus is honored, while the religious leaders, the “upper crust” of society, are sneering at Him and making accusations against Him and His followers?

They demand to know why Jesus associates with sinners. Why do we associate with sin-ners? Who else is there to associate with? The religious leaders are so prideful that they have no inkling that they’re sinners too. They think they are “healthy,” as it were.
*Matthew 9:12-13
12 But when (Jesus) heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.
13 “But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not sacri-fice, for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Just like Satan, who has no right to be proud, but is, the Pharisees, have no right to be proud, but are. They are so convinced of their own self-righteousness, that they are com-pletely blind to their own sin.

But Matthew knows he is a sinner. He sees himself for who and what he is, and he rushes to Jesus. He can’t get to Him fast enough. He opens his home, he throws a party, and he invites everyone he knows. And who are the people he knows? We know he knows other tax-collectors. And according to Matthew 21:32 it seems he knows prostitutes as well. Virtually no one there would have been considered honorable by the rest of the Jews. It was a pretty tough crowd.
In Matthew 9:13 Jesus makes sense of it all. He says to the Pharisees, in so many words, “You are right. All of these people are sinners. I’m here because I came to call those who know they are sinners, not those who think they are righteous.”

Matthew’s heart for the lost is so clear. He trusted Jesus and he wanted all those whom he knew to trust Him too. The Lord took Matthew from a long and deep-seated life of sin and instantly changed him. Then Matthew instantly invited others to meet Jesus too. If God can do that with someone like Matthew, what do you think He can do with you?

And so we come to Thomas, the eighth of the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus. Most of us can’t seem to say his name without putting the word “doubting” in front of it. As we will see, there was much more to Thomas than doubt. (Turn to John.)

John gives us three snapshots of the apostle Thomas. In the first, Jesus’ close friend in Bethany, Lazarus, is sick and in danger of dying. His sisters, Mary and Martha send word to Jesus. But He doesn’t go. He deliberately waits until after Lazarus has died.
*John 11:14-16
14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,
15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.”
16 Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus (“the twin”), said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

By the time of Lazarus’ sickness the plot to kill Jesus was growing. The apostles were fearful that going to Bethany, which was barely two miles from Jerusalem, would put them all in mortal danger.

Thomas is not generally thought of as one of the leaders among the twelve. But in v. 16 we see a man who comes to the fore in a critical moment. In a time of fear and anxiety he steps up and says, in so many words, “We can’t let Jesus go back there alone. We need to go and die with Him.”

While there is some pessimism here, there is also genuine initiative and courage. Thomas seems to agree with the others that, if they go, they will probably die. His initiative is obvious. “Let’s stick together and go with Jesus.” But consider Thomas’ courage. How courageous do you have to be if you are convinced you are about to face a fight that you cannot lose? Does that really require courage? I don’t think so.

But, on the other hand, how courageous do you have to be if you are convinced you are about to face a fight you probably cannot win? Real courage is seen in that, isn’t it? Thomas’ pessimism – “Let us also go, that we may die with Him” – shows just how courageous he really was.

It also displays a genuine love for Jesus, not to mention a settled faith in Him. Think about it. Thomas wasn’t willing to die because he doubted who Jesus was.
Thomas loved Jesus and he wanted to be with Him even if it meant their deaths. So why not call him “courageous Thomas?”

The next incident John tells us about occurs just a few chapters later. It involves some of Jesus’ best known and most cherished words.
*John 14:1-6
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
4 “And you know the way where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, how do we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”

In v. 5 it is almost as if Thomas is saying, “Lord, please don’t go anywhere without us. Don’t leave us alone.” Thomas is saying that he would be lost without Jesus. That’s right, isn’t it? All of us would be lost without Jesus. That’s why Jesus’ promise in v. 6 is so critical to Thomas two thousand years ago, and why it is so critical to you and to me today. Where would we be without Jesus, indeed? But not to worry – He is the way, the truth, and the life. Thomas truly loved Jesus. So why not call him “loving Thomas?”

The third incident John tells us about is the one we all know. It’s the Sunday night after crucifixion. All the apostles except Thomas are in hiding when the risen Jesus appears.
*John 20:24-29
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I shall 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.”
26 And after eight days again His disciples were inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst, and said, “Peace be with you.”
27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see My hands, and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.”
28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

Believing that someone has risen from the dead is not easy to do. In fairness to Thomas, none of the other apostles believed Jesus had risen until they had seen Him. So in that regard, Thomas was no more of a “doubter” than the rest of them.

I can’t help but see just a bit of humor in this encounter with Jesus. In v. 26 His first words to them are, “Peace be with you.” After coming into a room though closed doors and solid walls it is not surprising that the apostles needed some peace. You and I can only guess how agitated we might be in that situation.

In v. 27 it says that Jesus told Thomas to touch Him and see for himself, but it doesn’t say Thomas did so. The next verse (28) simply records Thomas’ great statement of faith… “My Lord and my God!” So with all of their weaknesses and flaws the men whom Jesus chose to be His apostles uttered some of the greatest testimonies ever spoken by men.
• Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)
• Nathanael said, “You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” (John 1:49)
• Thomas said, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)

Who is Jesus? They knew! The question for you today is, “Do you?”

Finally, don’t you just love v. 29? It is Jesus speaking directly to believers. The apostles all saw and believed, and they were blessed. But how much more blessed are those of us who have not seen and yet believe?
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IV. Conclusion
What became of Matthew and Thomas? It seems that Matthew spent most of his life preaching the gospel in and around Israel. It was one of the least friendly places to do so. Early church records indicate that Matthew suffered martyrdom by being burned to death.

It is thought that Thomas took the gospel to India, where to this day, the Indian church traces its roots to Thomas as its founder. The evidence there suggests that he was killed with spears and buried on a hill outside of what is today the modern city of Madras.

If you are filled with personal pride you cannot come to Christ for salvation because that requires humility. Like Matthew, you must know that you are a sinner, hopelessly lost and in desperate need of a Savior. Never forget that “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

If you are a believer who struggles with doubt, remember Thomas. The Lord blessed him with everything he needed to be able to say, “My Lord and my God!”

Turn to 1 John 5:9 and we will close.
*1 John 5:9-13
9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for the wit-ness of God is this, that He has borne witness concerning His Son.
10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Son.
11 And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.

~ Pray ~