Episode 136 - "Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believed" - John 20:24-31

John 20:24   Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

John 20:26   Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

John 20:30   Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

These eight verses comprise one of my favorite segments in all of Scripture. There is so much here that I could divide this up into multiple posts. But, I prefer to handle this as a whole.

The resurrected Lord had appeared to the disciples inside a locked home. But, we learn that one of them, Thomas, was not present at the time. I’m sure they were excited to share this good news with their friend when they saw him. But, to be honest, if I were one of the twelve who had followed Jesus the past few years and had experienced this tragedy of him being arrested, beaten, and crucified and then told by my buddies that he had appeared to them alive, I would have thought they were putting me on. Thomas’ response is genius. It wasn’t good enough to see Jesus. He demanded to examine the wounds in Jesus’ crucified body. That alone would prove that someone hadn’t found a look-alike to play an elaborate joke on people. Thomas is so real to me. I get his cynicism. 

Then, it was eight days later. I wonder how things went that week. Did the disciples continue to try to convince Thomas? Did they try to convince themselves that they really did see the risen and living Jesus? Whatever happened, everyone including Thomas was together again in a locked home. Their concern about persecution is still very real. Once again, Jesus simply appeared among them and gave them the same message, “Peace be with you.” Then, he addressed Thomas directly and said, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (v. 27) What is the first thing we should notice about this invitation? The answer is that Jesus knew exactly what Thomas had insisted upon even though Jesus wasn’t physically present with them when the other disciples told Thomas they had seen the Lord. The point is that Jesus knew exactly what was going on with Thomas and the implication is that he knows exactly what is going on with us today. As I sit here and read this account, it is hitting me how much I needed this truth today. Jesus knows what is happening in my life including my thoughts and concerns.

The next thing we should notice is his grace in offering to Thomas what he needed in order to believe that Jesus really was alive. “Put your fingers into my hands and your hand into my side” Jesus offered. “Do not disbelieve. But believe.” Jesus wants people to believe in him. This is not an offer to simply believe that Jesus is a real, historical person. He was telling Thomas and, indirectly, us to believe that he came back from the dead, that he is who he has claimed to be. 

Thomas’ response shows us what that response, that belief, looks like. Instantly, Thomas appears to have abandoned his previous demands. “My Lord and my God!” What we might have expected as a response would be “Teacher, Rabbi.” But, in an instant with the resurrected Jesus, Thomas’ confession reflects a belief in Jesus that is complete. If you’ve ever wondered what it will be like when you first see Jesus and what you might say, this is a good place to start.

Now comes the cool part. Jesus then said to Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (v. 29) Thomas gets a bad rap on this. He’s often spoken of as “Doubting Thomas.” But, remember the other disciples believed because they had seen him eight days earlier. What I love about this is that it is speaking of us. We are the ones who get to see without the opportunity of being there and seeing these things with our eyes. I like to tell people that we are the most blessed people in the history of the world because we live at a time when we can hear about Jesus and have the opportunity to believe.

John has made it very clear that seeing does not always result in believing. People ate the food Jesus miraculously provided them and said that Jesus must be the Prophet like Moses. Yet, they didn’t want to truly believe him and his words and they walked away. There were those who watched Jesus call Lazarus by name and watched as this man who had been dead and buried for four days walk out of the tomb alive. Many believed because of what they saw, but some returned to the Pharisees without any indication this experience brought about faith within them. So, it’s easier to see why Jesus says that the most blessed people are those who believe simply by hearing about him. This brings us to the point of the next paragraph.

John capitalizes on the significance of this teaching of Jesus to offer us a summary of the purpose of this book. He said that Jesus did many other signs that his disciples witnessed with their eyes. Then he wrote, “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Those of us who weren’t there to see Jesus perform these miracles are blessed to read this book or hear of these accounts and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The benefit and result of this belief are receiving eternal life in his name. That’s an amazing promise. But, what we are called to believe, by faith and not by sight, is an amazing truth of an amazing God.