BLESSED ARE THOSE THAT BELIEVE
“Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” John 20:29
Thomas is well known for his doubting. On the same Sunday evening that Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to His church. However, Thomas was not in the assembly. When the disciples later reported to Thomas that he had indeed missed this appearance of the Savior, he said, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). He would not believe based on the testimony of another, but would only believe if he saw for himself.
The following Sunday evening Jesus appeared again to this group, this time with Thomas in the company. When Thomas saw the evidence of His wounds, he declared, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). To which Jesus answered with our text, saying, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
What an encouraging confession regarding THE BLESSED MAN. Blessed are they that live by faith. Blessed are they who believe without seeing. Perhaps we all have envied those who witnessed the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ firsthand, during His earthly ministry. What a blessing it would have been to see someone raised from the dead or see a blind person receive his sight! And yet, it is not only those who have seen that are blessed. Jesus promised special blessing for the ones who have not seen yet still believe. We have never seen the cross, but by faith, we know that Jesus died there for us. We may have never seen the empty tomb, but with the eye of faith, we know that Jesus rose from the dead.
Thomas spent a week in doubting and misery because he did not believe the truth concerning Jesus. Because he did not trust, he missed out on a week of blessing, when he could have been rejoicing in the victory of the cross and resurrection.
There are promised blessings to those who by faith believe what God says. Psalm 2:12 says, “Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” THE BLESSED MAN believes the testimony of Scripture and trusts the Lord. Through faith, the unseen reality becomes real to us, and we walk in the blessing of it.