John the apostle wrote how, “Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, 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. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then said he to Thomas, Reach here your finger, and behold my hands; and reach here your hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God”, and in chapter twenty and verse twenty-nine of his book John shared how Jesus said, “Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” where we read:
Jesus said unto him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed:
blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
The verse begins, “Jesus said unto him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: ” John began with the words, “Jesus said unto him” which means “the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate whose name means Jehovah is Salvation”, “Thomas” which refers to “Jesus' disciple whose name means a twin”, “because you have seen me” which means “since and on account that you, Thomas, have beheld, observed and noticed me, Jesus”, “you have believed” or “you, Thomas, have trusted, relied upon and had confidence in Jesus”. John shared how Jesus told “Thomas” since he “saw” Him, he “believed” in Him.
The verse continues, “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” John added the words, “blessed are they that have not seen” or “oh how happy, supremely fortunate and well off are the people who have not beheld, observed and noticed”, “and yet have believed” which means “and still have trusted in, relied upon, clung to and had confidence”. John shared how Jesus told “Thomas” that people who have not “seen” Him and believe in Him are supremely fortunate and well off.
When we meditate upon John's words in this verse, we learn how there is an extra measure of “blessing” to people who have “not seen” Jesus but believe in Him. “Thomas” believed because he saw Jesus, and Jesus told him people are “supremely fortunate” who trust in Him without seeing Him. God's desire is to have all people believe and trust in His Son Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord”, and when they yield to Him, they will be forgiven of their sins and granted everlasting life with Him forever. Let all who read these words hear the words of Jesus, “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed”.
Next time John shares how, “many other signs truly did Jesus”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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