Mensa Otabil - The Blessed Ones
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John chapter 20, verse 29: Jesus said to him, Thomas, «Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.» Thomas arrived at an accurate faith in Christ Jesus-an accurate knowledge of who Jesus Christ was-and he reached that point through physical validation of the resurrection. His proclamation was true: that Jesus is Lord and God. However, the Lord Jesus Christ rebuked Thomas because Thomas arrived at that position through personal physical validation, and the Lord Jesus Christ knew the harm Thomas’s way would pose to future believers.
All other believers after Thomas and after the first disciples would not see the resurrection; they would only hear about it. If we request the same as Thomas did, then how can we arrive at faith? How are we going to examine Jesus Christ again? So, Jesus had to correct that attitude in Thomas. Their knowledge is accurate, and their confession is accurate, but the process was not accurate, and Jesus corrected it. For all of us Christians, we were not around to hear Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming Messiah; we were not present when the angel Gabriel announced the virgin birth to Mary. We were not present to see Jesus Christ minister; we didn’t see him heal the sick, we didn’t see him die, and we didn’t see him resurrected. But we believe.
We believe because some people who saw it gave us the report, and that’s what Jesus is telling Thomas: you should have believed the report of the credible witnesses who told you first that I had died and secondly that I have resurrected. You should have believed it, and that is how we also arrive at faith. We arrive at faith because of the witnesses who were there and saw these things.
So how do we know that what they tell us is right? We know because of the consistency of their story, but more than anything, because of how they sealed their witness with their blood. Each one of them, at the point of death, affirmed the truth of what they had seen. They were killed almost to the last man; they were all brought to judgment seats to affirm this truth, and every one of them said what we saw was true; we cannot deny it. They were so compelling that for many generations of Christians, they were torn asunder; they were eaten by lions; they were cut in two; they were beheaded; they were skinned alive. But all of them who saw Jesus affirmed what they truly saw, and we believe in it.
Now, if people are so confident in the truth to seal it with their blood, then we who follow them later will trust their witness and believe in the same Lord. That’s what Jesus is telling Thomas: don’t discourage the faith of those who come after you, because they would not be there to see a risen Lord physically, see his wounds, and see his body. So blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. Guess what? We are the blessed ones who have not seen and yet believe.
In our generation, all of us Christians who did not see all the events but have believed are called the blessed ones. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. We all must take up the challenge of making Jesus known to our generation and to generations after us.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, thank you for calling me to be a witness for Christ. I commit to spreading the gospel to all the world. In Jesus' name, Amen.» Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.