Mensa Otabil - Those Who Have Not Seen (10/23/2025)
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 got to 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 that Thomas's way would pose to future believers.
All other believers after Thomas and the first disciples would not see the Resurrection; they would only hear about it. If we request the same thing that 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 from Thomas. The knowledge is accurate, the confession is accurate, but the process was not accurate. Jesus corrected it because none of us Christians were around to hear Isaiah's prophecy about the coming Messiah.
We were not around when the angel Gabriel announced the virgin birth to Mary. We were not there 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 is what Jesus is telling us: "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."
That is how we also arrive at faith; we arrive at faith because of the witnesses who were there and saw these things. 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, at the point of death of their children or families, never denied 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 came later will trust their witness and believe in the same Lord. That is 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 believed. Guess what? We are the blessed ones who have not seen and yet believed. In our generation, for all of us Christians who did not see all the events but have believed, Jesus calls us the blessed ones: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed." 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.