JohN 20:24-29
Blessed are those who believe without seeing.
When Jesus came, one of the twelve, Thomas, called Didyma, was not with them. So when the disciples told him that we have seen the Lord, he saw the weight of the nails in his hands, put my nails in the weight of the nails, and put my hand by his side. He told them that he did not believe. Eight days later, when his disciples were inside again, he was with them. When the doors were closed, Jesus came and stood in the middle and said, Peace be with you. Stretch out your hand and place it beside me, and be not an unbeliever but a believer. Then he said to him, “My Lord, my God.”
It is important for Christians to see great works of faith during the Kadvari period. “When Jesus came, Thomas, who was called Diduma, one of the twelve, was not with them, so the disciples said to him that we have seen the Lord. He said to them, “I saw the weight of the nails in his hands, and put my nails in the weight of the nails, and put my hand into his side, but I would not believe…” Then looking at Thomas- He said to him, “Stretch out your hands here and see my hands, and place them beside me, and be not unbelievers but believers…. Sometimes even we ourselves lose our grip on our faith. What are the reasons for that? What does God mean to us by being like that? Let’s meditate on some important things for that.
1. Why does God call us unbelievers?
There are many reasons why God makes us unbelievers. The first is to doubt God’s promises. Romans 4:20 says, “Do not doubt God’s promise through unbelief.” That’s what Paul wrote to the Roman believers about the Lord’s promise. The people of the Roman church were very careless and impatient about God’s promises. They doubted whether God’s promises would happen or not until they discovered it in their lives. The reason for their doubt is the absence of the Word of God in their hearts. Romans 10:8 says, “Let the word be with you, and with your mouth, and in your heart.” We must realize the truth that God’s promises are not fulfilled in our lives because our lives are not according to the Word.
2. What is the loss if we are unbelievers?
In our life – we can’t see miracles Matthew 13:58 “Their unbelief. Because of this, he could not perform many miracles there. You see, God is not one or two in our lives. He wants to do many miracles but is unable to do them because of our unbelief. Miracles do not happen to unbelievers. Because unbelief hinders miracles. Another loss due to unbelief is Romans 11:20 “They were broken by unbelief.” To be broken off means to be separated or distanced. Unbelief leads away from God. The Israelites could not enter the Promised Land because of unbelief. Deuteronomy 1:33 Moses said to them, “You did not believe in the Lord your God, who went before you in the fire by night and in the cloud by day.”
3. What happens when we do not have absolute faith in God.
Like Thomas, we lose the testimony. The Lord Jesus said to Thomas, “Be not an unbeliever, but a believer.” When the Lord Jesus called Thomas an “unbeliever,” he was ashamed. His complete lack of faith in God’s resurrection words made him ashamed of all his experience with Him. According to Romans 9:33 “…. Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” It is written. If so, it means that those who do not have complete faith in God will be put to shame. Yes, when God comes, they will be abandoned if their faith is not right. On the Day of Judgment they will be put to shame before God and before the angels. According to Matthew 25:1-13 the five foolish will be disgraced like the virgins. They lit lamps with a little oil and wanted to meet the Lord. But it was not because of them. They are forsaken, the gates of heaven are closed to them. dear brother,
4. How should we not have faith?
The Thomases were the ones who experienced the glory of Christ and His eternal protection, so they should not be unbelieving in the works of God. In Matthew 8:23-27, Lord Jesus and His disciples are traveling on the sea in a boat. Lord slept in that boat for a while. Suddenly a storm arose on the sea and the boat was covered by the waves. The disciples were afraid and asked the Lord to save us. One thing should be noted here, as soon as the Lord Jesus rose, instead of rebuking the wind and the sea, he rebuked the disciples first, saying, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” After that he scolded them. “Minor” means little, little, subtle, or imperceptible. He doesn’t want to see anything like that in his children. In Titus 2:2 it is written that you should be blameless in the matter of faith.
5. What should be our faith in God.
Rather than Thomas who first saw and believed, we should feel blessed by God who believed without seeing. Hebrews 11:1,6 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ” means invisible. One should believe that there is an invisible heaven before death. Secondly, Apo Ka || 12:14-15 Trust that God will work. The faithful prayer of the early believers for Peter’s release when he was in prison did a great work. As they prayed and as they believed, an angel of heaven came down to Peter in prison and freed him and led him to the place where they prayed. Thirdly Galatians 3:8 we must believe and believe that God is able to make us all righteous. Only when we have this experience in Christ can we see His wonders.
6. How does our faith compare to the faith of the Gentiles?
The Lord Jesus said to Thomas that the faith of the Gentiles is better than your faith. In other words, blessed are the Gentiles who have not seen and believed. Eg: Luke 7:9 A foreign centurion loved the Israelites and built a church and a temple for them. Read the words “he himself built” once more. Even though the centurion was a foreigner, he did not ask for money from everyone to build the temple, but he built the temple on his own from what he had, from his hard work, from his salary, with his own money. Is this great faith for a Gentile? That is why the Lord testified about the centurion. “I tell you, I have not seen such great faith even in Israel” and what is the extent of our faith. Are we able to help for the construction of God’s temple by being Christians, are we extending our hands for God’s gospel ministry.
7. Benefits of having complete faith in God.
Thomas repented of his unbelief and was blessed in the Lord’s ministry and brought the gospel to our India. He became a martyr for God in the Madras region of India, proclaiming the gospel of the cross of Christ and becoming a complete believer in daily service without being an unbeliever. Thomas’ perfect faith helped him gain the kingdom of heaven. Dear brother who is reading this passage, let’s think about what we can do for Christ? What you must do is to be saved and baptized with perfect faith that Christ is the Savior of the world. Apo ka|| 16:31-33 The leader of the dungeon knew the power of God and said, “Brothers, what must I do to be saved…. He said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, then you and your household will be saved.” Immediately he and all his household were baptized. From that moment the family rejoiced in God. Your family will be happy because you have complete faith in God. God will make everything profitable and good for those who have perfect faith. So let’s not be unbelievers in our life of mercy but move forward with complete faith.May the grace of Christ lead us all into this experience. Amen. .
Blessed those who are believe without seeing.
A few kind words for you
1. Prayer is the key to faith that translates promise into action.
2. Haste is death to prayer.
3. I measure my effectiveness by the number of people who need my prayers and the number of people who pray for me.
4. To work for God form a committee, but to work with God form a prayer group,
5. You can do things beyond prayer after praying. But one can never do more than praying before praying.
