John 20:26-29 NASB [26] After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” [27] Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” [28] Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” [29] Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” …
If you read the account in Luke 24, you will discover that all of the disciples, not just Thomas, needed to see and touch the wounds of Jesus to believe. As a matter of fact, the other disciples needed to see Jesus eat food as proof he wasn’t a ghost before they would believe. (Thomas actually did better than the rest did) Jesus had appeared at this point to Mary Magdalene and several other women, to the two on the Emmaus road, to Peter, to all the disciples, except Thomas, and now, eight days later, to Thomas. In light of all of that, I love what Jesus said in verse 29, “Blessed are they who do not see and yet believed.” I think being in a closed room where Jesus comes through the wall, stands in front of you, and reveals His open wounds is a pretty amazing experience, but He says there is a greater blessing in believing when we’ve not yet seen. If you remember, John was the first one to believe that Jesus was actually risen. Earlier in John 20, when Peter and John came to the empty tomb, it says that when John went in and saw the linen wrappings and the face cloth, he believed. It would’ve been possible, and to the logical mind even likely, that someone simply stole the body and left the grave clothes in the tomb. This is what Mary Magdalene thought, yet John was the first to believe Jesus had risen without seeing the resurrected Christ first. He believed based on sketchy evidence. Why? I think it’s very simple; John wanted to believe and had taken to heart the words Jesus had spoken just three days earlier about His death and resurrection. They were hard words to believe because they were ridiculous to the logical mind. Therefore, all of the other disciples missed it. But John put two and two together when he saw the grave clothes and chose to believe what Jesus had said, and he stood on that alone. This is an important word for us because Jesus said that the real blessing comes to those who believe Him even though they don’t see it in the physical yet. You see, our faith stands on His word and His words alone. We don’t wait to see in the natural to believe, and Jesus promises a great blessing to those who will believe on the journey to seeing. The blessing doesn’t just come when the thing you’re believing for is manifested in the natural; there is a greater blessing that is deposited in our lives in the believing without seeing. You will find that you will advance in a faith that is able to DREAM OUT LOUD!!!