Believe Without Seeing

John 19-21

Is it more difficult to believe in Jesus now then it used to be?

Does the lapsing of time between the resurrection and our life today make it increasingly harder to have faith in Jesus? If we had been there to see the crucifixion of Jesus, would it be more likely we would have stronger faith? Probably not.

Here's how Jesus perceives the situation - it gets phrased through his discourse with Thomas the Twin: "So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing." 


Meaning: Jesus had a hard enough time getting people to believe in him while he did walk and speak and heal and celebrate with sinners. Imagine how hard it will be to get the next generation of Israelites and Gentiles to believe in a Jesus that is gone!

And yet... here we are two thousand years later and Jesus still has quite a following of believers. Impressive! Jesus pronounced a blessing upon those that would someday believe without seeing. Of course, this doesn't imply that you turn off your brain, become a robotic in your obedience, and cease to ask questions. It's about engaging your mind and not just your eyeballs.

The Gospel of John is a great example of how the disciples attempted to help people believe in a Jesus they had never seen, maybe never even heard of, possibly who don't like Jews. John blatantly admits his purpose in writing this gospel:

Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.

Believe without seeing came to mean: believe through hearing and reading and listening. This taps into Jesus' own ministry - his preaching and teaching required hearing and listening. Seeing Jesus - his life, even his death and resurrection - did not provoke belief, but rather denials, abandonment, and fear.

But the story of Jesus still needs to be told, and people need to be able to have the events unfolded so that we can see them in our mind.

Why was Jesus killed? That's kind of the point of the gospels that John and the others wrote. What did Jesus do that led to his crucifixion? But not just the why or how, but: what did it mean? What was the significance of the King of Israel being crucified by the elite rulers and mobs of fellow Israelites? What was the significance that King Jesus also claimed to be the Son of Man, but also understood to be the Son of God?

Be thankful that the Gospel writers gave us stories and not volumes of theological reflection. The stories of Jesus keep alive in us the powerful truths that change our life. Every generation must again, anew, go back to the stories and figure out what they mean for our day.

Seeing Jesus does not lead to believing. Reading and hearing and listening to the stories - and processing them, wrestling with them. understanding them - that leads to belief.

You must figure out the implications of what Jesus claimed, of what he taught and did. You must wrestle with it. Belief must be born out of struggle. Belief without seeing is difficult for sure. But belief born out of listening and contemplating and striving to understand - that is a gift, rare and precious.