The Ninth Beatitude

October 10, 2016

The Ninth Beatitude

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me.

Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

John  20: 29

Sometimes we joke about the Doubting Thomas; however, the episode with Thomas in John’s Gospel (John      20: 24-29) provides us with several insights for our journey to make the life in Christ our way of life.  First, Jesus came again to meet with the disciples so that he could confront Thomas’ doubt; not to admonish Thomas, but to meet Thomas’ need. I hope you will receive this insight as an invitation from Jesus to you. What doubts, what concerns, what issues of the Christian faith trouble you? Remembering that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), ask Jesus to come to you and give you his wisdom to help you grasp his truth.

Next, notice that Thomas’ confession of faith fully incorporates all that John’s Gospel has presented in Jesus the Messiah. When Jesus urges Thomas to make a leap of faith, Thomas responds, “My Lord and my God!”

Yes and Amen, Jesus is our Lord, Jesus is God.

Jesus responded to Thomas’ affirmation by pronouncing his blessing on you and me. Let us rejoice in this, the ninth Beatitude: “Blessed are those who believe without seeing me” (John 20:29).

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.