Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, have you believed? Blessed are those who do not see and believe!
20:29 Jesus said to him: Because you have seen me, Thomas, you believed; Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed. — Jesus did not praise the faith of Thomas (compare Matt 8:10; Matt 15:28). In a few days a new stage would begin in which the disciples of Jesus would not walk by sight but by faith (2Co 5:7). During Jesus’ personal ministry, “many believed in his name, seeing the signs that he did” (2:23). The disciples of Christ believed in Him because they saw the proof (the evidence) of His Deity. “Blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I tell you, that many prophets and righteous people desired to see what you see, and did not see it; and hear what you hear, and they did not hear it” (Matt 13:16-17). Also during the ministry of the apostles signs were necessary to confirm the word (Tue 16:20; Acts 14:3; Hebrews 2:3-4), but now those who become believers do so by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17; 1Pe 1:8“whom you love without having seen him”; Hebrews 11:1; Hebrews 11:27).
Source: Commentary on the New Testament by Partain
Blessed are those who have not seen and believed. Joh 20:8; Joh 4:48; Luke 1:45; 2Co 5:7; Hebrews 11:1, Hebrews 11:27, Hebrews 11:39; 1Pe 1:8.
Source: The Treasury of Biblical Knowledge
those who did not see includes all who have believed in Christ since his ascension to the Father (1Pe 1:8,1Pe 1:9).
Source: New Illustrated Caribbean Bible Commentary
Jesus foretold the time when there would be no tangible evidence like the one Thomas had experienced. After the final ascension of Jesus to the Father, all those who believed in Him would do so without the privilege of seeing the risen Lord. Jesus pronounced a special blessing for those who would believe in Him without seeing Him, as had happened to Thomas (1Pe 1:8-9).
Source: MacArthur Study Bible
20:29 Jesus said to him: Because you have seen me, Thomas, you believed; Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed. —Jesus did not praise Thomas’s faith (compare Mat 8:10; Mat 15:28). In a few days a new stage would begin in which the disciples of Jesus would not walk by sight but by faith (2Co 5:7). During Jesus’ personal ministry, “many believed in his name, seeing the signs that he did” (2:23). The disciples of Christ believed in Him because they saw the proof (the evidence) of His Deity. “Blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I tell you, that many prophets and righteous people desired to see what you see, and did not see it; and hear what you hear, and they did not hear it” (Matt 13:16-17). Also during the ministry of the apostles signs were necessary to confirm the word (Mar 16:20; Ac 14:3; Heb 2:3-4), but now those who become believers do so by hearing the Word of God (Rom 10:17; 1Pe 1:8, “whom you love without having seen him”; Heb 11:1; Heb 11:27).
Source: Reeves-Partain Notes
Jesus’ response to Thomas in the original text is a somewhat ironic question, which literally says: “Because you have seen me, have you believed?” Some versions translate the question as if it were a reproachful statement: “So you believe because you have seen me?” (NAB, NIV). Other languages need more information to follow the translation as in v. Joh 20:27, for example: “So now you think I’m alive, because you’ve seen me?” or “So seeing me in the body makes you more of a believer?”
Blessed are those who have not seen and believed, “Happy those who trust me without having seen me!” (TLA), “Blessed are those who believe without having seen!” (DHH), “Very happy will be all those people who believe in me, even if they have not seen me alive.” In the text the direct reference to the risen Jesus, as in the last proposal, is not explicit, but is taken for granted by the context. In some languages, the order of Jesus’ words will have to be changed, such as: “All the people who believe that I live, even if they have not seen me personally, will be very happy.” It could also be understood that the words of Jesus refer to everything that happened in that week, and not only to his resurrected body. In this case then it can be translated something like: “All the people who, without having seen everything that happened to me these days, continue to be faithful believers will live very happily” or “All those people who believe in me will be very happy even if they have not seen me.” seen on the body.
Biblical and pastoral reflection
Thomas represents a large group then and now who want to base their faith only on tangible facts—That is why it has been said more than once that the true “twin” of Thomas is each one of the one who needs proof and more. evidence to recognize Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. It is striking that nowhere in the biblical testimony is there any reference to Thomas’s physical twin. Seeing and touching, very important acts in this gospel, are put here by Thomas as a condition for believing in the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus grants his request, at the same time that he provides one more indubitable proof of the reality of the event. Curiously, John describes the scene parallel to the previous one, with Jesus standing in the midst of his community and greeting them with his peace.
After letting Tomás touch his wounds, he tells him a phrase that is both for that disciple and for many more then and always: “Do not be an unbeliever, but a believer” (v. Joh 20:27). In a way, this request contains the main objective of this gospel, which is to bear witness to Jesus so that we believe in him, and by believing we have eternal life.
Thomas’s response can also be considered as prototypical of the reaction of believers of all times who exclaiming “My Lord and my God” (v. Joh 20:28) affirm the gospel in its main objective. This is the most important confession of the gospel, superior even to Peter’s “You are the Christ!” (Tue 8:29) and that of the centurion “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Tue 15:39). But it is also very important to consider the corrective that Jesus adds: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (v. Joh 20:29), because for the evangelist John that is the maximum expression of faith, and in the narration especially taking into account the environment where he wrote the gospel, one of disbelief and strong controversy with rabbinic Judaism regarding the divinity of Jesus. In reality, the entire Christian faith is based on believing without having seen.
Source: Commentary for Exegesis and Translation
1Pe 1:8.
Source: Hispano-American Interdenominational Translation
CROSS-REFERENCES
i 1111 2Co 5:7; 1Pe 1:8
Source: New World Translation
those who did not see. That is, those who in the time of Jesus and since then, have not insisted on physical appearances of Christ to believe in Him.
Source: The Bible of the Americas
H469 Here, καί indicates contrast: but (comp. Joh 1:10).