John 20:29 kjv
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
John 20:29 nkjv
Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John 20:29 niv
Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John 20:29 esv
Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John 20:29 nlt
Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me."
John 20 29 Cross References
Verse | Text | Reference |
---|---|---|
John 20:29 | "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." | Blessedness through faith |
Matthew 11:6 | "blessed is the one who is not stumbled because of me.” | Blessedness by not being offended |
Luke 10:16 | "whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me." | Blessedness through obedience |
John 1:1 | "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." | The divinity of Christ |
John 1:14 | "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,..." | Incarnation, seen by many |
John 3:18 | "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already..." | Faith leads to salvation |
John 11:25 | "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live." | Faith brings eternal life |
Acts 16:31 | "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved..." | Salvation through belief |
Romans 10:14 | "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?" | Faith comes by hearing |
2 Corinthians 5:7 | "for we walk by faith, not by sight." | The nature of our spiritual walk |
Ephesians 2:8-9 | "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." | Salvation by grace through faith |
Hebrews 11:1 | "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." | Definition of faith |
1 Peter 1:8 | "though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy..." | Rejoicing in unseen Christ |
1 Peter 2:7 | "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," | Christ as the cornerstone |
Revelation 1:3 | "Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it..." | Blessedness of reading/hearing Scripture |
Genesis 3:15 | "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." | The protoevangelium (first gospel) |
Isaiah 7:14 | "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son..." | Prophecy of Jesus' virgin birth |
Psalm 2:12 | "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and so you perish in the way..." | Blessedness in honoring the Son |
Proverbs 3:13-14 | "Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding. For her profit is better than the profit of merchants..." | Wisdom brings blessedness |
1 Corinthians 15:4 | "...that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures," | The resurrection according to Scripture |
John 20 verses
John 20 29 Meaning
Jesus declares that those who believe in Him, having not seen Him, are truly blessed. This blessing is a state of spiritual well-being and divine favor granted to believers.
John 20 29 Context
This verse concludes John's Gospel, spoken by Jesus to Thomas after His resurrection. Thomas had expressed doubt, stating he would not believe unless he saw Jesus' wounds (John 20:25). Jesus, appearing again, invited Thomas to touch His wounds, thereby removing his doubt (John 20:26-28). This verse, therefore, represents Jesus' direct response to Thomas's newfound belief, extending a blessing not just to Thomas but to all future believers who, like him, would believe without the tangible evidence of His physical presence. The context is the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus, a pivotal moment demonstrating His victory over death and confirming His identity.
John 20 29 Word Analysis
"blessed": (Greek: makarios) signifies a state of profound happiness, fortunate contentment, or divine favor, distinct from worldly prosperity.
"are": (Greek: eisi) present indicative of "to be," indicating a current and ongoing state.
"those": (Greek: hoi) refers to people in general, indicating the universal applicability of this blessing.
"who": (Greek: hōitines) a relative pronoun introducing a clause describing the blessed individuals.
"have not": (Greek: mē idontes) present participle negated, emphasizing a lack of present seeing.
"seen": (Greek: idontes) the perfect participle of horaō, meaning to see or behold, often with an understanding or recognition. It contrasts with "believe."
"and": (Greek: kai) a conjunction connecting two clauses.
"yet": (Greek: kai) in this context, the conjunction kai can also imply "and yet" or "but also," showing a contrast or additional truth.
"have believed": (Greek: pepisteukotes) the perfect participle of pisteuō, meaning to believe, trust, or have faith in. The perfect tense indicates a belief that began in the past and continues its effects into the present.
Words-Group Analysis: The phrase "have not seen and yet have believed" creates a core contrast. The action of "seeing" implies direct physical perception. The act of "believing" here transcends this, signifying trust and conviction based on testimony or spiritual apprehension, rather than visual proof. This establishes the core theme of faith as distinct from empirical evidence.
John 20 29 Bonus Section
This statement by Jesus directly addresses the nature of faith. It's not merely intellectual assent but a deep trust and reliance that can exist and flourish even without direct visual confirmation. This is fundamental to Christianity, as most believers throughout history and today have never seen Jesus in the flesh. The blessing implies a deeper spiritual fulfillment because faith, by its very nature, connects the believer to a reality beyond the visible world, directly to the Risen Christ who is present spiritually. It is a confirmation that true blessing comes from responding to the spiritual truth presented about Christ, rather than from external, observable phenomena. This aligns with 1 Peter 1:8, which speaks of rejoicing "though you do not now see him."
John 20 29 Commentary
Jesus blesses believers who embrace faith in Him, not because they have witnessed His resurrected bodily form, but through the testimony of others and the internal conviction of the Holy Spirit. This underscores that the church's foundation is built on faith, which is a superior spiritual state to mere physical sight. It's a declaration of grace extended to all generations who will accept Christ through the proclaimed gospel, accepting the evidence presented through the apostles and Scripture, rather than requiring personal physical encounters. This blessing highlights the transformative power of belief in the unseen reality of Christ's divine nature and salvific work.