The Lutheran Hour

"Blessed Are Believers"

#83-31
Presented on The Lutheran Hour on April 3, 2016
Speaker: Rev. Gregory Seltz
Copyright 2025 Lutheran Hour Ministries

Text: John 20:19-31

Thomas said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”  Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia.

One of the most famous movie scenes in Disney movie-making history comes from its animated classic, Aladdin. You may remember a very special scene near the beginning of the film. Aladdin and Princess Jasmine just escaped from an angry marketplace vendor. They settled into his humble and makeshift home. Now, remember, Jasmine had run away from her palace life and now here she was free and thrilled to meet such an adventurous and handsome boy like Aladdin. They sat together discussing hopes, and dreams, and struggles. But just as they began to see how much they had in common, the sultan’s guards broke into their fairy tale discussion with a determined pursuit. Suddenly, Aladdin and Jasmine were on the run again. Suddenly life was in an uproar. The chase grew intense. Through a maze of marketplace tents and hiding places they tried to elude the guards. They ran through the streets and up the stairs. Suddenly the two found themselves perched at the edge of a tall tower with the sword-wielding guards closing in. You might say, “It was a literal cliffhanger.”

Cliffhangers. If you haven’t seen this movie, you might be feeling the emotion of these two characters in your own life today. You might be at a cliffhanger moment even as we speak. Just like the two animated heroes, you may be in the middle of worry and disillusionment. You may be on the receiving end of an unwelcome surprising struggle. You may be lamenting your past and wondering why life is so difficult. You may feel trapped.

Does that sound familiar? Do you feel like things aren’t the way they’re supposed to be? Does it seem like you’re on the run every day? Are there hopes and dreams you feel are lost for good? Is life not measuring up to what you thought it would be?

But I want to tell you at the outset. I want to let you know right away. You have hope, real, lasting hope; even now. You have hope in Jesus who rose from the dead, who overcame the most daunting and destructive obstacle in life: death. You have hope today because Jesus marched through the worst life could throw your way and promised that you, too, walk in eternal, new life because of His death and life for you. You do have hope because Jesus comes to you today through His living Word-not just to remind you about some nice truths, or helpful principles for life, but to embrace you with His grace and to live in you with new life.

In our text Jesus’ disciples were in the same situation as Aladdin, Jasmine, and maybe you. They found themselves in an unexpected cliffhanger moment. After following Jesus for three years, seeing His miracles, hearing His wisdom, and being certain that He was God’s Son sent to rescue and save, now they found themselves hiding in a room with locked doors, wondering what they would do now that Jesus breathed His last breath and died on a cross. They were crushed. They were worried, in hiding, and questioning if life would ever be the same.

As you can see, as sinful, human beings, we’re all in the same boat. We all encounter emptiness from time to time. We all need help all the time. What’s getting you to that point today though? Is it heartbreak? Is it grief? Is it guilt? Is it dashed dreams? Or is it worry?

I know a woman who had those struggles. Today she is a great-grandmother, with wonderful great grandchildren. When you speak to her, she is so very content and serene. You’d think that her life was nothing but smooth sailing every year. But oh, did she face some cliffhangers in her life. She married her sweetheart, and two years into their marriage had a beautiful baby girl. But thirteen months later, when their baby was just over a year old, the woman’s husband died during what today would be a routine operation. It was absolutely heartbreaking. A tragedy. She was at the edge of life, and yet so young. She faced the cliffhanger of raising a child alone, of providing for herself and her daughter, of making her way through a world that presented challenge after challenge. Even now as she thinks back, there were times she thought she would never make it. What brought her through? That’s easy, she says, “The only source of strength and peace was trust in Jesus as my Savior through it all.” She believed in Him; even when she couldn’t see blessing. And He carried her through.

Faith in Christ, trusting in Christ, that’s why believers are blessed. If you believe in Jesus, you can say with the writer of the book of Hebrews, in chapter 11, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11). There is still a lot we don’t see, that’s true. There is still a lot to hope for. But because Jesus came to this world-the Son of God in the flesh, because Jesus conquered all temptation and fear, because He overcame death, you have real, lasting hope in Him right now.

You may not see the answer to your challenge at the moment, but you can be assured and convinced of God’s continued help and strength. In fact, you may never see struggles completely come to an end this side of heaven, but the Spirit of God will carry you through and you will receive the blessing of relief and restoration, if not now, in eternity. In the final two verses of Hebrews 11, the Bible states that many who have gone before us didn’t receive what was promised in this life. But by faith they were blessed eternally.

By faith in Jesus Christ you are blessed even as your struggles go on. By faith in Jesus Christ you are blessed even though your life is not yet complete. By faith you are blessed even when life is a cliffhanger.

So what happened in that Aladdin movie? I left you hanging, didn’t I? Struggles, pursuit, adversaries; what did Aladdin say to Princess Jasmine? Do you remember? He stretched out his hand as they stood on the edge of that tall tower and he asked her to put her hand in his. He looked in her eyes and he said, “Do you trust me?” Just as they were about to jump, he said, “Do you trust me?”

Would you have jumped with him? I have to be honest; I would have had a hard time jumping with him. First, I’d like to know who it is who’s asking me to jump? Then, when it comes to that kind of jumping, I’m an organizer. I need some facts here. I’m a planner. I like to strategize. Even though I like to think I am flexible enough to wing it and go with the flow, I usually like to have things mapped out and scheduled as much as possible. If I’m standing on the edge of that tower, I would want to hear Aladdin explain his plan and strategy to me before we leaped off that building. I like to know what it’s all about before I’m all in, how about you?

I think that’s what the disciple Thomas was like. You know him. He’s called “Doubting Thomas.” Honestly, maybe he’s really “Strategic Thomas” or “Sensible Thomas,” maybe to a fault. The rest of the disciples told him that Jesus appeared to them. The doors were locked; the Savior had died; but somehow He appeared again-in the flesh! Real and alive! Thomas still didn’t buy it. He said, “Unless I see in his hands the marks of the nails, and place my finger into the marks of the nails, and my hand into his side, I will never believe” (John 20:25).

Are you like that? When you encounter adversity, do you say, “I will never believe”? I will never believe that my heart can be happy again. I will never believe that I’ll find love again. I will never believe that I’ll have a job I like. I will never believe that my kids will have faith. I will never believe that my days will be peaceful. I will never believe that there is hope for this world. I will never believe.

Do you know how God responds? He doesn’t say, “Page through it back to front. Take a look at the whole story first.” No, God looks you in the eye, reaches out His hand, and says, “Do you trust Me? Do you trust Me now?”

The big question you and I face every day, and the big question these disciples faced was do you think that God knows what He’s doing? Do you believe God can handle your life? Do you have faith that God can handle this broken, chaotic, and sinful world? Do you trust that God can take care of you–your own struggles, failures, and sins? Or, are you the only one who can do that?

Thomas thought he was on his own. You may feel this way sometimes, too. But Jesus rose from the dead and showed up! He’s alive! He breathed on His disciples and gave them His Holy Spirit. He gave them gift of the forgiveness of sins and then He even came back to show Thomas that He really was alive and really did care for him too.

Jesus didn’t come to gloat. He came to impart grace. He came then, He comes now and He says, “Take a good look at Me, who I am, what I’ve done, and what I offer….and believe!” To Thomas, he clearly said, “Put your finger here, see my hands; put out your hand, and place it here in My side. Do not disbelieve, Thomas, but believe” (John 20:27). Jesus showed up in the midst of Thomas’ doubt and He led him to belief.

That’s what Jesus does for you and me too. Take a good look at Him. Right now He’s here through His Word to give you that same gift of faith in Him. Look at what He did for you. He took your struggles and sins to the cross and gave His life to save you from their crushing power. He broke the power of death and rose from the grave! He comes to you through His living Word. He enters your life by giving you His Spirit in baptism. He shows up in your high-points and your low-points in the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. He doesn’t come to gloat. Jesus comes to impart His grace in your life. He comes to forgive you and give you the gift of everlasting life.

That’s why Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed” (John 20:29). You’re blessed when you believe in Jesus, period. You’re blessed when you trust in Him.

Can you trust Him with your life? Can Jesus the Savior handle what you’ve got going on today? Why don’t you give Him a chance? Faith says, “Dear Jesus, I will trust you. I will trust you with my greatest challenges and fears. I will trust you because you are trustworthy, and you love me.”

I quoted Hebrews 11:1 earlier in the message: “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (NIV). The word for “being sure” is used earlier in the book of Hebrews for being confident in the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This is how verse one might sound with that focus: “Faith is confidence in Christ for what we hope for, His blessing in all areas of our life that we do not now see.”

Yes, you’re blessed when you believe in Jesus Christ. But that doesn’t mean that life is problem free. Smooth sailing. No bumps in the road.

Did you ever hear about the time Jesus was preaching God’s Word to people in a crowded house and a group of friends were so determined to get their buddy to see Jesus that they climbed onto the roof, tore through it, and lowered their friend by ropes on his bed? It is found in the Gospel of Mark, chapter two. The man lowered by ropes was paralyzed. His friends knew Jesus could help. When Jesus saw what was happening, do you remember what he told the paralyzed man? Jesus started with what was most important first. He said, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5).

Jesus was defining true blessing here; just as He did with the disciples in John 20. True blessing is life in Him that lasts; forgiveness, salvation, resurrection, not just the solutions for the moment. You and I might like to hear Jesus say, “I’m going to make you more comfortable in life” or “Why don’t I give you some extra money and a relaxing vacation?” While those things are nice, they don’t last. Those are good, but they’re not the best. Jesus blesses us with the best. He forgives your sins and gives you the gift of eternal life and frees you from burdens that weigh you down now. He loosens the chains of the past hurts and personal failures. He pays the price for the damage you’ve done and for the pain that has been inflicted on you. He carried all of that so that you can be free and have new life now and forever.

But He gave even more. Instead of letting this life be all there is, instead of being paralyzed by fear and uncertainty of death, Jesus gives you the gift of eternal life with Him. He said to Martha, one of His followers at the funeral of her brother; He said “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives now and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this”,” He said (John 11:25-26). You can hear Him saying to her, to you, to me, “Do you trust Me?”

That’s what this text is all about. That’s really what the Bible is all about. At the cliffhanger moments of life, especially at the moment when life this side of heaven gives way, Jesus wants you to trust Him! He’s pleading with you through this message today! If you don’t believe me, just read the final verse of John 20. It says, “These things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).

Another way of saying that is, “We can trust Him, when all we know is that we are in His arms by faith.” I love the story I heard about a boy named Anthony from Killeen, Texas. During one of his eighth grade classes, the girl sitting in the desk next to him complained that she wasn’t able to breathe. The teacher quickly emailed the school nurse, the established protocol for handling a health issue. But suddenly the girl fell from her desk onto the floor. She was having an acute asthma attack and was gasping for breath. Anthony became panicked. He thought she was going to die. As precious seconds ticked away, Anthony didn’t think they could wait, so he sprang into action, carrying the struggling girl. He made his way out of the building to the portable unit where the school nurse had her office. He brought her directly to the help she so desperately needed. Ironically, Anthony got in trouble for leaving the classroom and not following protocol, but the girl was saved thanks to him.

What a guy, it didn’t matter if he got into trouble, as long as she would be okay. Well, that’s a bit like what Jesus is for you and me. Dear friend, in your desperation, Jesus scoops you up in His arms and gives you life no matter the cost to Him. He paid the price for it, His own life on the cross, but He did the right thing for you so you could be blessed with forgiveness and life.

Will you trust Him? Will you believe in Him? It makes all the difference in your life, believe me. As you face cliffhangers, as they take their toll, hear the call of your Savior to trust in Him. See the fact that the One crucified for you lives and by faith you will live in Him forever. Believers are blessed because they have a Savior who is relentless with His love and grace for those who put their faith in Him. Let that be true for you today. I know you’ll be glad you did! God bless you!

Amen.

LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for April 03, 2016
Topic: Is Faith Blind Belief?

ANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Gregory Seltz responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer and today a listener asks, “Pastor, the Bible calls us to believe in Jesus Christ in order to be saved,” our listener’s question, “well, what does that mean to believe in Him? Is faith the same thing as blind belief?”

SELTZ: I’ve heard the phrase “blind belief” before. I’m sure you have too. Right, Mark.

ANNOUNCER: Right. Right. In fact, people have said that being a Christian means that you
blindly believe in the supernatural existence of God and it defies all knowledge and proof.

SELTZ: Yeah, I’ve heard the same thing. I even think that some Christians believe their faith is just “blind faith.” But I want to let our listener know that faith in God, in His Son, and the trust of His Word are much, much more than blind belief. In fact, faith in Jesus means your eyes are really wide open!

ANNOUNCER: Here we think of the opening verses from Hebrews, chapter eleven, it’s sometimes called the faith chapter of the Bible; it says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV).

SELTZ: Those are not blind faith words. The word for assurance means foundation and confidence. The word for conviction means certainty. Faith is God’s gift to us, the certainty of His action in our lives and our world. We’re convinced of what God has accomplished and of the promises yet to be fulfilled because of His great deeds.

ANNOUNCER: That’s good that you have the focus on Christ’s actions. He appealed to the unbelieving crowd. He said, “If you do not believe me, believe the miracles that I do that you might know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father” (John 10:38 NIV).

SELTZ: That’s right; so we can be clear. When people trust in Jesus Christ as Savior, they are not taking a flimsy chance on an unseen and potential fairy tale. They’re trusting in facts that have been well documented in history. People saw the miracles of Jesus. They witnessed His suffering and death. They saw the sealed tomb. Then they witnessed the empty tomb!

ANNOUNCER: In fact, we’re told that five hundred people at one time saw the risen Savior.

SELTZ: Right; and these facts were written down. We have the documented eyewitness accounts from less than one hundred years after these actual events. The facts of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension; they were never hidden. Trusting in Jesus’ existence and deeds is not blind faith.

ANNOUNCER: What does it mean, then, to have faith in Jesus as Savior?

SELTZ: Well, it’s important to note too that it’s more than just understanding historical facts. Many non-Christians acknowledge the very real existence of Jesus. They admit that His words and claims are real. The faith part means acknowledging Him as Lord of your life and trusting Him with your life.

ANNOUNCER: That’s what the appeal that we find in Acts, chapter 16: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

SELTZ: Absolutely, and faith is not blind, but it is, let’s say it this way, bold. And we can only say, “Jesus is Lord” by the gracious work of the Holy Spirit. We will surrender our lives to Jesus Christ after He takes our life into His gracious hands.

ANNOUNCER: The Bible is clear that He is the One Who changes hearts and brings us to repentance.

SELTZ: Exactly, He turns us to Himself. So this faith boldness really is about God’s boldness to us first. He reaches into our lives through His Word, through His gift of baptism, and through Jesus’ presence in the Lord’s Supper. He creates and sustains faith in our hearts in the words and deeds that He has accomplished. We trust in Him for everything; forgiveness, life, even life forever.

ANNOUNCER: How can our listeners believe in Jesus and walk in that kind of bold faith?

SELTZ: I think two statements will help. The first is from Jesus. He says to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” And then He says, “Martha, do you believe this?”

ANNOUNCER: That’s a question we all must answer.

SELTZ: We do…and Martha’s response can help each listener with theirs. She said to him, “Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world” (John 11:25-27). And then I also think of the Apostle Peter’s exhortation to the crowd in Acts. He says, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins,” and then He promises, “you will receive the gift of the Spirit and that this promise is for you and for your children and for all…. whom the Lord our God calls to himself” (Acts 2:38-39). Trust that Jesus paid for your sins, rose for you…..be baptized in His Name and then get to living life by the power of His Spirit!