he felt no need of gathering with the
other disciples to be a blessing and
encouragement to them. Because of
that, he missed Jesus’ first appearance
to the disciples.
Later, when the disciples told Thomas
about Jesus coming to them, he was
so stubborn that he refused to believe
it and said, Except I shall see in his
hands the print of the nails, and put
my finger into the print of the nails,
and thrust my hand into his side,
I will not believe (John 20:25). That
was such an unreasonable request from
a carnal mind that was full of doubt,
stubbornness and ego.
Eight days later, the disciples once
again gathered together; and that time,
Thomas was with them. Then Jesus
again appeared in their midst, and He
immediately went after Thomas for his
lack of faith. Then saith he Jesus to
Thomas, Reach hither thy finger,
and behold my hands; and reach
hither thy hand, and thrust it into
my side: and be not faithless, but
believing. And Thomas answered
and said unto him, My Lord and my
God. 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 20:27–29). Notice that
Jesus did not say Thomas was blessed;
He said those who believe to see are
blessed.
A Centurion with Great Faith
The second story is found in
Matthew 8. A certain Gentile centurion
had a servant who was very sick;
and even though the Jews considered
the Gentiles to be heathens, the man
went seeking Jesus to get healing
for his servant. And when Jesus
was entered into Capernaum,
there came unto him a centurion,
beseeching him, And saying, Lord,
my servant lieth at home sick of
the palsy, grievously tormented.
And Jesus saith unto him, I will
come and heal him. The centurion
answered and said, Lord, I am not
worthy that thou shouldest come
under my roof: but speak the word
only, and my servant shall be
healed (Matthew 8:5–8).
Unlike Thomas, the centurion
demonstrated great humility before
Jesus; and he had so much divine faith
that he believed to see his servant
made whole without Jesus even going
to his house. When Jesus heard it,
he marvelled, and said to them
that followed, Verily I say unto
you, I have not found so great
faith, no, not in Israel (Matthew
8:10). That humble centurion’s faith
caused an awesome reaction in Jesus.
That should show you how much it
still means to the Lord today when His
children live by divine faith.
And Jesus said unto the
centurion, Go thy way; and as thou
hast believed, so be it done unto
thee. And his servant was healed in
the selfsame hour (Matthew 8:13).
The centurion trusted Jesus’ words,
and he believed to see; and the miracle
took place.
Be Faithful
During Jesus’ ministry, He taught
and demonstrated that children of
God are to please the heavenly Father
through divine faith. He said, Have
faith in God (Mark 11:22). He also
said, If thou canst believe, all
things are possible to him that
believeth (Mark 9:23).
If you are a born-again child of God
who is filled with the Holy Ghost and
living a holy life, you are an heir of
God and a joint-heir with Christ. The
Spirit itself beareth witness with
our spirit, that we are the children
of God: And if children, then heirs;
heirs of God, and joint-heirs equal
heirs with Christ; if so be that
we suffer with him, that we may
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