John 20 · Verse 29

John 20:29

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, King James Version

John 20:29 in other translations

BSBJesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
WEBJesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
ASVJesus saith unto him, Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
YLTJesus saith to him, ‘Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed; happy those not having seen, and having believed.'
DARBYJesus says to him, Because thou hast seen me thou hast believed: blessed they who have not seen and have believed.
BBEJesus said to him, Because you have seen me you have belief: a blessing will be on those who have belief though they have not seen me!
WebsterJesus saith to him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

What does John 20:29 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 20:26-29

26-29. And after eight days--that is, on the eighth, or first day of the preceding week. They probably met every day during the preceding week, but their Lord designedly reserved His second appearance among them till the recurrence of His resurrection day, that He might thus inaugurate the delightful sanctities of THE Lord's Day (Re 1:10). disciples were within, and Thomas with them ... Jesus ... stood in the midst…

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Barnes' Notes
Verse 29. Because thou hast seen me. Because you have looked upon my body, and seen the proofs that I am the same Saviour that was crucified. Jesus here approves the faith of Thomas, but more highly commends the faith of those who should believe without having seen.

Blessed. Happy, or worthy of the divine approbation. The word has here the force of the comparative degree, signifying that they would be in some respects more blessed than Thomas. They would evince higher faith.

That have not seen, &c. Those who should be convinced by the testimony of the apostles, and by the influences of the Spirit. They would evince stronger faith. All faith is of things not seen; and God blesses those most who most implicitly rely on his word.

(g) "blessed are they" 1Pet 1:8

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 29 Thomas - This word is omitted by almost every MS., version, and ancient commentator of importance. Blessed are they, etc. - Thou hast seen, and therefore thou hast believed, and now thou art blessed; thou art now happy - fully convinced of my resurrection; yet no less blessed shall all those be who believe in my resurrection, without the evidence thou hast had. From this we learn that to believe in Jesus, on the testimony of his apostles, will put a man into the possession of the very same blessedness which they themselves enjoyed. And so has God constituted the whole economy of grace that a believer, at eighteen hundred years' distance from the time of the resurrection, suffers no loss because he has not seen Christ in the flesh. The importance and excellence of implicit faith in the testimony of God is thus stated by Rab. Tanchum: "Rab. Simeon ben Lachesh saith, The proselyte is more beloved by the holy blessed God than that whole crowd that stood before Mount Sinai; for unless they had heard the thundering, and seen the flames and lightning, the hills trembling, and the trumpets sounding, they had not received the law. But the proselyte hath seen nothing of all this, and yet he hath come in, devoting himself to the holy blessed God, and hath taken upon him (the yoke of) the kingdom of heaven." Reader! Christ died for thee! - believe, and thou shalt be saved, and become as blessed and as happy as an apostle.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 20:26-29

That one day in seven should be religiously observed, was an appointment from the beginning. And that, in the kingdom of the Messiah, the first day of the week should be that solemn day, was pointed out, in that Christ on that day once and again met his disciples in a religious assembly. The religious observance of that day has come down to us through every age of the church. There is not an unbelieving word in our…

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John 20:29 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

λέγειlegeiSaysG3004
αὐτῷautōto himG846
ὁho<the>G3588
Ἰησοῦς·IēsousJesus;G2424
ὅτιhotiBecauseG3754
ἑώρακάςhe'ōrakasyou have seenG3708
μεmeMeG3165
πεπίστευκας·pepisteukasyou have believed;G4100
μακάριοιmakarioiblessed [are]G3107
οἱhoithoseG3588
μὴmēnotG3361
ἰδόντεςidonteshaving seenG1492
καὶkaiyetG2532
πιστεύσαντες.¶pisteusanteshaving believed.G4100

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for John 20:29

  • 1 Peter 1:8

    Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

  • 2 Corinthians 5:7

    (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

  • Hebrews 11:1

    Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

  • Hebrews 11:27

    By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

  • Luke 1:45

    And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

  • John 4:48

    Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

  • John 20:8

    Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

  • Hebrews 11:39

    And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
blessed.
8; 4:48; Lu 1:45; 2Co 5:7; Heb 11:1,27,39; 1Pe 1:8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • John 20:28

    And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

  • John 20:29

    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 20:30

    And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

Read all of John 20

John 20:29 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Dícele Jesús: Porque me has visto, Tomás, creiste: bienaventurados los que no vieron y creyeron.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Jésus lui dit: Parce que tu m’as vu, tu as cru; bienheureux ceux qui n’ont point vu et qui ont cru.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Jesus spricht zu ihm: Weil du mich gesehen hast, hast du geglaubt. Glückselig sind, die nicht gesehen und geglaubt haben!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dixit ei Jesus: Quia vidisti me, Thoma, credidisti: beati qui non viderunt, et crediderunt.