John 10:34-29
Believe in Jesus Because of the Works He Has Done
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
John 12:37
Some Did Not Believe Even after Seeing His Miracles
37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.
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Acts 1:1-3
Jesus Appears on Earth for Forty More Days After His Death
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
John 20:24-29
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 13:31-38
Jesus Predicts Peter Will Deny Him Three Times
31 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”
37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
When we discuss the Nature of Jesus, believers see that He has two natures...One is that He has the ability to do miracles...And One who can do miracles, like He did, is Divine...But Jesus was also Human, when He came to dwell on earth...So when He was teaching on earth, Jesus was Truly Divine and Truly Human...Having two natures makes it hard for some to believe in Him...Being both Human and Divine is hard for man to understand, therefore some will not believe in Him...And His nature, makes Him who He is...He was fully a man, but He lacked One thing that men do...He did not sin...I am not even sure if He had or has man's sinful nature or just being the Man that He is, that He has this ability not to sin...And although He did not sin, He shared with us His time on earth and lived, suffered, and died just like a normal man...But something different happened, He rose from His death...And can to live again for another forty more days on earth...And that makes all the difference...
Faith is not an easy thing...Peter, one of the great and original twelve Disciples, before Jesus was arrested told Him that he would lay down his life for His Teacher...Thomas another of the Twelve Disciples, doubted that Jesus ever rose from the dead, after the other Disciples saw Him and explained to Thomas that Jesus was alive...Thomas said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”...Peter thought that his faith was strong and so did Thomas...But after Jesus' arrest things changed, as life does...Both Disciples denied and did not believe that He was the Messiah at that particular point in time...Later Jesus would come to His Disciples side and ask Thomas to put his fingers in the side of the glorious wound He had earned on the cross...And He told Thomas to reach out your hand and put it into His side...Then He added a faith statement by saying to Thomas, "Stop doubting and believe."....
To say the Jesus is Truly Human and Truly God makes it even harder for some to believe...The world is a God-created world...After creation it becomes a God-planned world...God planned for Jesus to come to earth...God having Jesus die on the cross for our sins has eternal consequences...Yet, this statement of dying on the cross has eternal consequences has seemingly become lackluster today...Jesus is our Savior, our Messiah, the One that was supposed to come...He is our Redeemer, and the Only Redeemer...And He lives...Maybe we are so attached to the physical...Thomas was...Had Jesus stayed on earth, maybe there would be more believers...But we see even in His time, and people who watched His miracles, it is written, "Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in Him."...Then lastly Peter denied Him not once but three times...And Thomas said He too, needed the physical Jesus, and had to see Him to believe...But we can see that both time and Him physically being there did not have everyone believing in Him...Many in His time, did not know who He was, or believe in His miracles...Again faith is not easy...
Jesus told us, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”...From the words of our Master, we must somehow stop doubting and believe...We can see Him with our eyes of faith, because He lives...He rose from the dead...So we can talk to Him anytime...Let us realize He is our hope...He is the hope for mankind...