Betz: faith over sight

Saturday, February 4, 2017
    Commemoration of Gilbert of Sempringham, Founder of the Gilbertine Order, 1189
Meditation:
    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.”
    Thomas said to him, “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.”
    —John 20:27-29 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Jesus was the representative of the Lord who forgives sins and heals all infirmities; the disciples acknowledged him as “Lord” and transferred to him the position ascribed to the “Lord” in the Old Testament. Just as Jesus placed the penitent heart and the saving will of God higher than the pride of the godly and the letter of the Torah, so Paul preached faith in Christ as the only way to salvation and rejected striving after righteousness through the works of the Law. Above all, Jesus knew himself to be the Messiah and he acted in messianic authority; hence the risen and glorified Jesus was acknowledged as the king of the last days. It is still faith, not sight, that is demanded from men.
    ... Otto Betz (1917-2005), What Do We Know About Jesus?, translation of Was wissen wir von Jesus?, 1965, London, S.C.M. Press, 1968, p. 115 (see the book)
    See also John 20:27-29; Rom. 8:23-25; 1 Cor. 13:12; 2 Cor. 4:18; 5:7; Heb. 10:38; 11:1; 1 Pet. 1:8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, strengthen my weak faith. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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