Mensa Otabil - Those Who Believe (10/23/2025)
We conclude our reflections on the resurrection today, John chapter 20, verses 30 and 31. Truly, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in his name.
In keeping with Jesus's commendation of those who believe without seeing, John speaks about the purpose of the Gospel he had written, why he had put this account down for future generations, so that we will believe. He says a couple of things I want to focus on: one, he states that Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not recorded in the Gospel of John. This helps us appreciate the other three gospels and the views they bring to the entirety of the ministry of Jesus.
However, even if you put all four gospels together, they do not cover everything that Jesus did. This is something important for us to know. All these signs John is talking about were not secret signs; they were done in the presence of his disciples. Therefore, we cannot take this caveat and apply it loosely to any strange or bizarre behavior of a preacher who might say, "Oh yeah, Jesus did many things we don't know of, so this could be part of it." No, everything that qualifies as a sign or a miracle must follow the pattern established in the written scriptures and be consistent with the nature and character of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The second thing is that John says all of these things are written so that you may believe. That is where everything ends up - people will believe in Christ, not in a preacher, not in a prophet, not in a man of God, but people's faith will be in Christ Jesus. John also helps us understand that the miracles he recorded about Jesus are not for show; they are not written to show off Jesus, but to bring us to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is one thing to be impressed by a miracle; it is another thing to believe in the passion of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what a miracle must help us to attain. Then he says that we must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
That is what we must believe; it is a specific belief, not a general belief. We can't just say, "Oh yeah, I like Jesus; I think Jesus is good." That is not enough. We must believe something specific about him-that he is the Christ, the promised Messiah who came to take away the sin of the world by paying for the debt of the first Adam's sin and freeing human beings from spiritual death and eternal damnation, so that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life. There is a specific faith we must have in Jesus Christ, and that specific faith is what is required. The reason I emphasize this is that there are many people who say they are Christians, but if you ask them why they are Christian, they might say, "Oh, I go to church, I do nice things, I like people, I try to follow Jesus." But that is not what the scripture teaches. There is a specific faith you must accept about Jesus Christ-that he is the Christ, the Son of God, my Lord and my God.
Finally, John says that in believing him, you will have life. In believing in him, not just in reading about him, not just in going to church, and not just in being a nice person, but in truly believing in him, you will have life. His life becomes your life, and Jesus Christ is able to give us the life he had and continues to provide that life when we believe specifically in who he is-the same Lord who was crucified, the same Lord who resurrected, my Lord and my God, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is that faith that gives us salvation.
Let us pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, I believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. I commit to this belief for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.