September 30, 2022

John 20: 30 (NIV)

Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded 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.

John 21: 25 (NIV)

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

His miracles weren’t wild, random events – mere magic tricks to impress the crowd. They were purposeful acts intentionally designed to establish his credentials as the Son of God.*

One of my all-time favorite television shows was canceled after 10 or 11 episodes. I have heard that the show’s creator had seven seasons worth of material on deck, some of which he actually got to use in a full-length feature film. Meanwhile, I bought the complete series – and the movie - on DVD and Prime Video so I can watch it over and over, writing prequels and sequels in my own mind as my imagination soars.

The life of Jesus stimulates my imagination as well. I would love to know more about his childhood and his teen years; what he looked like; who his friends were. I would like more stories about miracles and about outsmarting his enemies. I am curious about his apostles’ backstories. And above all, I would love to read it all in chronological order. But, according to John, I am going to have to make do with the few episodes that were recorded in the gospels – for a couple of reasons:

• There is just way more information than the world can contain. 
• We are given all the information God deemed necessary to fulfill his purpose.

Jesus’ teaching and his miraculous signs established his credentials. The testimony of eyewitnesses would stand up in court – and has stood the test of time. The writers were inspired by the Holy Spirit to record all that we need to know in order to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the source of eternal life.  As someone has said, “Their aim was not to write tightly chronological, factually exhaustive biographies.”* Their function was “to make saints, not historians.”*

If you don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that believers may have life in his name, read the gospels. Read them with these thoughts in mind: Jesus’ credentials; the testimony of eyewitnesses; the inspiration of the writers. Talk to someone who can testify to the life-changing power of Jesus Christ in his or her own life. Then you will have everything you need to know to make an informed decision. If we needed to know more, more would have been written.

More important, perhaps, than the witness of His friends is that of His enemies.*