The Bible Hopes You Believe

Bible

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31)

This week’s lesson has a lot in it. The disciples meet Jesus in the Upper Room and he sends them out to do his work. Thomas isn’t there and doesn’t believe that the others saw Jesus. Jesus shows up and Thomas does believe. There are three several messages just in the summary of this paragraph!

But the verses at the top of this article are where we will focus today.

Jesus had a huge impact on the people who spent time with him. It was evident early on, that Jesus was not exactly like ordinary people. There was something different about him and that difference was amazing. Everywhere he went people noticed. After Jesus moved on, people who had seen him told stories about what he had done while they were there.

John’s gospel is one very transparent example of this. The author simply tells us that he saw Jesus do all sorts of things – way more than he shares in this book. That in itself is to expand your awe at who Jesus is. The things John shared are amazing and they only scratch the surface!

But John is also very clear. He picked these things so that you would know what he knows. Jesus is something special. He hoped that by reading this book and encountering Jesus in these pages, you would discover an amazing truth: God has come in Jesus to be the Messiah! Because if you believe that, John knows you will discover that there is life in his name.

Martin Luther called the Bible “the manger in which the Christ was laid.” By that he meant that the whole point of scripture was for us to meet and trust Jesus. So, when you read scripture, always be asking, “Where does what I am reading point me to Jesus?” When you encounter Christ and discover life in his name, the Bible will have done its work!

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