Jesus Did What Faith Required

What Did Jesus Do?

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples…
but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.
John 20.30-31

John’s Gospel is a compendium of sorts, a catalog of revelations if you will: signs, that clearly, consistently, and convincingly point to a singular truth—Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God. Of these signs, and other works of Jesus, there was and is no end, so that the entire world is not big enough to house the complete record of all that Jesus has done and will do (John 21.25). From the vast and eternally expanding list of the things that Jesus did, John set out to cull a select number which would accomplish the particular purpose of his Gospel. John’s goal was to record enough of what Jesus did to satisfy the requirements of faith, to provide a sufficient and secure foundation for belief. Yet belief was no end in itself. Ultimately, John’s quest was to provide sufficient evidence for belief that Jesus is the Christ, so that such belief would consequently and unfailingly deliver each and every believer unto life in Jesus’ name. Essentially, John tells us that Jesus did all that faith required, and more.

In his fulfillment of what faith required Jesus was, as always, in the role of mediator between the Father and humanity. To the Father, Jesus, the Son, offered complete trust and perfect obedience. By way of requirement, Jesus did all that is needful for faith to be acceptable to the Father. To humanity, Jesus, the Lord and Savior, offered unmistakable signs, revelations of himself as the Christ, the Son of God. By way of requirement, Jesus did all that is needful for faith to be received by us. For faith is not something anyone can go out and acquire by dint of effort or will—believing is a gift of God’s grace.

In his quest to furnish enough evidence for people to believe, and by believing have life in Christ Jesus, John was in concert with the mission of the Lord, who had said that, as the Good Shepherd, he had come so that his sheep “may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10.10) John intended his Gospel to reach lost sheep, that they might, by virtue of the record of signs it contains, come to belief and life in and through the Good Shepherd—Jesus. Jesus did so much more than John could ever write down, but all that the Evangelist did record leads unfailingly to one destination: faith in Jesus as the Son of God, and everlasting life in his name.

Though John supplied sufficient evidence of what the Lord did, for the whole world to see that Jesus is the Christ, the whole world would not come to believe. For many, the evidence John has supplied, the signs which Jesus accomplished, do not lead to belief. For many, belief will come only with the final Judgment, too late for them to have life in Jesus’ name. For many, belief will only come as the immediate prelude to condemnation. But, for those who read John’s Gospel and, by the grace of the Father and the action of the Holy Spirit, come to believe, there is life in Jesus’ name, both here and now, and forever.

If faith unto life was something that any child, woman, or man could achieve on their own, there would be no need for a Savior. But the Bible chronicles humanity’s falling short of faith’s requirement from the first generation to the last. Thankfully, Scripture also teaches us about the Father’s great love for us in sending his Son, Jesus, who did what faith required, so that, by believing in him, we may have life!

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4