John 2 - John 20 30-31 Signs Beliefs And Eternal Life

“30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:30-31, KJV).

That You May Believe

Loved ones, let's begin at the end with our above text, and work our way from there. Don't you just love it when you're reading the Bible and searching for the occasion or purpose of a book, and you come across a text like this? It does all your thinking for you. John doesn't leave it ambiguous.

John just comes right out and tells you why he wrote this book, why he included the signs he did, and what his goal is for the reader. John wants us to know the truth. He wants us to pick up his book, read it through, and at the end, become a follower of Jesus. He wants us to believe.

He wants us to find eternal life. To achieve this, he records a series of signs performed by Jesus. We'll talk a lot more about these signs, but always remember John's signs have a purpose. They are to bring about belief.

After miraculously turning water into wine, John records, "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him” (John 2:11). The first sign recorded produced belief.

A little later, Jesus says, " Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe" (John 4:48). Then, He heals a Nobleman's son, "53 …and himself believed, and his whole house. 54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judæa into Galilee. (John 4:53-54). John counts the first two and invites you to count the rest. He also notes that when each of these signs is honestly observed, they each result in belief.

From Signs To Belief To Life

There is a constant connection between the signs of Jesus and belief in His name. In fact, if you search for the word "signs" (miracles) in the Gospel of John, there is a pretty good chance you'll find the word "belief" close in the context.

Nicodemus learns Jesus came from God as a teacher because "…no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him” (John 3:2). Jesus convinced the crowds that He "is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world" because "they had seen the miracle that Jesus did” (John 6:14). "Many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, 'When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?" (John 7:31).

Sadly, however, not everyone is convinced: "Though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him" (John 12:37). This could be a good summary statement of the first half of the Gospel of John. He did so many signs, from turning water into wine to raising Lazarus, but many just could not believe. John informs us this lack of belief actually fulfills Scripture (John 12:38-41).

To those with eyes to see, to those who are not blind, to those in light rather than darkness, the signs are visible and amazing. They produce belief. To those who love darkness and are blind, they are blind to the signs. They care more about whether the sign was performed on the Sabbath than if Jesus actually did it. The connection between signs and belief continues throughout the entire Gospel (John 6:30; 11:45-48; 20:20-29).

This connection makes a lot of sense. It's not an easy thing those who meet Jesus are asked to believe. It's not an easy thing John's readers are asked to believe. It's hard. And dangerous. It's actually a terrifying thing to believe. What would it take for you to call a man "God?” You know what happens if you're wrong, right? That's blasphemy. That's idolatry. That's an insult to your Creator and puts your life in jeopardy.

That's what the pagans do! That's what the kings of Rome and other ruthless, godless pagan nations do. They elevate men to the status of gods. A man-made of mere flesh and blood. A man who bleeds when you cut him. Any faithful Jew would immediately reject this idea. If King David claimed to be a god, as powerful as he was, he should be rejected as king and punished for his blasphemies. Abraham, Moses, David, Xerxes, Augustus, Nero, Domitian, it doesn't matter. None of them should ever claim to be equal to God.

But what about that one guy from insignificant little Nazareth? A king? No, I think he was a small-time carpenter. He wasn't wealthy. Not noticeably handsome. Looked human in every way. Never held a political office or any powerful position in society. He was actually a criminal. He was arrested, tried, and crucified. He cried. He bled. He died. Do you think He is God?

What could possibly convince someone of that? Thank God for signs. They are necessary. What if He claimed to be God and then backed it up by doing things only God can do? What if He could turn water into wine and heal the sick by merely speaking a word (John 2, 4)? What if He miraculously multiplied bread to feed thousands and so controlled nature as to walk on water (John 6)? What if He gave life and light to the world through raising the dead and giving sight to the blind (John 9 and 11)?

If nothing else, that certainly makes Him worth listening to. What if, after they crucified Him, He victoriously raised from the dead, vindicated His radical claims, and offered that same eternal life to all who would put their trust in Him? Would you listen? Could you believe? Signs make belief possible. They put the reality of belief right in front of you. They challenge you to believe the impossible.

The goal of the signs is to produce this frightening, dangerous, impossible belief. And the goal of this belief is to produce life. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). That sounds a lot like John's stated purpose: "That believing, you may have life in His name" (John 20:30-31). The God who gives life is offering it through His Son and proving it through His signs. Will you believe it?

Evangelizing With John

If John's goal were to write a book that would cause people to have faith in Jesus and eternal life, do you think he reached it? Do you think this book can produce belief? Can it produce eternal life? These questions can shift the way you do personal evangelism.

We trust John is both a competent writer and inspired by God. If he thinks this book can bring someone to eternal life, then he's right. If John were the only book in the Bible, we might know a lot less, but we should still be able to have eternal life through Jesus. So, one of the ways you can study with people and evangelize is simply to go through the Gospel of John.

You don't have to flip to 400 verses throughout different books of the Bible. You don't even need to leave this one gospel. Just read through it and study it together. Discuss it together. By doing this, people can see everything in context and appreciate how seriously you take the words of Scripture.

John is structured in such a way that all the information you need about Jesus to receive eternal life is there. If interpreted properly, this book leaves nothing out that is essential to life. Rather than coming up with your own way of telling the story of Jesus, let the inspired writer do it. Follow his lead and at the end of the book you can be confident there has been enough taught that one you are studying with “may believe."

HIS TESTIMONY IS TRUE

"And he that saw it bare record, and his record (testimony) is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe” (John 19:35, KJV).

As you read John, it becomes apparent that recording signs was not John's only method in producing belief. Consider the statement John makes in our text about witnessing the crucifixion.

The purpose of this testimony is so “that ye might believe” (John 19:35), which is the same stated purpose as the signs: "that ye might believe" (John 20:31).

In addition to signs, a second strategy the Apostle John employs to produce faith in the reader is testimony. He records a series of testimonies about Jesus and, as an eyewitness, claims "his testimony is true" (John 19:35; 21:24).

John The Baptist

One way John reveals Jesus' identity is by telling stories where the characters offer profound testimony about Jesus. It starts all the way back with John the Baptizer being introduced as, “6 a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light” (John 1:6-8).

The first human character in the gospel is a "witness" who "testifies." The word "witness" could be translated as "testifier," and the word "testify" could be translated as "bear witness."

Whenever you see the words "testify" or "bear witness," those are the same Greek word, “martureo,” and it is used repeatedly. Notice also he came to bear witness "so that all might believe" (John 1:7).

Just like the signs, testimony is intended to produce belief, and belief is intended to produce life. But what did John testify about Jesus? Just reading through the first chapter, you find several things John the baptizer testified about Jesus.

John testified that Jesus ranks higher than him, because of His preexistence (John 1:15, 30). He testified that he is unworthy to even untie the thong on Jesus' sandal (John 1:27). He testified that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29, 36).

He testified that the Spirit descended upon Jesus at His baptism (John 1:32). He testified that Jesus is the Son of God (John 1:34). Not only that, but when his own disciples heard his testimony, they left him to become followers of Jesus (John 1:37). That is his goal. Don't follow John, follow Jesus.

The List of Witnesses

John the Baptist is an excellent witness about Jesus. His testimony led to followers, but he was not the only one to do this. Andrew testifies to Peter, "We have found the Messiah…the Christ" (John 1:41).

Philip testifies to Nathanael, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45). Nathanael then testifies saying, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel" (John 1:49). Each of these testimonies produces more followers!

Let’s add up all the things we learn about Jesus in these testimonies: He was preexistent. He is greater than John the Baptizer. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Holy Spirit came upon Him. He is the Son of God. He is the Messiah. The Law and Prophets write of Him. He is the King of Israel!

As the Gospel continues, more characters meet Jesus and testify great things about Him! Nicodemus says, "Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him" (John 3:2).

The woman at the well says to her fellow Samaritans, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" (John 4:29). Then we find out, “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did” (John 4:39).

Her testimony produced belief! In fact, once the Samaritans meet Jesus, they all testify, "And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world” (John 4:42).

It is intentional the way John structures His Gospel. It's a major theme that cuts through the whole story, and it's teaching us about Jesus. In John 5, during a discussion about His relationship with the Father, Jesus clearly and dangerously articulates His equality with God (John 5:17-30).

Then He supports His claim with His own list of witnesses: John the Baptist testified about Him, His works testify about Him, the Father testifies about Him, and Scripture testifies about Him (John 5:31-47; cf. John 8:12-19).

After feeding the 5,000 the crowds testify: "This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world" (John 6:14). When some decided to no longer follow Jesus due to His hard sayings, Peter proclaims, "68 Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God" (John 6:68-69).

During disputes, some would say, “40 Of a truth this is the Prophet. 41 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?” (John 7:40- 41).

Even Jesus testifies about Himself (John 8:18) in His famous "I Am" statements.

I Am the bread of life (John 6:35, 48).

I Am the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5).

I Am the door (John 10:7, 9).

I Am the good shepherd (John 10:11, 14).

I Am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25).

I Am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

I Am the true vine (John 15:1-11).

The list of testimonies is extensive and grows and culminates in the post-resurrection testimony of Thomas: "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28).

So, who is Jesus? If you look at the testimonies from all the eyewitnesses, you get to see Jesus in all His glory. Don’t you just wish you could have been there? Don’t you wish you could have seen the signs and heard the testimonies, but we are 2,000 years removed from the incarnation.

That's why I love the Gospel of John. These testimonies are written down for me. And you. And anyone who picks up the Gospel of John. And they are intended to produce faith in all of us who couldn't see it for ourselves. That's why we need the testimonies. That's why they are recorded. That's also why Jesus tells Thomas, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

That's us. That's a call to us. How can we believe without seeing? Trust the testimonies and follow the signs. Those who do are blessed—those who do inherit eternal life.

Through the free gift of God’s grace by Jesus’ blood (Ephesians 2:8; Revelation 1:5) and your obedient faith (Romans 1:5; 10:17; 16:26), salvation is offered.

If you have questions or wish to comment, please do so. Lord willing, a Bible answer will be provided for every Bible question. The God of Heaven and Earth is good, and His love reaches all. We love you with the love of the Lord (John 13:34-35). Samuel