Thoughts on the Gospel of John (212) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

And 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.
John 20:30–31

Thoughts on the Gospel of John (212)
After the encounter of “doubting Thomas” with the Lord Jesus, this verse seems to come somewhat abruptly at first glance. We might think that it is the last verse of this Gospel, but that is not the case.

The reason for this summary is Thomas’ exclamation, “My Lord and my God!”, and Jesus’ answer, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

In a sense, Thomas has demanded a visible sign in order to believe that Jesus has risen from the dead. There is undoubtedly a great advantage in being an eyewitness of the risen Lord as the disciples were at that time. But believing in the eternal Son of God and accepting the testimony about His resurrection without ever having seen Him is connected with a special blessing.

This is exactly where today’s verse applies. God has taken care that not only eyewitnesses come to the conviction that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God”. It is His desire that all people believe in His Son and in this way receive eternal life. Everyone has the opportunity to read the testimony of God about His Son. And it is so comprehensive that it is completely sufficient to recognise who Jesus really is.

No book could ever cover this wonderful Person exhaustively in all aspects. The Son of God is too great for that – infinitely great – but God in His grace has chosen a few signs out of the many that we may have an impression of His greatness and marvel.

(to be continued next Sunday)

Today’s reading: Isaiah 58:1-14 · Mark 1:9-20