“But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.” -John 20:31
All of us have been through the experience of trusting someone only to be let down. Add to this the times in which we now live and our level of trust depends on how well we know someone. If we dig a bit deeper into this concept we trust people we know because there is evidence to trust them. Trust is built on evidence.
John tells us he has written the book by his name to give us evidence to believe Jesus is the Son of God and the sole source of life, of eternal salvation. A quick look just through chapter 20 gives us evidence for trusting in Jesus as the God of our salvation. In verses 14-16 Mary has a brief conversation with Jesus alive from the dead. She does not recognize him at first, whether from doubt or from Jesus’ resurrection body being unlike and yet like his body before his death, is not clear. What is clear is she saw Jesus alive again. Then in verse 20 Jesus appears to the disciples. Now multiple people, at one time, see Jesus alive from the dead. John saves the most compelling evidence for last in verses 27-28. There, a skeptic, Thomas sees Jesus alive again. His wounds are clearly visible from his crucifixion. Thomas was confronted with seeing a living, breathing, in the flesh, Jesus.
We must never forget that we have been given evidence, from eye witnesses, to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It is this evidence in which we place our trust in Jesus. And it is this evidence, we can share with others to help others on their journey to trust in Jesus and receive eternal life.
Father, thank you that my confidence in trusting you in all things rests on the evidence of people who have given testimony to seeing Jesus alive from the dead. May my trust in your resurrection, thus conquering death, be the source of my trusting in you for my day today!
JT
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