In The Message, John 20:30-31 is paraphrased to read,
Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.
This insightful thought from the apostle John reveals the very heart of who Jesus is and what He came to do. We should not see Jesus as simply a wonderful teacher, though He was. We should not see Jesus as one who simply reached out to the poor, though He did. We should not see Jesus as one who simply made honest seekers feel better about themselves, though He did. He came to live and teach the very truth of God. He came to bring God right down into the midst of our stories. He lived and died and rose again in such a way as to enable us to believe that He “is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing” we might “have life in His name.”
John posted these verses right in the middle of his telling of the post resurrection appearances of Jesus. The fact of the matter is that had Jesus not been raised from the dead, we would never have heard of Him. His story would have died right alongside Him and then it would have been tucked away in a grave. However, Jesus came out of that grave alive, and His living presence demands that we take Him seriously. He came to do something. He came to be something. He came to draw people to the Father, so that believing in Him they would have life, eternal and abundant life.
Whatever we might think about Jesus, it falls short if it does not include a call to “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” If what we think about Jesus does not lead us to “have life in His name,” we miss the very point as to why He came to us. “Come to Me,” Jesus said, “and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Jesus invites us to come to Him so that He can lead us home to the Father. This is why Jesus speaks about love and rest and peace and joy. At home in the Father these things are the very air we breathe. The Holy Spirit opens us up to a reality in which we live in Jesus and Jesus lives in us (See John 15:4). In that place we know we are at home in the life that is God’s life in us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian,
Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs
To Jesus Christ the King!
The Hope of all who seek Him,
The Help of all who find,
None other is so loving,
So good and kind.
Alfred H. Ackley, 1933
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