Jesus was the main matter

JESUS WAS THE MAIN MATTER
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 20:31 31But these are written that you may
believethat Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and
that by believingyou may have life in his name.
The Main Matter BY SPURGEON
“Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence ofHis disciples, which
are not written in this book:but these are written that you might believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, believing, you might
have life through His name.”
John 20:30, 31
THE public life of our most blessedLord Jesus Christ was brief. Few suppose
it to have exceededthree and a half years but yet, what a full life it was!It had
in it not only enough to compose the four Gospels, eachone of which is
sufficient to leadmen to saving faith, but so much remained over and above
that, the Apostle John makes this remarkable statement–“And there are also
many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written, every
one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that
should be written.” Our Lord’s life was as ample as His own festivals–itfeeds
thousands–andwith the fragments that remain many baskets might be filled!
A man may complete a greatand fruitful life in two or three years, while
another may have existedas long as an antediluvian and yet his life may be
poor and powerless.Notonly did the Lord Jesus speak anddo greatthings as
to number, but there was a world of powerin eachword and work. He did not
display a multitude of feeblenesses, but eachindividual outcome of His life
was grand enough to have been a marvel if consideredby itself! As was the

Doer, in whom “dwelt all the fullness of the Godheadbodily,” such were the
deeds–they, also, were full of Grace and the Truths of God!
There was a fullness of Divine wisdom, Grace and powerabout eachact of
Jesus. Hence the Apostle, here, speaks ofthe Lord’s acts as signs–“manyother
signs truly did Jesus in the presence ofHis disciples.” There was a mass of
instruction in all our Lord’s movements. Nothing about Him was trivial. He
preachedby His entire life, preacheda marvelous array of Truths and
preachedthem with living freshness!Never is He twice the same, though
always the same. When we find Him repeating His discourses,as we
sometimes do, if the Sermon on the Mount sounds like the Sermon on the
Plain, yet a different drift, aim and tone create a singular variety. Each
separate actof the Lord is a sign of something beyond itself and the whole of
the acts put togetherdisplay an oceanof doctrine without bottom or shore.
What a Christ was this! Oh that His Spirit may dwell in us, that our lives,
also, may be rich and full! Rich to the Glory of God, and full to the blessing of
our fellow men. Yet, dear Friends, though the whole of Christ’s life has not
been written, we perceive in our text that what has been recordedis the most
useful part of it and that it was preserved for our benefit. The Inspired record
was written with a purpose–the facts were wiselyculled and collectedout of
the entire mass on accountof their bearing upon the desired objective and
enough has been preserved to effecta design which, above all others, is most
important to us. “These are written that you might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God; and that, believing, you might have life through His
name.”
May our reverence to the Inspired Gospels leadus to give earnestheed to
their design and objective, for it would be profane to baffle their purpose by
refusing their testimony. First, this morning, let me speak a little with you
upon the designof all Scripture, which is faith. Secondly, upon the great
Object of true faith, which is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God. And then,
thirdly, let as further commune togetherupon the true life of the soul which is
linked and wrapped up with the name of Jesus Christ, in whom we are led to
believe by the testimony of the things written concerning Him.
1. First, then, dear Friends, THE OBJECTIVE OF ALL SCRIPTURE IS
TO PRODUCE FAITH. There is no text in the whole Book which was
intended to create doubt. Doubt is a seedself-sown, or sownby the
devil–and it usually springs up with more than sufficient abundance
without our care. The practice of reading skepticalworks is a very
dangerous one–we have enoughtendency to sicknessin our own
constitutions without going to fever hospitals to test the atmosphere.

Holy Scripture is no mother or nurse of doubt–it is the creatorof a holy
confidence by revealing a sure line of fact and truth.
It has been thought by many expositors that John here refers only to the
things which Jesus did after His Resurrection–“Manyothersigns truly did
Jesus in the presence ofHis disciples.” But I think there are abundant
reasons, withwhich I need not trouble you just now, to show that John must
have referred to the whole of our Savior’s life and to all the acts of it–and that
the book which he speaks ofis his own book, the Gospelwhich contains his
own life of Christ. John includes the whole story of Jesus of Nazarethin the
reference of the text. I venture to go much farther and to saythat the
statementthat John made here, though it must refer to his own Gospel, is
equally true of the entire Scriptures.
We may begin at Genesis and go on to the Book of Revelationand say of all
the holy histories, “These are written that you might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God.” Though this Bible is a wonderful library of many
books, yet there is such a unity about it that the mass of the people regard it as
one book and they are not in error when they do so. This one Book has but
one designand every portion of it works to that one end. Of the whole canon
of Inspiration we may say, as we readevery detail, “These are written that
you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.”
Observe, then, no part of Holy Scripture was written with any wish to
magnify the writer of it. Many human books are evidently intended to let you
see how profound the thoughts of their authors are, or how striking is their
style. Selfconsciousness is often apparent and the man is seenas wellas the
fruit of his mind. If some authors can, at any time, introduce themselves, they
do not hesitate to do so, even though they have to go out of their wayto do it!
But you shall never detectthe leastdegree ofthis in any of the writers of
sacredScripture. True, they did not set that foolishfashion of certain
“brethren” in modern times who call attention to their own modesty by
placing their initials on their title-pages insteadof their names.
We have no Prophet of the Lord named D. N. J., or M. C. H.! And those who
bear such initials in these days are by no means veiled writers, but are as well-
known as if their names were written out in full. The Inspired authors freely
write David, Job, Isaiah, John, Matthew–andwhy shouldn’t they? Having
given their names, how very little of themselves will you ever find in their
books? Theylose themselves in their theme and hide themselves behind their
Master. A most striking instance of this is found in John’s Gospel. Johnwas a
man above all others fitted to write the life of Christ. Did he not know more of

Jesus by observation, by intimate fellowshipand by hearty sympathy with
Him than any other of the Evangelists?
And yet he has left out many interesting facts which the others have recorded–
others, mark you–who did not actually see the facts as he did. Speaking after
the manner of men, this silence is very wonderful. Can you guess how much
this abstinence costthe Apostle? The other three Evangelists receivedmuch at
secondhand, though, truly, by the Spirit of God. But John literally and
personally saw these things! He beheld them with his own eyes and yet he
gives us fewer incidents in the life of Christ than the other Evangelists. What
self-forgetfulness was this!He is silent because his speechwould not serve the
end he aimed at. And the most striking point is this–he omits, as if of set
purpose, those places of the history in which he would have shone.
He and James and Peterwere frequently selectedby the Masterto be with
Him when others were excluded. But of these occasionsJohnsays nothing. At
the resurrectionof the daughter of Jairus, it is said of the disciples, as well as
of the relatives and the multitude, that the Lord put them all out and only
suffered the three to be with Him. This was a singular honor, but John does
not saya word about the raising of the daughter of Jairus! What self-oblivion!
I should not have omitted it if I had been writing, nor would you. If we had
been writing apart from the inspiration of the Spirit, we should have
treasuredup those specialincidents of favor and we should not have thought
ourselves egotistical, either, but should have consideredourselves as specially
calledto recorda miracle which was witnessedby so very few!
The Spirit of God, in moving John to write, took such full possessionof him
that he wrote only that which workedtowards the one greatobjective. No
matter how interesting the event, he leaves it unrecorded if he judges it to be
aside from his design. Notice, next, that only three were with our Lord at His
Transfiguration–andJohn was one of them. John does not mention that
august event exceptit is that He says, “We beheld His Glory, the Glory as of
the OnlyBegottenofthe Father, full of Grace and truth,” in which there may
be a reference to it, but it is by no means clear!At any rate, he does not
narrate the circumstance, but leaves it to other pens.
This is a moral miracle! What uninspired man could have left out such a
vision from his page? Evenmore striking is the fact that the Master, when He
took with Him the 11 to the garden, left the major part of them at the gate,
but He led the three further into the garden and bade them wait at about a
stone’s-castdistance, where some ofthem heard His prayers and observedHis
bloody sweat. John, who was one of them, says nothing about it! Had he
forgottenit? That were impossible! Did He doubt it? Certainly not! But the

omissionshows you that these incidents were not written with the view of
honoring John, but that the reader may be led to believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God! He leaves out that which would have brought John
into the front, in order that he may fill up the whole foregroundof his canvas
with the portrait of his Lord. Everything is subordinated to the one grand
end–“that you should believe that Jesus is the Christ.”
What a lessonis all this to us who write or speak for God! Let us labor for this
one thing, that we may lead men to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God! If any sort of preaching would exalt ourselves, letus choose another, lest
we hide the Cross ofChrist! If we canoccupy the space with something more
forcible, let us omit the choicestpiece oforatory. Let us prune the vine of our
speechthat all its sap may go to fruit and let that fruit be the bringing of men
to believe that Jesus is the Christ!
Further, notice that Holy Scripture was not written with the mere view of
imparting knowledge to men by presenting them with a complete biography of
Jesus Christ. The one objective of Scripture is that you may believe on Jesus
Christ. It was not the aim of the Evangelists to present us with a complete life
of Jesus Christ. Observe the difference betweensuch a writer as John and an
ordinary biographer. Usually when you see a biography advertised, it will be
your wisdom to save your money, for scarcelyeveris there a biography
written that is fully worth the money askedfor it. I canpoint you to
biographies stuffed full of letters which might just as well have been burned–
and common places which might as well have been forgotten. The goodman
never did anything in his life except that he married a wife and took a holiday
and traveled through Switzerland and went to Venice and Rome!
Every scrap that he wrote home about, the most common incident of travel, is
securedand inserted as if it were a priceless gem. It is just the same that every
Tom and John and Mary would have said, and yet it is paraded as something
heavenly! The book must be swelledout and so the biographer gives us every
bit of sense ornonsense that he canfind. There must have been great
searching of drawers, greatwriting to first cousins, uncles and aunts, to know
if they have an old letter anywhere of the dear deceased!All manner of small
talk is inserted because, to speak the truth, our lives are mostly so little that if
we do not blow them up with wind there will not be enough to make a volume
for the bookmarket!
How different is the biography of Jesus ofNazareth! The signs and wonders
which He did are not written to make a book–theyare not even written that
you may be informed of all that Jesus did–these are written with an end, an
aim, an objective–“Thatyou might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of

God.” Matthew, when he writes of “Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of
Abraham,” leaves out everything that does not bring out Christ in connection
with the Kingdom of God. He paints Messiah, the Prince, and he will not be
takenoff from his work. Luke brings forth Jesus as the Man and you see how
wondrously he keeps to that one line of things. But when you get to John, and
he is about to bring forth the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, he omits numbers
of details that show our Lord in other lights and other aspects.
Here Jesus is not so much the King in His Kingdom–He leaves that to
Matthew–he sticks to his own point which is indicated by his opening
sentences–“Inthe beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God.” He desires to setforth our Lord’s glorious Messiahship,
personalSonship and Deity! And he adheres to that and to that, alone. The
Evangelists do not attempt, merely, to increase our knowledge,but they aim to
win our understandings and to conquer our hearts for Christ! Notice yet
again, dear Friends, that the Gospels and the other Books ofScripture were
not written for the gratification of the most godly and pious curiosity.
Truly, I would have liked to have actedto our Lord as Boswelldid to his
friend, Dr. Johnson! I would have thought it an honor to have noted down
every choice word He dropped and every act He did. I would have recorded
the very color of His hair and you should have knownwhether His eyes were
blue or hazel! I would have left on record every incident about the very fabric
of that hem of His garment which the woman touched. Would not any of you
have done so? Do you not love Him so much and prize Him so greatly, that
you would have thought the smallesttrifle about Him to be a gemof
knowledge?Our love ennobles everything that has to do with our adorable
Lord!
But the writers, Inspired by the Holy Spirit, were not led astrayby this
feeling. They knew their Objectand gave their whole strength to Him! The
Holy Spirit did not send His servants to gatherup interesting details and
preserve curious facts. None of them wrote to gratify your curiosity, even
about the things which concernyour Lord and Master. You shall be told that
which shall lead you to believe Him to be the Son of God and you shall be told
no more, for had all been written, you might have spent all your time in trying
to know Christ after the flesh! But now He has preservedonly that which, by
His blessing, shallteach you to know Him after the spirit. It is not to gratify
curiosity but to begetfaith within the soul that the memoirs of our Lord are
written by the Evangelists.
Again, the Scriptures are not even written with the view of setting before us a
complete example. I want you to notice that. It is true that the Gospels set

before us a perfectCharacterand we are bound to imitate it. It is true that
when we read the life of Christ we may learn how to live and how to die–but
that was not the first and chief design of the writers–theywrote that we might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that, by believing, we
might have life through His name! Goodworks are best promoted, not as the
first, but as the secondcause. Theycome as the result of faith and he that
would promote that which is pure and honestand holy, had best promote
faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior!
The Scripture does not go in for flowers, first, nor even for fruit, but it plants
roots and, therefore, it aims at implanting faith in Jesus Christ, for when we
have believed in Him, the faith that works by love will be sure to produce a
sacredimitation of His most beloved and perfect Character!Yes, let the truth
stand as I have put it, “these are written,” first and last, with no other end and
objective but this, “That you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God.” Open his Gospeland see how John, all through it, keeps to his design. It
would be worth while to spend the whole morning and a half dozen other
mornings, in showing you that John never takes his eyes from this one point.
You will soonperceive that his Book contains a series of testimonies borne by
persons led to faith in Jesus as the Christ.
John, in the first chapter, teaches the Truth of God which he was about to
prove–readthe 17 th verses, “TheLaw was givenby Moses,but Grace and
truth came by Jesus Christ.” Here you see that Jesus is the Christ. “No man
has seenGodat any time; the only begottenSon, which is in the bosom of the
Father, He has declared Him.” There is “the only-begottenSon,” and the two
verses show us that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. John had been
convinced of this at our Lord’s Baptism by the descentof the Holy Spirit upon
Him and, therefore, he bore this witness at the commencement.
Almost immediately after follows the conversionof Andrew–and what does
Andrew witness? He says to his brother, Simon, “We have found the Messiah,
which is, being interpreted, the Christ.” Close on the heels of that comes
Nathanael’s testimony. He says, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the
King of Israel.” Directly after follows the changing of the waterinto wine at
the marriage of Cana in Galilee–one ofthe seven miracles which John
mentions–and he never mentions any more than those seven. And of this, the
first of the seven, he says, “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of
Galilee, and manifested forth His Glory; and His disciples believed on Him.”
The miracle was intended to produce faith and did produce it! At the end of
eachrecord of a miracle, John tells us that some believed in Him and
generallythat they came to believe that He was the Christ, the Son of God.

That memorable third chapter concerning Nicodemus shows us how that
enquiring masterof Israel came to believe in Him and how the Lord was
revealedto Nicodemus as both the Sent One and the Son, “ForGod so loved
the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoeverbelieves in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be
saved.” In the fourth chapter you get to the wellat Sychar, where the Lord
manifests Himself to a poor fallen woman–andshe is convincedand hastens to
tell her friends–and they, by-and-by, know that this is, indeed, the Christ, the
Savior of the world!
In the case ofthe raising up of the nobleman’s son in the same chapter, you
are reminded by John that the father was led to faith in Jesus and the natural
inference is that you ought to be led to display a like confidence. In the fifth
chapter the healing of the impotent man at the pool is narrated in order to
introduce the statement, “But I have greaterwitness than that of John: for the
works which the Father has given Me to finish, the same works that I do, bear
witness of Me, that the Fatherhas sent Me.” When 5,000 hadbeen fed, we
read, “Those men, when they had seenthe miracle that Jesus did, said, "This
is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world.”
In the 69 th verse of the sixth chapteryou find Simon Peter saying, “We
believe and are sure that You are that Christ,the Son of the living God,” and
so in the seventh chapter, “others said this is the Christ,” being convinced by
that which He had spoken. To the man born blind, Jesus said, “Do you believe
on the Son of God?” and the man’s practical answerwas anavowalof faith
and an immediate actof worship. But I am afraid you would soongrow weary
if I were to dwell upon every incident which would prove my point. The whole
Book is made up of modes of reasoning by which men have been led to believe
in Jesus!
It might have been written for the sake of the Unitarians of our own time. It
contains repeateddeclarations that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and a
series oftestimonies of persons brought to see this by the signs that Jesus
workedamong them. Study John’s Gospelwith that view and you will see how
the Lord brings one to believe on Him by a callwhich came with Divine
authority. A secondby unveiling the secrets ofher life. Another by answering
his prayers. Another by enlightening his mind. Of the whole of His disciples,
our Lord gives the secretreasonof their discipleship in His matchless prayer,
“ForI have given unto them the words which You gave Me;and they have
receivedthem, and have knownsurely that I came out from You, and they
have believed that You did send Me.”

Throughout the whole Book, the strain is the same, for it begins with
Andrew’s confession, “We have found the Messiah,”and ends with Thomas,
to whom Jesus said, “Reachhere your finger, and behold My hands.” Thomas
cries in ecstasy, “MyLord and my God!” And this is almost the top stone of
the confessions andachievements of faith, but not quite, for here is the crown
of all, “Thomas, because youhave seenMe, you have believed: blessedare
they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” You Bible readers who have
never believed in Jesus as the Christ, have read in vain! You have read to
your own condemnation, but not to your salvation!
Oh, you that are afraid that you may not be allowedto believe in Jesus,
dismiss that foolishfear, for this holy Book is written on purpose that you may
believe and, therefore, it is clearthat you have full liberty to do so!Every time
John dipped his pen into the ink he breathed the prayer, “Lord, bring men to
believe in Jesus by that which I have written.” And he closedhis Gospelby
declaring the innermost longing of his living soul, “These are written that you
might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” My dear Hearer, your
immediate conversionto faith in the Lord Jesus is the objective of this Book.
God grant it may be fulfilled in you!
II. We turn, in the secondplace, to a subjectwhich is a step further–THE
GREAT OBJECT OF TRUE FAITH IS CHRIST JESUS. The text does not
say, “These are written that you might believe the Nicene Creed,” for goodas
that creedis, it was not, then, composed, and is not the chief objectof faith. It
does not say, “These are written that you might believe the Athanasian
creed.” A very goodcreed, but rather savage, andalso not then devised. No,
no–“Theseare written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of God, and that believing, you might have life through His name.” That is to
say, the faith which brings life to the soul is faith in the Person, offices,
Nature, and work of Jesus–andthough you may be in the dark about a
thousand things and may make mistakes about10,000 more–yetif you believe
in the Messiah, the Son of God, you have eternal life!
First, I am to believe in Jesus that He is the Christ, that He is the promised
Messiah, anointedof God to deliver the human race. I must believe that this is
He whom God promised at the Garden of Eden when He said, “The Seedof
the womanshall bruise the serpent’s head.” This is the Sent One who is come
to seek and to save that which is lost–in Him we are to believe, for it is
written–“Whoeverbelieves that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” Next we
are to believe that He is the Son of God–not in the sense in which men are sons
of God, but in that higher sense in which He is the only-begotten Sonof God,

One with the Father, eternally and indissolubly One. “The Word was with
God,” but more than that, “the Word was God.”
Now, this is to be believed if we would live unto God. “Whoevershall confess
that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him and he in God.” “Who is he
that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Sonof God?”
A Jesus who is not Divine could give us no power to overcome the world! But
in His Godheadwe find our strength. Put the two together, that He, the Divine
One, became Man, and was sentinto the world to redeem us–and we have the
right idea of Immanuel, God With Us! Will this belief save us? Assuredly it
will, but listen while I explain. First, believe this to be a matter of fact. Having
believed it to be a matter of fact, go on to look into the record concerning Him
till you are undoubtedly sure of it–for these are written that you might believe
with the fullest confidence that Jesus is God and Savior.
When you are sure of the fact, the next thing is to acceptit for yourself–agree
that Jesus shallbe your Anointed, through whom you will get the anointing
which comes upon Him as the Head and descends to you as the skirts of His
garment. At the same time, unfeignedly consentthat He shall be your God and
cry with Thomas, “MyLord and my God!” You are getting on, now, to
complete faith–go one step further. Yield yourself up to the grand Truth of
God which you have received, for that is saving faith–the submission of
yourself to the Truth of God. Acting upon the conviction of its truth, I must
say–since Jesus is now my Savior, He shall save me! Since He is the Christ
anointed for me, I will trust Him and share His anointing! Since Christ is the
Son of God, I will rest in Him, that I, also, may become in Him a child of God.
That is the point. “He that has the Son has life: and he that has not the Sonof
God has not life.” AcceptJesus as He is set forth, for to “as many as received
Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that
believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” The faith which receives Christas
He is revealedas the Messiahandas the Son of God, is the faith which has
eternal life–and the Scriptures are written that you way have this faith! I want
you to notice one more thing and that is, we are to receive Jesus ofNazareth
as being the Christ and the Son of God on the ground of the written Word of
God.
See–“Theseare written that you might believe.” From this it is clearthat the
ground of acceptable faith is the written Word of God and it is vain to look for
any other. “Oh,” says one brother, “I could believe, but I do not feel as I
ought.” What have your feelings to do with the truth of the statementthat
Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God? I read in the newspapersuch-and-such a

statementabout affairs in Europe. I may have sufficient cause for doubting
the news, but it certainly would not be a goodreasonif I were to say, “I do not
believe the telegrambecause I do not feel that it is true.” How canour feelings
affectmatters of fact? They are either true or not, altogetherapart from the
condition of the hearer.
Now, here is a testimony concerning Jesus borne by John and three other
Evangelists. If these things are true, then they are true whether your heart
dances for joy or sinks in despair. Whateverbecomes of our changeable
feelings, facts are stubborn things and alter not! Experience cannot make a
thing true and frames of mind and feelings cannotmake a thing to be a lie
which is, in itself, true! Over the head, then, of all the storms, turmoils and
changes ofmy poor, weak, silly nature, there rises a Rock that is higher than
I, higher than all things! A Rock which cannot be moved, let the storm rage as
long as it will–Christ Jesus, the anointed Son of God died in the place of all
who trust in Him! I trust in Him and I am saved!
If He is, indeed, commissionedof God to save Believers. And if He is, Himself,
God, pledged to save Believers, then I, as a Believer, am as safe as the Throne
of God, or the presence-angelswhichsurround it! WhateverI feel or do not
feel, I am a savedman since I heartily believe that which the Book was written
to teachme, namely, God’s Gospelto men, embodied in Jesus Christ, who,
being the Son of God, is anointed of the Lord to save His people!
III. So I come to the third point, which is this, that THE TRUE LIFE OF A
SOUL LIES IN CHRIST JESUS AND COMES TO THAT SOUL
THROUGH FAITH IN HIM. I understand by the life of a soul only one thing,
and yet for the sake of clearing it we must divide it a little. First, when a man
has been found guilty of death, if by any means that sentence is removed from
him, he may be said to obtain life, life in its judicial form. Suppose that a
person who is condemned to die is by some just and lawful means acquitted?
In that fact he finds life. That is the first form of life that every man has who
believes that Jesus is, indeed, the Christ. He is acquitted, pardoned, justified
and, therefore, he lives.
Through the righteousness ofJesus Christ, he is made just in the sight of God
and, being coveredwith perfectrighteousness, he lives and must live forever.
He is absolved, for he has believed in Christ Jesus, andby that act, he has
acceptedthe righteousness ofGodand escapedfrom death. The guilt has been
removed and, therefore, the penalty cannot be inflicted. This judicial life is
attended with an imparted life. God the Holy Spirit is with Believers,
breathing into them a new, holy, heavenly life. They are dead to the world and
buried with Christ, but they live unto God, never more to be slain by sin.

The life of Christ is infused into them by the Spirit of the living God, even as
the Lord Jesus has testified, “Verily, verily, I sayunto you, he that hears My
word, and believes on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life, and shall not
come into condemnation; but is passedfrom death unto life.” Observe that
this life grows. It continues to gather strength and as it increases, it is spoken
of, by John, as life, “more abundantly.” That life never dies! It is impossible
that it should everbe destroyed!It is a living and incorruptible Seedwhich
abides forever. The life of saints on earth is, in fact, the same life as that of
saints in Heaven. There is no change in the substance of the new life when we
enter Glory–only that it grows and develops and reaches perfectionin
Heaven. The Believer’s life on earth is Christ–his life in Heavenis the same.
As far as our spiritual nature is concerned, we have undergone the
Resurrectionand are raisedfrom the dead–andthe life that we live here is the
Resurrectionlife–yetthe Resurrectionhas not passedalready, for as to the
body it must be changed, and if it dies and is buried it shall be raised againat
the sounding of the lasttrumpet. We are waiting for the adoption, to wit, the
redemption of the body from the powerof death, waiting in the full assurance
of hope. The soul even now lives in newness oflife, for we are quickenedby
the Spirit of God! The new life enters the soul in and through believing and is
the same life which we shall exercise foreverat the right hand of God, even as
Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believes on Me has
everlasting life.”
I need to enlarge a little upon the factthat this life comes with believing
because I need it to be noticedthat it really comes with believing apart from
any other necessarycircumstances. One personcomplains to me, “Sir, I
cannot tell exactly when I was convertedand this causes me great anxiety.”
DearFriend, this is a needless fear. Turn your enquiries in anotherdirection–
Are you alive unto God by faith? Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God? Are you resting and trusting in Him? “Yes,” yousay, “with all
my heart.” Well, never mind about when you were converted. The fact is
before you and its date is a small matter. If a person were to sayto you, “You
are not alive,” how would you prove that you are alive? A goodplan would be
gently to stepon his toe, or do something to make him feel that you possess
life. I do not think it could be necessaryfor you to find your birth certificate
because if you held it in your hand and said, “This document is conclusive,” it
would not be half so convincing a proof of life as some distinct actof life!
If I thought that I knew the very moment in which I was born againI might
be mistaken. Indeed, little reliance canbe placedupon our judgment or our
memories. I would soonerbelieve, today, than be quite sure that I beganto

believe 30 years ago!Perhaps very few of you know the exact minute at which
the sun rose this morning–and yet you do not doubt that it has risen, for at
this present moment your are enjoying its light! Some mornings you can tell
the instant of the sun’s rising, but frequently it is so cloudy that the sun is up
before you know it! A man would be an absolute lunatic who should say, “I do
not believe that it is daylight, for I do not know when the sun rose.” Date is a
very small and unimportant matter comparedwith certainty and fact!
Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Then you are alive unto God and life is the
evidence of birth. “Well,” says another, “but I hardly know how I was
converted.” That, again, is another minor matter. Some of us cantrace the
way in which the Lord led us to Himself and we are very grateful to the
instrument by whom we were brought to a knowledge ofthe Truth of God.
But our text does not state that the Bible was written that you and I might
trace our faith in Christ to John, or to anyone else. No, it was written that we
might believe in Jesus Christ as the result of testimony–and I care not one
farthing by what testifying agentyou were brought to do it–so long as you do
but believe because ofthe witness of the Word of God.
I am sure whatever the outward means of your faith, the Spirit of God must
have workedit, for there is no living faith apart from His sacredworking
upon the mind. If you sincerely believe, the mode in which you gained your
faith need not be enquired into. “Well,” says one, “but I want to know that I
am alive unto Godby my feelings. I feel often so sad and full of pain.” Listen,
is not pain as gooda proof of life as pleasure? If anybody said to me, “I know
I am alive because Ifeel so well,” I should reply, “And I sometimes know that
I am alive because Ifeel so ill.” Rheumatic pain is as rare a proof of life as a
thrill of delight–and so, anxiety about your estate and hatred of sin and grief
over your imperfection are just as sure signs of spiritual life as the highestjoy
or the liveliest energy! Do not worry yourself, therefore, about that. If you
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and are resting in Him, it is
well with you.
“But,” says one, “I change so much. I feel sometimes as if I must be a
Christian, but at other times I feel as if it were out of the question that I could
be saved.” Yes, and do you not change a greatdeal as to your bodily life, too?
I do, I know. Why, this heavy, damp, thick atmosphere half poisons me! Lift
me up a few thousand feet on a mountain side, with a goodstiff breeze
blowing, and I feel quite another man! Are these changes reasonsfor
questioning my being alive? No, no! Quite the reverse. The reasonwhy I feel
these changes is because I am alive, for I reckonthat if I were a broomstick or
a brick wall the atmosphere would not matter much! If you have no spiritual

life, you will know few changes, but because you are alive these variations
must and will occurto you.
I make you smile. I wish I could smile awaysome of those fears which hang
like a nightmare over certain of the best of you. “But I have such conflicts
within,” cries one. Ah, dear Friend, there are no conflicts in dead men! There
would be no warfare betweenfaith and unbelief if you were not on the Lord’s
side! If our whole being remained in its natural death, there would be no
inward fighting, but inasmuch as there are two minds within you, depend
upon it–one of those minds is the mind of God! This inward conflict should
not cause you to doubt, but rather lead you to cling the more tenaciouslyto
your conviction that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of men!
Faith in Jesus begets life and this life will flourish or decayvery much in
proportion to our faith. Believe firmly and your life shall be vigorous. Believe
tremblingly and your life will be faint. Yet all depends upon “the name.” Is
not that a blessedword, “that believing, you might have life through His
name.” The name means the whole Characterof Christ–allHis offices and
relationships, all the work He has done and is doing–we “have life through His
name.” We have no life anywhere else but in that name! Jesus Christ said to
Lazarus, “Lazarus, come forth,” and why did he come forth? Why, because at
the back of the word which calledhim, there was the name of Christ who
quickens the dead!
Why were demoniacs cured? Was it not because uncleanspirits knew the
name of Jesus and trembled at it? The devil and death, sin and despair–they
all yield to that name! When some began to exorcise in another name, the
devil leaped upon them and cried, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who
are you?” That name has powerin Heaven, has poweron earth, has power in
Hell, has power everywhere!And if we trust in that name and live to the
Glory of that name, we have life through that name!
I come back to my beginning and there I close–the one thing, the main thing,
the only thing is that we hold on to Jesus Christthrough thick and thin,
through foul and fair, up hill and down dale, in the night and in the day, in life
and in death, in time and in eternity–that we steadfastlybelieve that Jesus of
Nazareth, who died upon the Cross, is the MessiahofGod, yes, the Son of
God, sentto cleanse awayiniquity and bring in perfectrighteousness!
Whether we see Him on His Cross or on His Throne, all our hope, all our trust
must be fixed in Him and so we shall live when time shall be no more!
Verily, I say unto you, those who thus trust Him shall never perish, neither
shall any pluck them out of His hands, for He has said it, “I give unto My

sheepeternal life.” Staythere, O true Believers, and let none entice you from
your steadfastness!If any of you have never exerted this faith, may the Lord
bring you to Jesus at once!This sacredBook was writtenon purpose to make
you believe! The Spirit is given to lead you to believe! The objective of every
preaching of the Gospelis that you may believe!Therefore come and
welcome!And at this hour believe on the one saving name and live thereby.
God grant it for His name’s sake. Amen. LETTER FROM MR. SPURGEON.
Mentone, November 19 th , 1881. TO FRIENDS AT HOME–Iam happily
resting.Praythat I may gather strength in body, soul and spirit, and return to
my labor to perform a far greaterwork than has ever been given me up to
now. At this time revival services are being held at the Tabernacle andI beg
all friends to strive togetherin their prayers for a greatand extraordinary
blessing. Especiallylet all members of the Church be up and doing, for time is
short, men are dying, wickedness abounds and there is need that the Gospel
be preached with power. With fervent love in Christ Jesus, Yours forever, C.
H. Spurgeon.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Scripture, Faith, And Life
John 20:31
J.R. Thomson
To judge aright of any book, it is necessaryto take into considerationthe
purpose of the writer.
"In every work regard the author's end,
For none cancompass more than they intend." If we wish to understand this
treatise, the so-calledGospelofJohn, we shall act wiselyto consultthe treatise
itself, and learn what its author had in view as his purpose in preparing and
publishing it. It has often been treated as if it were something very different
from what it actually professes to be. Happily, in this verse we have clear
information as to the design which the writer set before him in composing his
narrative and record.

I. THE WRITER'S RECORD.Manyof the works of Jesus were not written in
this short treatise;"but these," says John, "are written."
1. This is a recordof facts, and not of "cunningly devised fables;" of events
which actually took place, and of words which were really spoken. This
Gospelcontains neither falsehoods nor fictions; nor is it a dramatic or poetical
compositionwrought by the force and delicacyof imagination.
2. This is a recordof facts in themselves so important as to be worthy of being
held in memory. They are the events which occurredin no ordinary life, but
in a life distinguished from all other lives by its commencement, by its close,
and by very many circumstances in its course. In this passagethe writer
speaks ofsome of the chief events which he records as "signs." This is a
designationof miracles, and it is observable that John relates atlength about
ten miracles performed by the Lord Jesus. But the word especiallyrefers to
the signification, the moral meaning, of Christ's mighty works;to the
revelation they afford of his character, his Divine mission, his intentions of
grace towards mankind. The reference is not only to our Lord's appearances
after his resurrection, but to the whole manifestation of himself throughout
his earthly career.
3. This is a recordof facts to which the writer bears his own personalwitness.
What is set down is not so set down upon" hearsayevidence." John himself
saw Jesus do some of the works attributed to him; John himself heard Jesus
deliver some of the discourses whichnone else has recorded. In other cases,
where he was not present, John had every opportunity of knowing what Jesus
had said, from the very persons to whom he had spoken. There canbe no
doubt that John heard Jesus deliver the discourse recordedin the fourteenth,
fifteenth, and sixteenth chapters, that he heard Jesus offerthe prayer which
occupies the seventeenthchapter. That those who first read and acceptedthis
document, and who commended it to the attention of Christian people
generally, were convinced of its authenticity, appears from the imprimatur
which they added, "This is the disciple which beareth witness of these things,
and wrote these things: and we know that his witness is true."
II. THE READERS'FAITH. We read some books for the charm of their style,
for the insight they afford into the author's mental peculiarities. We read
other books for their sparkling wit, their delightful humor. Others, again, we
read that our tenderer feelings may be awakened, orthat we may be lifted out
of the sordid cares and anxieties of life into a fresher, more inspiring
atmosphere. There are works which are read for the sake ofacquiring
knowledge ofa scientific, or technical, or historical character. Now, this
treatise was written for one definite purpose, which is here exactly stated by

the writer. If it fails of this purpose, it so far fails to effect that for which its
author wrote it. In a word, John's aim was that his readers might believe
aright about Jesus.
1. That they might believe him to be the Christ; i.e. the Messiahexpectedby
the Jews, because foretoldin their prophetic books;One anointed,
commissionedby the Eternal to do greatthings for Israel and for mankind. In
the course ofhis ministry, such inquiries were started as," Is not this the
Christ?" "Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?" It is to
enable all fair-minded men to come to a satisfactoryconclusionupon this
point that John wrote. He does not concealhis own conviction; but, on the
whole, he keeps himself in the background; he sets his glorious subject in the
full light of day, and he leaves his readers to form their conclusion.
2. That they might believe him to be the Sonof God. If the Hebrew people
were most likely to shape their inquiry as above, to the world at large the
problem was less special. Has the SovereignRuler of the universe any interest
in this human race? Is it possible that, to teachand guide and save mankind,
he has sent his own Son into the world - a man, yet Divine in authority, in
righteousness, inlove? Before any one decides for himself upon this question,
he must read the record of the son of Zebedee, and acquire the means for
forming a satisfactoryjudgment. John's convictionwas that the proper result
of considering his recordis faith. And in this all Christians are agreed. Theirs
is a reasonable faith, basedupon sufficient evidence - historical, moral,
miraculous evidence - evidence which will bear all scrutiny, which has
convinced the wisestand the best of men. At the same time, it is religious
faith; for it is fixed upon a Divine Being, has respectto Divine government,
and issues in spiritual and eternal results. This explains the memorable words
of Jesus himself: "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
III. THE RELIEVERS'LIFE. Precious as it is, faith is but the means to an
end. Faith is a posture of the soul; life is a state of the soul.
1. Life is the natural result of faith. Every man's life is affectedby what he
believes;in fact, a man's beliefs become the principles of his conduct. It is so
in politics, in literature, in art.
2. Faith in Christ is the means towards a spiritual life. If belief in fictitious,
vicious deities makes men superstitious and immoral; if faith in corrupt
representations ofChristianity has a debasing influence; surely faith in a
Being so true, so holy, so affectionate as Jesus, must have powerto assimilate
the believing soul to the Object of its attachment. The human nature cannot

be said to live that is dead to all that is pure, unselfish, and morally beautiful.
Christ came that we might have life, and that more abundantly.
3. This spiritual life is eternal. By this it is not intended to say that the mere
continuance of conscious existenceis linked with faith with Jesus;but rather
that upon such faith depends all that makes life worth living in this and in all
worlds. "More life and fuller 'tis we want." The life which is hid with Christ
in God is independent of the accidents of earth and of time. It is immortal as is
he who gives it. APPLICATION. Let the reader of this Gospelask himself -
Have I been led by its perusal to receive Jesus as the true God and the Eternal
Life?
"Forbetter they had ne'er been born,
Who read to doubt, or read to scorn." ? T.
Biblical Illustrator
And many other signs truly did Jesus.
John 20:30, 31
The Evangelic record
D. Thomas, D. D.
: —
I. ITS PARTIALNESS (ver. 30).
1. Christ was a worker. He had a wonderful mission to discharge within a
brief time. Every day was crowdedwith deeds.
2. These deeds were signs —

(1)Of His preternatural might.
(2)Of His matchless philanthropy.
(3)Of His immeasurable possibilities.
3. The recorded signs were only a small portion of what He accomplished;but
—
(1)They are sufficient for our purpose.
(2)They suggesta wonderful history for future study.
II. ITS PURPOSE (ver. 31). The facts of Christ's life are written in order —
1. To reveal Him.
(1)His power.
(2)His love.
(3)His transcendent excellence.
2. That men may believe in Him. How could they believe in Him of whom they
have not heard. Faith in Him is at once —
(1)The most essential, and —
(2)The most practicable of all faiths. It is easierto believe in a personthan in a
proposition, and to believe in a transcendently goodpersonthan in any other.
3. That through faith men may have the highest life. What is this: Supreme
sympathy with the supremely good. Manlost this at the Fall, and the loss is his
guilt and ruin. The mission of Christ is to resuscitate it, and to fill souls with
the love of God.
(D. Thomas, D. D.)
The miracles of Christ
R. Watson.
1. "Signs" are miracles — a branch of evidence to which our religion appeals.
The sufficiency of this evidence appears from universal acknowledgment.
That the authors of all false religions have pretended miracles to establish
their authority does not weakenthe argument; for there could be no
counterfeit coin were there no genuine mintage.
2. But what is a miracle? Notevery extraordinary event, although popularly
so denominated. There may be extraordinary floods, droughts, earthquakes,
meteors, &c., and yet all may be resolvedinto natural laws operating under
peculiar circumstances, withoutany specialinterposition of Deity. Hence, not

every portent which an ignorant people callmiraculous, is to be clothed with
that character;nor every occasionalremarkable effectwhich cannotbe
resolvedinto some known natural law, as the force of imagination in curing
certain kinds of diseasesand infirmities. But a miracle is the effect of the
immediate interposition of God, contrary to or above the ordinary laws of
nature, and that for the confirmation of some doctrine or messageas from
Himself.
3. The miracles of Jesus are presentedto our consideration.
I. AS BEARING THE UNEQUIVOCAL CHARACTER OF REAL
MIRACLES, AND THEREFOREAUTHENTICATING THE MISSION
AND CLAMS OF CHRIST. Consider —
1. Their number. A solitary instance might be accountedfor by mistake,
deception, exaggeration, orcoincidence. But the number "of the signs which
Jesus did" shuts out this objection. Many instances are recordedwith names,
places, times, &c.;whilst we have instances in which our Lord healed
"multitudes."
2. Their publicity. They were wrought in the sight of multitudes in broad day,
and under the eye of a whole nation for nearly four years.
3. The characterof the witnesses. Eventhe disciples were not over credulous;
for Christ was the opposite of Him whom their imaginations had depicted as
the true Messiah. In the multitude there was no eagerness to proclaim a lowly
peasant, the Son of David, the King of Israel. And even the Phariseesand
Sadducees, whoseeye was sharpenedby the mixed passions of hatred, envy,
and fear, never denied the facts, and had to accountfor them by Satanic
agency.
4. The nature of the works themselves. No class ofevents could bear stronger
evidence of a supernatural character. Theyare not of a nature to be referred
to the effects of imagination, occult laws of nature, never till then developed,
nor to fortunate coincidences. "Sincethe world beganwas it not heard that
any man openedthe eyes of one that was born blind."
5. In the very age and places where these "signs" were wrought, multitudes
believed on Christ who had motives for unbelief but none for credulity; and
their conversioncan only be accountedfor from the overwhelming evidences
of the real occurrence ofthe miracles upon which Christ placed the proof of
His Divine mission.

II. AS ACCOMPANIED WITH INTERESTING CIRCUMSTANCES, AND
AS MINISTERINGPOINTSOF IMPORTANT INSTRUCTION. In the
works of Christ there are —
1. Miracles whichdeclare His Divinity.(1) He wrought them, not in the name
of another, but in His own. "I say unto thee, Arise," &c. This distinguishes
Him from prophets and apostles.(2)He associates a miracle of healing with
His authority as God to forgive sins.(3)When He drove the buyers and sellers
out of the Temple, He claimed as His own that Temple in which He often
appearedas a common worshipper.(4)And when He castout devils, they are
sometimes constrainedto confess Him as the Son of God.
2. Miracles ofimpressive majesty. He was to appear among men in the utmost
lowliness ofcondition, yet He was to gathera people who were to receive Him
as, "the Son of God." Such a task had been too difficult for the strongestfaith,
had there not been "signs" whichshould manifest His "glory." The cloud
which enveloped Him was dark; but it was the cloud of the Shechinah. Under
His benediction bread multiplies, and thousands are fed; He walks upon the
sea, and the yielding elementsinks not beneath His footsteps;amidst the
uproar of a storm He utters His simple command, "Peace, be still!" and the
winds hear, and die away. At the mouth of the sepulchre He cries, "Lazarus,
come forth!" And when finally He, the Conqueror of death in His own
dominion, appears, Thomas naturally exclaims, "My Lord and my God!"
3. Miracles oftenderness. The works of our Lord were uniformly benevolent;
but some of them were characterizedby circumstances ofpeculiar
compassion, e.g.,the feeding of the multitudes; the healing of the nobleman,
and the raising of the widow's son, &c.
4. Miracles designedto impress upon our minds some important doctrine.
When our Lord provided for the tribute-money, He intended to teach
subjection to fiscallaws. When He drove the traders from the Temple, He
taught that the places and the acts of worship are to be kept free from the
intrusions of secularthings. The miraculous draught of fishes was designedto
indicate the success ofthe apostles in their work of evangelizing all nations,
&c.
5. Miracles involving the duty and necessityof faith; that is, a personaltrust
in His powerand mercy, as in the case ofthe leper, the centurion's servant,
the child tormented with an evil spirit (Mark 9.), and the Syro-Phoenician
woman.
6. Typical miracles, which symbolize something higher than themselves, great
and illustrious as they were.(1)Our Lord's absolute powerover nature

indicated that the government of the natural world was placedin His hands as
Mediator.(2)Devils were subject to Him, which showedthat He came to
establisha dominion which should finally subvert the empire of Satan.(3)
When He was transfigured, He exhibited a type of that glory into which He
was Himself about to enter, and into which He purposed to introduce His
disciples.(4)When the band came to apprehend Him, and He by putting forth
a supernatural power arrestedthe arresters, He showedwith what ease He
can confound His adversaries.(5)When, whilst in the act of dying, He rent the
earth, and openedthe graves, so that many of the saints came forth, He
gatheredthe first-fruits of His people from the grave. And the miracle of His
own resurrectionwas the type and pattern of our triumph over
death.Conclusion:Learn —
1. The practical characterofthe holy Scriptures. "These are written that ye
might believe"; but many other works were done "which are not written in
this book." Enough, however, is recorded for practicaluses;the rest are
reservedto the revelations of a future state. Let us remember that we are
rather to improve what is recorded, than repine that not more has been
written to gratify our curiosity.
2. The end for which they are written, "that ye might believe", &c. These are
the chief foundations of the Christian faith. "The Son of God" is the Divine
designation;"the Christ" is the officialname of the Redeemerof the world.
3. The consequence ofa true faith in Christ is life. A mere doctrinal faith,
howevercorrect, cannotof itself lead to this result; but the personaltrust
which is exercisedby a penitent heart obtains the life which is promised in
Christ. The sentence of condemnation is reversed; and spiritual life, the result
of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, becomes the subject of present, daily, and
growing experience. By this let us try our faith.
(R. Watson.)
The silence of Scripture
A. Maclaren, D. D.
It is a very goodold canonthat "in every work" we are to "regardthe
writer's end," and if that simple principle had been applied to this Gospel, a
greatmany of the features in it which have led to some difficulty would have
been naturally explained. But this text may be applied very much more widely
than to John's Gospel.
I. We have here THE INCOMPLETENESS OF SCRIPTURE.

1. Take this Gospelfirst. It is not meant to be a biography; it is avowedlya
selection, under the influence of a distinct dogmatic purpose. There is nothing
in it about Christ's birth, baptism, and selectionofapostles, ministry in
Galilee, parables, ethicalteaching, and the Lord's supper. Nearlyhalf of it is
takenup with the incidents of one week at the end of His life, and of and after
the Resurrection. Ofthe remainder — by far the larger portion consists of
conversations whichaxe hung upon miracles that seemto be related
principally for the sake ofthese.
2. And when we turn to the other three, the same is true. Why was it that after
the completionof the Scriptural canonthere sprang up apocryphalgospels,
full of childish stories of events which people felt had been passedover with
strange silence? Is it not strange that the greatesteventin the world's history
should be told in such brief outline? Put the Gospels down by the side of the
biography of any man that has a name at all, and you will feeltheir
incompleteness as biographies. And yet, although they be so tiny that you
might sit down and read them all in an evening over the fire, is it not strange
that they have stamped on the mind of the world an image so deep and so
sharp, of such a characteras the world never saw elsewhere?
3. And then, if you turn to the whole Book, the same thing is true. The silence
of Scripture is quite as eloquent as its speech.(1)Think, e.g., how many things
are takenfor granted which one would not expect to be takenfor granted in a
book of religious instruction: the Being of a God; our relations to Him; our
moral nature, and the future life. Look at how the Bible passes by, without
one word of explanation, the difficulties which gather round some of its
teaching:the Divine nature of our Lord, e.g., the three Persons in the
Godhead; the mystery of prayer; or of the difficulty of reconciling the
Omnipotent will of God with our own free will, or of the fact of Christ's death
as the atonement for the sins of the whole world. Observe, too, how scanty the
information on points on which the heart craves for more light: e.g., the
future life!(2) Nor is the incompleteness of Scripture as a historical book less
marked. Nations and men appear on its pages abruptly, rending the curtain of
oblivion, and then they disappear. It has no care to tell the stories of any of its
heroes, exceptfor so long as they were the organs of that Divine breath. It is
full of gaps about matters that any sciolistor philosopher or theologianwould
have filled up for it.
II. THE MORE IMMEDIATE PURPOSE WHICH EXPLAINS ALL THESE
INCOMPLETENESSES.
1. To produce in men's hearts faith in Jesus as the Christ and as the Sonof
God.(1)The Evangelistavows that His work is a selectiondetermined by the

doctrinal purpose to representJesus as the Christ, the Fulfiller of all the
expectations and promises of the old Covenant, and as the Son of God. And so
it is ridiculous in the face of this statement for "critics" to say: "The author of
the fourth Gospelhas not told us this, that, and the other incident therefore,
He did not know it, consequentlythis Gospelis not to be trusted"; and others
might draw the conclusionthat the other three Evangelists are not to be
trusted because they do give it us; a blunder which would have been avoided if
people had listened when he said: "I knew a great many things about Jesus
Christ, but I did not put them down here because I was not writing a
biography, but preaching a gospel."(2)But that is just as true about the whole
New Testament. The four Gospels are written to tell us these two facts about
Christ, and the restof the New Testamentis nothing more than the working
out of their theoreticaland practical consequence.(3)As for the Old
Testamentwhatevermay be the conclusionas to dates and authorship, and
what. ever a man may believe about verbal prophecies, there is stamped
unmistakably upon the whole systeman attitude towards "goodthings to
come," and of a Personwho will bring them. "They that went before, and they
that followedafter, cried, Hosanna! Blessedbe He that cometh in the name of
the Lord." That Christ towers up above the history of the world and the
process ofrevelation, like Mount Everestamong the Himalayas. To that great
peak all the country on the one side runs upwards, and from it all the valleys
on the other descend;and the springs are born there which carry verdure and
life overthe world.
2. Christ, the Son of God, is the centre of Scripture; and the Book is a unity,
because there is driven right through it, like a core of gold, either in the way
of prophecy and onward-looking anticipation, or in the wayof history and
grateful retrospect, the reference to Christ, the Son of God.(1)And all its
fragmentariness, its carelessnessaboutpersons, are intended, as are the slight
parts in a skilful artist's handiwork, to emphasize the beauty and the
sovereigntyof that one Central Figure on which all lights are concentrated,
and on which the painter has lavished all the resourcesofhis art.(2) But it is
not merely in order to representJesus as the Christ of God that these things
are written, but that representationmay become the objectof our faith. Had
the former been its sole intention, a theologicaltreatise, e.g., wouldhave been
enough. But, if the objectbe that men should resttheir sinful souls upon Him
as the Son of God and the Christ, then there is no other way to accomplish
that but by the history of His life and the manifestation of His heart. And so
let us learn the wretched insufficiency of a mere orthodox creed, and on the
other hand, the equal insufficiency of a mere creedless emotion.

III. THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF THE WHOLE. Scripture is not given to
us merely to make us know something about God in Christ, nor only in order
that we may have faith in the Christ thus revealed to us, but that we may
"have life in His name."
1. "Life" is deep, mystical, inexplicable by any other words than itself. It
includes pardon, holiness, well-being, immortality, Heaven; but it is more
than they all.
2. This life comes in our dead hearts and quickens them by union with God.
That which is joined to God lives. You canseparate your wills and your
spiritual nature from Him, and thus separatedyou are "deadin tresspasses
and in sins." And the message whichcomes there is life "in His name"; i.e., in
that revealedcharacterof His by which He is made knownto us as the Christ
and the Son of God.
3. Union with Him in His Sonship will bring life into dead hearts. He is the
true Prometheus who has come from Heaven with the fire of the Divine life in
the reedof His humanity, and He imparts it to us all if we will. He lays
Himself upon us, as the prophet laid himself on the little child in the upper
chamber; and lip to lip, and beating heart to dead heart, He touches our
death, and it is quickened into life.
4. The condition on which that great Name will bring to us life is simply our
faith. Do trust yourself to Him, as He who came to fulfil all that prophet,
priest, and king, sacrifice, altar, and temple of old times prophesied and
lookedfor? Do you trust in Him as the Son of God who comes downto earth
that we in Him might find the immortal life which He is ready to give? If you
do, then the end that God has in view in all His revelation, has been
accomplishedfor you. If you do not it has not. You may admire Him, be ready
to call Him by many appreciative names, but unless you have learned to see in
Him the Divine Saviour of your souls, you have not seenwhat God means you
to see. But if you have, then all other questions about this Book, important as
they are in their places, may settle themselves as they will; you have gotthe
kernel, the thing that it was meant to bring you. Many an erudite scholar, who
has studied the Bible all his life, has missed the purpose for which it was
given; and many a poor old woman in her garrethas found it.
(A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Things not written and things written
A. A. Lipscombe, D. D.

Among thoughtful readers biography is the most popular branch of literature.
It is popular in the best sense. It does not captivate the intellect of
sensuousnessatthe expense of the reflective mind. Nor does it stimulate a
fugitive moment to be followed by a lapse into deadness ofsensibility. But it is
popular by virtue of a genuine human quality that delights in a knowledge of
others, and passes fromtheir fellowshipinto a truer and wisercommunion
with its own private heart. Books are the best interpreters of the race, and
biographies are the best of books. No wonder, then, that the basis of
Christianity, as a revelation of infinite wisdom, is laid in the biography of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Notice —
I. The statement THAT THAT RECORD OF OUR LORD'S LIFE IS
FRAGMENTARY, AND, AS TO ITS DETAILS, INCOMPLETE. The
narrative, though four minds wrought on it most sympathetically and
skillfully, is not exhaustive. Obviously, the limitation was a part of the plan,
for it is uniform, no one of the evangelists transcending a boundary tacitly
acknowledged. Noris this restraint arbitrary as to its mode of action.
Observe, then, that this restraint is not isolatedas to one class offacts or to
any specialphase of Christ's varied ministrations. It covers all. If we instance
the miracles, only thirty-two are given, while we have many allusions to
miraculous acts in such words as "He healed many" and "healing every
sicknessand every disease among the people." We have the Sermon on the
Mount, the discourses reportedby St. John, and numerous parables, but His
preaching is frequently spokenof in a generalway, as "He preachedin their
synagoguesthroughout all Galilee." OfHis private instructions, few examples
are mentioned, while His domestic life during the three years of His ministry
is dimly outlined. The eyes of those who "beheld His glory" saw more than
they reported; and the hand of vigorous description, held in check by a higher
Power, was allowedonly such freedom of sweepas was consistent with the
basic principle of New Testamentliterature. And what was that principle?
Stated in a generalway, it was the principle of biography as distinct from
history. Biography proposes to interestus in a character. Everything is
subordinate to that ruling idea. On this ground, then, we see the philosophy
involved in the constructive art of the evangelists. Theyhave but one end in
view, and that is to describe a character. Byreasonof this end, their art must
be exclusive no less than inclusive. Exclusive it must be, so as to shut off every
divergence in the direction of history. Inclusive it will be, in order to do justice
to the characterportrayed. But this view may be expanded to a much wider
reach. Not only had the evangelists to representa very unique characterin its
human relations and aspects,but also the Divine nature underlying this

characterand imparting a peculiar significance to eachand all its
manifestations. If the Lord Jesus was the perfectedtype of humanity, He was
also the image of God, the "express image" ofthe Fatherand "the brightness
of His glory." We are so constitutedas to need images. Without them, the
mind is inert. The sense-organs are inlets to certain images. Takeninto the
imagination, they are elaboratedinto endless shapes ofbeauty and splendour.
Not a faculty, not even the conscience, is independent of them, and the most
subtle of all mental operations — a process ofabstraction — is an ultimate
refinement of some concrete and pictorial idea. To this law of mind, Christ
conformed when He appeared amongstmen as the image of the Father. This
being assumed, the evangelists come before us in a new attitude as
biographers. Must the ordinary and acceptedart-conditions of biography be
fulfilled? Yes; for Christ is amen among men. But He is also a perfect man, an
ideal of the human race. If so, the skill of biographicalportraiture must be
enhancedto meet the exceptionalrequirement. Is that all? Nay: He is not only
an ideal man, but the Divine Man. St. John states the generic idea of them all
when He says:"Notwritten" and "these are written." Inspiration in them
reveals itself in two ways:first, they carry the human heart of compositionto
its highest attainable point, and, secondly, they advance beyond the line of
supreme human excellence."Notwritten" applies to whateverwould over
excite the senses andthe intellect acting through the senses. "Notwritten"
refers to all that would address curiosity, the love of Novelty, and the strong
proclivity to sensationalgratification. "Notwritten" includes every activity of
the imagination that terminates in self-luxury and expends itself in emotions
that vanish when the thrill of treacherous nerves has subsided. "Notwritten"
embraces that plethora of argument and logic by means of which no choice is
left to the self-determining powerof the soul, and its beliefs are createdfor it
and not by its own freedom. "Notwritten" asserts the truth, that the inner eye
may be dazzled, confused, irritated, and, at last, blinded, till it is "dark with
excessive light." And, hence, the art of the evangelistfell back into the
previous method of the Lord Jesus, who uniformly actedon the law involved
in "not written." Therefore it was that He who spake as neverman spoke
adhered so rigidly to the wisdom of moderation. But, on the other hand, St.
John says that certainthings "are written," and, hence, we inquire why are
"these" written? The answeris —
II. THAT THE LORD JESUS IS PRESENTEDBY MEANS OF "THESE"
THINGS AS THE OBJECT OF SAVING FAITH. St. John is clearand full:
"Thatye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that
believing ye might have life through His name." The object of the evangelists

was not to give the history of Christ, but the personality of Christ as seenin
His Divine character. A fixed principle of selectiongoverns the evangelists in
the incidents they narrate. The type of facts so chosen.is invariable. There is
not a solitaryexception. All these facts are typical of Him as the Son of Man,
the Sonof God, the Divine Redeemerof our race;and they ever converge to
one point — faith in Him as the Saviour of sinners. So then in the things "not
written" and in those "written;" in the spirit and mode of the narration; there
is one end to which every fact is relative and necessary;viz., faith in Christ.
Study Christ's life in order to see how wiselyand beneficiently He uses the
acts of others to commend faith in Himself. This is one of the highestcharms
of His biography for this feature makes it our biography as well as His. Does
He heal the centurion's servant? Jesus stands aside, as it were, and puts the
centurion's faith in the foreground of the scene. "I have not found so great
faith, no, not in Israel" (Matthew 8:10). So in the case ofthe Syro-Phoenician
woman: "O woman, greatis thy faith" (Matthew 15:28). One of the most
striking chapters in the Bible is the eleventh of Hebrews, which exhibits in a
historic collocationthe wonders of faith. Its illustrations, taken from
successive agesofthe Church, follow in stirring rapidity, and the summons,
"By faith," allow no break or lapse in attention. See, then, His complete
adaptedness to man as the object of saving faith. If we believe in Godsurely
we may and can believe in Him. Nor can we wonder that He reserved(see
chap. John 14.)this specialmode of address to consummate the teaching of
faith in Himself. The basis of faith had been laid, the superstructure built up,
and now the final touch of strength and beauty is added: "Ye believe in God;
believe also in Me." Sayyou, that man is wreckedand ruined? So He is;
utterly and hopelesslycrushed by sin. But the grandeur of His place in the
universe survives, the idea of humanity attests its imperishability in the midst
of overthrow, and man walks forth from the gates of Eden a sublimer
possibility than when he entered on its magnificence. Ages before the
atonement was a fact it was a truth; and one of its glorious characteristics —
the most indicative indeed of its Divineness, next to the Godhead of the
atoning sufferer, was the powerof the doctrine in anticipation of the
accomplishedreality. How shall we explain this phenomenon? It is to be
accountedfor by the position that faith occupies in the scheme of redemption.
On this ground we see why the Abraham of a rude and idolatrous age could
become the father of the faithful, and why Moses shouldtranscendall
statesmenand legislators. Throughthe senses to the soulwas the law of
Adamic life. Exactly in accordwith this economy, "the tree of knowledge of
goodand evil," forbidden to their taste, was "goodfor food," "pleasantto the
eyes" and "to be desired to make one wise." The temptation was on the level

of Adam's dignity and it addresseditselfdirectly to the foremostpeculiarities
of his constitution. So thus the law in Christ is through the spirit to the soul
and its companion senses.Necessarily, therefore, faith is the instrumental
means of salvation, since faith is the only possible organ through which the
higher nature in man can act, and by which it can be developed. And hence
the declarationof John (1 John 5:4.): "This is the victory that overcomeththe
world, even our faith." It overcomes the senses, whereindwells in a fastness as
old as Eden and as mighty as "the god of this world," the tyranny of evil. It
overcomes their lusts and appetites. If we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, we "have life through His name." To believe in Him is to believe
in His Sonship as divinely, eternally, exclusivelyHis Sonship, and in His
humanity as "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners." The two
natures met and united in Him; they formed one Person;and that Person,
after a life of humiliation exceptionalin the records of humanity, and a life of
service and ministration in all the offices of intelligence, philanthropy, and
goodness,still more remarkable in the annals of the race, died as differently
from all other deaths as His life had been unlike all other lives. To believe in
Him is to believe that His death was vicarious, propitiatory, and satisfying as
to all the needs of fallen man, and all the requirements of infinite truth,
justice, and holiness. To believe in Him is to believe in the unabated
sovereigntyof law. Love is never supreme above law, but supreme through
law. To believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, is to believe, not in mere
truths and sentiments, nor simply in doctrines and duties, but in Him whose
gracious and ever-blessedpersonalityis the fount whence flows the force of all
truth; the charm of all beauty; the wisdomof all knowledge;the tenderness of
all benevolence;the sweetnessofall sympathy; the largenessofall
magnanimity, and the loftiness of all heroism, in the currents of this world's
arteries, and in eachand every one of the channels of this new-made universe.
To believe in Him is to render repentance efficient to its end, so that they who
mourn find a beatitude in their tears.
(A. A. Lipscombe, D. D.)
The main matter
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. THE DESIGN OF ALL SCRIPTURE IS TO PRODUCE FAITH. There is
no text in the whole book which was intended to create doubt. Doubt is a seed
self-sown, orsownby the devil, and it usually springs up with more than
sufficient abundance without our care. Holy Scripture is the creatorof a holy

confidence by revealing a sure line of fact and truth. Observe, no part of Holy
Scripture was written —
1. To magnify the writer of it. Many human hooks are evidently intended to
let you see how profound are the thoughts of their authors or how striking is
their style. The inspired authors lose themselves in their theme, and hide
themselves behind their Master. A most striking instance of this is found in St.
John's gospel. Johnwas a man above all others fitted to write the life of
Christ; and yet he has left out many interesting facts which the others have
recorded, who did not actually see the facts as he did. He is silent because his
speechwould not serve the end it aimed at. And the most striking point is this
— he omits, as if of set purpose, those places of the history in which he would
have shone — the resurrectionof the daughter of Jairus, the Transfiguration,
&c. What a lessonis all this to us who write or speak for God!
2. To present a complete biography of Christ. Observe the difference between
John and an ordinary biographer. I can point you to biographies stuffed full
of letters and small talk, which might as well have been forgotten. How
different here! The signs and wonders which Christ did are not written to
make a book; they are not even written that you may be informed of all that
Jesus did; these are written with the end — "that ye might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God." Matthew leaves out everything that does not
bring out Christ in connectionwith the kingdom. Luke brings forth Jesus as
the man; but when John brings forth Jesus as the Son of God he omits
numbers of details that show our Lord in other aspects.
3. Forthe gratificationof the most godly and pious curiosity. I would like to
have actedto our Lord as Boswelldid to Johnson. But the Holy Ghost did not
send his servants to gatherup interesting details and curious facts. You shall
be told that which shall lead you to believe Christ to be the Sonof God, but no
more.
4. With the view of setting before us a complete example. It is true that the
gospelsets before us a perfect character, andwe are bound to imitate it; but
that was not the first or chief designof the writers. Goodworks are best
promoted, not as the first, but as the secondthing. They come as the result of
faith. See how John all through keeps to his design. His book contains a series
of testimonies borne by persons led to faith in Jesus as the Christ. It begins
with Andrew's confession— "We have found the Messias," andends with
Thomas's — "My Lord and my God."
II. THE GREAT OBJECT OF TRUE FAITH IS JESUS CHRIST. The text
does not say, "These are written that ye might believe the Nicene orthe

Athanasian creed." First, I am to believe in Jesus that He is the Christ,
promised Messiah, anointedof Godto deliver the human race. Nextthat He is
the Sonof God— not in the sense in which men are sons of God, but as the
only begottenSon of God. Put the two together, that He, the Divine One,
became man and was sentinto the world to redeem us, and we have the right
idea of Immanuel — God with us.
1. Believe this to be a matter of fact.
2. Acceptit for yourself.
3. Yield yourself up to the grand truth which you have received.
4. Receive Jesus as being the Christ and the Sonof God on the ground of the
written Word. "These are written," &c. "Oh," says one, "I could believe, but
I do not feel as I ought." What have your feelings to do with the truth of the
statementthat Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God? Experience cannotmake
a thing true; and frames and feelings cannot make a thing to be a lie which is
in itself true.
III. THE TRUE LIFE OF A SOUL LIES IN CHRIST JESUS AND COMES
TO THAT SOUL THROUGH FAITH IN HIM.
1. When a man has been found guilty of death, if by any means that sentence
is removed, he obtains life, life in its judicial form. That is the first form of life
that every man has who believes.
2. This judicial life is attended with an imparted life. God the Holy Spirit is
with believers, breathing into them a new, holy, heavenly life.
3. This life grows. It continues to gather strength, and as it increases it s life
"more abundantly."
4. This life never dies; it is a living and incorruptible seedwhich abideth for
ever. The life of saints on earth is the same as that of saints in heaven.
5. This life comes with believing.(1)One person complains, "I cannot tell
exactly when I was converted, and this causes me greatanxiety." Dearfriend,
this is a needless fear. Turn your inquiries in another direction — Are you
alive unto God by faith? The date is a small matter.(2) "Well," says another,
"but I hardly know how I was converted." Thatagainis minor matter. Our
text does not state that the Bible was written that you and I might trace our
faith in Christ to John, or to any one else. If you believe sincerelythe mode in
which you gained your faith need not be inquired into.(3) "But I have such
conflicts within," cries one. Ah, there are no conflicts in dead men.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)

The quickening works
D. Thomas, D. D.
Every man may be comparedto a book, and every day adds a fresh page to it.
Notice —
I. THE RECORD."Theseare written."
1. The subjects of the publication are the wonderful works and sayings of our
Lord. His deeds were such as no human power could accomplish. The
miracles were performed —
(1)As proofs of His Divinity.
(2)As acts of humanity.
(3)As illustrations of the works of salvation.Theirpublicity is particularly
mentioned in the text. They were done in the presence ofthe disciples.
Imposture seeksconcealment. The miracles saidto every doubter, "Come and
see." Theirnumber is also noted. "Manyother signs." And not only are the
miracles recorded, but the savings. With what dignity, authority, power, does
He speak!
2. The way by which the Divine will has been revealedhas been by inspiring
certain men to recordit in writing. Many advantages are derived from this
method — the advantages of —
(1)Universality. A man's writings reachfurther than his voice.
(2)Appeal. "To the law and the testimony" we appeal. This is the judge that
ends strife.
(3)Security and permanence.The utteredword perishes;the letter written
remains. What do we know of ancient history but through books? Let us be
thankful, then, for two greatblessings — the Book written in our own tongue,
and for ability to read it.
II. THE REASON. "Thesethings are written that ye might believe" —
1. In the realexistence of Jesus. Some have been so scepticalas to doubt
whether such a person ever lived. They never doubt the existence ofCaesaror
Mahommed. But have we not much strongerproof of the existence ofChrist?
2. In the true characterof Jesus.
(1)As the Christ.
(2)As the Son of God.

III. THE RESULT. Some write books for pecuniary ends. John wrote that we
might have life — not animal or intellectual, but spiritual and eternal. There
are five signs of life — sensibility, activity, appetency, appropriateness,
superiority to gravitation. Have we these signs spiritually?
(D. Thomas, D. D.)
Christ, the source oflife
RowlandHill.
I remember once conversing with a celebratedsculptor, who had been hewing
out a block of marble to representone of our greatpatriots — Lord Chatham.
"There," saidhe, "is not that a fine form?" "Now, sir," saidI, "canyou put
life into it? Else, with all its beauty, it is still but a block of marble." Christ, by
His Spirit, puts life into a beauteous image, and enables the man He forms to
live to His praise and glory.
(RowlandHill.)
The development of spiritual life
H. W. Beecher.
I plant many seeds in my garden from which I do not look for blossoms the
year that I plant them. Yet I nourish them and transplant them; and when the
days of November commence to cut them down, I take them up, roots and all,
and hide them in a dark frost-proof dwelling for the winter. There they rest
till the spring comes, whenI go and take those buried roots and stems and
bring them forth out of their grave, and put them into a better soil. And
before September comes round in the secondyearof their growth, they will do
what they had not time to do in the first. It takes two summers to geta
blossomon many plants. It takes I know not how long a series ofsummers to
develop the highest blossoms and the truest fruit that we can bear. God takes
us from this life and hides us in the grave;and then, in His goodtime,
transplants us in anothersoil. The work is not done in this life. It is not done
when you are converted, or even when you have gone on for forty years. Such
is the pattern of that work which God is carrying forward, such is the majesty
of that manhood which He means shall yet flame in glory in us, that He cannot
accomplishHis purpose in the narrow compass of our present life; so He
buries us over the winter of death, and then puts us in a better soiland a
better summer to take our next growth. And what there is beyond these, "eye
hath not seen, nor earheard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to

conceive";but doubtless there are to be serialdevelopments, infinite and
endless.
(H. W. Beecher.)
Trusting in Christ a sign of life
C. H. Spurgeon.
Suppose there is a person here who does not exactly know his age, and he
wants to find the registerof his birth, and he has tried and cannot find it.
Now, what is the inference that he draws from his not being able to tell the
day of his birth? Well, I do not know what the inference may be, but I will tell
you one inference he does not draw. He does not say, therefore, "I am not
alive." If he did, he would be an idiot, for if the man is alive he is alive,
whether he knows his birthday or not. And if the man really trusts in Jesus,
and is alive from the dead, he is a savedsoul, whether he knows exactlywhen
and where he was savedor not.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Faith, the sign of life
C. H. Spurgeon.
See you yonder battle-field strewnwith the men who have fallen in the terrible
conflict! Many have been slain, many more are wounded, and there they lie in
ghastly confusion, the dead all stark and stiff, coveredwith their own crimson,
and the wounded faint and bleeding, unable to leave the spot whereonthey
had fallen. Surgeons have gone over the field rapidly, ascertaining which are
corpses beyond the reachof mercy's healing hand, and which are men faint
with loss of blood. Eachliving man has a paper fastenedconspicuouslyon his
breast, and when the soldiers are sent out with the ambulances to gather up
the wounded, they do not themselves need to stay and judge which may be
living and which may be dead; they see a mark upon the living, and lifting
them up right tenderly they bear them to the hospital, where their wounds
may be dressed. Now, faith in the Son is God's infallible mark, which He has
setupon every poor wounded sinner, whose bleeding heart has receivedthe
Lord Jesus;though he faints and feels as lifeless as though he were mortally
wounded, yet he most surely lives if he believes, for the possessionofJesus is
the tokenwhich cannot deceive. Faith is God's mark, witnessing in
unspeakable language, "This soulliveth." Tenderly, ye who care for the
broken-hearted, lift up this wounded one. Whatever else we cannotsee, if a

simple trust in Jesus is discernible in a convert, we need fear no suspicions,
but receive him at once as a brother beloved.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Faith in Christ
A. B. Grosart, D. D.
Look at that locomotive as it snorts like a giant war-horse to its place in the
station at the head of the train. You have in that engine powerof amplest
capacityto drag at swiftestpace the far-stretching carriages. Boiler, tubes,
pistons, fire, steam— all are in perfectorder; and that broad-brewed man
gives assurance oftried ability to guide the charge committed to him. You
look I carriage aftercarriage is filled, the hour has struck, the bell rung; and
yet there is no departure, no movement, nor would be till "crack ofdoom," if
one thing remained as it now is. Aha! the lack is discovered;the uniting hooks
that bind engine and train togetherwere wanting. They have been supplied.
Like two greathands they have clasped;and a screw has so riveted engine and
carriage that they form, as it were, one thing, one whole;and awaythrough
the dark sweeps the heavy-laden train with its freight of immortals. Mark!no
one ever supposes that it is the uniting hook, or link, or coupling, that draws
the train. A child knows that it is the engine that draws it. Nevertheless,
without that hook, or link, or coupling, all the power of the engine were of no
avail; the train would stand still for ever. Exactly so is it in the relationof faith
to Christ. It is not our faith that saves us, but Christ that saves us.
(A. B. Grosart, D. D.)
Saving faith
T. Adams.
It is not the quantity of thy faith that shall save thee. A drop of wateris as true
wateras the whole ocean;so a little faith is as true faith as the greatest. A
child eight days old is as really a man as one of sixty years;a spark of fire is as
true fire as a greatflame; a sickly man is as truly living as a well man. So it is
not the measure of thy faith that saves thee, it is the blood that it grips to that
saves thee;as the weak hand of a child that leads the spoon to the mouth, will
feed as well as the strong arm of a man; for it is not the hand that feeds thee,
but the meat. So if thou canst grip Christ ever so weakly, He will not let thee
perish.

(T. Adams.)
Application of faith
Cawdray.
As it is no advantage for a wounded man to have the best medicine lying by
his side unless it is applied to his wound, so little do the mercies of God profit
us unless we have faith to apply them to our sinful hearts.
(Cawdray.)
The gospelmust be applied by faith
C. H. Spurgeon.
The other day a poor woman had a little help sent to her by a friend in a
letter. She was in greatdistress, and she went to that very friend begging for a
few shillings. "Why," said the other, "I sent you money yesterday, by an order
in a letter!" "Dear, dear!" said the poor woman, "that must be the letter
which I put behind the looking-glass!" Justso; and there are lots of people
who put God's letters behind the looking-glass, and fail to make use of the
promise which is meant for them.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Son of God
D. Thomas, D. D.
God has many sons. The children of Israelwere calledHis sons, the judges of
the theocracyand angelic existences;but Christ is called the Son of God in a
unique sense. He was unique —
I. IN HIS AGE. He was "from everlasting," "in the beginning with God,"
"the First-born."
II. IN HIS CONSTITUTIONHe was Godin a human personality — God-
Man. God is in all intelligences, in all creatures;but He was in Christ in a
sense in which He is in no other, giving omnipotence to His arm, omniscience
to His intellect, ubiquity to His presence.
III. IN HIS MISSION. He is the MediatorbetweenGod and man; the only
Saviour. "There is none other name," &c.
(D. Thomas, D. D.).

COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(31) But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God.—We have here the writer’s own statementof his objectin writing
his narrative, and also the explanation of what seems an abrupt end. His
objectis that those for whom he writes may become believers, and read in
these signs the spiritual truths which lay behind them. He has tracedstep by
step the developments of faith in the Apostles themselves, and this has reached
its highest stage in the confessionofThomas. He has recordedthe blessedness
of those who shall believe without sight, uttered in his Master’s words. In the
confessionofThomas, and in the comment of our Lord, the objectof the
author finds its full expression, and with their words the Gospelfinds its
fitting close. “Become notfaithless, but believing;” “My Lord and my God;”
“Blessedare they that have not seen, and yet have believed”—these are the
words the author heard and records. “Butthese are written, that ye may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” This is the objecthe had in
recording them. On the specialmeaning of these words as connectedwith the
Gnostic heresies ofthe time, comp. Introduction, p. 378.
And that believing ye might have life through his name.—Better, . . . in His
name. Thus the lastwords bring us back again to the first. (Comp. Notes on
John 1:4; John 1:12.)
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
20:30,31 There were othersigns and proofs of our Lord's resurrection, but
these were committed to writing, that all might believe that Jesus was the
promised Messiah, the Saviour of sinners, and the Sonof God; that, by this
faith, they might obtain eternal life, by his mercy, truth, and power. May we
believe that Jesus is the Christ, and believing may we have life through his
name.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
These are written - Those recordedin this gospel.

That ye might believe ... - This is a clue to the designwhich John had in view
in writing this gospel. The whole scope or end of the book is to accomplishtwo
objects:
1. To prove that Jesus was the Messiah;and,
2. That they who lookedatthe proof might be convincedand have eternal life.
This designis kept in view throughout the book. The miracles, facts,
arguments, instructions, and conversations ofour Lord all tend to this. This
point had not been kept in view so directly by either of the other evangelists,
and it was reservedfor the lastof the apostles to collectthose arguments, and
make out a connecteddemonstrationthat Jesus was the Messiah. If this design
of John is kept steadily in view, it will throw much light on the book, and the
argument is unanswerable, framed after the strictestrules of reasoning,
infinitely beyond the skill of man, and having throughout the clearestevidence
of demonstration.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
31. But these are written—as sufficient specimens.
the Christ, the Son of God—the one His official, the other His personal, title.
believing … may have life—(See on[1923]Joh6:51-54).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
But he had wrote these to induce his readers to believe that Jesus Christ was
the Sonof God; a thing of so great concernmentto them, that their eternallife
depended upon it; for through his name alone eternal life is to be obtained,
Acts 4:12.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
But these are written,..... The severalends of recording what is written in this
book, in proof of Christ's resurrection, are as follow: one is,
that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Sonof God; that Jesus, who
was diminutively calledJesus, the son of Mary, the son of Joseph, the
carpenter's son, Jesus of Nazareth, and of Galilee, was the Christ, or true
Messiah;which signifies anointed, and takes in all his offices ofprophet,
priest, and King, to which he was anointed; and is an article of faith of the
greatestimportance;and is to be believed through the signs proving his
resurrection, who, according to the Scriptures, was to rise again;and which,
by the signs here recorded, it appears he is risen indeed, and therefore must
be the true Messiahofthe prophets, and also "the Son of God"; which was a
known title of the Messiahamong the Jews;and is not a name of office, but of

nature and relation to God, and designs Christ in his divine nature, or as a
divine person; and is an article of greatmoment, and well attested, by God, by
angels, and men; and receives a further confirmation by the resurrectionof
Christ, who is thereby declaredto be the Son of God with power; and with
this view did this evangelistwrite the signs, proving it, herein to be found. And
his other end in recording them, is,
and that believing ye might have life through his name: believers have their
spiritual and eternal life through Christ; their life of grace, ofjustification on
him, of sanctificationfrom him, and communion with him; the support and
maintenance of their spiritual life, and all the comforts of it: and also their life
of glory, or eternal life, they have through, or in his name; it lies in his person,
it comes to them through him as the procuring cause of it; it is for his sake
bestowedupon them, yea, it is in his hands to give it, and who does give it to
all that believe: not that believing is the cause of their enjoyment of this life, or
is their title to it, which is the name, person, blood, and righteousness of
Christ; but faith is the way and means in which they enjoy it; and therefore
these signs are written by the evangelistfor the encouragementofthis faith in
Christ, which is of such use in the enjoyment of life, in, through, and from
him. Beza's ancient copy, two of Stephens's, the Coptic, Syriac, Arabic, Persic,
and Ethiopic versions read, "eternallife".
Geneva Study Bible
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.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
31. but these are written] On the one hand there were many unrecorded; but
on the other hand some have been recorded. Note in the Greek the men and
the de and comp. John 19:23;John 19:25. It was not S. John’s purpose to
write a complete ‘Life of Christ;’ it was not his purpose to write a ‘Life’ at all.
Rather he would narrate just those facts respecting Jesus whichwould
produce a saving faith in Him as the Messiahandthe Son of God. S. John’s
work is ‘a Gospeland not a biography.’
that ye might believe] That ye may believe.
that Jesus is the Christ, &c.]That those who read this record may be
convinced of two things,—identical in the Divine counsels, identicalin fact,

but separate in the thoughts of men,—(1) that Jesus, the well-knownTeacher
and true man, is the Christ, the long lookedfor Messiahand Delivererof
Israel, the fulfiller of type and prophecy; (2) that He is also the Son of God,
the Divine Word and true God. Were He not the latter He could not be the
former, although men have failed to see this. Some had been looking for a
mere Prophet and Wonder-worker,—asecondMosesora secondElijah;
others had been looking for an earthly King and Conqueror,—a secondDavid
or a secondSolomon. These views were all far short of the truth, and too often
obscuredand hindered the truth. Jesus, the Lord’s Anointed, must be and is
not only very man but very God. Comp. 1 John 4:14-15.
ye might have life] Ye may have life. The truth is worth having for its own
sake:but in this case to possessthe truth is to possesseternallife. Comp. 1
John 5:13. Note once more that eternallife is not a prize to be won hereafter;
in believing these greattruths we have eternallife already (see on John 5:24).
through his name] Rather, in His name (see on John 1:12). Thus the
conclusionof the Gospelis an echo of the beginning (John 1:4; John 1:12).
Comp. Acts 4:10; 1 Corinthians 6:11.
It is quite manifest that this was in the first instance intended as the end of the
Gospel. The conflict betweenbelief and unbelief recordedin it reacha climax
in the confessionof S. Thomas and the Beatitude which follows:the work
appears to be complete;and the Evangelistabruptly but deliberately brings it
to a close. Whatfollows is an afterthought, added by S. John’s ownhand, as
the style and language sufficiently indicate, but not part of the original plan.
There is nothing to shew how long an interval elapsedbefore the addition was
made, nor whether the Gospelwas everpublished without it. The absence of
evidence as to this latter point favours the view that the Gospelwas not given
to the world until after the appendix was written.
Sixteen distinct marks tending to shew that chap. 21 is by S. John are pointed
out in the notes and counted up by figures in square brackets, thus [1].
Besides these points it should be noticed that S. John’s characteristic
‘therefore’ occurs seventimes (John 20:5-7; John 20:9; John 20:15; John
20:21;John 20:23)in twenty-three verses.
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