31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. - John 20:31 (ESV)
Introduction
Recently, my wife and I had the pleasure of visiting the Museum of the Bible which is located in Washington D.C. We had been told by numerous people that visiting this museum was a “must” during our trip to our nation’s capital, but I was not quite sure why. For some reason, I thought we would be looking at rooms full of famous Bibles and I was not sure how interesting that would be.
There were many Bibles there, but there was much more. For example, there were all sorts of archaeological artifacts that accurately support stories and events that are presented in the Bible. In fact, the evidence presented in the museum is so overwhelming that it would seem scientifically foolish to not believe the Bible.
But while archaeological evidence does support the Bible and is also very interesting, it is not needed to believe the Bible and the claims that the Bible makes. Today’s verse helps to remind us of this fact.
“But these are written so that you may believe”
One verse earlier in John 20, the Apostle John makes this statement:
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. - John 20:30 (ESV)
A lot of incredible stuff is recorded by John in this book he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write. And there is also a whole lot of stuff that John did not include. Stuff that was also witnessed by the other disciples.
Why was the other stuff left out? We do not know for certain, but we do know why the specific things that were included in the book of John were included:
“But these are written so that you may believe”
“These” things are included so that whoever reads or hears these accounts “may believe.”
Believing does not mean simply knowing things. Nothing happens to us if we read or hear these accounts of things that Jesus did and simply store the facts away to be used in some way later. Believing, in the sense that it is used here, does not mean just knowing stuff, it means trusting what we are hearing or reading with all that we have and with all that we are.
Let’s use an ordinary chair to help us understand this point better.
Perhaps there is a chair in your kitchen or at your workplace. Maybe it looks something like the chair in the stock photo above.
Maybe you see this chair everyday. You walk by it, touch it and maybe even move it around from time to time. You know that the chair is real and that it is in sound condition. You also might even tell other people about your chair. And based on your knowledge of the chair, you also know that the chair would hold you up if you chose to sit down in it.
But until you actually sit down in the chair, you only know some things about the chair.
When you actually sit down in the chair, though, things change.
When you sit in the chair, you have moved from knowing about the chair to believing in the chair, trusting in the chair. When you sit in the chair, you are trusting the chair to hold you up.
The same is true related to Christ. The things in the book of John and in the entire Bible are written so that we “may believe.”
“That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God”
John is writing these things so that we may “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” Interestingly, though, he does not just say, “I want you to believe in Jesus.” No, included in his message are two of Jesus’ titles: “the Christ” and “the Son of God.”
“The Christ”
When Jesus is referred to as “the Christ,” this refers to His role as the Messiah:
Messiah comes from the Hebrew word mashiach and means “anointed one” or “chosen one.” The Greek equivalent is the word Christos or, in English, Christ. The name “Jesus Christ” is the same as “Jesus the Messiah.” In biblical times, anointing someone with oil was a sign that God was consecrating or setting apart that person for a particular role. Thus, an “anointed one” was someone with a special, God-ordained purpose.
The were many Old Testament prophesies concerning the Messiah, thus there were different ways that Jesus fulfilled these prophesies. And, ultimately, Jesus met and satisfied all of these requirements. (You can read more about this by clicking here.) He was indeed the long awaited Anointed One.
We know that when we see Jesus referred to in Scriptures as “the Christ” that this refers to His role as the Messiah, and we are reminded that He has fulfilled all of the qualifications for such a role.
“The Son of God”
When Jesus is referred to as the “Son of God" the meaning is a little more obvious. Indeed this is reminding us that Jesus the Christ is also the Son of God. This description “affirms the deity” of Jesus - i.e. He is indeed God - and affirms His place in the godhead.
Jesus of Nazareth was fully God and fully man.
This is a fact, but it is also something that is very hard to understand and if we think on it for very long our heads may explode. But this is fact is affirmed by Jesus and by the Scriptures overall and Daniel 7 provides a great example of the Christ’s deity being proclaimed:
13 “I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.” - Daniel 7:13-14 (ESV)
In this passage, “Ancient of Days” refers to God and the phrase “son of man” is used to describe someone else. The ESV Study Bible tells us that the “son of man combines in one person both human and divine traits” and notes that this passage tells us that the “son of man” will “come on the clouds” and will be “given dominion and glory and a kingdom” - “an everlasting kingdom” that will “not pass away” and “shall not be destroyed.”
This passage, the phrase “son of man” is clearly a prophecy that refers to Jesus Christ. But how do we know this for sure? Jesus Himself confirms this:
61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. 65 And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows. - Mark 14:61-65 (ESV) [emphasis added]
The ESV Study Bible notes that the phrase “son of man” was used two different ways in the Old Testament. One way simply described “a mere human being.” But the second way refers “to a divine being dwelling in heaven with the Ancient of Days.” In Mark 14, Jesus was clearly equating Himself with God and we can see from the reaction to His statement that the high priest and the crowd also agreed with this.
Jesus is the Son of God. He is divine.
“And that by believing you may have life in his name”
We can believe that Jesus is the Christ - that He is the long-awaited Messiah - and we can believe that He is God. But these facts alone do not do us much good unless we do something with them. After all, the Bible tells us that “even the demons believe,” but we know that there will not be demons in heaven receiving eternal life.
The knowledge that Jesus is the Messiah - the one who came to die for our sins - and the knowledge that Jesus is God must be transferred to “believing.” When we believe - or transfer our trust from our own works to the works of Jesus - something special happens: we “may have life in his name.” And as Romans 6:23 reminds us, this “life in his name” refers to the “free gift of God…eternal life”:
23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 6:23 (ESV)
Application
The application from John 20:31 is simple and straightforward.
The things written in the book of John, along with the things written in the remainder of the Bible, were written so that we may believe. The Bible reminds us about ourselves - that we are sinners in dire need of a Savior. But the Bible also tells us that a Savior has come and done the work for us that we could not do for ourselves.
Now we have to decide what we do with this message. Do we simply hear the message and file it away as additional knowledge to be somehow used later? Or do we take this information and trust it, believe in it with all that we have? That is the clear choice we have to make.