Fully Alive by Faith

Every faith system has a need for apologetics - or defense of the faith. Some would say that apologetics are geared more to reinforce the faith of those who already believe - rather than providing arguments to convince non-believers of the validity of the faith. Ultimately, as Christians, we believe that it is God, through the Holy Spirit, who draws people to Him. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, even the best arguments fall flat. But with the Holy Spirit, apologetics become tools that can be used to win even the most ardent opponent.

In the last month or so, I’ve had a couple of opportunities to experience the value of apologetics.

The first was while I was in the middle east. God ordained a series of conversations with some new friends from Muslim backgrounds. We had very friendly conversations that spanned work, recreation, family, and even faith. We got to talk at length about some of the distinctives of our faith systems and some of the misconceptions that we each had about the other’s faith. We did not get into any sort of heated debate and did not get to overcome barriers of belief, but it was a joy to get to walk through some places of commonality and then use that to lead to the gospel - showing the consistency of God’s covenant-keeping plan throughout Scripture.

The other apologetic experience I had was more academic. Shortly after returning from overseas, I began reading the book Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion by Rebecca McLaughlin. Throughout the book, Rebecca uses a variety of arguments and lines of reason to address questions or objections that people have raised about Christianity. I’ve found the book quite informative and educational. In fact, we have a few copies in the Book Nook if you’d like to pick up one. If you’re on the fence about belief, this book might address some concerns. If you’re already firm in your faith, this might give you some helpful responses when then these questions arise in conversation.

I bring all of that up because today, as we start our study in the Gospel of John, we are going to begin with the end in mind. Near the end of his Gospel, John clearly delineates the purpose or premise of his account of the life of Jesus.

John 20:30–31 ESV

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 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.

It’s as though here in the penultimate chapter, that he is explaining the why behind the what that he has shared.

In these two brief verses, we are going to make three practical observations which are based on the content of the rest of the book of John.

The first practical observation is that John’s hope is that we will...

Consider the signs

John, like the other gospel writers, assembles a selective collection of miracles, teachings, and experiences of Jesus in order to paint a picture of who Jesus is and why he came.

Matthew seems to show Jesus as the Promised King

Mark shows Jesus as a servant.

Luke demonstrates the humanity of Jesus

John, as he has stated in his purpose, seeks to show that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. He does this by choosing specific signs or miracles.

Just as we might use signs as a means of helping us navigate on a road trip, John chooses seven specific miracles as signs, navigating us to belief in Jesus. Let’s briefly consider these signs and how they point us to Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. For each of these, we will consider the nature of the sign, the people impacted, and the outcome.

1. Changing water into wine John 2:1–11

In His first recorded miracle, Jesus, his mother, and his disciples find themselves at a wedding. In an unexpected turn of events, the wine runs out. Mary notifies Jesus of the dilemma, and he initially asks her why she pointed this out to him, and then as though expecting that he would do something, she turns to the servants at the feast and encourages them to do what he says. There are 6 stone water jars there (each able to hold 20-30 gallons of water). Jesus calls the servants to fill them up. We don’t know how many servants, but we can likely assume that it would take more than one to lift a jar. It’s also likely that they may have used something to fill the jars rather than dunking the whole jars in the water source. That much water alone would weigh between 166 and 250 (adding to that the weight of the stone jar). They are then instructed to draw some liquid from the jar and take it to the master of the party who, unaware about the origin or the events affirms that the bridegroom has saved the best for last.

Nature of the sign:

Jesus essentially takes one kind of liquid and causes it to be another kid of liquid - same form, different substance. wine normally takes months or even years to prepare. Jesus did all of that in an instant.

People impacted:

While there were a lot of people at the party - a lot of people were blessed by this miracle - after all, that much wine should go a long way, relatively few people really knew what happened: the servants, Mary, and the disciples (maybe 12-25 people in all).

Outcome:

John tells us that the disciples believed in him (John 2:11 “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” )

The next sign we see is a couple of chapters later with Jesus…

2. Healing the official’s son John 4:46–54

Rather than summarizing the event, let’s look at this briefly:

John 4:46–54 ESV

So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

There is really so much that we could un-pack here, but let’s limit ourselves to our comparative markers.

Nature of the sign:

We don’t know the nature of the boy’s illness - we just know it was severe - the father feared for the boy’s life. Jesus was roughly 20 miles away from where this boy lay dying - and yet at his word - he healed the boy from a distance.

People impacted:

the official and his household

possibly the disciples

Outcome:

John confirmed that the official believed - along with his household.

In the next chapter we find Jesus…

3. Healing the invalid John 5:1–15

In this passage, Jesus meets a man who had been crippled for 38 years. He told the man to get up and walk - and immediately his feet and legs were strengthened and he walked away. Because this healing took place on a sabbath - or the day of rest - it invoked a bit of controversy.

Nature of the sign:

physical change in the man, immediate strengthening

People impacted:

the man

potentially some of his fellow invalids who were in the area

the religious leaders who were threatened by Jesus

Outcome:

John doesn’t give us any direct sign of belief - except that the man believed enough to be healed. Jesus confronted him about his sin, but that seemed to be it.

We learn in the next chapter that a large crowd had begun to follow Jesus because of some of the signs they had seen him do (John 15:2).

On a negative sign - this started to be a more public presentation of Jesus’ abilities - the religious leaders who followed certain rituals didn’t like it that Jesus was healing people on the sabbath.

4. Feeding the multitude John 6:1-14

In response to his previous sign, a large crowd began to follow. Jesus asks his disciples how they will feed the the crowd (roughly 5000 people). Some of the disciples immediately think about the cost of buying the food. Another brings a boy’s lunch to Jesus. As a result, Jesus blesses the food and begins to distribute the fish and bread to everyone. There was no shortage of what people could eat. In fact, there were 12 baskets of bread leftover (could it be that this number is specifically for the disciples?)

Nature of the sign:

multiplication

People impacted:

the disciples

5000 plus people

Outcome:

John tells us - John 6:14 “When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”” - it appears that they were beginning to believe that Jesus was the Messiah - the one promised by Moses and the Prophets.

Right after the miracle of the feeding of the 5000, we get to see Jesus...

5. Walking on the water - John 6:16–21

John doesn’t specifically call this one a sign, but after feeding the 5000, Jesus retreated to a mountain. The disciples started across the Sea of Galilee to head to the other side. The sea became stormy and Jesus started walking across the water to them.

Nature of the sign:

Jesus seemed to demonstrate his ability to control matter.

People impacted:

Immediately it was just the disciples.

Later on, when people realized that it was only the disciples who got into the boat, they wondered about how Jesus got to the other side.

Outcome:

This miracle along with the feeding of the 5000 created an opportunity for Jesus to engage the crowd and some religious leaders in conversation. The crowd seemed to begin to believe - expressing that belief by an intention to do the works of God. The religious leaders were even more confused.

A few chapters later, we get to see Jesus...

6. Healing the man born blind 9:1–7

This sign actually begins with a question:

John 9:1–3 ESV

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

Jesus then goes on to make mud with his saliva and put it on the man’s eyes - telling him then to wash in a local pool.

Other local people recognized the man - because he had been begging. They then took him to the pharisees - and another controversy ensued because it was the sabbath.

Nature of the sign:

Complete healing of something that had never worked.

People impacted:

the man

some of of the locals could see that a healing had happened

the disciples witnessed the healing as well

the man’s parents

Outcome:

John doesn’t tell us too much, but we do learn that the man expressed his belief in Jesus and defended the healing in front of the religious leaders

There is one final sign that John presents...

7. Raising Lazarus - 11:1–44

Lazarus had been dead for four days. Jesus shows up, has conversations with his sisters, expresses his compassion for them, and then verbally calls Lazarus to come out.

Nature of the sign:

resurrection - reversing decay - infusing life

People impacted:

Lazarus and his sisters

The whole community of Bethany observed this

The disciples

Religious leaders

Outcome:

John tells us that several of the local Jews began to believe

It appears that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus had already believed - but their faith was certainly strengthened.

On a negative side - the other religious leaders were even more threatened and began to plot how to kill both Jesus and Lazarus.

Notice how each of these seem to escalate - either in impact or scope

There is an eighth sign that seems to culminate all of these - and that is Jesus’ own resurrection.

So John chose each of these miracles and he seemed to do so specifically. In the process, he notes at various times where people began to express their belief in Him. Getting back to our primary verse for today...

John 20:31 ESV

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.

So we are challenged first to consider the signs. His next outcome for us is to...

Believe in Jesus

So many people want to say these days that it doesn’t matter what you believe, but that you believe something.

This is not just random or vague belief.

John is very specific. He is leading us toward a belief that is rooted in the person of Jesus - the son of God and his title as the Christ or the Messiah - the anointed one of God.

But let’s think about this idea of belief.

What does it mean to believe?

Believing is a major theme in the Gospel of John. In fact, we see that word 54 times throughout the book.

The Greek words that get translated as believe into english essentially means “to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance—‘to believe in, to have confidence in, to have faith in, to trust, faith, trust.’ (Louw-Nida) Another way to think of this is “to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. credit; by implication to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well-being to Christ):—believe (-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.” (Strong)

There is a sense in which faith and belief have monetary applications. Let’s say you have $100. You don’t want to spend it but you want to save it for a future date and so you take it to a bank. You might do research in order to find which bank would give you the best return. So you entrust that bank with your money. You believe that by putting your money there, it will be safe and will grow (at least a little bit). Your faith in the trustworthiness of that bank is revealed by your deposit.

In a similar way, you might believe that Jesus was a real person - that wouldn’t be a far fetch - there have been billions of people throughout history who have believed this. But John has been arguing that we should believe in him -in him as the Son of God, in him as the Messiah. How do we do that? Well, it’s not like we can pull out a slip of paper and make a deposit - “I entrust my life to Jesus.” But that sentiment is to some degree real. It’s a spiritual entrusting that is demonstrated by obedience. The bank will never know that I trust them with my money until I entrust my money to them.

Let’s think back for a moment - who can do the things that Jesus did?

doctors can use medicine and treatments to bring healing - but Jesus did it immediately

Doctors can correct failing vision (I’m grateful for people like Tom and Robin who know the science and tools to help me see better) - but Jesus gave sight to a man who never saw anything. His eyes didn’t work.

Magicians might be able to use trickery, smoke and mirrors to get us to fall for an illusion - but Jesus actually multiplied food and fed 5000 people. He actually made water into wine. Other people tasted it. Other people verified - frankly they called it good!

EMTs may be able to bring someone back from the brink of death after a few minutes - but to restore life, brain function, reverse decay after four days- only Jesus could do that.

what’s more, all of these were verified by many people, even up to 5000. John is not alone in his witness.

If he can do these things, is it worth entrusting your life to him?

What is the benefit of believing?

Once again, John’s argument is:

John 20:31 “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’s hope is that we will consider the signs that Jesus performed in order to believe in Jesus so that we will...

Live

At face value it seems like believing and living have nothing to do with one another. If you don’t consider yourself a believer yet, you might think - “I’m already alive - why should I believe?”

There are a couple of words in Greek that we translate into “life” or “live”

One of the Greek words for life is “bios” (beeos) - it basically means - existence or livelihood. If you’re breathing you have “bios.” A plant has “bios,” a dog has “bios,” a fish has “bios.”

You were born with “bios” - John’s hope is that by believing in Jesus - you will truly live - which is why throughout his Gospel and most of the New Testament the word that is used for “life” or “live” is “zoe.” In fact John uses that word 57 times in his gospel - he never uses bios.

So what, what what does that mean?

I’m glad you asked.

If we were to look through John’s gospel and study this a bit more, we would see that he generally means one of two kinds of life.

Abundant Life

John 10:10 “....I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

We might see this as life that has purpose and meaning. A life that is lived according to its makers design.

Thinking back to the book that I mentioned a bit earlier, Confronting Christianity, one of the things the author addressed when it comes to Christianity and Science is that an atheistic world view can truly only see life as a meaningless collection of cells. There are no standards for morality and no origin for meaning No overarching purpose

But, when we come to realize that our lives are designed by a creator, there is an immediate value placed on us. We have a higher purpose for which we are living.

So, when we begin believing that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah - we recognize that our lives are fashioned by His. His life provides an added purpose and meaning. We get to live for His glory and get to work to leave a mark in this world, on the lives of people around us.

But there is a second kind of life (zoe) to which John refers.

Eternal Life

John 6:40 “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.””

In his book The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren notes that this life is just practice or a prelude for eternity. We will spend much more time in eternity than we will ever spend here.

Scripture notes that those who believe in what Jesus did on the cross, will enjoy eternal life. Easton’s bible dictionary describes Eternal Life this way.

It comprises the whole future of the redeemed (Luke 16:9), and is opposed to “eternal punishment” (Matt. 19:29; 25:46). It is the final reward and glory into which the children of God enter (1 Tim. 6:12, 19; Rom. 6:22; Gal. 6:8; 1 Tim. 1:16; Rom. 5:21); their Sabbath of rest (Heb. 4:9; comp. 12:22).

The life the faithful [or believers] have here on earth (John 3:36; 5:24; 6:47, 53–58) is inseparably connected with the eternal life beyond, the endless life of the future, the happy future of the saints in heaven (Matt. 19:16, 29; 25:46).

Closing Thoughts

So, as we will see over the next several months, the purpose of this Gospel is to present Jesus - by his miraculous signs in order to prompt you and me to believe so that we might live.

Do you believe? Have you trusted in Jesus as your savior? Are you fully alive, by faith in him?

If not - call on him today, repent of your sin, trust in Him and live!

If so, are you living in a way that demonstrates the “zoe” - the abundant life that he has designed for you? Now, I’m not talking about living your best life. I’m talking about living a life of compassion, mercy, humility, grace, love, hospitality, devotion.

Let’s pray.

Lord’s Supper

Benediction

Galatians 1:3–5 ESV

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

References

Beale, G.K., Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2012.

Carson, D. A. The Gospel according to John. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991.

Crossway Bibles. The ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008.

deSilva, David Arthur. An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods and Ministry Formation. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004.

Dever, Mark, The Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept, Crossway, Wheaton, 2005.

Easton, M. G. Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893.

Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1996: 375. Print.

Morris, Leon. The Gospel according to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995.

Strong, James. A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009.