21:24 This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote
these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they
were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain
the books that would be written. Amen.
John the brother of James, the
sons of thunder. John who sat closest to Jesus at the last supper before His
death and asked who it was that would betray Him. John who returned to the foot
of the cross just before Jesus died and was asked to look after Jesus' mother.
John who was the first to enter the empty tomb. John the beloved disciple who
wrote all these things about Jesus' life, offering a perspective seen no where
else in the other three gospels. His account can't be denied because he was
there, closer to Jesus than any of the other eleven.
John ends his gospel with an
interesting comment. He says if everything Jesus did was written down one by
one the world couldn't contain the books (scrolls). What that comment reminds
us of is how little is recorded of Jesus' life. We have some details about His
birth in Matthew and Luke. We have an incident in the temple when He was 12 and
then nothing until His baptism at age 30. His ministry then begins and we get a
few highlights of a 3 and a half year period much of which is actually the
last
week leading up to and including His death and resurrection.
Like the rest of the Bible it is
a brief synopsis. The question is why? The answer is simple.
The Story is not written for any
other purpose than to provide evidence for us to believe and to trust. It's
already plain to see that more evidence never convinced anyone who refused to
believe. Some claim they want proof but it never makes a difference. When
Lazarus walked out of the tomb after four days the Pharisees ran off to make
plans to kill Jesus.
Even today the evidence is more
than sufficient. Archaeology continues to unearth more and more proof that the
Bible is accurate and true. The sulfur and brimstone and salt still remain
where Sodom and Gomorrah was. The town of Bethany where Lazarus died and was
resurrected carries his name to this day. Towns and kings and kingdoms which
skeptics say never existed keep turning up beneath the excavated sands of time.
Ancient Babylon which Isaiah said would never be inhabited again still lies in
ruins even after the best attempts of Saddam Hussein to rebuild it and become
the new Nebuchadnezzar.
Are there some unanswered questions
still? Sure there are. There always will be. God is not calling us to proof. He
is calling us to believe. Why? Because He is the Almighty and from eternity
past to eternity future His creation will always have to trust Him. Just as a
single cell is infinitely more complex than Darwin ever imagined and than we
can yet comprehend, so God has always been and ever will be wise and
unsearchable beyond our scope of discovery. This is what makes His love for us
all the more amazing.
We may not ever fully grasp how
He can be what He is or do what He does but the evidence of His love is forever
inscribed on the palms of Jesus' hands. Evidence that melted the hearts of many
and hardened the hearts of others.
What will you choose? As for me
and my house, we will choose the LORD, Creator of heaven and earth.
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