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Believing
"We me Thomas already earlier in the Gospel. In 11:16 he committed himself to following Jesus even though it meant he might die. It was a loyal (though pessimistic) sentiment. In 14:5 he readily admitted his ignorance of Jesus’ words as the Lord described his departure. In this final episode Thomas is absent when Jesus reveals himself to his disciples in Jerusalem on Easter Sunday (20:24). Upon hearing their assertion that Jesus has been resurrected (“We have seen the Lord,” cf. 20:18, 20) and that he has visited them, Thomas remains skeptical and obstinate. He demands evidence (20:25). This demand reminds us of the Capernaum official in 4:48, “ ‘Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,’ Jesus told him, ‘you will never believe.’ ” There too we found people who demanded hard proof before they would trust Jesus in faith...
...Thus John has finished the main body of his Gospel. The choice is ours. After reading the many episodes from Jesus’ life in these twenty chapters, we are summoned to make a judgment. Since chapter 5 we learned that the trial of Jesus was not really taking place in a Jerusalem courtroom with Pilate or the high priest. The venue of Jesus’ trial was in fact the entire world. Accusations have come and gone—divine acts (signs) with potent meanings have been given—and we have watched as men and women have been divided. No one remained neutral. Some found Jesus’ personal claims so outrageous that they were filled with rage and worked to sabotage him. Others observed his deeds, listened to his words, and decided to believe that he indeed was God’s messenger, his Son, bearing divine truth for the world. The pressing question rests here: How will we stand in this parting of the crowd?
Through his literary expertise John has placed us in the drama by making us view the evidence in the case for and against Jesus. He knows well that his readers—in Jerusalem, Ephesus, Rome, Singapore, Lusaka, Cambridge, and Chicago—will not have the same experience that he or even Thomas had. We look on the evidence from afar. Nevertheless, there is still good evidence to be had—there is an historical story that must be read—and this story is sufficient to make belief not only defensible but reasonable. We stand with the Beloved Disciple looking at the emptiness of the tomb (20:8), recognizing that these indeed were Jesus’ burial clothes. John invites us to make the same decision uttered in that garden: “The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed” (italics added).
Throughout the Gospel faith and seeing are joined (6:36; 11:40; 6:46–47; 20:25–29). But this means more than seeing Jesus and choosing to believe. It is about a different sort of vision altogether. Many saw Jesus and marveled, but it was seeing through faith that permitted them to see his glory, to recognize his sonship, to respond to his shepherd’s voice. Faith permits a vision, a knowing inaccessible to the person whose sight remains shaped by the world. As C. H. Dodd reminds us, however, “now that He is no longer visible to the bodily eye, faith remains the capacity for seeing His glory.” Therefore we are called to read John’s story and there discover a vision, a knowledge, that invests everything in the historic person of Jesus Christ." [1]
"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."
Believing
"We me Thomas already earlier in the Gospel. In 11:16 he committed himself to following Jesus even though it meant he might die. It was a loyal (though pessimistic) sentiment. In 14:5 he readily admitted his ignorance of Jesus’ words as the Lord described his departure. In this final episode Thomas is absent when Jesus reveals himself to his disciples in Jerusalem on Easter Sunday (20:24). Upon hearing their assertion that Jesus has been resurrected (“We have seen the Lord,” cf. 20:18, 20) and that he has visited them, Thomas remains skeptical and obstinate. He demands evidence (20:25). This demand reminds us of the Capernaum official in 4:48, “ ‘Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,’ Jesus told him, ‘you will never believe.’ ” There too we found people who demanded hard proof before they would trust Jesus in faith...
...Thus John has finished the main body of his Gospel. The choice is ours. After reading the many episodes from Jesus’ life in these twenty chapters, we are summoned to make a judgment. Since chapter 5 we learned that the trial of Jesus was not really taking place in a Jerusalem courtroom with Pilate or the high priest. The venue of Jesus’ trial was in fact the entire world. Accusations have come and gone—divine acts (signs) with potent meanings have been given—and we have watched as men and women have been divided. No one remained neutral. Some found Jesus’ personal claims so outrageous that they were filled with rage and worked to sabotage him. Others observed his deeds, listened to his words, and decided to believe that he indeed was God’s messenger, his Son, bearing divine truth for the world. The pressing question rests here: How will we stand in this parting of the crowd?
Through his literary expertise John has placed us in the drama by making us view the evidence in the case for and against Jesus. He knows well that his readers—in Jerusalem, Ephesus, Rome, Singapore, Lusaka, Cambridge, and Chicago—will not have the same experience that he or even Thomas had. We look on the evidence from afar. Nevertheless, there is still good evidence to be had—there is an historical story that must be read—and this story is sufficient to make belief not only defensible but reasonable. We stand with the Beloved Disciple looking at the emptiness of the tomb (20:8), recognizing that these indeed were Jesus’ burial clothes. John invites us to make the same decision uttered in that garden: “The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed” (italics added).
Throughout the Gospel faith and seeing are joined (6:36; 11:40; 6:46–47; 20:25–29). But this means more than seeing Jesus and choosing to believe. It is about a different sort of vision altogether. Many saw Jesus and marveled, but it was seeing through faith that permitted them to see his glory, to recognize his sonship, to respond to his shepherd’s voice. Faith permits a vision, a knowing inaccessible to the person whose sight remains shaped by the world. As C. H. Dodd reminds us, however, “now that He is no longer visible to the bodily eye, faith remains the capacity for seeing His glory.” Therefore we are called to read John’s story and there discover a vision, a knowledge, that invests everything in the historic person of Jesus Christ." [1]
"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."
[1] Gary M. Burge, NIV Application Commentary: John (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000), 562, 576-77.
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