May 6, 2011
John 20:31
“but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”
The Post-Resurrection Ministry of Jesus
Part VIII
“You May Have Life in His Name”
If you do not recall a day in your life when you received eternal life as a free gift from Jesus, then this article will not make sense to you. Please click the eternal life button now and learn more about finding peace with God and being born again today.
Jesus defined eternal life in at least two ways. First, He said: “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Second, Jesus said: “I am . . . the life; . . . everyone who lives and believes in Me will will never die” (John 11:25-26). Jesus had life in Himself, just as the Father had life in Himself (John 5:26). If you will hear the voice of the Son of God today, even if you are dead, they you will live in Him forever (John 5:25). During His post-resurrection ministry, Jesus appeared many times, and performed many signs in the presence of His disciples, and had them written down in the Gospels. Why did Jesus perform those signs and why were they written down for eternity?
Many other Signs Jesus also Performed. The greatest sign Jesus performed was the resurrection. By Jesus laying down His life and taking it again (John 10:17-18), God furnished proof to all men that Jesus Christ has been appointed as Judge of all men (Acts 17:31), and that He lives forever, eternally equal with the Father (John 10:30; Philippians 2:6). John makes special notes throughout his Gospel concerning the signs of Jesus. Jesus performed signs for his mother, His disciples, and the guests at a wedding in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-11); many signs at the Feast of Passover at the temple in Jerusalem (John 2:23); healing the sick (John 6:2); feeding the hungry (John 6:26); opening the eyes of the blind (John 9:16); and raising the dead (John 11:38-47). John concludes that even though Jesus performed so many signs before the people, yet they were not believing in Him (John 12:37). In this particular context of the post-resurrection ministry of Jesus, John wants you to know that Jesus performed many signs in the presence of His disciples after His resurrection and before His ascension. Notice that we have not been reading about healing the sick, blind and lame, but John has focused upon the resurrection and supernatural appearances of Jesus to the disciples. I am not saying that Jesus did not do those other signs, but John centers upon the resurrection and the proof of the resurrection. John did not record all the signs Jesus performed, but he recorded all the ones God wanted us to read about, which are completely sufficient proof and will adequately equip us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
So That You May Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. We have already read about the doubts of the disciples, and how it took living proof, up close and personal, to convince some of them that Jesus was alive, and had a real glorified body, with flesh and bones. Now John tells us why Jesus performed the signs. Jesus performed the signs so that the disciples would believe, and that others who had not seen Him would also believe (John 20:31). God loves us, and gave His unique son, Jesus Christ, so that we would not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). God wants us to leave our doubts behind, and believe in the resurrected Christ. Believing in the resurrection of Christ is not optional for a believer. Jesus performed the signs so that your faith will rest in the person of the Jesus Christ, risen from the dead. Only by believing in the Risen Christ can we have eternal life. Only in His name can we be saved from our sins, for there is salvation in no other person (Acts 4:12).
So we learn more about the Post-Resurrection Ministry of Jesus.
● God left us a perfect record of the signs Jesus performed in the presence of His disciples after He arose from the dead.
● God edited the record for maximum impact upon us, so that we would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
● Only as we believe in the Risen Christ can we have eternal life. If Christ is still in the grave, then we all are still in our sins. Hallelujah, Christ has risen from dead! He empowered His disciples to be eyewitnesses of His resurrection. He testified to them with powerful signs in their presence so they, in turn, would testify to the whole human race. Through His love for all men, He draws everyone to Himself for salvation, by providing proof sufficient to eliminate every reasonable doubt. But not everyone seeks the truth, believes the overwhelming evidence, and accepts the free gift of eternal life He offers by faith alone.
Application for Today
Today I want to focus upon the Risen Christ. I want to dwell upon the signs He performed in the presence of His disciples, so they would testify, and I would believe, having never seen Jesus. I am blessed in Him with eternal life because He died and rose for me. I believe that truth, and He banishes my doubts by His Word and presence in my life. I love reading the proof of the resurrection, and about the signs Jesus performed. As you ponder the signs Jesus performed for all of us, will you love Him more today?
