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30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. ~ John 20:30-31
In our text today, we are given the means by which God accomplished the overall theme of the Gospel of John which is man's emptiness and God's fullness.
In John 20:30-31, John provides the purpose statement for the whole book. The first is that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The second is that we, in believing, may have life in His name.
Throughout John's Gospel the Apostle John is saying there is no other name by which we can be saved. There is no other way to God. There is no other one to reconcile us to God, only the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 14:6, “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”
In v.30 of today's text, we read, "Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book." The total number of miracles that the Lord Jesus performed is truly unknown. But, what is recorded totals about forty. Of the forty, seven of the miracles are strategically used by John in this gospel. This, by no means, sums up all the miracles the Lord Jesus did.
In John 21:25 we read, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” The world couldn’t even contain all the displays of the miraculous the Lord Jesus demonstrated.
In v.31 of our text, we read, "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." The purpose of His many miracles is: eternal life is only available through Him. These miracles were presented so that we might believe that He is the Messiah, the Son of God.
The first miracle came in John 2 where the Lord Jesus changed the water into wine at Cana. Up until this point in His life, at least 30 years, He had never performed a miracle. Here is the first miracle, and He turns water into wine.
In John 2:11 we read, “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” The Lord Jesus did a public miracle, manifesting His glory, so that His disciples would believe in Him. This is John's goal throughout his account of this Gospel.
The ongoing performing of these miracles reveals something of the nature of belief: it is meant to grow daily. And, if we are not believing, we will suffer the destruction the flesh yearns to deliver into our lives on a daily basis.
In John 4:47, John records the second miracle. This is the healing of a nobleman’s son who was sick to the point of death. Before healing the boy, the Lord Jesus said, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.”
The third miracle is found in John 5, the healing of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda. For thirty-eight years, this man had been paralyzed. He had long wanted to get into the pool when it was stirred up, but there was no one to help him get in the water. The Lord Jesus comes along, heals him instantaneously and told him to stand up, pick up his bed and walk after not taking a step for thirty-eight years.
In John 6, we are given the fourth miracle where the Lord Jesus creates enough food to feed up to fifteen thousand people. A little boy provides two fish and five loaves of bread, and the Lord Jesus gives them all they can possibly eat. Then, there was twelve baskets left over, one for each of the disciples.
Then subsequent to that, in John 6, the Lord Jesus walks on water and stills a storm on the sea of Galilee. In the first five miracles, the Lord Jesus demonstrates power over nature, power to create, power over illness, power over deformity, power over nature.
The sixth miracle is found in John 9. The Lord Jesus heals a man who was blind from his birth. And then the next miracle is read in John 11, which is raising Lazarus from the dead, and he has been dead for days, his body is in a state of decay, and yet Jesus raises him from the dead. Power over death, power over blindness, power over nature, power over deformity, power over illness, power to create. This is evidence that He is God, the Son.
The final miracle comes in John 20, the resurrection. In John 2:18-22, we read, “The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” The Jews respond with, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’ But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.’”
John 20 records the greatest miracle ever to convince us to believe. It is the seventh miracle, bring to completion the message that completes us. The Lord Jesus had the power Himself to rise from the dead to conquer death. These are the miracles that John details as evidences that this is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God.
