Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31
Fact or Fiction?
Is the belief in Jesus Christ rational or is belief in Jesus Christ an irrational leap in the dark?
It is frequently argued that Christianity is irrational because, we are told, faith requires believing in things without evidence. However, the Gospel of John is a book of evidences. The Apostle compiles evidences to serve as the firm and sure foundation on which faith in Jesus Christ is built.
John calls his Gospel account a book of signs. In other words he records some of the miracles that Jesus did, miracles that John witnessed first hand.
Why did Jesus show his disciples signs?
John tells us that Jesus did signs to validate his claim that he was the Messiah, Savior, the Son of God, and Creator of all that exists. John highlights eight I Am statements which Jesus used to tell us exactly who he was and is:
I Am: living water, I Am the bread of life, I Am the light of the world, I Am the door, I Am the Good Shepherd, I Am the resurrection and the life, I Am the way the truth and the life, and I Am the Vine.
Christianity is an evidence-based faith. Many times Christians are accused of believing in the claims of Jesus without any supporting evidence. Perhaps you have heard that Christians take a “leap of faith” based on no real factual evidence. But according to the Apostle John, belief in Christ is not based on delusions, wishful thinking, or subjective feelings, rather, Christianity is based on objective facts, or as John says, credible evidence based signs.
We cannot walk with the disciples and see Jesus in the flesh here on earth as the Apostles did two thousand years ago. That is why they took care to leave us accurate, historical, eyewitness accounts. John carefully highlighted eight signs in his Gospel that validate Jesus’ claims. Jesus turned water into wine, healed the nobleman’s son, healed the paralyzed man, fed five thousand, walked on water, healed the blind, raised the dead, and conquered death rising from his grave. He did those things so that future generations, people who were not eyewitnesses, would have a firm foundation on which to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing [they] may have life in his name.