Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Do you think the gospels are incomplete? John did. He wrote, “I’ve written about some of Jesus’ miracles. Just enough so you can believe that Jesus is God’s son, and find the life he offers” (John 20:30-31).
John didn’t write to entertain. His words lead to life. And now in chapter 20, his theme of life comes full circle. In chapter 1 John said, “In the beginning was the word. . . . In him was life, and that life was the light of human kind” (John 1:1,4).
Jesus brought life and light to God’s people in Palestine. His wine put new life into a wedding. His voice brought Lazarus back from the dead. His words gave the woman at the well a source of living water. When Nicodemus needed to get a life, Jesus recommended he try being born again.
But here we are in 2026. Where will we find life, we who didn’t see Jesus’ miracles or hear his teaching? To us, John’s gospel is a gift. “I write that you may believe and have life,” he says.
Fair enough. But how do two-thousand-year-old stories give us life?
To religious leaders, Jesus said, “You search the scriptures because you think they give eternal life. They point to me, but you won’t come to me. You don’t let me give you life” (John 5:39).
When I want my dog to pick up his ball, I point and say, “There’s your ball.” But he wags his tail and looks at my finger. He doesn’t get the point of my pointed finger. Like the Pharisees with scripture. They didn’t get the point that scripture pointed to.
Much of modern scholarship is like the Pharisees’ study of scripture. We ask, “What does the Greek mean? What do archeologists say? How do literary critics explain this passage?” These investigations help us understand the text. But the text is only a pointer.
What do you see when you look at John’s gospel? Stories? Or do you go where the stories point?
Let’s pray.
O Jesus, John’s gospel is a powerful story. But John says it’s merely a pointer to you. “These are written that you believe, and that believing, you may have life.”
Help us read John’s book with a heart that chooses faith. Help us see beyond the stories to you, our Christ, who is still alive and doing miracles. Help us move beyond a fascination with history to experience your life and power today.
O Jesus, cure the deadness of our souls. Cast off the unbelief that clings to us. Help us go where scriptures point us, to you. May the stories come alive to us, teaching us to live a new and better story where you teach us and give us the miracle of life.
Amen.
I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.
YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.
