John Saw It All - Your Daily Forward Devotional

John Saw It All

May 27

Read: John 21:24-25 (ESV)

This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and we know that his testimony is true. Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

Reflect

As you reflect on all of Jesus’ miracles mentioned in John’s Gospel, which one bolsters your faith in Christ the most?

We have reached the end of John’s Gospel. As we’ve read together, we’ve seen Jesus turn the water into wine at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-12). We’ve seen Him cleanse the temple (John 2:13-22). He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well which demonstrated His omniscience and compassion towards sinners (John 4:1-45). When He healed the official’s son from afar (John 4:46-54), healed the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-9), and healed a man born blind (John 9), we saw His power.

In John 6, Jesus fed a crowd of over 5,000 people with just five loaves of bread and two fish, plus He walked on water! And finally, in John 11, Jesus raised Lazarus after he had been dead for four days! Why did Jesus perform all of these signs and miracles? After Lazarus died, He told His disciples: “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe” (John 11:14-15). In other words, Jesus performed miracles so that people would believe in Him and know that He is the Messiah, the Son of God.

John cited the same purpose for writing His Gospel: “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” (John 20:31). In today’s verses, John said that he is testifying to these things and that we can know that his testimony is true. He was an eyewitness to these things. He saw them all happen before his eyes.

And of course, he had a front row seat to the greatest miracle of all—Jesus’ resurrection! He was the first to the empty tomb (John 20:4-5) and he was there in the locked room when Jesus appeared to them twice in the flesh after He rose (John 20:19-29). John was on the boat with Peter when Jesus told them to fish on the other side and he was there for the seaside breakfast with the Lord (John 21). He witnessed Peter being restored. And we know from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke that he witnessed Jesus ascending to heaven.

But John saw more than just Jesus’ earthly ministry. In John’s old age, he was exiled to the island of Patmos. There he received a vision from the Lord. “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near” (Revelation 1:1-3).

John saw it all. For his entire life, his story never changed. He endured incredible persecution but he wouldn’t stop telling people the Good News that he knew to be true. John wanted people to have eternal life in Jesus’ name. He bore witness to these things so that we may believe and have life in Jesus’ name. Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? Do you believe that in Him you have eternal life?

Respond

Lord, I believe that You are the Messiah, the Son of God. I know that in You, I have everlasting life! Thank You for the faithful testimony of Your disciples, like John, who bore witness to these things so that 2,000 years later, we can still know the truth about You. Amen.

Reveal: John was a faithful witness of the Gospel. He shared what he knew to be true with others. Follow his example and share what you know to be true about Jesus with someone who needs to hear it today, so that by believing in Jesus, they may have life in His name.

~ Pastor Nat Crawford