Then Jesus told him [Thomas], “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written 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 20:29–31, NIV 1984).
My Musings – “I visited every nook and cranny of the [concentration] camp because I felt it my duty to be in a position from then on to testify at firsthand about these things in case there ever grew up at home the belief or assumption that the stories of Nazi brutality were just propaganda. I sent communications to both Washington and London, urging the two governments to send instantly to Germany a random group of newspaper editors and representative groups from the national legislatures. I felt that the evidence should be immediately placed before the American and British publics in a fashion that would leave no room for cynical doubt.” (General Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe, WWII).
Things of the utmost importance must be thoroughly documented by the eyewitnesses to enable those not in a position to see firsthand the certainty of what was witnessed. Yet there are those today, who doubt that the holocaust ever happened. Why then do we find it surprising that there has grown up the beliefs and assumptions that much of what Jesus said and did was just propaganda?
But John was there from the beginning. There was much that He could have recorded, “but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” In fact, “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.” (John 21:25, NIV 1984).
John’s testimony was corroborated by Matthew (another of the twelve) as well as Luke (a companion of the Apostle Paul, who “carefully investigated everything from the beginning“) and Mark (the interpreter for the Apostle Peter). More than sufficient evidence to be a blessing to “those who have not seen,” and leaving “no room for cynical doubt.”
My Advice – Believe the testimony. It takes you to an empty tomb.
The Brew Is A Musing 