The book of John is one of the four gospels. But, in many ways, it is quite different from the other three. One thing that makes it different is its purpose. "And truly 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) The book that bears John's name has three purposes--that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, that we might believe that He was also the Son of Man, and that believing, we might have life through His name.
John goes about proving his first two points by setting forth some indisputable evidence. He talks about Christ's miracles, His claims, His Deity, the testimony of others, the harmony between His life and the scriptures, the Holy Spirit's witness, and the resurrection. The honest heart can examine all this evidence and reach only one conclusion--Christ was God's son.
God never intended for His creation to accept His son with blind faith. He produced evidence--facts and eyewitness testimony for our consideration. Even Jesus, while He was here, encouraged those who heard Him to search the scriptures for testimony about Him. "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." (John 5:39) Why, if Jesus was a fraud, would He encourage His listeners to search the scriptures? Many believe He was a good man, or maybe a prophet. This cannot be true, if any of His claims proved to be wrong. If He lied and misled the people, he took part in the greatest hoax ever perpetrated against mankind. He then could not be a good man, and He could not be God's son! We must consider this question for ourselves.
In this month's issue of the Messenger, we are going to examine mainly, the evidence of Christ's Deity presented in the Gospel of John. While here, Jesus spent much of His time attempting to convince people who He was. The Jews wanted something quite different from what Christ offered. They sought restoration to their former glory and prestige among the nations. An earthly king could be their leader and help them secure release from Rome's bondage. But what did Jesus offer? He offered exactly what the prophets prophesied He would--a kingdom in which He would be both Priest and King. A kingdom greater than any ever known to man. It would have only ONE king, and it would never fall. It would need no physical armies or weapons for carnal warfare. This kingdom would be a spiritual kingdom.
"And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold--the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure." (Daniel 2:44,45)
We encourage you to read and study this issue soberly and prayerfully, while looking toward eternity. Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be. Did He build the kingdom He promised? Did He leave heaven to come to earth, to live among men, to give His life as a ransom for sin? Mankind's eternal destiny hangs in the balance, depending on how these questions are answered. Please examine the evidence.