April 28, 2025
These Things are Written - Part 1
John 20:30-31
04/28/2025
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of
the disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 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. (ESV)
Saint John wrote:
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the
disciples, which are not written in this book; 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.
This week we are exploring the end of Saint John's Gospel,
the reason he wrote the book. As we do this, we will discover
again the truth of God's grace, love, and mercy as the Father
sent His only-begotten Son to redeem the world from sin and
eternal death.
Clearly John confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, the
Messiah first promised by God to Adam and Eve the day that they
ate the forbidden fruit. Their sin was passed from father to
child throughout all generations. We teach our children how to
be polite, not to hurt each other. We have no need to teach our
children how to be selfish, rebellious, and mean. Adam's sin
infects us all, from the moment of conception to the moment of
our temporal death.
God's plan of salvation was first revealed when He cursed
the serpent, saying, ``He shall bruise your head and you shall
bruise His heel.''[1] John begins his Gospel with the creation,
``In the beginning was the Word,''[2] and ends it with Thomas'
confession of faith, ``My Lord and my God.''[3]
May our Lord open our hearts and minds to the good news that
Jesus is the long-promised Messiah who has redeemed us from sin
and death. Amen.
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1. Genesis 3:15
2. John 1:1
3. John 20:28