Not a single one of Jesus’ disciples were interested in following after myths. Once Jesus was crucified they scattered. They had no expectation that Jesus would be raised from the dead even though he had repeatedly taught them concerning his death and resurrection. It was only after they saw the risen Jesus with their own eyes, heard his voice, and stood in his presence that their unbelief and fear gave way to courageous faith. If Jesus had not been raised, Christianity would have died before it was ever fully realized. If Jesus had not been raised, he would have been quickly forgotten.

John tells us that he and the other apostles were witness to a great number of miraculous signs performed by Jesus beyond the ones recorded in his gospel account. These signs served as testimony to the fact of Jesus’ divine status as the everlasting Son of God. As an eyewitness testimony, the Gospel of John serves as God ordained means to bring the unbeliever to faith, the skeptic to confidence. It has pleased God to bring sinners to salvation not by miraculous deeds but by the living Word. As the Apostle Paul testifies, “So faith comes by hearing and that by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).

John tells us that his purpose in writing his eyewitness testimony to the life and works of Jesus is that those who hear these words will believe that Jesus is the Christ and that in believing they will have life. In this way the gospel of Jesus Christ is a very present reality and a matter of extreme importance. To be sure, it is based upon actual events during the life of Jesus. But in every generation the gospel calls for a present response. And the only right response is that of belief for it is through belief that God justifies sinners by his grace.