“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
My Notes
What Does John 20:31 Mean?
John states the purpose of his Gospel in a single verse: these things are written that you might believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name.
The Gospel is not written as biography or history for its own sake. It is written with a purpose: belief. Every miracle recorded, every dialogue preserved, every encounter described — all aimed at producing faith.
"That Jesus is the Christ" — the Messiah, the anointed one Israel waited for. "The Son of God" — not just a human teacher but the divine Son. The belief has specific content: who Jesus is.
"That believing ye might have life through his name" — belief produces life. Not just information. Not just intellectual assent. Life — eternal, abundant, real. And the life comes through his name — through the person of Jesus, accessed by faith.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does knowing John's purpose — producing belief — change how you read his Gospel?
- 2.What is the specific content of the belief John is aiming for?
- 3.How does belief produce 'life' — what kind of life is John describing?
- 4.Where does your belief need to deepen from intellectual acknowledgment to life-producing trust?
Devotional
These are written, that ye might believe. That is why the Gospel of John exists. Not to record history. Not to preserve a biography. To produce belief. Every page is aimed at your faith.
That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The belief has content. It is not generic spirituality. It is specific: Jesus is the Messiah (the promised deliverer) and the Son of God (divine, not merely human). Both claims together.
That believing ye might have life through his name. The belief produces something: life. Not just survival. Life — eternal, overflowing, genuine. The life is through his name — through the person, the authority, the identity of Jesus.
John selected specific signs, specific conversations, specific encounters out of everything Jesus did (v.30 — many other signs not written). The selection was purposeful. Every story made the cut because it serves the goal: that you would believe and have life.
The Gospel of John is aimed at you. At your faith. At your life. Every word was chosen with your belief in mind. The purpose is not academic. It is existential: that believing, you might have life.
Do you believe? Not know about. Believe — with the kind of trust that produces life. The Gospel was written for this moment. For your faith. For your life.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
But these are written,..... The several ends of recording what is written in this book, in proof of Christ's…
These are written - Those recorded in this gospel. That ye might believe ... - This is a clue to the design which John…
That ye might believe - What is here recorded is to give a full proof of the Divinity of Christ; that he is the promised…
We have here an account of another appearance of Christ to his disciples, after his resurrection, when Thomas was now…
but these are written On the one hand there were many unrecorded; buton the other hand some have been recorded. Note in…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture