Faith and proof

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

FAITH AND PROOF

John 2:17-22

17 His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."   18 Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" 19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."  20 The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

NIV

We find a self-contained explanation of his words is here for us in this narrative. Of course in hindsight we know all this as we have the whole of the gospel at our fingertips having read it many times, being as  familiar with the events of Christ’s life as we are with our own. Yet what Jesus said here is as important to the good news as his death on the cross for our sin. There is no other faith on the entire planet that has a risen Savior. Some of them might claim a god alive in spirit, but we have a God who is alive in body, as we not only know he rose from the grave, had physical contact with people, ate with them, but that he ascended into heaven in a physical form. We are the only faith who has the proof of a living Savior. That almost sounds like an oxymoron, faith and proof, but it is true. We have the first hand witness’s account of him being raised from the grave and his ascension into heaven, alone with the first hand witness of being told he will come back again in that same manner. So many people believe all sorts of words written by other people who said they witnessed something, but refuse to believe what men like John wrote about what he witnessed. Many who write accounts of what they claim to have either witnessed or researched from others who wrote words about an event, write for personal gain, either fame or fortune. The words John wrote of this event did nothing but end him up exiled to a life on an island. Some of the others who wrote firsthand accounts of this event ended up dying a horrible death. The other truth we see here is that some can only believe in the physical life they know, in the record of man’s achievements, taking  forty-six years to build a temple, not being able to see the accomplishments of God. We are so fortunate to know the truth about Jesus. We believe the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.