Are you someone who is interested in just the facts, or would you prefer to understand the meaning behind those facts?  Do you just want to know what happened, or do you think why it happened might be even more important?  

Let’s have some fun examining facts, reasons and faith in the Gospel of John and start by imagining ourselves standing on an ocean beach. What do we see?  Your own eyes tell you the facts.  You see a huge, endless expanse of blue water whose waves crash onto the shore.  But when we literally go deeper, past what our eyes see on the surface, put on our imaginary scuba gear and dive in deeper, we discover a whole new, virtually unimaginable world. So, which do you prefer: Just staying on the surface with the facts you can see, or diving deep to uncover the largest ecosystem on the planet?

To use a sports analogy, think of your favorite player and how you know their current season and career statistics, averages and percentages.  That sure is a lot of facts!!  But if that player was your best friend since childhood and knew what he liked and dreamt about – well now you know more than just raw facts.  You know who he is.  You know the real truth about him.

It’s been said that the Gospel of John goes beyond the facts; it dives deep into the meaning behind the facts.  Compared to the factual and historical Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke that describe what Jesus said and did, the Gospel of John is distinctively different with its style, and long discourses after Jesus’ miracles. This is because John’s Gospel is trying to take us to a deeper understanding of the spiritual meaning behind the miracles.

For example, in Matthew, Mark and Luke’s Gospels, Jesus heals a blind beggar named, Bartimaeus and said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” Jesus said, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way” (Mark 10:51-52).  

But John’s Gospel goes deeper in meaning as Jesus heals another man who had also been blind from birth.  As he was in the act of restoring sight, Jesus proclaimed, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5).  Then he explains, “I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind” (John 9: 39).

What a vivid example of going beyond the facts, to help us understand the depth and meaning of what happened, not as a one-time event, but as an eternal call to all believers.  

In the same way, Jesus did not raise only Lazarus from the dead, but Jesus is forever the resurrection and the life.   He did not simply feed the multitudes as a one-time miracle, because Jesus is the bread of life! Our amazing Jesus did not just talk with the woman at the well, but he is the living water! Each of these examples were to demonstrate for all of us, who exactly Jesus is, but on a deeper level.

So the question for us today is simple yet profound.  Do you care to know the raw facts about Jesus – or do you actually want to know Jesus in a deep way, so you can have the power of the meaning and truth of Jesus living in your life?