29 His disciples said, “Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech. 30 Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.” 31Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?”
A subtle humor sneaks out in this passage. John must have chuckled to himself as he quoted his and the other disciples’ words—“We now know…we believe…” Even Jesus questioned whether they had really gotten the point yet, “Do you now believe?” Really? But at the time, there was probably a genuine dawning of understanding, even though the fullness of that would not become apparent to them until after the resurrection, some three days away. But a lot had to happen before then, namely the crucifixion!
Yet John, among all the disciples, had a propensity toward faith, even when He didn’t fully understand. Peter was more interested in being loyal to Christ, Thomas with questioning Christ, and the other disciples all had their individual propensities. At the tomb the following Sunday morning, when Peter and John bolted there at the weakest of testimonies that His body was gone, while Peter went in to examine the evidence, John records that he himself remained outside the tomb and “believed” (John 20:8). Maybe he had secretly, all through the dark three days, had a quiet belief that somehow things were going to work out right, though without any concept of how that would happen.
At the same time, it is possible that all the disciples believed, though not as much as they would have liked to think. After all, this is the clearest teaching from Christ about His origins, His deity and relationship with the Father. If in fact, as they are believing, Jesus was from God, then it follows that He must “know all things.” His word is final and not to be questioned as though the truth of His teaching was subject to rabbinical review. At the minimum, the disciples in the Upper Room were stating their faith in His teachings as absolute truth, even if they didn’t fully understand all that He said.
Is this not the kind of faith that God requires? “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Prov 3:5-6). David had that kind of faith when he wrote, “Your word I have treasured in my heart…” (Ps 119:11). Abraham was likewise a man of faith, when God took him outside and compared his promised descendants to the number of stars in the sky, “Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6). God is looking for people to simply believe what He says.
Lord, help me to have the simple faith to believe Your word as absolute truth.
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