S) "25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they *were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself *would not contain the books that *would be written."
John 21:25 (NASB)
O) The last two verses of this gospel break from the historical narrative. Verse 24 is ascribing this gospel to John, and the above verse comes as sort of a brief commentary. There is some amount of hyperbole at work in this, or else we should maybe understand that there simply were not that many books at the time, and/or, the understanding of the size of the world was simply limited. The important thing to remember from this, is that even with four gospels having been written, these are still not comprehensively describing everything Jesus did. The things left unwritten are, therefore, things we can only speculate. There is little point in that kind of speculation, and it usually leads to misconceptions, but there is an important lesson to remember from this. Because the gospels we have are not exhaustive, the writers had to be discerning about the things they recorded. They had to be judicious with their resources, imparting the most important elements of His life. This is why, I think, we don't really have any records of the life of Jesus before His ministry, except as a baby being born, and the one story of Him visiting Jerusalem and staying behind in the temple (which are witness to the fulfillment of prophecies). Even at their most interesting, and satisfying to the most itching curiosity, that kind of account would still pale in comparison to the importance of His ministry on earth.
A) Conspiracy theories about Jesus have existed since His ministry began. At the root of this, are hearts of people who do not want to acknowledge His lordship because they want to remain in their sins. I am speaking from firsthand experience as much as anecdotal evidence. Even since submitting myself to Jesus Christ as my King, I am still prone to wonder about His life aside from what is recorded in the gospels. While some of that wonder is innocent, childlike curiosity, the problem is that the enemy will certainly still use that to distract me from what I do know about Jesus Christ. To put it another way, I could say that if I am going to contemplate the life of Jesus Christ, I should not be wondering about what could never be known, instead of letting what I do know fill me with wonder. If the Gospel writers knew that what they recorded were the most important parts of His life, the most important data to pass on to others, the most important stories, experiences, and words of Jesus, who am I to consider that there could have been more important things about Him for me to dwell on? This is not to say that there is no room for thoughts aside from the majesty of Jesus, but if I am already thinking of Him, already talking about Him, already setting my mind on Him, it should then be thoughts that are going to be the most fruitful, and those will always be based on what the Bible tells me about Jesus, for sure.
P) Father, the wonder of Your recorded word is more than enough for me. The grace at work, when I really slow down and consider its epic conception and preservation, is astounding. Thank You for this grace. Thank You for giving us the Gospel accounts that we have. Thank You for opening my eyes and ears, that I would understand the reality of who Jesus is, based on Scripture. Let me dwell on His life, ministry, words, death, burial, resurrection, appearance, and ascension. When I think of my Lord and Savior, I want those thoughts to be fruitful and honor You. Let it all be done to Your glory, Father God. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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