More Evidence About Jesus

He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. — John 3:31-32

So I talk to men all over the country, and after a while, you can tell where a man is from. For example, if a man is from Boston, you can tell he is from Boston. Or if a man is from New Orleans, you can tell he is from New Orleans. But you can discover even more about him by asking him a few more details about where in the city he lives, where he works, and his experiences there.

We do this all the time. There are men out there who do this all the time with me. They usually ask me where I am from, and I typically say the Twin Cities area. If they know the area, they usually ask which city. And so I tell them White Bear Lake. If they know White Bear Lake, then I typically explain where on the lake I am located, and then they have a point of reference for my who I am, where I live, and how I spend my time. And if this dialogue continues, I will usually learn something about them (i.e., their travel, work, or family in the Twin Cities area), and they will know more about me.

We do this all the time.

And that's what is happening in this book. The Gospel of John is evidence and understanding about Jesus. John presents evidence about who Jesus was, what he did, and where he is from. He is especially concerned about proving where Jesus is from; in this text, he does this in three ways. First, John, the Apostle, testifies (writes down) about what he saw and experienced as he followed Jesus as proof he was from heaven. Second, John the Baptist testifies about what he saw and experienced as he encountered Jesus as his proof he was from heaven. And third, Jesus testifies about what he saw and experienced firsthand in heaven to prove he was from heaven.

What is interesting about this text is that John the Baptist proclaims, "no one receives his testimony." Which is a little mind-blowing because you would never do this to me. If I told you I was from White Bear Lake, MN, you would blindly accept this. You would especially believe me if I could explain even a few details about White Bear Lake. Yet Jesus, over the next three years of ministry, is going to explain things about heaven and do things only someone from heaven could do, and yet they still do not believe. And note the people who choose not to believe are primarily religious. They are religious leaders who study all the time about the kingdom of heaven and proclaim to know every detail about heavenly things.

So if you are still sitting on the fence about who Jesus is and where he is from, let me ask you this. Why do you easily accept the testimony that I am from White Bear Lake, MN? When I am not, I am from Mahtomedi. A city that borders the edge of White Bear Lake. So I gave you very little testimony about where I am from, and you believed it. And Jesus in the New Testament provides us with a mountain of historical and eyewitness evidence that is truthful down to the last detail, and we don't. Why?

ASK THIS: Do you believe the evidence?

DO THIS: If do, testify.

PRAY THIS: God, you have given me enough to believe. Thanks for all the evidence of your goodness.

PLAY THIS: Evidence.