WE HAVE THE EVIDENCE: JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD.
What does believing in God mean? It means putting your trust and faith in Him, believing in His promises, and trusting His guidance. It involves seeing beyond what’s visible, embracing His teachings, and relying on His wisdom. Do you believe in Him?
Welcome back to our series on the unique message of the Gospel of John.
John’s Gospel gives us an up-close look at Jesus, the Son of God, and personal interaction with individuals while he lived on earth.
His stories reveal deep truths about Jesus, who He is, and what He means to us.
Here, we examine in more detail the evidence given to prove His Messiahship.
Stay with us throughout the entire series by subscribing to my YouTube Channel, Sabbath School Daily by DrBrenda Ware Davis, or visiting my Website, SabbathSchoolDaily.com. (Pause0
The evidence and witnesses in the Gospel of John are designed to help us believe, to increase our faith in Jesus, and help us believe in his ability to save us from eternal death and give us eternal life.
This journey through John will help you get to know Jesus intimately and personally. It will help you decide if you believe.
As always, before we begin, let’s Pray.
Inviting God’s Presence.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the witnesses, signs, and evidence of You and Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, help us trust and never doubt Jesus’ power to save us. In Jesus Name, Amen
The Gospel of John
(Lesson 7)
Blessed Are Those Who Believe
Part 1 Introduction
When we say we believe in God, it means we trust His words and strive to live according to His principles, even when life brings uncertainty or challenges.
John in the Gospel of John attempts through an array of people from various backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences to provide testimonials on who Jesus is.
These individuals had a direct encounter with Jesus.
Some believed, and others did not. (Pause)
In response to Thomas, In John 20:29 “Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’ ” (John 20:29, NKJV).
Thus, for those who have not seen but believe, we are blessed.
Many people testified to Jesus’ identity.
For instance, in the Gospel of John, we find numerous testimonies.
“ ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ ” (John 1:36 )
“ ‘We have found the Messiah’ ” (John 1:4).
“ ‘We have found Him of whom Moses . . . wrote’ ” (John 1:45).
“ ‘Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ ” (John 1:49).
“ ‘Could this be the Christ?’ ” (John 4:2).
“ ‘We ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world’ ” (John 4:42).
“ ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’ ” (John 6:68).
“ ‘I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world’ ” (John 11:27).
“ ‘Though I was blind, now I see’ ” (John 9:25).
“ ‘Behold your King!’ ” (John 19:14).
“ ‘I find no fault in Him’ ” (John 19:6).
“ ‘My Lord and my God!’ ” (John 20:28).
Jesus was not shy about telling others who He was or obtaining witnesses to testify on His identity, even witnesses who had passed away.
Who were these witnesses, and how did they testify?
Read John 8:56-57; and Genesis 22.
Then continue to Part 2: Harking Back to Abraham
The Gospel of John
(Lesson 7)
Blessed Are Those Who Believe
Part 2: Harking Back to Abraham
Have you ever thought about who Jesus really is?
Jesus didn’t hide who He was.
He told people about Himself and also what others said about Him who were long gone.
One of those persons was Abraham, a man who trusted God and looked forward to a Savior. Abraham’s story shows us something special about Jesus.
In Patriarchs and Prophets it says:
“Through type and promise God ‘preached before the gospel unto Abraham.’ Galatians 3:8. And the patriarch’s faith was fixed upon the Redeemer to come. Said Christ to the Jews, ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced that he should see My day; and he saw it, and was glad.’ John 8:56, R.V., margin. The ram offered in place of Isaac represented the Son of God, who was to be sacrificed in our stead. When man was doomed to death by transgression of the law of God, the Father, looking upon His Son, said to the sinner, ‘Live: I have found a ransom.’ ”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 154.
Thus, although long gone, God made a promise to Abraham.
In Genesis 12:3, God told Abraham, And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
This blessing was about Jesus, the Savior who would come from Abraham’s family.
This is what Jesus meant when He said,
“ ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad’ ” (John 8:56).
Abraham didn’t know Jesus personally, but he believed God’s promise that a Savior would come.
God repeated this promise many times.
Genesis 18:16–18 says that Abraham’s children would become a blessing to all nations.
In Genesis 26:4, God told Abraham’s son Isaac the same promise.
The New Testament confirms this promise too.
In Matthew 1:1, we see Jesus’ family tree tracing back to Abraham, showing that Jesus is the promised Savior.
In Acts 3:25, Peter reminds that God told Abraham:
“Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.” This shows that Abraham’s faith looked forward to Jesus, even if he didn’t know all the details, Abraham believed. (Acts 3:25)
Galatians 3:8 it says
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”(Galatians 3:8).
Abraham believed that God would keep His promise, and because of that faith, he was made right with God.
This is why Jesus said John 8:56 Abraham was joyful to see the day of His coming.
Even though Abraham didn’t live to see Jesus, he believed and looked forward to that day. (Pause)
But Abraham is also the father of those who respond to God in faith as expressed in (Hebrews. 11:8, 17–19.
Hebrews 11:8
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,”
19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. (Hebrews 11:8, 17-19)
His willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac in Genesis 22, the son of promise, was not only an evidence of faith but a window into the plan of salvation.
When God asked Abraham to offer his son Isaac in Genesis 22, it was a test of his faith.
It says in the Book the Desire of Ages:
“Abraham obeyed, but God stopped him at the last moment and provided a ram instead. This ram symbolized Jesus. Just as Abraham didn’t have to sacrifice Isaac, God promised to provide a Savior for all people.
He was given a view of the divine sacrifice for sin. Of this sacrifice he had an illustration in his own experience. The command came to him, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, . . . and offer him . . . for a burnt offering.” Genesis 22:2.Upon the altar of sacrifice he laid the son of promise, the son in whom his hopes were centered. Then as he waited beside the altar with knife upraised to obey God, he heard a voice from heaven saying, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me.” Genesis 22:12. This terrible ordeal was imposed upon Abraham that he might . . . realize the great love of God for the world, so great that to raise it from its degradation, He gave His only-begotten Son to a most shameful death.—The Desire of Ages, p. 468.
Then in reference to Abraham, Jesus said something shocking to the Jewish leaders. He said:
‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM’ ” (John 8:58).
Here, Jesus uses the same words God used when speaking to Moses at the burning bush.
By saying this, Jesus declared that He is God, existing even before Abraham.
The leaders understood Jesus’ point and didn’t like it therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him according to John 8:59.
This was because they understood that Jesus was claiming to be eternal, just as God is.
59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. (John 8:59)
The story of Abraham reminds us that faith is about trusting in God’s promises, even when we can’t see them fully.
Just as Abraham’s faith was counted as righteousness as expressed in Romans 4:1–5, our faith in Jesus makes us right with God, not because of anything we do but because of God’s grace. God’s Amazing Grace.
Do you believe that Jesus is who He says He is—our Savior, our hope, and the One who existed from the beginning?
Jesus used the testimony of a woman who had been once living in sin.
Who is she, and why would he consider her a credible witness?
Read John 12:1-8
Then, View the next segment of this video, Part 3: The Witness of Mary
The Gospel of John
(Lesson 7)
Blessed Are Those Who Believe
Part 3: The Witness of Mary
When we believe in Jesus, we show true love and gratitude.
Six days before the Passover, a special time when the Jews remembered how God freed them from slavery, Jesus visited His friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
Remember, Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha, who Jesus had raised from the dead.
At this time, they were at a feast hosted by Simon, who was healed by Jesus from a terrible skin disease called leprosy.
He hosted this feast to show his appreciation for what Jesus had done for him.
Lazarus was sitting at the table with the guests, and Martha was serving according to John 12:1–8.
At this feast, Mary did something very special.
She brought out a very expensive perfume, worth about a year’s pay!
She did this to show her thanks and appreciation to Jesus.
Not only had He forgiven her sins, but He also raised her brother from the dead.
Mary wanted to honor Jesus as her King by being the first to anoint Him with this perfume (John 12:1-3).
She intended this perfume to be used someday for the burial of Jesus.
But then she had gotten wind that He would soon be anointed King.
Therefore, she would be the first to give Him honor.
So, Mary quietly began to pour the perfume on Jesus.
The sweet smell filled the whole house, catching everyone’s attention, even though she didn’t want to be noticed.
John notes in John 12:3
“The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (John 12:3, ESV).
Judas, however, one of the people there, didn’t like what Mary did.
He said the perfume should have been sold to help the poor.
Jesus, on the other hand, defends Mary.
He rebukes Judas, saying,
“Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.
8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.” (John 12:7-8).
As expressed in our previous lesson on the Gospel of John, Jesus knew what was in people’s hearts as in John 2:24-25; John 6:70-71; John 13:11; John 16:19.
He knew Mary’s actions were out of love and gratitude, and He knew Judas was being selfish. Thus, John in John 12:6 points out that Judas is—a self-serving thief.
6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. (John 12:6)
Mary’s act was more than just kindness.
As pointeed out in the Book Desire of Ages, “The fragrant gift which Mary had thought to lavish upon the dead body of the Saviour she poured upon His living form. At the burial its sweetness could only have pervaded the tomb; now it gladdened His heart with the assurance of her faith and love. . . . And as He went down into the darkness of His great trial, He carried with Him the memory of that deed, an earnest of the love that would be His from His redeemed ones forever.” (The Desire of Ages, pp. 558, 560).
This act, like the broken perfume box, showed that Jesus’ love would spread everywhere, just like that fragrance filled the house.
This incident shows us that Jesus knows our hearts, just like He knew Mary’s and Judas’s.
It reminds us to show our love and gratitude openly and freely, trusting and believing that Jesus understands our true intentions.
Like Mary as true believers, we give our best to Jesus, recognizing His great sacrifice and love for us.
Let’s trust Him fully with our hearts and actions, believing in His guidance daily.
How do you show you believe in Jesus?
Some of those testifying to who Jesus is come from some of the most unlikely people, even rulers such as Pilate, a Roman Governor.
What was his testimony?
Read: John 18:28-38 and John 19:4–22.
Then, Continue to the next segment of this video, Part 4: The Unwitting Witness of Pilate
The Gospel of John
(Lesson 7)
Blessed Are Those Who Believe
Part 4: The Unwitting Witness of Pilate
Believing involves choices, truth, and standing up for what’s right.
A Roman governor named Pilate faced this decision.
He had the choice of believing in Jesus and following him or yielding to the pressures of the crowd.
Which approach did he take?
Pilate is the story of one man who faced the truth, believed, but struggled to follow the truth.
Repeatedly, the religious leaders tried to take Jesus into custody and put him on trial to have him executed.
Yet threaded throughout the Gospel of John is Jesus’ statement that His time or hour had not yet come.
In this, he meant the time of his crucifixion.
Jesus repeated this statement in the following scriptures: John 2:4
4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
John 7:6
6 Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.
See also John 7:8, John 7:30, John 12:7, 23, 27; John 13:1; and John 17:1
Now, Jesus hour had come.
It was during the Passover.
Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane at night.
He was taken before Annas, then Caiaphas, the high priest, and then twice before Pilate, a Roman governor.
According to John 18:28, Jesus was taken before Pilate early on Friday morning.
John 18:28
28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.
Pilate played a significant role in Jesus’ crucifixion.
He was not a Jew; thus, his word became very significant.
His intent was to have the prisoner come before him and quickly sentence him to death.
But when Pilate meets Jesus, his demeanor captures his attention. So, he asked Jesus a series of questions. John 18:37
37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
Thus, from the very lips of Jesus, Jesus tells Pilate that He came into the world to speak the truth and that anyone who believes the truth listens to Him.
But, despite hearing Jesus and feeling unsure, Pilate eventually gave in to the crowd’s demands.
He declared Jesus innocent three times but still sentenced Him to die on the cross.
John 18:38
38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.
4 Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”
John 19:6
6 Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”
The truth about Jesus was right in front of Pilate. He even received a dream from his wife, sent by an angel, warning him that Jesus was the Son of God and innocent (Early Writings, p. 173).
Yet, Pilate was swayed by the crowd, washing his hands before them, claiming he was innocent of Jesus’ death (The Desire of Ages, p. 738).
In fact, Pilate even had a sign written saying, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews,” and had it placed above Jesus’ head on the cross as indicated in John 18:38; John 19:4, 6, 19).
This completed his witness to who Jesus is, and despite his testimony of Jesus’ innocence, he condemned Jesus to death.
Pilate’s struggle shows a sad truth about human nature: even when we know what’s right, sometimes we fail to act on it. Pilate acknowledged Jesus as a just man, even feeling that Jesus was divine, but still allowed Him to be crucified.
This act was marked by the words he wrote, which were meant to be seen by many and provoke thought about who Jesus really was (The Desire of Ages, p. 745).
Pilate was face to face with Jesus, He had the Truth right in front of him. He believed Jesus was truth, but instead of listening to his own heart, he let a loud crowd push him into making a terrible decision.
He sent Jesus to die, even though he knew it was wrong. This shows how sad it can be when we don’t follow what we know in our hearts is right.
Pilated faced the ultimate truth—Jesus, the King of Truth—and yet, he struggled.
Pilate’s story is a reminder for us to stand firm in what we believe, especially when faced with hard choices.
One of Jesus’ disciples lacked faith and did not believe that Jesus had returned from the dead.
How does his reaction differ from Pilate’s? Read John 20:19-31
Then, continue to the next segment of this video: Part 5: The Witness of Thomas
The Gospel of John
(Lesson 7)
Blessed Are Those Who Believe
Part 5: The Witne
Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples, struggled with belief.
His story presents another question: can you believe, even if you haven’t seen complete evidence?
After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples, who were hiding together in a room because they were afraid.
They were all in the room when Jesus appeared alive except for one, Thomas.
When they told Thomas that Jesus was alive, he couldn’t believe it. ({a[periepirpe)
Thomas said, very firmly, “ ‘Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe’ ” (John 20:25, NKJV).
He wanted proof before he would believe. He was basing his faith on certain conditions.
Faith based in Jesus based on conditions appears multiple times in the Gospel of John.
Nicodemus answered Jesus with, “ ‘How can a man be born when he is old?’ ” (John 3:4, NKJV). The woman at the well asked, “ ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?’ ” (John 4:11, NRSV).
The crowd who had been fed with the loaves and fishes asked, “ ‘What sign are you going to give us?’ ” (John 6:30, NRSV).
However, the Gospel of John shows how Jesus counters this idea.
When Jesus met Thomas after His Resurrection, He invited Thomas to touch the wounds in his hand and in His side to see for himself.
Jesus invited him to come, see, and touch His risen body.
Then He says something powerful, “ ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’ ” (John 20:29, ESV).
“God never asks us to believe, without giving sufficient evidence upon which to base our faith. His existence, His character, the truthfulness of His word, are all established by testimony that appeals to our reason; and this testimony is abundant. Yet God has never removed the possibility of doubt. Our faith must rest upon evidence, not demonstration.” (Steps to Christ, p. 105).
Thomas, often called Doubting Thomas, story shows us the mistake of letting doubt and disbelief take over.
It is said that He spent a whole week unhappy, comparing his doubts with the faith of his friends (The Desire of Ages, p. 806).
Jesus didn’t scold Thomas but met him right where he was, helping him move from doubt to faith (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 696).
Why do you believe in Jesus? Is it because you’ve felt His presence in your life?
Thomas learned that those who believe without seeing are truly blessed.
Can you believe without seeing?
Jesus does not leave us without sufficient evidence to believe, but he does not remove every doubt.
What other evidence or signs did Jesus provide to help us believe. Read the following: John 20:30; Matthew 24:2, Matthew 24:14, and Matthew 24:6–8.
Then, continue to the next segment of this video, Part 6: The Witness of Jesus
The Gospel of John
(Lesson 7)
Blessed Are Those Who Believe
Part 6: The Witness of Jesus
Does seeing miracles make it easier to believe in Jesus?
Today, we actually have even more reasons to believe in Jesus than the people who saw His miracles firsthand.
Think of what it would have been like to be there, seeing Jesus perform miracles.
It sounds like it would be easy to believe in Him if you had the privilege to see those miracles with your own eyes, right?
John tells us about many people who witnessed Jesus do many miracles.
He writes about these things not to tell us everything Jesus did but so that we can learn and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
He says in John 20:30-31
“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30, 31, NKJV)
In reality, we have some advantages today that even those eyewitnesses didn’t have.
What are some of the things that we have today that those living at the time of Jesus didn’t have that should help us believe?
We have the powerful accounts of the signs found in the Gospel of John.
We also have the advantage of seeing much of what Jesus and the other writers predicted.
Such as:
The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem predicted in Matthew 24:2
2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:2)
The spread of the gospel around the world predicted in Matthew 24:14
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14) Pasur
The Great Falling Away predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3
3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
The world will continues to decline physically, socially, morally, and spiritually predicted in Matthew. 24:6–8
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:6-8)
Plus, the Apostle Paul warned that there would be tough times in the church itself, where people would turn away from what they should believe
Today, billions of people know about Jesus, far more than in His own time.
We also see the world events that Jesus talked about, like wars and natural disasters, which He said would be signs of troubled times.
These things are evidence that what Jesus said is true.
During Jesus’ time, His followers were just a small group of men and women who were often harassed and mistreated.
By normal expectations, they should have disappeared from history long ago.
But they didn’t. How could they have known that their message would spread across the world? They couldn’t have known, yet it happened just as Jesus predicted.
Today, our faith in Jesus is proof of the fulfillment Jesus’ prophecy that that the gospel would go to all the world.
Now, 2,000 years later, we’re part of the story.
We’re spreading the good news just like Jesus said we would. Every time we tell someone about Jesus, we are fulfilling His prophecy and showing that we believe in Him. (Pause)
But believing isn’t just about seeing; it’s about knowing Jesus in our hearts, trusting in His words and doing in what he asked even when we do not have the evidence right before us.
The Holy Spirit helps us understand the Bible and Jesus’s teachings.
It’s through this understanding that we can meet Jesus and invite Him into our lives as a friend.
Our faith is built on real history, real promises made and kept, and the real, ongoing work of Jesus in our lives through the power of Holy Spirit.
We don’t need to see a miracle to believe—we’re living in the middle of the story right now!
Let’s keep sharing this incredible truth and live out our faith boldly, showing the world that Jesus’s love and promises are for everyone, everywhere.
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