Can you please explain John 20:30?
John the apostle was led of the Lord to let us know the reason why he wrote the Gospel of John. We read in John 20:30-31, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
John’s purpose in writing this Gospel was to lead people into believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior. Throughout John’s Gospel, he presents the Lord Jesus as the Son of God who came to give Himself a sacrifice for our sins, so that through faith in Him, we might be saved. John makes the way of salvation clear in John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” He also quoted the words of the Lord Jesus in John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” So many different verses and passages make it clear that John’s purpose in writing this Gospel was to win souls for Christ.
In chapter 20, we learn that, after His resurrection, the Lord had previously appeared to all the disciples, except for Thomas. (Read John 20:19-24). In John 20:26-29 the Lord appeared to His disciples again, including Thomas. That says, “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” Because Thomas was not with the disciples when the Lord first appeared unto them, the Lord appeared again so that Thomas might also see Him. The impact on him was so tremendous that at the sight of the risen Christ, Thomas proclaimed, “My Lord and my God.”
In John 20:30 we see that beyond this incident, the Lord also gave many more signs to His disciples. “And MANY OTHER SIGNS truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.” You may wonder why John did not tell us ALL the deeds and signs the Lord did. We read in John 21:25 (the last verse of this book), “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” Isn’t that amazing? If everything the Lord Jesus did while He was on the earth was written down, the whole world could not hold all the books it would take. Perhaps this language is hyperbole, yet it lets us know the Lord Jesus was extremely busy during His time on the earth. All that John wrote was what the Lord wanted him to write. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” All that the Lord Jesus did could not be written down, so the Lord led John to write those things so that we all “might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
What about you, dear reader? Have you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God? Have you trusted Him as your Savior so that you might have eternal life? John went on to write in 1 John 5:13, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (CC) (570.4)