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| JOHN'S REASON FOR WRITING |
| Handpicked incidents that prove a point. |
| "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves." 14:11 |
| President Abraham Lincoln attracts biographers like candy attracts ants; books about his life would easily fill a large room. Some explore his religious beliefs, some his military strategy, some his eloquence, and others his character. Imagine, though, a biography written about only one aspect of the man: Lincoln the lawyer. Stories from the childhood of Abe - his reading by light filtered through chinks in the wall or his traipsing across town to return a customer's change - would likely never make it into such a book. Yet the precise wording of the Emancipation Proclamation might merit an entire chapter. Long chapters would dwell on an obsure period in Springfield, Illinois, when Lincoln practied law. But his political campaigns would get scarce mention. Such an incomplete biography would serve one purpose: to establish Lincoln's ability in law. All other details would fade into the background. Everthing for a Purpose Like such a biographer, John wrote his book about Jesus for a similarly limited purpose, which he states very clearly: "These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (20:31). The book is not so much a biography as an argument. It's author has handpicked incidents to demonstrate that Jesus is unlike any man who has ever lived: he is the Son of God. This purpose shows up, for example, in how John treats Jesus' miracles. Although Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record miracles, John goes one step further and calls them "signs." A sign points to something. In John, supernatural acts are one |