John’s Journey in the Gospel John 21:24-25

Text:  “This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.”

John 21:24.

          “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

1 John 1:3.

Good morning, Gospel-believing Christian!  The Lord God gave His Word to Christ’s disciples by His own mouth, and, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they made a number of written records.  

The disciples faithfully recorded God’s Word for us, especially focusing on the four Gospel accounts given.  John’s Gospel is the account that John wrote of the ’good news’ that Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, has indeed come; walked among us for thirty-three and a half years; was rejected by the Jewish nation; crucified on a cruel Roman Cross; suffered unto death; was placed in a tomb - yet arose again from the dead and now lives forever.  This Gospel truth we solemnly believe (trust) and by trusting in God’s truth, we are graciously saved.  Praise God.  Amen.  (John 14:6)

John’s Eye-witness Account:  John’s first epistle general, his letter written to all Christians of his time, was written in Ephesus about 85-90 AD.  The theme of John’s first letter is the need to maintain true fellowship with God.

“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us (regenerate Christians); and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”      (1 John 1:3)

The disciple, John, was singularly focused on his mission for Christ - to make sure that his eye-witness account of the good news of Messiah’s coming - to suffer and die for our sins - would be faithfully recorded for posterity.  Salvation in Christ Jesus, God’s Son, is the only true way of Salvation from sin and for Eternity.  John was trying to make certain that we had the Gospel account of Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross written down, as he had personally experienced the wondrous event.  Praise God he succeeded in his mission.

“Neither is there Salvation in any other; for there is none other Name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”  (Acts 4:12)

John’s Tangible Evidence:  The facts of this great Salvation story was not some tale that John had been told; or something his father had passed down to him as a national tradition. No!  John had not only personally seen the first coming of Christ Jesus, but he had indeed walked the highways and bye-ways in close fellowship with Him; had actually looked upon Him; and touched Him with his own bare hands.  John’s experience of Christ Jesus was very real.

“That (Christ Jesus) which was from the beginning, which we (the apostles) have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; for the life was manifested (revealed), and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that Eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.“ (1 John 1:1-2)

The author of John’s Gospel had experienced tangible evidence of Christ Jesus in all His Divine wonder - and therefore, we can fully believe his irrefutable Gospel account.

John’s Personal Experience:  Not only had the apostle John physically seen with his own human eyes, and touched with his own actual hands the God-sent Salvation that was Christ Jesus; he had also a full and very real experience of receiving Eternal life through the Christ who had personally invited him and his brother James, and Peter and his brother Andrew, to ‘Come, and be a fishers of men…’.

“And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers.  And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men…And going on from thence, He saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.  And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him.”  (Matthew 4:18-22)

John’s experience of following Jesus, in newness of Eternal life, was both a real and very personal calling.  We can fully believe his first-hand Gospel account.

John’s Precise Conclusion:  The concluding words of John‘s Gospel account not only assures us of the miraculous nature of Christ’s ministry on earth, but clearly reflects how precise, to the point, devoid of flowery details, is the Spiritually-inspired content of the four Gospel records. 

The Spirit of God only dealt with the precise facts necessary to enlighten us to the truth of Salvation in Christ Jesus alone.  God the Spirit did not, for example, go into all the terrible and gory details of what Christ’s Crucifixion entailed.  He merely inspired the writers to write: “…they Crucified Him…”; “And they Crucified Him…”; “…And when they had Crucified Him…”; “And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they Crucified Him…” (John 19:18) (Matthew 27:35) (Mark 15:24) (Luke 23:33)

Thought:  We need to know nothing else but Christ, and Him Crucified for us!  Knowing this Gospel truth, and receiving it by God-given faith - we are Eternally saved.

To the Greater Glory of the Risen Christ Jesus.

Dr Cornelius Kenneth McClinton, BA (Hons); M.A.; Ph.D.; D. Litt

Ulster Christians Ministry   www.ulsterchristians.org   

Copywrite: © Dr C.K. McClinton 2021