“This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate. Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.”
John 21:24-25 NLT
The world today has an insatiable desire for information. Vast quantities of data flow along cables and radio waves throughout the world, a global information highway that transport data in fractions of a second. Telephone calls can be made across the globe. News reports become immediately available. In a sense the world is shrinking. But back at John’s desk, as he was penning his final words, he felt a sense of being overwhelmed. Have I written enough? What about that time when …? Did God want me to mention about …? These were all questions that could have been going through his mind, but in the end he concluded that he had done enough. Mission accomplished. We must also remember that what he wrote was inspired by the Holy Spirit so he would have felt a peace within as he added the final “full stop”. But John was right over one thing, if all that Jesus had done had been recorded in the way we have come to expect today, then there would not have been enough storage media available to record it all.
In recent years, a device called a “lifelogger” has been produced that would take a snapshot every thirty seconds or so, providing a log of someone’s life. And then there was the Spanish scientist who started logging every detail of his life in a notebook when he turned forty. Now, nearly ten years later, he has filled 307 notebooks and there are more to go. But it begs the question about what value this could ever have to anyone. But it is different with Jesus. Superficially, the Son of God’s thoughts and deeds would be of immense value to humanity, but then we have to consider that He, through John and the other Bible writes, had divulged all the needed principles for life that would leverage our human understanding and intelligence. Jesus taught using parables, and the benefit of these is that they make people think, bringing understanding and direction for the way they live their lives. And the Holy Spirit brings enlightenment and direction. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
John concluded that his Gospel account was “accurate” and his testimony recorded. Job done. Book finished. And we’re grateful for the Bible writers like John who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote down just what God intended.
Dear Father God. The Bible is Your own work, recorded by Your human servants. Thank You for John and men and women like him, who devoted their lives for the benefit of others. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 