By This We Believe

His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.

They said they believed because of His plain speech. They had difficulty understanding the parables, but in this and previous chapters, they thought they understood. They were certain that God has sent Him. But they knew less than we do now.

He did know everything, and gave them more than they were ready to take in:

Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:29-33 KJV)

Those last five words brought me to this scripture.  Someone shared them in a beautiful graphic and I looked it up to be certain I remembered the reference in context.

Yes, it was part of His concern that we have peace even though we will certainly have tribulations in this world.  It’s part of this world. There are wars, national and individual. Tragedies occur that we could not possibly have imagined. Places people deem to be safe are not.

Jesus spoke of two such instances:

There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? (Luke 13:1-2 KJV)
Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? (Luke 13:4 KJV)

These rhetorical questions were answered, too:

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (Luke 13:5 KJV)

In so many ways we are all alike, only in repentance is there a gain. Only in our hearing Him, following Him, loving as He loved, changing our direction, do we find ourselves as His children.

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:45 KJV)

So, why do we believe? If our belief does not change this world, and people in it continue to damage each other, why do we believe?

Because Jesus prophesied the empty tomb, and empty it was.  Because Jesus’ words changed lives then and all the days between then and now. Because His words do tell us:

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:15-16 KJV)