John 20:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;

NIV: Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.

NASB: So then, many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;

CSB: Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.

NLT: The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book.

KJV: And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

NKJV: And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;

In the prior passage, Jesus was mildly scolding Thomas and the other disciples for being resistant (John 20:29). They pushed back against believing Christ had been resurrected until they saw Him in person (John 20:19–23). They'd ignored eyewitness accounts and prophecy to do so (John 2:19–22; 20:17–18; Luke 24:10–11; 23–24). They were especially blessed to have been given so much evidence, since those who came to faith in Christ after would not have access to those experiences.

This verse alludes to those unmentioned details. John's gospel was written well after the other three, which is one reason he skips over certain details to add his own. Each writer has a purpose, and each passage is meant to convey certain ideas. John's choice of what to include, or exclude, is based on that purpose. Here, he notes there are many things of which he could have written but did not. Some of that is a matter of limited space (John 21:25). The rest is about maintaining the book's purpose.

In the next verse, John will explicitly explain the ultimate purpose of his choices: to focus on Jesus as the Messiah, and God, so those who read will accept Him as Savior (John 20:31).

John 20:30–31 is an interesting side note from the apostle John. This summarizes the idea that Scripture does not include every possible detail. Not all possible words, deeds, or thoughts, of every event it describes, are preserved in these accounts. The last words of this gospel echo this same idea (John 21:25). John's gospel, like the rest of the Bible, includes certain details for certain reasons. In John's case, the motive is for readers to fully understand Jesus' divinity, and to accept salvation as a result.

Peter and John get a report from Mary Magdalene that Jesus' body is gone. They arrive to find an open grave, and empty grave clothes, along with a folded face cloth. When the two men leave, Mary remains and suddenly encounters a resurrected Jesus. Though she tells the others, they resist believing until they see Jesus in person. Thomas is especially stubborn, and Jesus remarks on how blessed they are to have been given so much proof. John points out that his writing is meant to prove that Jesus is the Messiah, arranged to encourage those who read to come to faith.

Most of Jesus' disciples scattered and hid when He was arrested (Matthew 26:56). Only John and some women were present to see His death and burial (John 19:26–30, 41–42; Matthew 27:60–61). When Jesus' tomb is seen empty, there is further confusion. Jesus appears to His followers, proving that He is alive, and remarking that they are blessed to have so much proof. John will complete his account in the next chapter with another encounter and more reminders about the nature of his writing.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.