You Can Know You Have Eternal Life
#43 Gods Standard for Mankind (27)
Omission points to Inspiration (1)
by Jim Mettenbrink
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The apostle John was only one of
two (Matthew) of the twelve disciples, who wrote an account of
the life of Christ. John was one of Jesus' inner circle
Peter, James and John. Interestingly, John never
named himself in the Gospel of John (except in the list of disciples),
but referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved (New
Testament, John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). Apparently
he was the closest to Jesus. Considering all four gospels,
we see that John was with Jesus constantly an eye witness
in all respects. The inner three had the distinct privilege
of witnessing the transfiguration of Jesus (NT, Matthew 17:2-13).
Jesus' face shined like the sun and His clothes became
white as light. Moses and Elijah, having departed this
earth a millenium earlier, appeared and had a conversation with
Jesus. But John, the only eyewitness gospel writer, never
wrote one word of this event! Why did he, being so close
to Jesus, omit it?
On the night before He was crucified,
Jesus having eaten the Passover meal with His disciples, went
with the eleven disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter,
James and John accompanied Jesus to a more secluded part of the
garden. Jesus prayed agonizingly about the cross that awaited
Him in just a few hours. His sorrow and deep distress are
marked by sweating drops of blood (Luke 22:44). A modern
day witness would have written every graphic detail of Jesus'
pleading with the Father about the salvation of mankind, yet
John, an eyewitness never mentions the event. How could
a man be so close to Jesus and omit this most important hour,
especially since John was the only disciple to give the most
detailed account of Jesus teaching and prayer after the Passover
meal just an hour or so earlier that evening (John 13-17)?
Among the four gospel accounts
are recorded three occasions when Jesus resurrected a person
from the dead. The most memorable is that of Lazarus, the
brother of Mary and Martha, all friends of Jesus. John
alone records this event, noting Mary and Martha's heartbreak
and anguish over Lazarus' death. Yet Matthew, Mark and
Luke, wrote not one word about this marvelous miracle. These
are only a few of the startling "blanks" in the Gospels.
How do we account for these omissions? It can only
be explained as being the design of God through divine inspiration
of the gospel writers.
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