A) Introductory Comments on the Greek Vocabulary:

• In contrast to the Synoptics and Paul, John's Gospel never uses the noun ("faith, belief"), but only the verb ("to believe; to trust").
• Believing is an action that one does, not an object or thing that one possesses; thus, the translation "believing" is better than "having faith."
• Since believing involves relationship, an even better translation in English would be "trusting" or "entrusting oneself to [God or Jesus]."
• Synonyms for "believing" in John's Gospel include "knowing, seeing, receiving, coming to, accepting, abiding, remaining, etc."
• Opposites of "believing" include "not believing, not receiving, rejecting, denying, going away, not abiding, etc."

B) Possible Responses/Reactions to the Revelation of Jesus (with examples from the Fourth Gospel)

1. Those who hear Jesus' words and/or see his signs, yet refuse to believe:
   • "the world"; "chief priests"; most "Jews" and Pharisees in the FG (12:37); even the "brothers of Jesus" (7:5)
2. Those who hear Jesus' words and/or see his signs and begin to believe, but don't fully recognize Jesus' identity:
   • some crowds (6:36); some of the early "disciples" (6:64); some of "the Jews" (8:31; 11:45; 12:11)
3. Those who come to believe in Jesus, but are evidently afraid to acknowledge their faith publicly:
   • Nicodemus (3:1-10), some of "the Jews" (12:42); the parents of the man born blind (9:18-23)
4. Those who encounter Jesus and come to believe in him, and are recognized as his disciples:
   • the core group of disciples (1:50), the Samaritans (4:41-42), the man born blind (9:35-38), Thomas (20:24-29)
5. Those who believe even without seeing signs, on the basis of hearing the words of Jesus and/or other witnesses:
   • the royal official from Capernaum (4:53); Martha (believes before Lazarus is raised, 11:27); later believers, down to today (cf. the Thomas story, 20:19-29; and the first conclusion to the Gospel: 20:30-31)

C) Examples of Increasing (or Decreasing) Faith; Growing Acceptance (or Rejection) of Jesus

• John 9: What the man born blind says:
  • "The man called Jesus made mud…" (9:9)
  • "I do not know [where Jesus is]" (9:12)
  • "He is a prophet" (9:17)
  • "Do you also want to become his disciples?" (9:27)
  • "He opened my eyes" (9:30)
  • "If this man were not from God, he could do nothing" (9:33)
  • "Lord, I believe [that Jesus is the Son of Man]." And he worshiped him (9:38).
• John 9: What the Pharisees/Jews say about Jesus:
  • They first ask where Jesus is (9:12)
  • Some say Jesus is "not from God," since he breaks the Sabbath (9:16)
  • Anyone who confesses Jesus as Messiah would be put out of the synagogue (9:22)
  • Jesus is a sinner (9:24)
  • They are disciples of Moses, but don't know where Jesus comes from (9:29)
  • The formerly blind man is a sinner; they throw him out (9:34)
• John 20: How Mary Magdalene interacts with the Risen Jesus:
  • She goes to the tomb, sees the stone gone, runs to tell Peter & BD: “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” (20:1-2)
  • Stands weeping outside the tomb; looks inside and sees two angels (20:11-12)
  • Angels: "Woman, why are you weeping?" / Mary: "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." (20:13)
  • She turns, sees Jesus, but doesn’t recognize him; thinks he’s the gardener (20:14)
  • Jesus: "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" / Mary: "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." (20:15)
  • Jesus calls her by name: "Mary!" / Mary turns and says, in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (20:16; cf. 10:3-4, 27 - "He calls his sheep by name; they know his voice")
  • Jesus commissions Mary: “Go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' ” (20:17b)
  • Mary obeys and acts: “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.” (20:18)

D) Results/Effects of Believing in Jesus and/or in God:

• Becoming "children of God" (1:12)
• "Not perishing" (3:16), but having "eternal life"--already now, not just after physical death (3:15-16, 36; 5:24; 6:40, 47)
• "Not being condemned" (3:18); "not coming under judgment" (5:24); passing from death to life (5:24); living and never dying (11:25-26)
• "Knowing" Jesus and the Father (4:42; 6:64, 69; 10:38)
• Never being "hungry" or "thirsty" (6:35)
• "Abiding/living/remaining" in Jesus and in God (6:56; 14:17; 15:4-10)
• Having "living water" flow out of one's heart (7:38); receiving the Spirit (7:39)
• Being "disciples" of Jesus (8:31; cf. being Jesus' "friends"; 15:14-15)
• Seeing the "glory of God" (11:40; cf. seeing "greater things" 1:50)
• Becoming "children of light" (12:36); not "remaining in darkness" (12:46)
• Doing the works that Jesus does, or even "greater works" (14:12)
• Having "life in his name" (20:31)

E) Implications of Believing: What does having "Eternal Life Now" look like concretely?

• Having peace (14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26): both individual peace (in our hearts) and communal peace (in relationships)
• Not being afraid (6:20; 12:15; 14:27)
• Being "one" with God and with others in community (10:16; 17:11, 21-22)
• Serving others, following Jesus' example (13:12-17)
• Truly loving one another (13:34-35; 15:12-13; 17:26)
• Recognizing Jesus and other believers as friends (15:13-15)
• Living in joy (14:28; 15:11; 16:20-24; 17:13; 20:20)
• Receiving forgiveness from God and forgiving others (20:23)

F) Consequences of NOT Believing in Jesus

• Jesus (or the Evangelist or characters within the Gospel) sometimes says that certain people do not believe in him, but without specifying any negative consequences:
  • Statements by the Evangelist:
    • “The world did not know him” (1:10); “his own people did not accept him.” (1:11)
    • “For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him.” (6:64b)
    • “For not even his brothers believed in him” (7:5)
    • “Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. / This was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’ / And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they might not look with their eyes, and understand with their heart and turn--and I would heal them.’ “ (12:37-40)
  • Statements by Jesus:
    • "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. / If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? (3:11-12)
    • “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe” (4:48)
    • “But if you do not believe what he [Moses] wrote, how will you believe what I say?” (5:47)
    • “You have seen me and yet do not believe” (6:36)
    • “But among you there are some who do not believe.” (6:64a)
    • “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. / Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?” (8:45-46)
    • “I have told you, and you do not believe.” (10:25)
    • “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (14:10a)
  • Statements by others:
    • Leaders: “Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him?” (7:48);
    • Thomas: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” (20:25b)
• More rarely in the Fourth Gospel are negative consequences explicitly stated for not believing in Jesus:
  • “Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (3:18)
  • “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God's wrath.” (3:36)
  • “Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice / and will come out--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” (5:28-29)
  • “...and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent.” (5:38)
  • “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (6:53)
  • “I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am (he).” (8:24)
  • “But you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.” (10:26)
  • “The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge,” (12:48)
  • “And when he [the Paraclete] comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: / about sin, because they do not believe in me; / about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; / about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.” (16:8-11)
• Yet people can only come to believe in Jesus through the power and invitation of God:
  • “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day.” (6:44)
  • “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.” (6:65)

G) Texts from John's Gospel with "Believing" (NRSV translation; grouped by grammatical object)

I) Believe (absolute trust, without an explicit object or qualifier; but believing "in God" or "in Jesus" is usually implied):

• 1:7 (Evangelist, about John the Baptizer) – He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
• 1:50 – Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these."
• 3:12 (Jesus) – "If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?"
• 4:41-42 – And many more believed because of his word. / They said to the woman [of Samaria], "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world."
• 4:48 – Then Jesus said to him [a synagogue official], "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe."
• 4:53 – The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he himself believed, along with his whole household.
• 5:44 (Jesus) – "How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God?"
• 6:36 (Jesus) – "But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe."
• 6:47 (Jesus) – "Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life."
• 6:64 (Jesus) – "But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him.
• 9:38 – He [the blind man] said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him.
• 10:25-26 – Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; / but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep."
• 11:15 (Jesus) – "For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."
• 11:40 – Jesus said to her [Martha], "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
• 12:39 – And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said,
• 14:29 (Jesus) – "And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe."
• 16:31 – Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?"
• 19:35 (Evangelist) – (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.)
• 20:8 – Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;
• 20:25 – So the other disciples told him [Thomas], "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
• 20:27 – Then he [Jesus] said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."
• 20:29 – Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

II) Believe IN... (usually literally "believe INTO" in Greek; meaning "entrusting oneself to..." or "placing one's trust in..."):

• 1:12 (Evangelist) – But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,
• 2:11 – Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
• 2:23 – When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing.
• 3:14-16 (Jesus) – "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, / that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. / For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."
• 3:18 (Jesus) – "Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God."
• 3:36 (Jesus) – "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God's wrath."
• 4:39 – Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I have ever done."
• 6:29 – Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."
• 6:35 – Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."
• 6:40 (Jesus) – "This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day."
• 7:5 – (For not even his brothers believed in him.)
• 7:31 – Yet many in the crowd believed in him and were saying, "When the Messiah comes, will he do more signs than this man has done?"
• 7:38-39 (Jesus) – "…and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, 'Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.'" / Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
• 7:48 (Jewish leaders) – "Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him?"
• 8:30-31 – As he was saying these things, many believed in him. / Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples;
• 9:35-36 – Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" / He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him."
• 10:42 – And many believed in him there.
• 11:25-26 – Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, / and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
• 11:45 – Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
• 11:48 (chief priests) – "If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation."
• 12:11 – since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.
• 12:36-37 (Jesus) – "While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light." After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them. / Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him.
• 12:42 – Nevertheless many, even of the authorities, believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;
• 12:44 – Then Jesus cried aloud: "Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me."
• 12:46 (Jesus) – "I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness."
• 14:1 (Jesus) – "Do not let your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.
• 14:12 (Jesus) – "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father."
• 16:9 (Jesus) – "…about sin, because they do not believe in me;"
• 17:20 (Jesus) – "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word,"

III) Believe + Personal or Impersonal Objects (me, him, Jesus, Moses, the scriptures, the words or works of Jesus, etc.)

• 2:22 – After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
• [ 2:24 – But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people.]
• 4:21 – Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem."
• 4:50 – Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way.
• 5:24 (Jesus) – "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life."
• 5:38 (Jesus) – "and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent."
• 5:46-47 (Jesus) – "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. / But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?"
• 6:30 (crowds, to Jesus) – So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?"
• 8:45-46 (Jesus) – "But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. / Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?"
• 10:37-38 (Jesus) – "If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. / But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."
• 12:38 (Evangelist) – This was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"
• 14:11 (Jesus) – "Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves."

IV) Believe THAT... (early creedal or doctrinal statements):

• 6:69 (Peter) – "We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
• 8:24 (Jesus) – "I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am (he)."
• [ 9:18 – The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight.]
• 11:27 (Martha) – She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."
• 11:42 (Jesus) – "I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me."
• 13:19 (Jesus) – "I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am (he)."
• 14:10-11 (Jesus) – "Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. / Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves."
• 16:27 (Jesus) – "for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God."
• 16:30 (disciples) – "Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God."
• 17:8 (Jesus) – "for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me."
• 17:21 (Jesus) – "As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me."
• 20:31 (Evangelist) – But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Return to the Introductory Materials for the Fourth Gospel

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