Surely you got a bunch of friends in your life, and your friends are all of varying degrees, right? There's a few people in your life who you, you know, they're friends, you're not related to them, but they feel like a blood relative to you. And you got other people in your life who, you know, you get along fine with. You maybe aren't quite on that level of trust, but you're great and you share space in life. And then there are other people who you're friendly with, you know, I guess you'd call them a friend, but like an acquaintance plus. And then you got people, that much larger circle of people who you just know. And you can tell, you can just feel the different textures, the different levels of depth and intimacy and trust in each of those relationships. And if somebody asks you to really lay it out, you might struggle to find the words to describe the difference between a pretty good friend, we're cool, we're great, and a friend who you'd say, like, yeah, this is like a blood relative type friend, even though we're not related by blood. Well, likewise, there's a lot of different flavors and intensity levels of belief on display in the Gospel of John and already on display in the very early going here, as we look at just chapters one and chapter two, because you got people who are coming to faith in different ways. They're coming at it with different attitudes. And I think this is all very intentional that we're, as a reader who's supposed to be coming into this with, you know, as a little bit of a blank slate. We're seeing all these different templates, all these different levels or styles of faith along the way. And this continues all the way to the end of the book. Here's what I'm talking about. From the very beginning, John makes it clear this is a book about convincing you to believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, God dwelling with us, he is the Christ, he is the Messiah, and the way to be on his side and in right relationship with him is well, it's right here. Uh, yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent nor of human decision, or a husband's will, but born of God. That's John 1, 12, and 13. So, right in the prologue, we get told this is kind of what the ideal version of faith looks like. It's belief in his name, it's dependence on God, it's trust, it's receiving him. God came into the world and some people rejected him. They didn't give him hospitality, they didn't want him here. Other people were kind of lukewarm and sized it up, but others received him. Well, that's where you want to be. That's the ideal, and that's what John is pushing you toward. And then at the very end of the book in John 20, and again, the same theme is repeated in 21, John just spells it out. Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. So you see, even there, in John 20, uh 30 and 31, that John is kind of saying, Yeah, you know, the miracles and stuff, they're pretty cool. They make a point, that's great. But clearly, John doesn't think that there's just some magic number where if you hear reports of enough miracles, like then you'll believe. That would be that's the kind of faith John wants you to have. So, like if you heard about 28 miracles and they were all, you know, really good, nah, maybe for some that wouldn't be enough. But if you heard about that 29th one of equal intensity, okay, well, I can't go with somebody who only gives me 28 miracles, but 29, I'll give my heart to that guy. You can kind of see what John's driving at, right? Like, what what is that level of faith? What is that what is that template of faith? That isn't really the point. John at no point tries to overwhelm us with look at all these miracles. Is that enough? Well, now is this enough? Well, what about this one? Would that be enough? Instead, John seems to assume, hey, there's plenty here, and at some point, if that's not enough, nothing is going to be enough. I could fill page after page after page with miraculous stuff, but it seems like what John is ultimately pointing toward is what those signs, what those miracles indicate about Jesus. So there's enough here for you to believe, but uh it's more than just the miracles. It's who Jesus is, it's the prophecy he fulfills, it's what he says, it's how he conducts his business. And ultimately, the one great big miracle that John and Jesus alike seem to agree is like this is this one is enough. Destroy this temple and then it'll be raised again in three days. Jesus is gonna die and come back to life. So if he didn't do that, you know it was fake. And if he did, well, how many more miracles do you need? That's plenty. But along the way, we're seeing a lot of different manners by which people flirt with faith, arrive at faith, and one of those happens right after the baptism, right? You know, Jesus gets baptized, John is giving this testimony about something miraculous happened here. The spirit came down as a dove, then God is affirming him, and you know, that should be enough. That's pretty good. John the Baptist is testifying that he's the Son of God. That's you know, pretty good sign. But then still, John the Baptist's own disciples are like, Well, you know, I mean, he's Jesus is interesting or whatever. John the Baptist has to be like, That right there is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He's got to say it at him twice. Like, go talk to him. And then finally, they do go and talk to Jesus, and Jesus says, What do you want? And they say, Rabbi, where are you staying? And Jesus says, Come and you will see. So they go with him and they see. They spend the day with him, and that is enough. Whatever happens in the interim, they're like, Okay, this is real. And they go and they get all their friends and they bring them along. Well, why did that initial batch of disciples believe? I mean, there's not a lot happening here. I mean, there's one big thing, the baptism and the nudge from John. But this is a faith that is mostly born out of just being in the presence of Jesus and seeing it and figuring it out. Well, they go and round up their friends and their family, and one of the family members they go and round up is a guy named Nathaniel. And you'll recall, Nathaniel is kind of representative of another one of those faith builds. And he comes up and he's a little snarky. Does anything good come from Nazareth or Jesus from? I'm not too impressed by that. And Jesus says something, some kind of code to Nathaniel that tips off Nathaniel that Jesus is the Christ. I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you. And Nathaniel's like, Whoa, Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You were the king of Israel. Whatever that was, as we've discussed, you know, I don't know. But then there's a very interesting exchange after that as it pertains to these different kinds, these different builds of faith that we're seeing so far in John. Because remember, Jesus says, Yeah, you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. But you shall see greater things than that. I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. So Nathaniel is like, Well, I've I've seen enough. That's pretty good. I'm in. I'm very excited. And Jesus is like, Yeah, there's a whole other level to this. Again, go back to the example of this intangible but very real thing that we all experience, that being friendship and different levels of friendship. Surely there's been a time where you were like, This is the most in love I could possibly be, or this is the best friendship I could possibly have. And then you come to love more deeply, and then you come to know someone and be friends at a deeper level. Nathaniel thinks this is as good as it gets because of a thing, one quick sign, one quick miracle. And then Jesus is like, nah, man, that's that's just the beginning. There's a whole other thing here, a whole other level. Well, then we go into chapter two, and in chapter two, we get this situation where Jesus changes the water into wine, and a lot of people are there, and some of them probably figure out, but they don't really get what's going on or why it's a big deal totally. I mean, probably a lot of them are pretty drunk. But then at the end of that story about the changing the water into wine, we get this. This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. Signs. Not just miracles, miraculous signs. It's making a point. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. Well, I thought they'd already put their faith in him. Well, again, in the same way that you once loved and thought that's as much as love could ever be love, and then you discovered deeper love, and the same way that you once friended and thought that's as good a friend as I can ever friend, and then discovered a deeper level of friendship. So these disciples have seen this sign, they understand the levels of meaning, at least to some extent, that we talked about a few episodes back, and they're like, okay, well, I'm at a deeper level of faith, of belief. Now, why is it? Well, the actual miracle is pretty cool, right? The the physical ta-da change from water into wine, but you sure get the impression that the people who really are deeply putting their faith in him are doing so because they get what it means. It's not just a miracle, it's a sign. It's communicating theology. Those who deepen their belief in Jesus because of signs aren't just dazzled by the breaking of the laws of time and space. They're dazzled by how that breaking of the law, what that breaking of the law of time and space says about the character and role and person and nature of Christ. Look, it is understandable the different people who are wired different ways and who've had different encounters with Christ right there on the front end, and maybe even different levels of aptitude or knowledge of the scriptures, it makes sense that their faith is going to look a little bit different, that their process or the incident that brings them to an understanding of Christ, and then the incidents that bring them to deeper understandings of Christ. It makes sense that they're going to look different. It makes sense that this is going to happen at a different pace for people. Good heavens. It happens at a different pace for me and you. I mean, there's some of you listening to this right now, and there's all this talk about how faith happens in the Bible and how it's working, and you're like, well, yeah, it's not for me. It's interesting to learn how it happens for other people. I just don't think I'm probably ever going to do faith. Well, you know what? I think you might. I don't think you're a finished product, and I don't think I am either. And I don't think where we plant our flag right this second when we're in a part of life where there's a lot of questions is the finished product. So I don't know. There's a lot of things that we might think in life, well, that'll never be for me. And then hey, our eyes are open and things make more sense. I hope every one of you who is not a Christian who's listening to this, I hope you become Christians. I hope I've been transparent about that. I want you, through whatever process of faith is unique to you by the power of God, to see God. I want you to become a Christian. I want you to be a part of a community of faith. This podcast is absolutely no substitute for living in a community of faith with all the ups and downs and bumps and bruises that come with it. I know a bunch of you had a rough experience with that at some point, and that's why you're kind of on the fence or just barely, you know, kind of hanging on, listening to like one Bible thing per day for 10 or 12 minutes, and that's that's like your thing that you're willing to do. Well, I don't think your story's done being written. I mean, if the story wasn't done being written for Peter and John and Andrew, and they had chapters to their faith that unfolded as stuff happened, and as they came to understand who Jesus was, that's gonna happen for you too. It's all right that these guys weren't always, you know, 100% dialed in and had everything figured out in terms of faith. Like it's okay they went through a thing, it's okay that you went through a thing. I had bad experiences at church too. I had some pretty serious ups and downs with this thing. I might have some more ahead of me. Whatever, by God's grace, I'm a Christian and I'm in. I'm sticking with it. And I want what we're seeing on these pages, and that is depth with God. I am seeing people who are clearly, deeply committed to Jesus discovering that there was more. Part of the reason I'm here and do this is because I want to discover that with you. I think God is behind this, and I like spending time with you, thinking it through and working on it. But look, the story of faith, the way it unfolds, the deepening of our faith in just two chapters of John, we're already seeing it. Looks different for different people. Different people are wired different. They get there different ways. Maybe you see yourself in some of these characters, maybe you don't. I certainly see myself in one or two of these characters. And it's encouraging to see that there's a variety of processes and they're just varying timelines of how this depth of faith and belief and knowing God unfolds. Okay, that's my little spiel. We've got one more question about faith and response to faith, deepening of faith, if you will. One more of those that we got to look at here at the end of John chapter two. And uh we'll do that as we land the plane on the final verse of John chapter two tomorrow. All right, that's plenty for now. I'm Matt. This is the 10-minute Bible hour podcast. Let's do this again today.