No Library Can Contain

This post is an excerpt from the sermon, "The Epilogue (You Follow Me)" given by Char Brodersen on April 26, 2015.

I love the way John ends his gospel. After telling us to follow Jesus he ends on a crescendo–the greatness of Jesus. John closes with these words:

"Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

Now here is a funny thing. We moderns, we believe Jesus did many things. Many wonderful things that are not all recorded in John's gospel account. John in this passage is often considered to be exaggerating because there is no way he could have anticipate the volumes of learning, works of art, and literature from all the centuries to follow. John could not account for the volumes of the world–or did he?

Listen to this by D.A. Carson:

"Remember, the Jesus to whom John bears witness is not only the obedient Son and the risen Lord, he is the incarnate Word, the one through him the universe was crafted and is sustained. If all his deeds were described, the world would be a very small and inadequate library indeed.

How beautiful. Indeed, no library can contain his glory or can fathom the depths of the great, incarnate Son of God. John's claim from beginning to end has been that Jesus is absolutely ultimate. It is unfathomable that the world will never be fully able to comprehend the glory of all that he has said and done. 

What an honor it is to be a follower of Jesus. We know and believe Jesus to be the eternal God who became human. We believe Jesus is it. We believe he is the most important figure in all of world history, time, and eternity. For us then, the most important thing in all the world is to follow Jesus, and by following, we have life in his name.

John's last words would tell us to keep our eyes on Jesus. Look to Jesus the author, perfecter, and finisher of your faith.