Christ's Doctrine of Faith: A Study of "Believing" in John's Gospel (John 11:42)

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The sixty-fifth occurrence of the idea of faith in John’s Gospel is found in John 11:42. In this passage, we find the Lord Jesus Christ saying this: “And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me” (KJV). So, as always, what is the immediate context of this passage, and what are some facts about faith we learn from it?

            First, what is the immediate context? Right after Jesus reminds Martha that, if she believes, she will see the glory of God, they take away the stone from the place where Lazarus’s dead body is laid. Christ then lifts up His eyes and prays to His Father. First, He thanks Him that He has heard Him. He continues by saying that He knew He hears Him always, but, because of the people (literally) standing by Him at this moment, He said it, so that these people may believe that the Father has sent Him. This is the immediate context of John 11:42!

            Second, what are some facts about faith we can glean from here? First, we can see that saving faith in Jesus is belief that the Father has sent Him into the world, because He said it (by “it,” I assume He means the fact that God the Father always heard Him) so that the people standing around Him here will believe that the Father had sent Him. Confirming this view of the content of saving belief, because John the apostle, the author of this very Gospel, says, in his first epistle, that “… we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 John 4:14, KJV). So, saving faith includes believing that God the Father sent His Son into the world. At least in part, to be the Savior of the world (and to be one’s personal Savior-see Galatians 2:20). It is hard to think, as I write this, of another fact about faith that can be gleaned from this passage, including but not limited to facts that I haven’t mentioned before (and the one fact I did mention in this post is one I’m sure I touched on already in this series). Anyway, for now, this is one fact about faith in Christ we can glean from John 11:42!