what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
John was an eyewitness to the life and ministry of Jesus. He wanted to be clear that he was not promoting myths or fairy-tales, but rather something he had actually experienced empirically. Yet, John saw one thing, but through faith realized something greater. It was one thing to see the body, even the transfigured and glorious body, of Jesus. It was another to recognize that what was made visible in him was eternal life that was with the Father before time began. It was one thing to recline his head upon the breast of Jesus at the last supper. It was another to recognize Jesus as the bread of life.
The historicity of the testimony of John was important. Without it we would merely by discussing a myth with no particular value beyond whatever inspiration or instruction we could derive from fiction. If Jesus is truly Savior he cannot be a mere idea. He must come to us from outside of ourselves in an objectively real way. He must have real power, that is, power over reality itself, in order to set us free from our all too real prisons and chains.
But history itself could not express all or even most of the truth about Jesus. The true testimony to the life of the Son could be received even by those who were not eyewitnesses. We do not share the specific experiences of John the Evangelist, but we do share his faith when we believe his testimony. He saw certain empirical phenomena and could have interpreted them through a lens of doubt or a lens of faith. And the Spirit led him to choose faith. We are in a similar position when we hear the proposed Gospel accounts of Jesus. We too can respond to them with either doubt or with faith. Our culture of scientific materialism tends to push us toward doubt. But the same Spirit that drew John to faith can draw us believe as well. This is part of what it means to share "fellowship" or "communion" with John. It means being animated by the Spirit to believe, to hope, and to love the same God, revealed in the historical life of Jesus Christ.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
Even in the finding of the empty tomb it was necessary for John to exercise faith. It was one thing to discover a missing body. It was another to understand that it implied that the resurrection promised by Jesus had been accomplished. Jesus had, of course, made such promises before his death. But they could not truly become real objects of belief except when in the face of the stark reality of that death. Would the crushing weight of sorrow from the death of Jesus dictate a response of despair? Or would his disciples find ways to hope in him and trust in his promises once more? At the tomb, John again chose faith. No doubt it was not at that point fully mature. That most likely took further encounters with the risen Lord and ultimately the gift of his Spirit at Pentecost. But eventually he did believe with so much sincerity that he was changed entirely and forever by it. Only belief like that could explain the urgency and desire that made him desire to share what he knew with others, including with us.
We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.
Many of our experiences can be interpreted very differently depending on whether we doubt or believe that the Lord is at work in our lives. We often see tombs. Even when they are empty and there is an invitation to believe we sometimes still assume that death is a reality that is absolute and unconquerable. But it is not. Seen with the eyes of faith we too can recognize the Lord revealing himself and making his salvation known and available, even in the circumstances of our own lives.
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