The Gospel Project® for Adults
50 Jesus responded to him, "Do you believe
because I told you I saw you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things than this." 51 Then he said,
"Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God ascending and descending
on the Son of Man."
Verse 50 bold words fill in blanks
Jesus promised to show His people
greater things to encourage their faith in Him.
Verse 51 bold words fill in blanks
Jesus described Himself as the Son of Man,
widening the people's understanding of who He is and is not.
Because Jesus gave up His life for us
and we have committed to following Him, our lives
are to be marked by sacrifice as we are willing
to do whatever God calls on us to do as we invest in others
so that they might become disciples of Jesus.
Jesus calls people to Himself. As God,
it would be right for Him to keep sinful humans at a distance.
He could have moved through His life on earth
without much human interaction
and accomplished the work of salvation
through His death and resurrection. The fact that Jesus
invited people into His life
and allowed them to see His deity firsthand gives testimony
to the fact that God wants to be known. Also, we see clearly
that those who know Him share Him with others.
These stories illustrate that people who have a relationship
with Jesus tell others that He is the promised Messiah—
they tell those in their family and those in their city
and also participate in sharing this good news
with the whole world.
The people in John 1 modeled the way Jesus changes
the human heart. The reader gets a sense of the joy
found in these first disciples who exclaimed,
"We have found the Messiah!" This type of praise comes
from a heart that has been transformed
and one that knows firsthand that Jesus really is
who He says He is and came to do what He said He would do.
We also should have a heart of praise. We've seen
Jesus revealed in the Bible, and God has revealed
the truth of Jesus to our hearts, so our lives
should consistently proclaim,
"We have found the Messiah," to anyone who will listen.
The first followers of Jesus brought other people to Jesus.
In fact, they did not seem to waste any time
inviting other people to come and see the
It's likely that many in the first century were looking
for the Messiah, so it was natural for them to want to come
and see. Others, however, may not have been looking
but were compelled by the invitation. In our day, the same is true.
We testify to God's grace to those who are looking for hope
and salvation and to those who are not but who still need
the good news of Jesus.
"Jesus has no desire to trick you into following him
with a kind of bait and switch. He is utterly up front
about the cost. In fact, he urges you to count the cost. ‘
For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first
sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough
to complete it? . . .' (Luke 14:28).
Let the call to follow Jesus be clear and honest. ‘
In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart;
I have overcome the world' (John 16:33).
It is costly, and it is worth it." 4
-- John Piper
1. Trip Lee, Rise: Get Up and Live in God's Great Story (Nashville, TN: Nelson Books, 2015), 47.
2. Gary M. Burge, John, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000), 75.
3. D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Eerdmans, 1991), 162.
4. John Piper, What Jesus Demands from the World (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2006), 73-74.
5. Gerald L. Borchert, John 1--11, vol. 25A, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 140-41.
6. R. Kent Hughes, John: That You May Believe, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1999), 50.
7. Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen, The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004), 90.
8. D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, 162.
9. James M. Hamilton Jr. and Brian J. Vickers, John--Acts, eds. Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar, vol. IX, ESV Expository Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019), 52-53.
10. Gerald L. Borchert, John 1--11, vol. 25A, The New American Commentary, 149.