Reasons to Believe from the Book of John

January 9th, 2026

Sometimes when I am trying to explain the differences between the four accounts of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to someone, I’ll use my hand as an illustration. I’ll begin by showing the palm of my hand as an illustration for Matthew and then reposition my hand twice, still palm up, for Mark and Luke. When I want to illustrate John though, I flip my hand over. While there are a few parts of John that overlap with Matthew, Mark, and Luke (like there are a few parts of my hand that are visible whether it is palm up or palm down), for the most part, John records an entirely different set of circumstances in Jesus’ life than the other Gospel writers record. John’s account is still the Gospel (like the back of my hand is still my hand), it’s simply a very different perspective.

The main reason for the differences between John and Matthew, Mark, and Luke, is that while in the case of the latter three the writers seem to be presenting the life of Jesus with groups of people in mind, John was guided by the inspiration of God to write with a purpose in mind. He even says exactly what that purpose is: “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30, 31).

So, why should we believe in Jesus? Below is my attempt to construct a list of reasons to believe in Jesus taken from the book of John. While my list is intended to be thorough, I make no claims that it is exhaustive. You’ll note that many reasons are related to claims that Jesus made. While these claims would not stand alone as evidence, they demonstrate that Jesus’ life was not posthumously rebranded by His disciples. Jesus made profound claims and then demonstrated the reality of those claims both through His works and the many lives He touched. I hope this list inspires you to reread this beautiful account and make a list of your own so that together we may say alongside of Peter, “Also we have come to believe and know that [Jesus is] the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:69).

Reasons to Believe in Jesus from the Book of John:

The witness offered by John the baptizer (1:7, 15, 29-34; 3:31-36)
Seeing the glory of Jesus through His deeds and teaching (1:14; 13:31-32)
The grace and truth seen in Jesus (1:17)
The fact that Jesus was able to see Nathaniel before He met Him (1:48)
Jesus’ ability to transform water into wine (2:7-11)
Jesus’ prediction and knowledge of His death, resurrection, and ascension (2:18-22; 3:14-15; 6:61-62; 7:33-34; 8:21, 23; 12:32-33; 13:3, 36; 14:12, 19; 16:5, 16, 22; 18:4, 31-32)
Jesus’ ability to know what was in man (2:24-25)
Jesus’ claim to have come from Heaven (3:13)
Jesus’ ability to offer living water (4:10-14; 7:37-38)
Jesus’ ability to know all the Samaritan woman ever did (4:16-18, 29, 39)
The testimony of the Samaritans (4:42)
Jesus’ healing of the nobleman’s son without even seeing him (4:50), and the nobleman’s witness of faith (4:53)
Jesus’ ability to heal the lame man (5:5-11), claiming to do so on the basis of His Sonship and equality with God (5:16-23)
Jesus’ claim to hold the key to life, death, judgment, and the resurrection (5:24-29)
The multiple witnesses to Jesus spoken of in chapter 5:
John the baptizer (5:33-35)
Jesus’ works (5:36)
The Father (5:37)
The Scriptures (5:38-39)
Moses (5:46-47)
The feeding of the 5000 (6:11)
Jesus walking on the water and miraculously transporting the boat across the sea (6:19-21)
Jesus’ claim to the bread God sent into the world and the one who holds the key to everlasting life (6:32-58)
The witness of Peter (6:68)
Jesus’ ability to see into Judas’ future (6:70-71; 13:10-11, 18-30; 17:12)
Jesus’ keen awareness of the timeline of His ministry (7:8; 12:23, 27)
Jesus’ profound teaching (which was not influenced by any teacher but God) (7:15-18)
Jesus claiming to be sent by the Father (7:28-29)
The testimony of the officers of the Pharisees (7:46)
Jesus’ claim to be the light of the world (8:12; 9:5; 12:35, 46)
The multiple witnesses spoken of in John 8:
Jesus Himself (8:14-18)
The Father (8:18, 26-29, 54-55)
Abraham (8:56)
Jesus’ claim, “I am” (8:24, 58)
The ability of Jesus’ words to make us free (8:31-36)
Jesus’ claim to proceed forth from God (8:42)
Jesus’ claim to keep people from death (8:51)
Jesus’ healing of the blind man (9:6-7) leading to the blind man’s witness (9:35-38)
Jesus’ claim to help all people to see (9:39-41)
Jesus’ claim to be the Door and the Shepherd of God’s people and the One who owns them (10:7-16)
Jesus’ power to lay down His life and take it up again (10:17-18)
The witness of Jesus’ works (10:25, 32, 37-38)
Jesus’ claim to be able to offer life to His sheep (10:27-29)
Jesus’ claim to be one with God (10:30, 33, 36)
Jesus’ ability to know Lazarus’ condition without being with him (11:11-14)
Jesus’ claim to be the resurrection and the life (11:25-26) as evidenced by His raising Lazarus from the dead (11:39-44)
The witness of Martha (11:27)
The antagonistic witness of the Pharisees (11:47)
The voice of God from Heaven (12:28-30)
Jesus’ claim to have been granted authority from the Father (12:47-50)
Jesus’ claim of going to prepare the Father’s house for believers (14:1-3)
Jesus’ claim of being the way, the truth, and the life (14:6)
Jesus’ claim of being a demonstration of the Father to mankind and of being connected to the Father, as proven by His works (14:8-11; also throughout chapters 13-17)
Jesus’ ability to take our prayers to the Father’s throne (14:13-14; 15:7, 16; 16:23-24, 26)
The connection between Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit (14:23-26)
Jesus’ many works “which no one else did” (15:24)
The witness of the Holy Spirit (15:26; 16:7-15)
Jesus’ claim of glory before the world was (17:5, 24)
The witness of the apostles (17:6-8)
Jesus’ clear claim of oneness with the Father (17:21-23)
Jesus’ claim of a heavenly kingdom (18:36-37)
The fact that the enemies of Jesus knew what He claimed about being the Son of God (19:7)
The incredible way Jesus fulfilled Scripture in the events surrounding His death (13:18; 17:12; 19:24, 28, 36-37)
The empty tomb (20:1-8)
Mary’s witness of the resurrection (20:15-18)
The disciples witness of the resurrection (20:19-21; 21:13-14)
Jesus’ power to convey the Spirit as He promised (20:22-23)
The witness of Thomas (20:24-29)
The miraculous catch of fish (21:5-7, 11)
Jesus’ knowledge of the future for Peter and John (21:18-23)
The witness of the apostle John himself (21:24)