“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31 ESV).
The word “believe” is in the book of John more times than the other three Gospels combined. In the English Standard Version translation of John it occurs 85 times, while in Matthew it is found only 8 times, in Mark only 15 times and in Luke only 9. Clearly, John’s Gospel is aimed at sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ, so that we “may believe.”
John’s Gospel was probably written later in his life. He may have been the last living apostle at its writing. He wrote with a perspective that makes his Gospel unique as compared to the other three. Like a master communicator, he carefully organized his Gospel to support his purpose of bringing his readers to believe in Jesus.
While John was prolific in his use of the verb form of believe, he was careful to avoid using the noun form, “belief.” By the time of John’s writing, apparently there was already a needed correction for what it meant to believe. For John, the saving kind of believing required a verb and never a noun. He treated the word “to know,” the same way. Knowledge and belief are not enough. “Head” knowledge must include “heart” knowing. One must know and believe.
“The evangelist, therefore, exhibits his communicative skill in completely avoiding the Greek nouns for knowledge (gnosis) and belief or faith (pistis) and chose to use only the verbs for knowing (ginoskein or eidenai) and believing (pisteuein)” (Gerald L. Bochert, NAC John 1-11, p.116).
Having a belief about Jesus is inadequate. It’s too passive. One must believe into the name of Jesus. This is an active thing. John tries multiple ways to help us understand this.
I think John was on to something. According to Barna, something like 85% of Americans claim to be Christian. They claim to be believers. But I don’t see the evidence. Most so-called believers live just like the rest of the world. They may have some of the right “beliefs,” but there is little fruit of their “believing.”
The other mark of John’s writing is that he isn’t so much concerned about what you believe as in Whom you believe. He confronts his readers with the resurrected Son of God and challenges us to BELIEVE IN JESUS the person.
Do you have right beliefs or have you come to believe in Jesus? The first is inadequate, while the second leads to eternal life. Understanding this distinction is why John wrote.