Believing in Jesus expresses, in a nutshell, the overarching missionary purpose of the Fourth Gospel. The Gospel's Prologue sets forth the missionary agenda of testimony that draws people to believe in Jesus, and the Gospel closes with the words that make this agenda explicit: ""These things are written so that you may believe. . . ."" Quite often, as with Jesus' first sign, the changing of water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana, it was the very disciples of Jesus who believed in him. Especially for men and women who have already embarked upon the road of discipleship, believing in Jesus is far from routine. Believing in Jesus shatters our status quo, challenges our theologies, and changes our lives. The individual studies in this book illustrate how some of the earliest disciples are typical examples of what it means to believe in Jesus. They demonstrate to us that believing in Jesus is a present and ongoing engagement with God in the lives of Christian women and men. Dennis R. Lindsay is Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, as well as Professor of Biblical Studies, at Northwest Christian College, Eugene, Oregon. He is also the author of Josephus and Faith.
