Voluntary, spontaneous confessions (we call them acknowledgements) are genuine because they come straight from the heart. The first good confession recorded in John’s Gospel was by Nathaniel. “Teacher, you are the son of God! You are the king of Israel!” He said these words without thinking after Jesus said he had seen him earlier “under the fig tree” (John 1:49). Nathaniel had a sudden flash of insight, and his confession was spontaneous — bursting forth from his heart and onto his lips!
The second good confession recorded in John’s Gospel was made by a Samaritan woman Jesus met at a well. She believed in Jesus after he perceived her most personal problem. She ran to her people and exclaimed, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Might not this be the Messiah?” It was a suggestive sort of confession, but after Jesus stayed over in the village, the people concluded that he was indeed the promised Messiah.
The third good confession in John’s Gospel was made by Peter after “many of his disciples pulled back and stopped walking with him”. His words that they would eat his flesh and drink his blood were unpalatable to them (John 6:51-66). Jesus asked those who remained, “Do you also want to go away?” Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words [declarations] of life everlasting, and we believe and know that you are the holy one of God.”
The fourth good confession in John’s Gospel was made by the man who’d been born blind, whose eyes Jesus smeared with mud. He received sight after washing them as instructed in the pool of Siloam, and saw for the first time ever. In the face of great hostility the man maintained that he was the man who had been born blind. When asked what he thought of Jesus, he replied, “He is a prophet.” (John 9:17) It was not a profound confession, but it was all he knew at the time. Later he sealed his confession to Jesus: “Lord, I believe!” In between the two confessions, he held his ground against verbal assaults by religious leaders and gave as good as he got!
The fifth good confession in John’s Gospel was made by Martha when Jesus arrived after her brother Lazarus had been dead three days. There was a hint of hurt in Martha’s words when she said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” But there was also a hint of hope. “But even now, I know that whatever you ask God for, He will give it to you.” And, as we know, God did.
The sixth good confession in John’s Gospel was made by the pessimistic Thomas. “My Lord and my God!” Scholars tell us the “and” is copulative and that the words of the verse are cumulative. In other words, “My Lord” is linked with “my God” in Thomas’ growing realization that he is seeing the Father in the Son. He had heard Jesus speak of this to Philip (John 14:10) but the truth is now staring him in the face!
The seventh good confession in John’s Gospel is by John himself. Hauling into the boat a huge catch of fish after a night of catching nothing, he connected the catch with an earlier one and exclaimed – “It is the Lord!” (John 21:7) It’s a spontaneous confession of astonished recognition! The rest of the disciples couldn’t even bring themselves to ask, “Lord, is it you?” – knowing it was the Lord! (John 21:12)
These seven good confessions were made in a variety of situations. Your own good confession will be the one that your situation or circumstance requires. But let it come forth from your heart to your lips spontaneously, no matter who would like to keep it quiet, because your good confession, more than anything else, will seal your relationship with the Lord Jesus.