Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.

John 21:25

But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
John 20:31

• This single verse makes two critical points: first, it acknowledges the immeasurable scope of Jesus' life and work; second, it affirms the deliberate selectivity of the entire biblical record.
• Jesus lived for approximately 33 years, yet the Gospels primarily focus on His birth, His final week (Passion Week), and the three years of His public ministry. The vast majority of His life is undocumented.

• The Power of Hyperbole: When John says "even the world itself could not contain the books," he is not speaking literally about physical space. He is communicating the infinite nature of Christ's actions and wisdom, even during His finite time on earth.
• The Scope of His Divinity: Jesus was fully God and fully man. Every casual conversation, every thought, every minor miracle, every spontaneous healing, and every teaching moment was worthy of recording, but was not.
  
  • Think of the 30 Silent Years: From age 12 (His visit to the Temple) to age 30 (His baptism), the Bible provides only one verse (Luke 2:52) stating He "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." A lifetime of growth, learning, work (as a carpenter), and life in a Jewish community remains completely unrecorded.
• John's statement affirms that Jesus' life, even in its most mundane moments, possessed a depth and significance that transcends human ability to document.
• The Bible is not a biography meant for historical completeness; it is a divinely guided, highly selective narrative meant for spiritual transformation.

• The True Purpose (John 20:30-31): Just before John 21:25, the author stated his purpose: "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."
  
  • The Gospels are essentially legal depositions, presenting the necessary evidence for faith. They record the essential facts—the miracles, the claims, the death, and the resurrection—needed to prompt a decision.
• Focus on the Essential: The apostles did not record everything Christ did; they recorded what was sufficient to prove His Messianic claims, His deity, and the path to salvation.
  
  • This selectivity protects us from being overwhelmed by minutiae and focuses our attention on the Cross and the Empty Tomb.

• Valuing Revelation over Curiosity: The world often expresses curiosity about the "lost years" of Jesus (e.g., speculation about Him traveling to India). John 21:25 preempts this curiosity, confirming that what God chose not to tell us is as deliberate as what He chose to tell us.
  
  • We must trust that if the information was essential for faith or practice, it would have been included in the finished, sufficient word of God.
• The Christian principle of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone) is bolstered here. 
• We have enough. 
• The Scriptures are sufficient to make us "complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

• One Solitary Life

The lesson of John 21:25 is that we must celebrate the sufficiency of what is recorded in the Gospels. We have everything we need to know Christ, believe in Him, and inherit eternal life. We should dedicate ourselves to studying and living by the essential truths that the Holy Spirit inspired the apostles to preserve.