John 6:69 “We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
This is part of Peter’s response to Jesus after some of his followers had left him and Jesus asked the twelve disciples if they wanted to leave too. It is interesting that he speaks of both believing and knowing. Is there a difference between what you believe and what you know? Do you believe in things that you know are not true? That would seem a bit psychotic. Maybe they are simply two sides of the same coin. The things we know we also believe are true and the things we say we believe are things we would say we know to be true. Maybe we are talking about two different ways of knowing. Some things you verify with an experiment, like the freezing point of water. Lower the temperature of water to 32 degrees Fahrenheit and it becomes ice 100 out of 100 times. But what about love? Can you run it through an experiment? Does that mean it isn’t real or true? Or what about hope? Peter was probably just emphasizing the point here that through their relationship with Jesus they understand things differently, see the world differently, and trust that all that is true and real. But what about you? What do you believe? What do you know?
Logan Memorial Presbyterian Church 