You're on the shore at Ephesus again, this time with the author of the "second ending." He, like the first author, is a long-time member/leader of the community here.
You ask him why he added this material to the Gospel. He say it comes from an eyewitness. So, the material shouldn't be left out, even if it's hard to fit into the flow. What is true is true. How it flows as a story is something else. There's so much more that Jesus did than is written here or anywhere, and some of it can help us understand who Jesus is and what he came to do.
This last remark sets you thinking. You'd like to know - or at least imagine - what some of those things might be. So, after you finish your conversation with this author, you walk along the shore alone and talk to Jesus in prayer.
You ask him to tell you what some of those other things are. You're not asking for "private revelations" that you can publish or teach or preach. You simply want to deepen your understanding of Jesus. It's not science fiction. It's prayer. You're asking Jesus to teach you, like he taught Nicodemus, or the Samaritan woman at the well. It's his story. He knows it. He doesn't have to make it up.
So, you stop, and ask Jesus to talk about himself and give you deeper insights into who he is.
- Little White Book, Diocese of Saginaw