The Four Gospels: John

From the class on Jan 30, 3011

Date of the gospel

The Early church points to John being the last Gospel written with the apostle John living to an old age - dating the Gospel sometime around 90-100 AD. Papyrus found in Egypt which had several verses of John’s Gospel on it is dated to 125.

Implications of the Date:

1. There had been 70 years between the events and the writing of the Gospel… that’s a lot of time to remember and tell the stories under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

2. Jesus Christ told the apostles that he had many things to say which they could not bear at that moment… He promised that the Holy Spirit would interpret in due time what he had said (John 16:12-15)

3. Nobody could expect a verbatim report after 70 years - so there’s interpretation blended in with the words of Jesus. What probably happened was that John said: “you remember how Jesus said…?” and the followers of John answered, “Yes, and now we know what he meant when he said that.” This is the process of the Holy Spirit’s work, thinking through the mind of John after 70 years of remembering and living with the risen Lord.

Structure of the Gospel of John

2 major parts:

1) The Book of Signs (Ch 1-12), which focuses on Jesus Christ’s identity as Messiah, king, and Son of God.

2) The Book of Glory (Ch 13-21), in which Jesus prepares his followers for his death. Jesus is seen as the king with full authority who allows himself to be crucified and conquers through his death.

The Gospel of John is unique from the Synoptic Gospels. John contains 73% unique material, no parables, emphasizes Judean ministry (rather than just Galilean ministry). John includes extended discourses.

In John’s discourses, there is a particular pattern which appears often:

(1) An inquirer/opponent hears Jesus make an ambiguous statement

(2) They misunderstand it

(3) Jesus gives a clearer, more specific teaching

It is important to pay attention to the clarifying statement which Jesus gives - this represents the real teaching: it is more important and clearly stated than the opening vague statement.

Key Features of the Gospel of John

John focuses on Logos Christology (John’s prologue). The 7 “I AM” statements connote a divine signature. Note the dualisms: Lightness vs darkness, Jesus Christ vs the world, what is above vs. what is below.

The overall purpose of the Gospel: “… that you may believe Jesus is the Christ… and have LIFE in his name” (John 20:30-31). Eternal life is available now (whereas the synoptic gospels feature more “kingdom” talk). Language of being brought into the divine family: Jesus Christ ‘abides’ in the Father in love and unity, and his mission and prayer in 17:21 is that his followers also may be one ‘as you Father are in me, and I in you… may they also be in us.’ It’s actually similar to the synoptic understanding of the Kingdom of God - a life shared with God and with the people of God, being a part of one flock under one shepherd, or a branch in the one true vine.

John has only a few central points which he repeats to hammer home the message (it’s easy to miss this because we conflate the details of all the gospels together):

a) The person of Christ

b) The need of faith

c) The gift of life

For example: John tells us who Jesus Christ is right in Chapter 1:

the divine Word; the light and life of men; Word became flesh; called God and the Son of God, the Lord, the Lamb of God, the Messiah/Christ, Rabbi, the King of Israel, Son of Man. These ideas/titles which John wants us to connect with Jesus are given in the 1st chapter and repeated throughout the Gospel.

John’s use of symbolism

John’s timing of the Crucifixion makes it a symbol of the redemptive effect of the death of Jesus, who saves his people, this time not from political bondage in Egypt, but from the bondage to sin. The miracles are a symbol of the spiritual ministry of Jesus tied to discourse. For instance, the healing of the man born blind is a symbol of Jesus’ ministry giving light to the world.

IMPORTANT: in spiritual things, it is never possible to prove authority by outward words or acts… the very nature of faith is a discernment of truth and a glimpse of God by the eyes of faith. The claim of Jesus Christ could not be ‘proved’ empirically. So what does this mean with Jesus Christ’s ‘signs’ in John? Jesus was misunderstood and rejected, but his words and acts were clues to those whose spiritual eyes were open. The real meaning of Jesus’ life and work is not irresistibly clear to everyone. John doesn’t expect everyone to see/accept the claim of Christ, but he does emphasize that a strong witness to it has been given by the ministry of Jesus and the church.

An important side note: The opening of the spiritual eyes is the role of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, God’s grace comes before faith… Faith is a response to God’s grace. God acts first! This is why we have infant baptism - to show that God reaches for us before we can “choose” God.