Sunday, May 31, 2009
As I mentioned last week, the fourth Gospel differs in some significant ways from the first three. We will take a look at this in a moment. First we want to consider the author.
John Who?
The Sons of Zebedee
According to the ancient fathers of the church, the author of the fourth Gospel was the apostle John. He was the younger brother of the apostle James and the son of a man by the name of Zebedee. We read about John’s calling as an apostle and a little about his background in Mark 1:16-20.
We learn from this that, like Peter and Andrew, James and John were fishermen. Evidently they had a rather successful fishing enterprise, for it mentions the fact that they had hired servants. In Luke, we learn that the two sets of brothers: Peter and Andrew and James and John were actually business partners in their fishing business: PAJJ Fishing Enterprises, Inc.
Jesus’ Cousin
Here’s an interesting thing to consider. It appears that James and John were first cousins to Jesus, their mother and his being sisters. How do we know this? By comparing the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, which each list a group of women who were present when Jesus was crucified.
Matthew 27:56 | Mark | John 19:25 |
|
| Mary the mother of Jesus |
Mary Magdalene | Mary Magdalene | Mary Magdalene |
Mary the mother of James and Joseph | Mary the mother of James and Joses | Mary, the wife of Clopas |
The mother of the sons of Zebedee | Salome | His mother’s sister |
Thus it appears that Salome, the wife of Zebedee and the mother of James and John, was Mary's sister, making James and John first cousins of Jesus.
This puts the request of James and John into an interesting light. You might remember that James and John requested of Jesus that they be granted the privilege of sitting one on the right and the other on the left of Jesus, when he should come into his glory (Mk. 10:35). This at least is how Mark puts it. Matthew says that it was the mother of the sons of Zebedee who made this request. This was an honor that James and John desired for themselves, but they apparently asked their mother Salome to make the request for them, perhaps thinking that as Jesus’ aunt she had some influence with him.
The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved
Do you remember when we were discussing Mark’s Gospel a couple of weeks ago that I told you that ancient authors would sometimes include a vague, brief reference to themselves (if they were participants in the story they told)? Many scholars, for instance, think that Mark refers to himself when he speaks of Jesus’ arrest in Gethsemane and says, “And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked” (Mk.
On the night of the Last Supper — "One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table close to Jesus" (
On the morning of the resurrection — "So she [Mary Magdalene] ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him' ” (20:2)
When Jesus appeared to seven of the disciples after his resurrection, while they were fishing on the sea of Galilee, and they saw him from a distance standing on the shore — "That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!' When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea” (21:7)
And again, on the same occasion — "Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, 'Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?' " (
Very interesting that he should refer to himself this way, isn't it? John seems to have had a special sense of the love Christ had for him.
He doesn’t speak in this way in order to suggest that he was the only one of the disciples Jesus loved. Rather he seems to speak in this manner because he derived his chief sense of identity from the fact that he was loved by the Lord.
We all have a self-understanding. There are certain things that we think of as defining who we are. Often these things go unexamined. That is, we are not always conscious of them; we are not always aware that we think this way about ourselves. But we do. We have a sense of self-identity. For some people, it’s their ethnic background that serves to give them their identity. This is more common of minorities, within a given culture. For other people it may be their national origin, or their sex. Many times for men it’s their work. For some it might be their family, especially if theirs is a prominent family (Kennedy, Rockefeller, Rothschild, etc.)
The chief source for John’s self-understanding, his self-identity, was the fact that he was loved by Christ.
Characteristics
John’s Gospel is a rare combination of simplicity and sublimity. Its simplicity is seen in the fact that of all the Gospels it has the most limited vocabulary, only about a thousand words. You understand that I’m not talking about the total number of words in the Gospel, but the number of different words.
| Vocabulary |
Matthew | 1,500 words |
Mark | 1,200 words |
Luke | 1,800 words |
John | 1,000 words |
Not only are there fewer word’s in the vocabulary of John’s Gospel, but the sentence structure is very straight forward. He doesn’t write in the Classical Greek style. He’s not interested in impressing literary critics. He’s interested in communicating the truth of God in language which is accessible to everyone. And he succeeds remarkably in doing so.
We must be careful not confuse simplicity of style with shallowness of content; because although John’s style is simple, his content is extraordinarily sublime. It’s very lofty. Or to go in the other direction, it’s very deep. There is nothing superficial here. It’s packed full of truth. Though it’s very simple in style, it’s the most philosophically and theologically loaded of the four Gospels.
We will see this more fully when we address some of the themes in the book.
Differences from the Synoptic Gospels
Remember the distinctions I mentioned before. The first three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are called the synoptic Gospels because they are “looking together” at the life and ministry of Christ. They each select many of the same events and discourses to record in their Gospels. John, however, selects a number of different episodes, and a number of different discourses to record.
In general we may say that whereas the synoptic Gospels focus on Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, John’s focus is on his ministry in Judea.
In addition, the synoptic writers focus on Jesus’ teaching to the crowds, while John focuses more on his teaching directed to the apostles.
I should also mention that the first three Gospels focus more on Jesus’ ethical teaching, answering the question, “How shall we live as citizens of the kingdom of heaven?” while John focuses on Jesus’ teaching concerning himself. The Gospel of John is preeminently the Gospel of Christ’s self-disclosure. In it, Jesus reveals himself in a much deeper and much fuller way.
It is in this connection that I want to point out one of the prominent themes in John, namely, the “I am” statements of Jesus. There are seven of them:
I am the bread of life (6:35, 41, 48, 51)
I am the light of the world (8:12)
I am the door of the sheep (10:7, 9)
I am the good shepherd (10:11, 14)
I am the resurrection and life (11:25)
I am the way, truth, and life (14:6)
I am the true vine (15:1, 5)
The best evidence suggests that John’s Gospel was written last of all — after the other three had been circulating for some years — and that John wished to supplement the synoptic Gospels, especially in a way that advanced own his particular purpose.
Purpose
Normally, it’s at the end of a story where one discovers the purpose of the story being told. It is no different with the Gospel of John. What is different is that John states his purpose very clearly.
The story comes to a climax in the last chapter, chapter 20. I realize there are twenty-one chapters. But chapter 21 is a kind of epilogue, written to clear up a misunderstanding in the early church. The misunderstanding was that John would not die before the coming of Christ. John clears that up by showing that people had misinterpreted Jesus’ words.
The Gospel comes to a climax in chapter 20 with the confession of Thomas (
24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came [and appeared to them on the evening of the resurrection]. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
This is it! This is the conclusion John wants his readers to come to. He starts his Gospel by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn. 1:1, 14). And now he has Thomas, after initially doubting, after initially being skeptical and unbelieving — he has him making this astounding confession, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
This, as we will see more fully in a moment is one of the major themes of the book: faith and unbelief, and John uses Thomas’ experience as an example of the conclusion that he wants his readers to come to by reading the book. That’s his purpose for writing. He states this purpose very clearly when he says,
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Here it is! This is why he’s writing…that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
These two verses that express John’s purpose in writing summarize the major themes of the book.
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
We may summarize this in four points, arranged in logical order:
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God
The signs he worked prove his claims
Faith is the proper response of the heart to him
Eternal life is the result of faith
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God
This is the central fact of the gospel. Everything depends upon the identity of Jesus Christ. He asked the disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” (Matt. 16:13). And then he asked them, "And what about you? Who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15). Peter’s answer nailed it: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matt.
These two things are very closely connected: Jesus being the Messiah and his being the Son of God.
“What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” (See Matt. 22:41-46). His point here is that David could not call the Messiah (Jesus) his son, if the Messiah was an ordinary descendant. It is fitting for a son to call his father "lord," but it is not proper for a father to use this title for his son. But David uses this of his distant descendant. This distant descendant, the Messiah, must in some way be greater than David. Jesus is hinting here at his divinity.
The question of Jesus' identity is answered far more frequently and far more clearly in John’s Gospel than in any other. Eight times Jesus is specifically called the Son of God, which of course is a reference to his divine nature.
John sets forth the Deity of Jesus Christ in very clear and unmistakable terms in several passages.
John 1:1-3, 18
John 5:17-18
John 8:58-59
John 20:28-29
Jesus is presented as the Divine Son of the Divine Father. This is emphasized throughout the book by Jesus continually referring to God as his “Father,” about 100 times in all; whereas this appears only about 60 time in all three synoptic Gospels put together.
The synoptic writers refer to the voice from heaven at his baptism and again on the Mount of Transfiguration, in which the Father says, in the hearing of the people, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” But the Gospel of John shows us what this looks like. It shows us in an up close and personal way the intimate relationship between the Father and the Son.
The Father is often identified as “he who sent me.” This is explained further by Jesus saying repeatedly that he had come down from heaven.
“The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (
“I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (
“I am the bread that came down from heaven” (
“You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world” (
See also 3:31;
Pretty astonishing claims, these. If you or I or anyone else were to make them, we’d be blaspheming. But as the saying goes, “Put up or shut up.” Making the claims is one thing, proving them is another. We could all make such claims. But Jesus proved them.
The Signs He Worked Prove His Claims
In fact, John emphasizes the miracles of Jesus as evidence proving good his claim to be the Messiah, the Son of God.
There are seven “signs” that John records—seven miracles that serve to attest his claims. These are not the only signs he did. John makes that clear when he says, “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book…”
First Sign: Turning Water into Wine (2:1-11)
Second Sign: Healing an Official’s Son (
Third Sign: Healing of an Invalid (5:1-9)
Fourth Sign: Feeding the Five Thousand (6:1-14)
Fifth Sign: Walking on Water (
Sixth Sign: Healing a Blind Man (9:1-7)
Seventh Sign: Raising of Lazarus (11:1-44)
Seven signs. Interesting number, isn’t it? How often do we find the number seven in Scripture! It’s a number indicating fullness, divine perfection.
Faith is the Proper Response of the Heart
The proper response of the heart toward Jesus Christ is the response of faith—believing in Jesus Christ.
Listen to these passages from John’s Gospel.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God (
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (
“I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins” (
Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him (
“If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father” (10:37-38)
“Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (
“I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he” (
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” (14:1)
“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves” (
Life is the Result of Faith
John makes clear that the result of believing in Jesus Christ is eternal life.
Listen to these passages:
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life (
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (
“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life” (
Conclusion...