Introduction:
In the beginning. . . These three words introduce one of the most beloved books of the Bible. Before the crucifixion, before the ministry, before the virgin birth, before the genealogies that date back to Adam himself, Jesus existed. He was with God, and He was God. He was our Creator before He became our re-Creator. Jesus is our light and the Source of our life. John starts out his gospel with words that adamantly proclaim that Jesus was not just a man who taught nice lessons and died. John wants his readers to know from the outset that Jesus had a history before His incarnation. The deity of Jesus firmly set forth from the beginning of John’s gospel contrasts sharply with John’s other focus–Jesus was loving and loveable and able to be humanly contacted. You could touch Him, and He would touch you. Jesus spit in mud and rubbed it on a blind man’s eyes (chapter 9). Jesus let Mary rub his feet with oil (chapter 12). In turn, Jesus washed His disciples’ dirty feet (chapter 13). John leaned back against Jesus as they reclined together at the Last Supper (chapter 13). John wants us to understand that the Creator of all mankind is approachable and loving, not distant. Jesus is a real human, not a playacting God. Jesus is God, not a deified human. John wants his readers to grasp the incomprehensible reality that God became a man and died, and when the man Jesus rose from the dead with scars carved into his physical body, He was still God. We cannot comprehend this mystery, but it is truth, and John wanted the world to know and believe that impossible reality.
Date and Background:
Most modern theologians set the date for the gospel of John around A.D. 90 about 30 years after the synoptic gospels were written. As such, John was familiar with the topics of the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. He knew what information was missing and what more needed to be said to Jesus’ followers. For this reason, John left out important information like the last supper and most of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. Instead, he focused on the events that took place in Judea and Jesus’ interactions with religious leaders.
At the time that John was writing, the fledgling church was facing dangers without and within. Persecution was ever present, but it was not the biggest threat. Instead, the church was in danger from heresy and backsliding. A kind of spiritual apathy was creeping into the church. At the same time, other followers were being swept up in Gnosticism. According to the Gnostics, the physical was evil and constricting while the world of the spirit was where salvation resided. They denied that Jesus was divine from birth. Instead, they embraced the idea that the divine entered the man Jesus at His baptism and left Him before He died on the cross. They were using human logic and Greek concepts to interpret Christianity. John’s gospel was written, in part, to set the record straight as to who and what Jesus truly was and is.
Author:
There is no doubt that the author was John the brother of James, who was one of the inner circle of Jesus’ twelve disciples. However, John never names himself as the author. Instead, he refers to himself as the disciple who Jesus loved, or sometimes just as a disciple when he is speaking about his own part in Jesus’ story. However, the context and comparison with the other gospels make it clear that John is the disciple telling the story.
John came from a fishing village called Bethsaida, which was also the hometown of Peter and Andrew. However, at the time of his call to follow Jesus, John was residing in Capernaum. His father had a prosperous fishing operation with hired servants supplementing the family on the boats (Mark 1:20). John and his brother James were actually fishing partners with Andrew and Simon Peter (Luke 5:10). Evidently, James and John had fiery tempers and embraced the idea of revenge, which earned them the nickname “sons of thunder” from Jesus. Over time, however, John was transformed by his Rabbi until his anthem was love, not anger. John was present at crucial moments in the ministry of Jesus. He was with John the Baptist at the Jordan at the time that Jesus was baptized. He was on the Mount of Transfiguration and in the Garden of Gethsemane with Peter and James. He alone of the disciples stayed near Jesus during both the trial and at the cross. He raced Peter to the tomb after Jesus’ resurrection. In short, as one of the inner three disciples, he had intimate knowledge of the events of the ministry, as well as Jesus’ expressed feelings and ideas.
At the cross, Jesus gave His mother into John’s protection. Tradition says that in later years, John and Mary lived in Ephesus, where he wrote his gospel. Why did Jesus entrust His mother to John? It could simply have been that John was present with Mary at the crucifixion, but another factor might have been John’s youth and Jesus’ foreknowledge that John would outlive every other disciple. John is thought to have been the youngest disciple. He was almost always in the presence of either his older brother James or Peter, who he had known long before becoming a disciple. This may have been because the inexperienced John needed protection and mature guidance. This information raises the question: did Jesus give His mother into John’s care, or did Jesus give the young disciple that He loved into His mother’s care? Maybe, it was a little bit of both.
Themes:
John informed his readers what to expect from his writing. He wanted them to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, and through that belief, they would be saved. “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 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” (John 20:30-31). Thus, a main theme is that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is the Messiah sent directly by the Father. Our job is to believe that truth. In fact, John uses the word “believe” or equivalent terms over 100 times.
John is steeped in the knowledge of the scriptures. About half of his gospel contains either direct quotes or allusions to the Old Testament. From the first verses discussing Jesus’ role in the creation of mankind to the division of Jesus’ garments referenced in Psalm 22, John weaves the Old Testament into the fabric of his story. There is a depth to John’s gospel that draws the reader into the story of the entire Bible. Each gospel has its rightful place in the canon of scripture, but John’s gospel shines brighter and brighter with each reading.
Organization:
1:1-18 The Word and John the Baptist’s identity discussed
1:19 to 2:12 Jesus’ baptism, calling the first disciples, the wedding at Cana
2:13 to 5:47 In Judah: The first cleansing of the temple, the interview with Nicodemus, John the Baptist’s affirmation of Jesus as superior, the woman at the well, healing at the pool of Siloam, Jesus’ heavenly authority
6:1-7:1 In Galilee: Feeding the 5,000, walking on water, Jesus claims to be the bread of life
7:2-11:57 In Judah: Passover, the woman caught in adultery, Jesus’ claims of authority and conflict with the religious leaders, the healing of the man born blind, Jesus is the good shepherd and His claims to be one with the Father, Lazarus is raised from the dead
12:1-17:26 In Jerusalem: Mary anoints Jesus, the triumphal entry, foot washing at the Last Supper, Betrayals, the promise of the Holy Spirit, Abiding in Jesus—the Vine, Jesus prays for His disciples
18:1-19:42 Betrayal, arrest, trials, and crucifixion
20:1-29 & 21:1-23 The resurrection and post-resurrection interactions
20:30-31 & 21:24-25 John’s comments about his gospel
Conclusion:
John’s gospel breathes with his love for Jesus. It displays his beloved Rabbi in every facet that John could describe from Creator to Savior to Friend to Teacher to Lord. Through John’s eyes, we learn that we too can be the disciple that Jesus loved if we believe and follow our Master where He leads us. At the end of our lives here on earth, we too can have so many experiences with Jesus that if we wrote them all down, “the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”