What's so unique about the Gospel of John?
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Layscholars
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A book with one lasersharp focus
Christology: Who is Jesus really? That is the laser sharp focus in the majority of chapters in John.
A lot of stories in John begin elsewhere, like an innocent setting of a wedding, or a theological discussion about whether it is appropriate to carry a mat on the sabbath or not. Yet every time, the discussion in John's narrative veer back to the issue of Jesus' identity. Who is this Jesus?
The narrative pattern is often like this: There is an action of some type, maybe a miracle performed by Jesus, which leads to a dialogue about what Jesus did, which then turns into a heated dialogue about who Jesus is by various characters. In the end we get a monologue from Jesus, about himself. Christology - who is Jesus.
John begins the book by giving his readers the answer to this question of Jesus' identity. "In the beginning was…" Our author, as a Jewish student of the Scriptures, begins by repeating the opening phrase of the Bible itself (Gen 1:1), undoubtedly aware that he was imitating Scripture and penning another holy writing. And what happened back in the beginning? John writes that in the beginning Jesus the Word was God, and created the world, and now came undercover ("incarnated") to earth as a human.
For the rest of the book we as readers know the true identity of Jesus, but the other characters in the story do not always grasp it. Jesus is from above. He is from heaven. He is Yahweh himself incarnated on earth.
If you have read this Gospel already, have you noticed what is lacking? There is no genealogy or birth story, no temptation in the wilderness, no account of the transfiguration, no Lord's supper (but it is the only gospel with the foot washing, ch. 13), no agony in Gethsemane. It is easier to count the synoptic stories that are found in John (like feeding of the 5000, and the trial and crucifixion) than those who are not there. Almost all the stories in John are unique to his gospel. John was most likely aware of the content of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and saw no need to repeat them.
The stories we do find in John are all grand and impressive. The recorded dialogues in the book are longer and more personal, like with Nicodemus (ch. 3) and the Samaritan woman (ch. 4). There is no casting out of small demons, only the overthrow of Satan himself ("now will the ruler of this world be cast out," 12:31). No healing of 'everyday' diseases. The paralytic healed in John (ch. 5) is not just lame, but has been lame for no less than 38 years. The blind man healed in John was blind even from birth (ch. 9). The one story of a resurrection in John was not done to a fresh corpse, like the widow's son in Luke, but done to a body dead for four days that had started to rot and smell (Lazarus in ch. 11). Jesus does not say "amen I tell you" like in the other gospels. In John He consistently says a double "amen amen".
In order to convince the reader that Jesus is divine, John pulls out the big and impressive miracles, and shows a decisive and in-command Jesus.
At the end of the book John confirms to us what we have understood along the way, in chapters 1-12, that Christology was the deliberate focus of the gospel. "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" (20:31).
A secondary theme
There is another important theme in this gospel, concentrated in chapters 13-17: the theme of intimate community among the believers. It starts in chapter 13 with Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, which is something slaves and servants did, not the master. Then several statements about loving one another, until Jesus in chapter 17 prays to the Father that all believers should "be one" like the Father and Son are one.
Then comes the arrest, trial, and execution of Jesus in chapters 18-19, the climax of all four gospels. Here John is closer to the other gospels than he is elsewhere in his book.
Finally comes two concluding chapters: one chapter wrapping up the theme of Christology (ch. 20, "this was written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God"), and one tying up the issue of fellowship among believers (ch. 21, "if you love me, feed my sheep"). There is no reason to consider the two conclusions as a mistake on the part of the author (or an addition by a later editor). Two conclusions are necessary to end a book that had two messages.
This explicit and focused attention on just two themes makes the Gospel of John an easy book to grasp, and this is probably why many give this gospel as the first biblical book to read to potential new believers. There are just two issues the reader must deal with and make a decision about: Can I believe that Jesus is God? Do I want to love other people?
A slow narrative pace
There are no sophisticated ethical discussions in John. No rabbinical discussions about commandments in the law of Moses as in Matthew (only briefly raising an issue before moving on to the issue of Jesus' identity).
No fast-paced action from one event to another like in Mark. The narrative pace in John is slow, with fewer but longer stories and dialogues.
No recurring social agenda to make life better for Gentiles, women, the sick and the poor like in Luke (the woman caught in adultery in ch. 8 being a possible exception, but the authorship of that story is uncertain, it is not found in the early copies we have of John).
There are no parables about the kingdom of God; illustrations like Jesus as the Great Shepherd and the Vine are the closest we get to parables in John.
So there are just two themes repeated over and over – that Jesus is from above, and that we must love one another.
While the agenda and focus in John are clear, and make the book so appealing to new Christians, the rich symbolic language gives the seasoned reader more than enough to ponder as well. The level of word play, ambiguity, symbolism, irony, and just gripping storytelling prevents anyone from outgrowing this gospel. There is enough in John to notice, enjoy, and mull over for a lifetime.
The Gospel of John is the easiest of the four gospels to grasp because it has basically just two messages set on repeat, yet also the most difficult and puzzling with its rich symbolism and dialogues.
The Structure of John's Gospel
The overall outline of the book is as follows.
1-12 Christology
13-17 Community
18-19 Cross
20 Conclusion Christology
21 Conclusion Community
A book with one lasersharp focus
Christology: Who is Jesus really? That is the laser sharp focus in the majority of chapters in John.
A lot of stories in John begin elsewhere, like an innocent setting of a wedding, or a theological discussion about whether it is appropriate to carry a mat on the sabbath or not. Yet every time, the discussion in John's narrative veer back to the issue of Jesus' identity. Who is this Jesus?
The narrative pattern is often like this: There is an action of some type, maybe a miracle performed by Jesus, which leads to a dialogue about what Jesus did, which then turns into a heated dialogue about who Jesus is by various characters. In the end we get a monologue from Jesus, about himself. Christology - who is Jesus.
John begins the book by giving his readers the answer to this question of Jesus' identity. "In the beginning was…" Our author, as a Jewish student of the Scriptures, begins by repeating the opening phrase of the Bible itself (Gen 1:1), undoubtedly aware that he was imitating Scripture and penning another holy writing. And what happened back in the beginning? John writes that in the beginning Jesus the Word was God, and created the world, and now came undercover ("incarnated") to earth as a human.
For the rest of the book we as readers know the true identity of Jesus, but the other characters in the story do not always grasp it. Jesus is from above. He is from heaven. He is Yahweh himself incarnated on earth.
If you have read this Gospel already, have you noticed what is lacking? There is no genealogy or birth story, no temptation in the wilderness, no account of the transfiguration, no Lord's supper (but it is the only gospel with the foot washing, ch. 13), no agony in Gethsemane. It is easier to count the synoptic stories that are found in John (like feeding of the 5000, and the trial and crucifixion) than those who are not there. Almost all the stories in John are unique to his gospel. John was most likely aware of the content of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and saw no need to repeat them.
The stories we do find in John are all grand and impressive. The recorded dialogues in the book are longer and more personal, like with Nicodemus (ch. 3) and the Samaritan woman (ch. 4). There is no casting out of small demons, only the overthrow of Satan himself ("now will the ruler of this world be cast out," 12:31). No healing of 'everyday' diseases. The paralytic healed in John (ch. 5) is not just lame, but has been lame for no less than 38 years. The blind man healed in John was blind even from birth (ch. 9). The one story of a resurrection in John was not done to a fresh corpse, like the widow's son in Luke, but done to a body dead for four days that had started to rot and smell (Lazarus in ch. 11). Jesus does not say "amen I tell you" like in the other gospels. In John He consistently says a double "amen amen".
In order to convince the reader that Jesus is divine, John pulls out the big and impressive miracles, and shows a decisive and in-command Jesus.
At the end of the book John confirms to us what we have understood along the way, in chapters 1-12, that Christology was the deliberate focus of the gospel. "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" (20:31).
A secondary theme
There is another important theme in this gospel, concentrated in chapters 13-17: the theme of intimate community among the believers. It starts in chapter 13 with Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, which is something slaves and servants did, not the master. Then several statements about loving one another, until Jesus in chapter 17 prays to the Father that all believers should "be one" like the Father and Son are one.
Then comes the arrest, trial, and execution of Jesus in chapters 18-19, the climax of all four gospels. Here John is closer to the other gospels than he is elsewhere in his book.
Finally comes two concluding chapters: one chapter wrapping up the theme of Christology (ch. 20, "this was written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God"), and one tying up the issue of fellowship among believers (ch. 21, "if you love me, feed my sheep"). There is no reason to consider the two conclusions as a mistake on the part of the author (or an addition by a later editor). Two conclusions are necessary to end a book that had two messages.
This explicit and focused attention on just two themes makes the Gospel of John an easy book to grasp, and this is probably why many give this gospel as the first biblical book to read to potential new believers. There are just two issues the reader must deal with and make a decision about: Can I believe that Jesus is God? Do I want to love other people?
A slow narrative pace
There are no sophisticated ethical discussions in John. No rabbinical discussions about commandments in the law of Moses as in Matthew (only briefly raising an issue before moving on to the issue of Jesus' identity).
No fast-paced action from one event to another like in Mark. The narrative pace in John is slow, with fewer but longer stories and dialogues.
No recurring social agenda to make life better for Gentiles, women, the sick and the poor like in Luke (the woman caught in adultery in ch. 8 being a possible exception, but the authorship of that story is uncertain, it is not found in the early copies we have of John).
There are no parables about the kingdom of God; illustrations like Jesus as the Great Shepherd and the Vine are the closest we get to parables in John.
So there are just two themes repeated over and over – that Jesus is from above, and that we must love one another.
While the agenda and focus in John are clear, and make the book so appealing to new Christians, the rich symbolic language gives the seasoned reader more than enough to ponder as well. The level of word play, ambiguity, symbolism, irony, and just gripping storytelling prevents anyone from outgrowing this gospel. There is enough in John to notice, enjoy, and mull over for a lifetime.
The Gospel of John is the easiest of the four gospels to grasp because it has basically just two messages set on repeat, yet also the most difficult and puzzling with its rich symbolism and dialogues.
The Structure of John's Gospel
The overall outline of the book is as follows.
1-12 Christology
13-17 Community
18-19 Cross
20 Conclusion Christology
21 Conclusion Community