Bible Study: Basic Themes in John's Gospel

The purpose of the Gospel of John seems to be to give a more literary account of Jesus (as opposed to strictly historical) and to set up the plot and dialogue structure in such a way as to make it more of an impact to those who hear/read it. John decided to freely manipulate the history of Jesus in order to follow the lines of certain themes and truths he believed foundational to the person and truth of Jesus Christ, all the while being inspired by the Holy Spirit, of course. In this endeavor, John certainly succeeded.

In John's Gospel, the book is set up into two distinct halves, the Book of Glory and the Book of Signs. He specifically set Jesus up over and against the Jewish ceremonies, traditions, and doctrines of his day in such a way to show that he understands his purpose unmistakably as an usurper. In John, Jesus usurps the Jewish understanding and way of life to such an extent that one would think he was simply a lunatic or megalomaniac; however, John also demonstrates, through signs as well as incredible dialogue and discourse, that Jesus may very well have support to back up his claims. Jesus goes from being a revolutionary radical who seems to seek trouble to speaking frankly and lovingly with his disciples. Then he is crucified, just as he always said he would be and he almost seems to welcome it. Then, just as he claimed, he is resurrected and maintains the same vocal authority with what appears to be a somewhat heightened physical power (e.g. he passes through walls, etc.).

By the end of John, there is little doubt that Jesus could be the man that John records him saying he is, which is actually God himself, Yahweh. He is not only worthy of being heard, no matter how radical his claims are, but obeyed, because no one else has "the words of eternal life" (John 6:68). By the end of John, only those who simply "do not get it" in the face of so much proof will fail to believe.

Certainly, John achieves his purpose in this book. It is still unknown whether this book was written before or after the epistles (1, 2, and 3 John). I can certainly see the validity in the argument that says that the bulk of John was written before the epistles and then the prologue and epilogue written at a much later date to wrap a few things up; namely, to further emphasize the physical humanity of Christ as well as to reconcile the two communities of John and Peter. Either way, I definitely think some of the main themes fit together. The epistles were written for a group of people who "know the truth" (1 John 2:21) and who "do not need anyone to teach" them (1 John 2:27), so they were simply meant to expound on things already understood and shared among them. The Gospel was written to be something of an autonomous witness to who Jesus was and the weight and validity of his claims. They both do their jobs well.

I gained immensely from the study of John's works. I prefer literature as he wrote it: full of parallelisms and symbolisms that show the mark of a higher power that set everything up. Amazingly enough, the higher power in John who set everything up was also the main character who was physically present in the story. That incredible idea is almost beyond belief, but once again, in all the way it is set up and demonstrated, it practically must be believed. I suppose the best way to describe it would simply be "awe-inspiring." It is impossible to get over the magnitude of what takes place in the Gospel of John. In my opinion, the fact that the Christology in John is the highest of the four Gospels is necessary, and in this day, fresh insight. We might never get past songs that only say "he calls me friend" if we did not understand that Jesus actually replaced the previous Jewish systems of festivals, doctrine, and sacrifice on which the Jews placed their understanding of God. Certainly, Jesus does descend and calls us friend, but it is only by the grace of a God who would otherwise be forever aloof, and deservingly so. I believe the power of Christ and his subsequent compassionate love as demonstrated in John are unparalleled by any other testimony to Christ. Anyone would do well to read John's Gospel; either for devotional reasons or just as a powerful work of literature, there is much to be gained.