Fully Devoted: JesusSample

The Gospel According to John At last we arrive at the fourth Gospel. The Gospel according to John: the Gospel that is most unique and includes events, phrases, and stories that are not found in any of the other three. It’s a Gospel that serves as a beautiful complement and compelling contrast to the other three, which are known as the synoptic Gospels because of their similarities. Question 1: Who is John? John was one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus. He went on to pastor the church in Asia, and authored the book of Revelation as well as three letters that made it into the New Testament. In his Gospel, John refers to himself as “the one Jesus loved.” While some have seen that as pretentious braggadocio, John isn’t saying it to try to elevate himself above the other disciples. In fact, John has the opposite intention. He chooses to identify himself not by his title as pastor, apostle, or one of the original twelve, but by the love Jesus has for him. He’s telling us what most defines him: not his role, his title, or his experience, but the love of Jesus. Knowing that, it shouldn’t surprise us that John would make the claim that God is love. Question 2: Who was he writing to? Church tradition tells us that John served as the pastor to Asia during the early years of the Christian movement, which supports the idea that he was writing to a mixed audience of Jews and Greeks. While Matthew, Mark, and Luke speak extensively about the Kingdom of God, John only mentions it twice. He focuses Instead on the promise of eternal life. Is that because John doesn’t think the Kingdom of God is important? Of course not. It’s because John knew his audience. When John writes about eternal life, he’s writing about the kind of life we experience when we enter into the Kingdom of God. Eternal life has less to do with quantity of life and has more to do with quality of life . Eternal life doesn’t start when we die and go on into infinity. Eternal life starts when we place our trust in Jesus and enter into the Kingdom of God. It’s life with God in this life and the next. John contextualizes the language of his Gospel to most effectively speak to his audience of both Jewish and non-Jewish people. Another powerful example of this are the seven “I am” statements that Jesus makes in John’s Gospel. Each of these claims can be perfectly mapped onto statements that John’s Jewish audience would have associated with the Torah, and that his Greek audience would have associated with their gods. So, why was John doing all of this? Question 3: What was he trying to accomplish? John explains at the end of his Gospel: > But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:31 NIV You can almost imagine John nearing the end of his life, sitting down to share the story of those three years he spent with Jesus, and reflecting on all the incredible things he saw Jesus say and do. It had been around fifty years since Jesus had ascended to be with the Father. John was older and wiser, and benefited from perspective and hindsight as he sat down to write these words so that subsequent generations could hear the story of Jesus and believe that He is the Messiah. And by believing, we can have life in His name. Journaling Questions * What verse or passage from today’s reading stood out to you the most? Write it down in your journal. Why did that stand out to you? * Who do you believe Jesus is? Why do you believe that?