The Gospel According to John

The gospel according to John Insert name: Institution affiliation: Due date: Introduction Among the four gospels found in the New Testament, John’s gospel is the latest one to be written. The gospel was written by a Christian identified as John. However, the contents of the gospel show that the person who wrote the gospel was not John, who was among the twelve disciples of Jesus. The contents contain not explicit personal reference of the individual who is expected to have an intimate relationship with Jesus. On the other hand, the gospel depicts an interpretation of Christ, which reflects contexts and ideas which occurred in the Christian community during the period marking the end of the first century of the Christian era. It was a period when several quarters such as skeptics, Romans, Jews and others were attacking Christianity, and others were making accusations against it. The individual who wrote John’s gospel knew the impacts of such attacks and was aware of the interpretations presented by the earlier gospels that gave their explanations about such attacks. Since the author strongly believed in the new Christian movement, he intended to write a gospel which was not only genuine, but also that would present the Christian faith in order to overcome criticisms and acquire respect of the cultured and learned individuals during his day. This goal assists readers to know several unique features of John’s gospel. This paper aims to analyze the main issues examined in the gospel according to John and its major unique features which makes it different from other synoptic gospels. Overview The purpose of John’s gospel is to justify that Jesus of Nazareth was Christ and God’s son, and those who believe in him would have eternal life (Koester, 2003). This purpose was common with other authors who wrote the synoptic gospels; however, John used a unique method to attain this purpose. The central theme in John’s gospel is the divine Logos (the word which was with God and which was God). This divine word became flesh and lived among people in earth in the personhood of Jesus of Nazareth. John did not justify any supernatural birth of Jesus because he considers Christ as a human being who has actual blood and flesh just like other people. Scott (2010) opines that the most important thing about Christ is that the divine Logos was within Him, and thus He was able to do marvelous things due to God’s power within Him. John, therefore, develops how the human aspect relates with divine aspect. Since God was within Jesus, it is convenient to identify Jesus as God’s son. John’s gospel can be divided into two parts. The initial twelve chapters illustrate Christ’s public ministry starting with his encounter with John the Baptists and ending with the Greeks visiting to worship during the Feast of Passover. The other chapters concern with final days of Jesus’ ministry in the earth when he gave instructions to His disciples, and justified the significance of His life and death in several discourses. John summarized Jesus’ public ministry based on the miracles that Jesus performed, and John interpreted their spiritual significance (Valerie, 2011). John presents seven miracle stories in a unique way from the authors of other synoptic gospels. He considers the miraculous elements with their spiritual significance. The miracles indicate God’s power or the presence of the divine Logos that brings positive change in people’s lives. The remaining chapters of John’s gospel explain final days of Jesus’ ministry while in the earth. Unlike Mark’s gospel, John presents the story of Mary anointing Jesus before Jesus triumphantly enters in Jerusalem. John also tells the story of Passover meal in which the Jesus’ disciples took part in the ceremony a day earlier than the narrative presented in the synoptic gospels (Koester, 2003). John brought such alterations to harmonize Jesus’ conception as God’s lamb who cleanses people’s sins. Since the paschal lamb that the ancient Jews utilized as a sacrifice was normally slaughtered the day prior the Passover. It appeared most convenient for John that the sacrifice facing Jesus should correspond with the ancient tradition. The gospel according to John is the fourth gospel that explains the mystery of Jesus identity. Dietmar (2001) says that St. John builds a Christology that explains about Christ’s origin and nature while excluding the familiar contents which appear in the synoptic gospels of Luke, mark and Mathew. While Mark’s gospel developed a life experience during the first-century Palestine with an earthy, concrete and vivid illustration of Jesus’ life, John’s gospel presents a long discourse explaining the divinity of Jesus. John justifies the ministry of Jesus so as to enable people believe in Christ as flesh of the eternal and living God, as the son of God, and as a source of life and light. Although, John’s gospel is different from the synoptic gospels, it is still a gospel for it is talking about the Good News. The gospel involves essential experiences of Jesus’ ministry such as his preaching, resurrection, trial, miracles and crucifixion. It is probably that John heard information about these events from early original source similar to all the gospels, though, the liberty he adopts to interpret such events enable people to see clearly that all Jesus’ accounts have come to human beings through refined interpretation. It is likely that he wrote his gospel a bit later when compared to the synoptic gospels. John’s gospel was written around 90 A.D. The author, who wrote about John’s gospel, was an interpreter who informed John about the accounts of Jesus. He was one of original disciples of Jesus. John’s gospel can be categorized into two: anteceded by a prologue and then proceeded by an epilogue. The prologue is in the form of poetic introduction which outlines the narrative and fundamental features of John’s theology (Valerie, 2011). The initial half of the gospel is described as a “Book of signs” because it explains about Jesus’ ministry, concentrating on seven main miracles that Jesus performed, and significance and implication of such miracles. The second half of John’s gospel is termed as the “Book of Glory.” This second part narrates about Jesus’ glorification through his resurrection and crucifixion. Lastly, the gospel comes to an end through an epilogue that inform about how Jesus appeared to his disciples after he resurrected. A redactor is thought to have added the epilogue to the gospel later. The gospel according to John is unique, and, therefore, different from the three synoptic gospels. The gospel is greatly symbolic and literary. It does not produce similar narratives or follow series order as the synoptic gospels used (Koester, 2003). The gospel, to a greater extent, is a product of an established theological reflection and developed through a unique tradition and circle. Important signs in John’s gospel The gospel presents several “signs” showing the wonderful deeds that Jesus did. The author is mainly interested to show the significance of such wonderful deeds, and therefore interpret them to people through different discourse, narratives and reflections. The first sign is the changing of water to become wine at Cana (Jn2:1-11). This sign symbolizes that the Jewish ceremonial washings would be replaced and shows the reconstructing and creative work of Jesus. The second sign occurred when Jesus cured the son of a royal official (Jn 4:49-54). Jesus was at distant place when he proclaimed that the son of the royal official would be healed and the son gets well (Scott, 2010). This sign shows the power of Jesus of Jesus through his words. The third sign happens at the pool when Jesus cures the paralytic. The sign signifies the power of Jesus by using water to provide new life. The fourth sign is in chapter 6; in Samaria, a woman at a well encountered Jesus, who transformed living water into an eternal life. This sign represents the revelation which Jesus brings into the world. John chapter 6 constitutes of two sign: the first sign happen when Jesus multiplied loaves, (which is the fifth sign) and the other sign occurred when Jesus walk...