John

Author: John

John writes so that readers may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and have life in his name.

Outline

  1. The Word and the first signs (1–4)

    The prologue introduces the witnesses, and the early signs move from Cana to the temple, Nicodemus, and Samaria.

  2. Conflict in Jerusalem and Galilee (5–12)

    Sabbath healing, bread, tabernacles, light, and the raising of Lazarus divide those who hear him.

  3. The farewell (13–17)

    At the supper Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, promises the Spirit, and prays.

  4. The hour (18–21)

    Arrest, trial, the cross, the empty tomb, and a breakfast by the sea complete the witness.

Key verses

  • John 1:1

    The book opens by calling the Word God, and by placing him in the beginning with God.

  • John 1:14

    The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and the disciples saw his glory.

  • John 20:31

    John says these signs were written so that readers might believe and have life in his name.

John tells the reader what the book is for before the story is finished. These are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name. The signs are selected, not exhausted. The Gospel itself says that Jesus did many other things, and that the world could not contain the books if every one were written. A reader looking for a day-by-day life of Jesus will find large stretches of ministry passed over and a few conversations held at length. That proportion is the point. John is a witness arranged so that the identity of Jesus and the life he gives can be seen.

The prologue states the identity in advance. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it. John the Baptist is introduced as a witness to the light, not the light itself. The Word was in the world, the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came to his own, and his own received him not. To those who received him he gave power to become the sons of God. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and the disciples beheld his glory, full of grace and truth. The law was given by Moses. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son has declared him. Everything later in the book is a working out of those sentences: a man who can be touched, heard, and killed, who nevertheless makes God known.

The narrative begins with the Baptist pointing to the Lamb of God. At Cana water becomes wine, the beginning of signs. In Jerusalem he clears the temple and speaks of the temple of his body. Nicodemus comes at night and is told he must be born again. A Samaritan woman at a well hears of worship in spirit and in truth. A nobleman’s son is healed at a distance. Ordinary needs become the occasion for saying who Jesus is.

The middle of the book is a growing division. A Sabbath healing, the bread of life, the light of the world, a man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus turn the council toward a decision that one man should die for the people. The public signs end with a glory that looks like death. John has been saying that the lifting up is the revelation, not the interruption of it.

The farewell is given to the disciples after he has washed their feet. A new commandment is that they love one another. He goes to prepare a place. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He promises another Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who will dwell with them and guide them into all truth. He is the vine, and they are the branches. He prays that they may be one, kept in the name the Father gave him, and that the world may believe. The arrest follows at a garden. Peter denies him. Annas and Caiaphas question him. Pilate asks what truth is and finds no fault, then writes a title in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin: Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. From the cross Jesus provides for his mother, says he thirsts, and says it is finished. A soldier pierces his side. Joseph and Nicodemus bury him. On the first day Mary Magdalene finds the stone taken away. Peter and the other disciple run to the tomb. Jesus speaks her name. He stands among the disciples, shows his hands and side, and breathes on them. Thomas, absent, refuses to believe until he sees, and a week later confesses him as Lord and God. The purpose sentence of the book sits just after that confession. A later chapter, by the sea of Tiberias, restores Peter with a threefold charge to feed the sheep and distinguishes the beloved disciple’s witness from a rumor that he would not die. John’s Gospel is that witness: the Word made flesh, the signs, the hour, and the life held out to whoever will believe.

Chapters