Daily Devotions
John
Refreshingly different Johannine features
Text: John 11 : 1 -16
REFRESHINGLY DIFFERENT JOHANNINE FEATURES
As we read John’s Gospel we realize that this Book was written quite differently from that of the Synoptic Gospels. What are some of these refreshingly different features? Let’s enumerate some of them.
1. Focus on Jesus’ Judean Ministry
John wrote much more about the ministry of Jesus in Judea, particularly Jerusalem than any of the Gospel writers. The Synoptic Gospels mentioned in brief that Jesus would from time to time make His way to Judea. John on the other hand featured the Judean ministry of Jesus.
2. Vigorous Debates with the Jews
John featured Jesus debating with the Jews at length in Jerusalem. These public discourses often became quite heated, at least as far as the Pharisees were concerned (John 5-10).
With each debate that the Jews lost to Jesus, their hatred for Him increased. They plotted His death. They were even prepared to stone Him to death publicly, just so that they might silence Him. Jesus’ hour had not yet come, and so He decided that He would minister there as well until it was time to return one final time to Jerusalem, to meet His destiny! John only made casual references to those times when He ministered outside Judea (John 10:40-42).
3. Deep and Profound Teachings
Much more than noting the ministry of Jesus in Judea, John recorded invaluable information concerning how Jesus sought to teach the Jews concerning who He was. Jesus’ teaching may be called “evangelistic”. They were that and much more! The depth of teaching was most astonishing!
The Gospel of John contributed significant insights to our understanding of the doctrine of “Christology”. John added significant feature after feature as he wrote about Jesus as the Son of God.
Through His sign-miracles and the discourses that arose from them, Jesus communicated deep and profound thoughts. There was much more to what Jesus said than the casual hearer could imagine! There was much more to what Jesus did, than what the casual eye beheld. All that Jesus said and did contained profound theological truths that could change the life of the diligent disciple forever!
The Jews however had failed to identify Jesus with the Christ of the prophetic Scriptures. They had failed to recognize Jesus as the Son of God who had come from Heaven to fulfill His Father’s Will as the Son of Man! Yet, few things could be as important as having a deep and thorough comprehension of Christology. Salvation and all attendant blessings depended on a clear comprehension of the Lord Jesus Christ. Diligently Jesus sought to draw people to God and the salvation He offered through faith in the Christ.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WRITING OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
As we study the Gospel of John carefully, we can actually notice the way John developed his Gospel. We may notice the following features.
1. A Clear Personal Theological Declaration
John made it clear from the very outset that he believed that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. He described Him as he would never another person. Among other things, John described Jesus as:-
a) The Word of God.
b) He was Deity.
c) He was the Light of the world.
d) He was the Lamb of God.
e) He was the Son of God.
f) He was the Son of Man too.
Of course the above were not all that John believed concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. He was all of the above and much more!
2. Sign-Miracles and their Profound Meanings
John recorded only seven miracles in his Gospel, but all of them were presented with profound significance.
a) Turning water into wine (John 2)
b) Healing a noble man’s son (John 4)
c) Healing a paralytic (John 5)
d) Feeding the 5000 (John 6)
e) Walking on the Sea (John 6)
f) Healing man blind from birth (John 9)
g) Raising of Lazarus (John 11)
Jesus saw His miracles as the very works of God. They displayed His glory. They bore witness of His identify as the Christ, the Son of God.
3. Attempts to Teach the Jews in Judea
John recorded the deep teachings that Jesus sought to communicate to the Jews in Judea. However, His messages fell on deaf ears (John 5-11). The Jews had proven themselves unworthy of learning deep truths from the gracious lips of Jesus. They had rejected Him as their Christ and their Saviour.
4. Focus on Jesus’ teaching of the Disciples
John devoted the first half of his Gospel to preliminary material to introduce Jesus (John 1-4). He probably felt that he had given enough time to describe Jesus’ ministry among the Jews in Judea (John 5-10). He must now devote time to describe His personal ministry with His Disciples (John 11-17). The final focus would be on the death and resurrection of Jesus (John 18-21). If we understand these four broad movements in the Gospel of John, we would have a better grasp of the development of the Gospel.