The Early Church scholars unanimously name Jesus' cousin, John son of Zebedee, as the author of this Gospel, probably published around 90 AD. It was surely composed in Greek by someone with a good school boy's grasp of grammar, but not born to the language. Yet this mind is very well read, educated in a different sense than is commonly assumed. This all makes good sense when we see it as John, the youngest of the Twelve, member of a prosperous Galilean fishing family which also owned a house in Jerusalem.
John and Jesus were related through their mothers, who were sisters. We find John more perceptive than the other disciples on the one level which mattered most: the spiritual. John's Gospel is loaded with comments on what Jesus was thinking at one time or another, and he was clearly the closest friend to the Lord, the favorite. No surprise the narrative contains no mention of John, aside from the self-effacing "disciple whom Jesus loved."
That's because the point of this Gospel is to ensure everyone is forced to confront Jesus' claim to divinity. While there may be an attempt to answer Gnostic heresies, against which we know John struggled much in his ministry, that would be secondary. Rather, John fills in something missing from the other Gospels; they had been around for some time. Indeed, he assumes his readers have been exposed to the narrative outline of Jesus' life, and seeks to explain more thoroughly why He can be understood only if we assume He is God incarnate. At the same time, we must understand what sort of man that would be.
The narrative is thematic, with brief episodes pulled together out of chronological order to make the point. In a true biblical sense, we need not have a precise chronology of Jesus' life. Far more important it is we understand just who He was and what He accomplished. John seems to thumb his nose at pedantic obsessions with mere events. It makes an odd combination to use such a basic level of Greek to explain something far above the most esoteric ruminations of high Greek philosophers. It makes no difference what you know, can do, or what power you have in this world; if you don't know Jesus, you are just a fool.
John is aware his primary audience would be a Greek-speaking world with little familiarity of Hebrew culture and history aside from Scripture itself. Yet John was intensely Hebraic in his world-view, and sought to bring his readers the essential elements of that outlook. Many have said Paul was the ultimate bridge between a minor Jewish sect and a faith which conquered the world. Academically, Paul is head and shoulders above all others. Yet John was no less intelligent as the other edge of the conquering sword of the Spirit. Outliving all the other disciples by some decades, John maintained the witness of the other-worldly focus. His was an intensely spiritual authority, a spiritual man in a very materialistic world. There are no parables, but much of Jesus' teaching about Himself. John thus manages to use the parabolic method of teaching by overloading Greek language with an impossible task, making it obvious his readers must see beyond the words with eyes of the Spirit.
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Chapter 1:1-18 -- In this prologue, John sets the tone for his Gospel by asserting things objectionable to every other religion or philosophy he knew: Jesus Christ, a real human in history was God Almighty in the flesh.
Chapter 1:19-51 -- John the Baptist gives his testimony, and directs his own disciples to follow the Messiah.
Chapter 2 -- Jesus established at the beginning, and consistently held to the end, His complete lack of interest in human political means. God's way was something other.
Chapter 3 -- Jesus explains His call to a completely different way of looking at all things.
Chapter 4 -- John shows the beginnings of the conflict which arose from the Jews' drift away from the truth as God revealed it.
Chapter 5 -- Jesus explains to the Jewish leaders why He claimed to be the Son of God.
Chapter 6 -- In the teaching of the Bread of Life, Jesus showed receiving God's revelation was a matter of whether one's spirit was alive or dead.
Chapter 7 -- So little concern did Jesus spare for human logic, He didn't bother to clarify certain facts regarding Himself.
Chapter 8 -- We are given a stark demonstration of the difference between human judgment and God's justice.
Chapter 9 -- The work of God is to bring Him glory, but the path to that glory is not always obvious.
Chapter 10 -- In this chapter, the emphasis is on the parabolic image of shepherd and sheep.
Chapter 11 -- Jesus offers the ultimate proof of His identity as Son of God by raising a man from death.
Chapter 12 -- Tying up loose ends, Jesus prepares for the Cross.
Chapter 13 -- The final night together for the Preparation celebration was all about the work of God.
Chapter 14 -- Jesus takes a few moments to give His disciples a last few instructive parables.
Chapter 15 -- The fruit of the Kingdom is explained.
Chapter 16 -- Jesus outlines the work of the Holy Spirit against the background of the coming tribulation.
Chapter 17 -- The high priestly prayer of Jesus for His disciples is the final moment of teaching.
Chapter 18 -- John downplays the human side of Jesus, knowing men would make too much a manly hero of Him, and emphasizes the divine and other-worldly nature of Jesus.
Chapter 19 -- Jesus remained the absolute Master of all things even as He died.
Chapter 20 -- In a few sketchy details about that first Resurrection Day, John explains why he chose the parts he chose for his Gospel.
Chapter 21 -- John ties up some loose ends.
By Ed Hurst
25 April 2009
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