What's JOHN about?

Summary

John is primarily interested in explaining the meaning of Jesus, rather than just telling stories about Jesus. He recounts a few miracles that Jesus did, but each one is for the purpose of starting a series of conversations about what Jesus means. In John, miracles are all about meanings.

By the time John wrote his gospel, about seventy years after the life of Jesus, there had been enough time for people to think up effective arguments about why nobody should take Jesus seriously.

John and his community had to think of ways to prove them wrong. The explanations they came up with remain effective in our day. When we read a passage from John, imagine what criticism the early Christians were encountering, and how Jesus' response, recounted in this gospel, would have helped them, and how his responses help us deal with the criticisms of Christianity that we encounter today.

The religious background: Jesus is offensive and ineffective

At the time of Jesus, the Jewish land was occupied by the Roman empire. The overwhelming military might and engineering skills of the Roman empire had enabled it to rule countries extending from Britain in the west all the way around the Mediterranean sea, and included the small country of Israel.

Jewish religious and political leaders were split about how to deal with this military occupation. Some felt that cooperation was the wisest course to prevent mass annihilation of their religion and country. Others, who thought the first group were traitors, hoped for a general uprising, empowered by God, that would throw off the Roman empire and set them free.

But neither group knew what to do with the Christian claim that Jesus had been, and still is, God's leader who had freed them from Rome. His followers claimed that his indescribably sadistic execution by the Roman empire was God's way of bringing freedom. The idea was offensive and made no sense. So as the followers of Jesus grew in numbers, they had to deal with the objections that were raised about their claim that Jesus was God's ultimate solution to the occupation by Rome.

Crucifixion cannot represent God

One effective argument against Jesus was that the sadism of Jesus' crucifixion couldn't possibly be a model for freedom or a model for what God is like. John refutes that argument by recounting conversations he imagines Jesus would have had. In these conversations Jesus repeatedly calls his crucifixion his “glory.” How could sadistic torture be glory? Because, John thinks Jesus might have said, that's the measure of how deeply God cares.

Jesus might be good, but doesn't represent God

Another argument against taking Jesus seriously was that even if Jesus was a very good, caring, man, that didn't mean that he was any more significant than any other good caring person who got executed. Sad, but not of any great importance and certainly not deserving to be the image of God. John responds to this criticism with conversations in which Jesus repeatedly says that he and the “Father” are one. John is insisting that Jesus' death and resurrection is the clearest view of God that we can have, and that his death and resurrection is the foundation of the universe—that's why John describes Jesus as taking part in creating the world—his death and resurrection is a template for the cosmos. Jesus claims that in himself people can see the fundamental character of God, and the fundamental design of creation. Living in coordination with that underlying template is what makes life full and satisfying.

Jesus didn't throw off the Roman empire

Another argument against the significance of Jesus was that he had accomplished nothing. The Roman emperor had become so frustrated with the constant revolutionary fervour of many Jews that the Roman emperor decided to wipe out the Jewish religion and culture permanently by dismantling and destroying the temple where their God could be known and worshipped. So, since things only got worse after Jesus' life, how could he be considered to have saved anyone, let alone the world? John and his community were encouraged by the sense that Jesus had anticipated this experience of failure. That's why Jesus has long conversations about how his character of love, through death and resurrection, would take on a new and powerful form which he called Holy Spirit. For early Christians a couple of generations after Jesus' life, Jesus seemed to be gradually fading into the distant past. It was a great encouragement for Christians of that time to know that Jesus continued to be present in the form of Holy Spirit that he had predicted.

Most people who knew Jesus personally weren't impressed

A further problem for Christians in John's time was that so many people who had known Jesus personally weren't impressed, and that many had actually agreed to his execution. If Jesus was so wonderful, and really did represent God, why was it that people who'd known him personally didn't see that? John responds by recounting conversations in which Jesus says that there are people who are deliberately evil and don't know what God is like. Those are the ones who didn't follow him. Jesus says there are others who know God already and who see his significance. John recalls Jesus emphasizing the contrasts between seeing and being blind, between living in the light and living in the dark, and between upholding truth and upholding lies. Jesus even refers to himself repeatedly as the “Truth” and the “Light” and the “Life.”

Christians, all of whom were Jews, should worship on Saturdays

Finally, there was criticism of the early followers of Jesus because they were starting to focus their worship on Sundays, the first day of the week when Jesus had been raised from death, instead of on Saturdays (the Sabbath) the day God had completed creating the universe. The Jewish sabbath was a way of re-experiencing that original perfect creation when there were no slaves and nobody was required to work. That's why Jews still refuse to work on Saturdays. But followers of Jesus were starting to make Sunday the primary day for their worship. John recounts many stories and conversations in which Jesus insists that, despite Genesis saying God rested on the Saturday, God is always working and so it is right to do work such as healing on Saturdays.

How John is helpful for us

Many of the arguments that John includes in Jesus' conversations are still relevant. When we love deeply we are still prepared to make sacrifices for the person we love. How much more is such love true of God whose love is infinite? God therefore can be understood to be making the ultimate sacrifice which we see happening when Jesus is horribly executed. John is clear this is Jesus' triumph—nothing whatever can stop God loving us no matter what the cost. That's a priority for us even in our time when our culture insists that wealth and getting more wealth should be the priority for our country and our people.

There continues to be a division between people and policies which exploit the planet and the poorer nations, and the policies of love and respect that we know are right. That means in international politics and in local practice, poorer nations and poorer people be given special assistance to have lives of dignity. That would be the most fulfilling thing we could do. Followers of Christ are still called to resist the call by our larger society to call exploitation a good thing. But just as there was severe opposition to Jesus, so there will be severe opposition to Christian calls that well-to-do nations should share their wealth with poorer nations. But in the power of Jesus' Holy Spirit we will be enabled to stand up for that kind of love, regardless of whether “the world” agrees with us. And when we do, God's Spirit is acting in us and bringing the kingdom to fruition.

If we are worried, as we should be, that things are getting worse, not better, John suggests how we can counter that despair. John says that Jesus said that Holy Spirit will lead us into “all truth.” He means that no matter what disasters happen in the future, followers of Jesus are learning that God's love is greater and more powerful than any disaster that may happen. That's the truth we will be led into. That gives us hope and confidence. It's not a naïve hope, that magically God will suddenly fix everything, just as Jesus didn't cause the Romans to go home and leave the Jews in peace. Instead, it's a more realistic hope, that even in the worst possible disaster we know that in the end God's sacrificial love is ultimately in charge. If that's true, then followers of Jesus can stand tall, as it were, in confidence, calmness and expectation, regardless of what disasters we encounter. That's to proclaim the Good News and to be “children of God.” John's Jesus-conversations help us to remain solid in that hope.