Analysis of The Gospel of John - Essay Example

? The Gospel of John Gospel of John The Gospel of John is often referred to as the fourth gospel whereby John, a disciple of Jesus, wrote an account of the public life of Jesus. It begins with the introduction of Jesus by John the Baptist, and ends with His death and burial (Coloe M. , 2001). His resurrection and appearance to the disciples are also documented here. John is the third in the Bible in the order of Matthew, Mark, June and Luke. The following is the narrative summary of the book of John about important happenings in the life of Jesus. “Hymn to the Word” is a section meant to look at Jesus as the logos of God, and His eternal Word. John acknowledges that Jesus is above all divine creatures (Lee, 2002). There are seven signs whereby Jesus’s public life is explained and written so as to show the world his spiritual being different from that of the other human beings. Included are the seven signs or miracles together with long speeches as Jesus explains himself and his purpose in the world, particularly his relationship with God (Lee, 2002). He says that God is his Father and it is only through him that people would get to his father. He goes further and explains that He is the son of God and stated severally that if an individual did not know him, then how he would know his father. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the death, it leads to his execution. The Jews were greatly of the opinion that Jesus was mocking their religious beliefs and those of their forefathers. They, therefore, decided that the only way to deal with him was to kill him. The seven signs mentioned above included: John the Baptist, Jesus is the Lamp of God, the calling of Simon, Andrew and Nathaniel, the marriage at Galilee where he changed water into wine, Jews and the businessmen who conducted their business in the Holy Temple of God, Nicodemus the Pharisee and the need to be baptized. Throughout the Gospel of John, there is a persistent explanation of the relationship between Jesus and God. At the end of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit is introduced to the Gospel as a helper and comforter of the Disciples and other Christians, and would be there for them once Jesus left after His crucifixion and resurrection into heaven. Christology This has simply been described by many scholars as a manifestation of the word that has the basis for immortality (Lee, 2002). In the book of John, Jesus is presented as the divine Son of God and in the same book is described to be subordinate to God the father. This gospel gives more emphasis to the relationship between the father and the son unlike the other gospels (Moloney, 1998). There was a lot of emphasis put on this relation and it was described as beyond our human understanding of how there is one God and with Him, there are three: the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Divine Role In this gospel, Jesus explains the Kingdom of God to the multitudes. He was sent by His Father to bring the God News to the world. He had a messianic secret and played a divine role in the world (Coloe M. , 2006). He talks a lot about God’s divine wish as there are even echoes in the dark. Jesus has been regarded as the real vine, the way, the truth, the resurrection and the life. There are also several others such as the bread of the World and the gate of the sheep. Jesus divine call is illustrated all through the presentation and, as such, did not need to find it as per that minute. Jesus was sent to the world so as to help us reach and be near to God. He would be killed and denied severally by his friends. He underwent all this suffering for the sake of human beings and to save them from the crunches of the evil one (Tovey, 2007). There are three main happenings that are significant to the practice of Judaism. First was the cleansing of the temple where Jesus found businessmen who were selling all kinds of goods in the temple, and money brokers within the temple. He cleansed the temple and chased them away together with their goods and animals. He told them to go away and stop making his father’s house a market place. He said to them that the temple would be destroyed, but he would rebuild it in three days (Coloe M. , 2006). The Jewish leaders thought he was talking about the temple but he was referring to his own death. This image of the body of Jesus being the temple of God teaches the CE followers of Christ to value and keep their bodies holy as they are dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Jesus heals a sick man Chapter five of the Gospel of John tells of a sick man who for 38 years had been at the gates of Betzatha also known as Bethsaida in some version of the Bible. He always waited at the pool hoping to be the first to get into the pool and be the one get healed. Because of his undoubting faith, Jesus told him to walk, and healed him. After this he went to the temple where they accused him of working on the Sabbath – a day anointed by God. But Jesus replied to them that His father has never stopped working and hence he would not stop working either. The teaching here is that Christians should stop using the Sabbath as an excuse to not helping someone who needs our help. The CE followers should thus be good and kind to their fellow humans. Jesus is rejected During the winter, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the temple festival. He was entering the part of the temple called Solomon’s Porch whereby he was surrounded by many people. They asked him if he was the chosen one and why he was keeping them waiting. Jesus said to them that he had already told them who he was, but they were not willing to listen to him. The CE followers should believe and trust in God and so ensure a ticket to live with the Angels and God in heaven. The rejection of Jesus symbolizes the many times Christians deny Jesus his right as the son of God by sinning and thus moving from the goodness and protection from God. We should spread the good news as to those who have not had a pleasure of meeting God and living under his protection and act as good disciples of God. Conclusion The CE followers should always search God and try to emulate good examples that have been given in the Bible. They should treat everyone as a human being should be treated with respect and dignity and also bring them closer to God to bliss under His love and protection. The three happenings in the temple should serve as an explanation of the holiness of Christ and his connection to God. He is the son of God who came down from heaven to save us from our transgression and to give us eternal life. He has used his body as an illustration over and over again. In the temple cleansing, Jesus refers to his body as the temple and says that the temple will be betrayed, but in three days he would reconstruct it again. In this case, the church elders and other people think that he is referring to the temple and they could not understand how he would be able to rebuild the temple which had taken their fore fathers years and which would be rebuilt after three days. Jesus, however, was referring to himself how he would be crucified and would resurrect after three days. Throughout the Gospel of John, he continuously refers to himself and his connection to God. Bibliography Ben, L. (1988). The Gospel According to John. New York: Collins Press. Coloe, M. (2001). Dwelling with Us: Temple Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel. Collegeville: Liturgical Press. Coloe, M. (2006). Dwelling in the Household of God: Johannie Ecclesiology and Spirituality. Collegeville: Liturgical Press. Lee, D. (2002). Flesh and Glory: Symbol, Gender and Theology in the Gospel of John. New York: Crossroad. Moloney, F. (1998). The Gospel of John. Collegeville: Liturgical Press. Tovey, D. (2007). Jesus,Storyy of God: John's of Jesus. Adelaide: ATF Press. Read More