Gospel of John Quick information on the Gospel of John: Date Written: 80-90 C.E Author: According to tradition, St.

John the Apostle (also known as the theologian and refers to himself as the beloved disciple in the gospel) wrote the Gospel of John. He was a disciple of Christ and was a leading authority in the city of Ephesus. Setting: The Palestine region Theme: The word became flesh; the son of God. The Gospel was written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name (20.31). The Sacramental theme: John stresses the mysterious actions of God in the world, linking the saving work of Christ to Baptism (3.5) and the Eucharist (6.52-59). The Church theme: The gospel writer stresses a strong community when reading the gospel as he uses the plural we in many occasions (1.14, 16). True disciples are those who believe in Christ and follow him through their own good actions. Just like the disciples in chapter 1 accepted the call of Christ we to must accept this calling by entering the church. Place of origin: Ephesus Purpose: To bring people into the church or build up the faith of believers (20:31). Possibly also to refute heretical (incorrect) teachings. Outline: 1. The Introduction (Prologue) [1.1-18] and John the Baptist (1.19-51) 2. The Word having taken flesh transforms creation (2.1-10.42) A. The new creation (2.1-25) B. Baptism (3.1-5.47) C. The feeding of the 5000 as the Eucharist (6.1-71) D. The old creation becomes transformed (7.1-10.42) Introduction: It has been over 50 years now since John has been following Jesus. During these 50 years the Christian faith has spread to the entire Roman Empire who ruled during the time period of Jesus. However, with the growth of Christianity within the empire a lot of suffering has occurred 3. The Word transforms all human beings (11.1-17.26) A. Through death and resurrection (11.1-12.11) B. The entrance into the Kingdom: Palm Sunday (12.12-50) C. Through the banquet in the kingdom (13.1-17.26) 4. The Paschal offering: Jesus death and resurrection (18.1-21.25)

leaving John the last surviving disciple of Jesus. Already an old man and with three gospels already written John sits down to write his own Gospel towards the end of his life. John presents the most power image of Jesus being the Son of God when the gospel is read with the other gospels in mind. The Gospel of John has traditionally been thought of as being the Orthodox gospel. This is based on the fact that when later on in church history the church fathers like St. Athanasius and St. Cyril used this gospel to defend the faith. It is in this Gospel that we see Christ making claims such as he is the bread of life and he is the light of the world. This is the Gospel that identifies Jesus as the word of God (cf. Jn 1.118). It is this gospel that Jesus performs many of his memorable miracles: turning the water into wine, raising Lazarus from the dead and washing the feet of his disciples. This is the gospel in which Christ is constantly using the verb I am to refer to himself throughout the gospel. The structure of the gospel differs completely from the other three gospels (known as the Synoptic gospels because of how similar they are in structure). All these references point to how John the gospel writer is laying out his points that Jesus is the Son of God. The Gospel of John begins with an introduction (prologue) which states the major themes and goals of the gospel. In the prologue it proclaims that Jesus was the incarnate Word of God ( Jn 1.14) who has revealed the Father to us. The first chapter continues by introducing John the Baptist, who proclaims Jesus being the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1.29). Following this we see the encounter of Jesus and his disciples. With the disciples approaching him they asked him where he is staying and Christ answers with come and see. Come and see is the same reply, we as Christians offer to those who want to come in and see the beauty of the church. The passage continues with the encounter with Philip and Nathanael. Philip tells Nathanael they have found the one in whom Moses and the prophets have preached about. Nathanael proceeds to say can anything good come out of Nazareth with Philips reply being come and see. Nathanael sees Christ and declares him as the son of God to which Jesus responds with You will see greater things than these. Come and see what St. John is trying to us the readers about Jesus Christ. The seven signs on the Gospel of John: Miracles: Turning the water into wine (2.1-11) Healing the Capernaum officials son (4.46-54) Healing the paralytic by the pool of Bethsaida (5.2-9) Feeding the 5000 (6.1-14) Meaning: The renewing of our nature Faith is required to live a life in Christ Power is given once life is renewed to all human beings Jesus Christ is the living bread who gave us the eternal food when we partake of the holy communion Christ is our leader who guides us in our daily lives Christ is our everlasting light Christ is the resurrection who conquers death bestowing life to us all

Walking on water (6.16-21) Healing the man born blind (9.1-12) Raising Lazarus from the dead (11.1-44)

Jesus performs no other public miracles in the gospel of John besides these seven acts however, if we look at how St. John concludes his gospel it is quite powerful and explains why these specific miracles were recorded in the gospel. And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name (Jn 20.30-31). These miracles were meant to show that Christ was truly the son of God who took on flesh in order to be glorified on the cross and restored to the Father through his resurrection. These signs are meant to show, not only the power of God, but the life we are meant to live for the world. In the Liturgy of St. Basil the priest recites during the Institute Narrative For being determined to give Himself up to death for the life of the world. If Christ gave up his life for the world then we to are called to give up our lives for the world. This is the message found in the gospel of John through these seven signs. The witness of the early fathers: The early church fathers wrote a lot about different topics such as the sacraments and about the life of Jesus. Another important aspect that the fathers wrote on is commentaries on the gospels. We have a rich tradition of Biblical commentaries on each gospel. Fathers like Origen, St. Athanasius, St. Cyril and many others have written commentaries on the gospels. The Gospel of John has a rich history as many fathers made comments on this gospel in great abundance. When we look to what the fathers wrote on the gospel of John it is quite interesting how they claim the gospel of John is the more important Gospel. Origen says that we must say that the Gospels are the first (they are the first books of the New Testament), and from among the gospels the first born is the Gospel of St. John. Origen continues on by saying if we do not learn to lean on the Lords bosom (Jn 13.23), and accept St. Mary as our mother, then we will not understand the message of the gospel. By accepting the message of the Gospel Origen goes on to say that every person who has become perfect does not live but rather it is Christ who lives in them. If Christ lives in us then this allows us to present Christ to everyone in the world. This is why the fathers tell us the Gospel of John is the first gospel. St. Cyril talks about the importance of the Gospel of John through the birth of Christ. St. Cyril says that in order to understand the meaning of this birth we must contemplate how Christ can work in our own lives. However, this can only be understood through the grace of God that is bestowed onto the human being. This grace is only given to us through the mysteries of the church such as baptism and Eucharist. St. Cyril goes on to say this is why the most important parts of the gospel talks about baptism and Eucharist. St. Cyril concludes that it is through Jesus Christ that we can share in the life of the church. If we do not understand who Christ is or what he did for us then we cut ourselves short from this life. The Gospel of John is an important gospel especially when we look at how the early fathers wrote about this Gospel. St. Maximus the Confessor likens the Holy Bible to the Holy Church, and then proceeds to call the Gospel of John as the holy of holies within the church. What he means to say is that through the gospel of John we enter into a deeper understanding of the Holy Bible by being introduced to the mysteries (the sacraments) by breaking down the veil that blinds our sight. St. Clement of Alexandria calls it the spiritual gospel that leads the soul to recognize

the glories that have been prepared for her through Gods love, the redeeming act of Jesus Christ and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. St. Clement goes on to say that the Gospel of John focuses on the spirit while the other three gospels focus on the body. By understanding and knowing the events in the life of Christ we come to serve others by our redeeming act of dying daily to the world. Life application: