John: Part 1
The Unique Gospel
As we conclude this series, we now come to the final and most unique gospel of the four. This gospel, of course, is the gospel of John. Now you’re probably thinking, ‘What makes this gospel so unique?’ And the answer is the content that this book covers. If you remember earlier this month, we talked about the synoptic gospels and how those included Matthew, Mark, and Luke because they all covered the same timeline. John, however, covered a more deep timeline. Not only does John start recording before Jesus was born by talking about John the Baptist’s birth, but he goes further by being the most descriptive when it comes to certain events and situations that happen everywhere Jesus goes. This is seen right off the bat with John 1:1-5 telling us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.” John clearly holds Christ to the utmost standard because he fully believes that Jesus is the savior of the world. In fact, that’s the whole reason John wrote his gospel. It is John’s goal to prove to everyone Jesus’ claimed deity is true. John wants everyone to realize what he did, which is that Jesus is in fact the Son of God. As we go through the 21 chapters in this book, I think you will see a great defense being made for why we can trust that Jesus is in fact, God. With that being said, let’s see what the first 10 chapters have to teach us.
Born Again
To start, one of the biggest stories that John records at the beginning of his gospel that shows Jesus’ authority as God is in chapter three. In this chapter, Jesus meets a Pharisee named Nicodemus who tells Jesus that he believes He is the Son of God. Jesus goes on to tell him in John 3:3 “Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” This idea of being ‘born again’ is one of the biggest concepts that Jesus proclaims throughout the gospels. What Jesus means by this is that the Holy Spirit must transform the heart of a believer and lead them to salvation. Unless the Spirit of God does this, one cannot be born again. In other words, the only way a lost soul can come to Christ as their Lord and Savior is if the Holy Spirit leads them to Christ. Jesus is God, who was sent by The Father, who we can only come to by The Spirit. The Trinity itself is at work all throughout the gospels in order to lead people to be born again. As John Piper beautifully puts it, “If you have the Son, if you have Jesus—if he is in you and you are in him—life is in you, and you are in life. You have life forever. Vital union with Jesus is everything.” John’s goal of convincing people that Jesus is God is certainly seen in this story. John wants everyone to know that not only must we be born again, but that when we are, we are living evidence of the Spirit of God at work in us and proving that Jesus is indeed the way to the Father.
Jesus Is God
Furthermore, John goes even deeper into Jesus’ deity in chapter five. In this chapter, we see Jesus putting Himself on equal footing with God Himself. John 5:20-23 says “For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” This statement is impossible to misunderstand. Jesus is putting Himself on the same playing field as God. This claim alone is what led many people to want to kill Him. They thought this statement was so blasphemous, that they wanted Him to pay the ultimate price for this claim. Unfortunately, instead of seeing how Jesus actually backed up these claims, they just heard how weighty these words were and wanted Him gone. These Pharisees definitely should’ve read John’s gospel. John shows in his gospel that Jesus doesn’t just claim to be God but backs it up with the miracles He performs and sins He forgives as He does in all the other gospels as well.
Lastly, we have one of the best proclamations from Jesus about His deity in chapter eight. When addressing those followers who chose to believe in Him, Jesus claims that He is the one who can set them free. John 8:31-36 says “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. “Now the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. “So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.” If you weren’t sure about Jesus’ claim to deity before, you can be now. Notice how Jesus tells the Jews who believed in Him that He has set them free. Free from what? He answers that next talking about ‘slaves to sin’. In other words, Jesus has the power to set people free from their sin. Which only God has the power to do. What a powerful and dividing statement from Christ. This shows that Jesus isn’t just a nice guy or a prophet. Jesus was either a liar or He was who He claimed to be. And this is what John wants us to see in his gospel, that Jesus Christ was exactly who He claimed to be. As we continue on through this gospel this week, I hope you are convinced that Jesus isn’t just some made-up good guy that we can borrow our morals from, but He is actually the Son of God Himself.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] Piper, J. (2025, January 25). In him was life. Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/in-him-was-life
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