John’s Creation A Model for Understanding the Gospel of John John A Pople © 2004 John Pople. All rights reserved. 4th Edition, Nov 2014 (3rd Ed. Apr 2009; 2nd Ed. Nov 2005; 1st Ed. Feb 2004) http://tinyurl.com/pople-on-john/ Other books by the same author: “To Speak Well of God: An Exposition of the Book of Job” Paperback, 325 pages http://tinyurl.com/pople-on-job/ © 2009 John Pople “The King Who Fell: An Exposition of Solomon’s Song of Songs” Paperback, 226 pages http://tinyurl.com/pople-on-song/ © 2017 John Pople Cover Photo: Avenue of the Giants, Mendocino County, CA, USA; Mar 2002 Contact the author: [email protected] For His glory. Not mine; or yours PREFACE It is, after all, a most extraordinary book. The gospel of John provides one of the deepest insights, if not the deepest insight, into the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Other scriptures, including Matthew, Mark and Luke, give us a comprehensive account of Jesus’ words and actions. But John often stands alone in granting us an intimate glimpse of especially telling moments in Jesus’ conversation or action that allows us to perceive our Savior’s character and purpose more clearly. While the other gospels offer detailed chronology of Jesus’ life, John especially provides us with the keys to unlock its meaning; using careful descriptions which add extra depth and meaning. Sequences of events present in the other gospels are often absent in his: John is concerned with the layers of meaning and motivation which lie behind these external happenings. Thus it is the particular moments and events that reveal the underlying spiritual drive which he emphasizes. The view he gives is as if a veil had been momentarily parted revealing the meanings underlying the form and action with external shapes and players. In John these external appearances pall and the spiritual world, which resides behind, shines through before. One such moment occurs in Jesus’ midnight conversation with the ruler of the Jewish council, Nicodemus. In this conversation, exclusive to John, God’s purpose with man is expressed in terms of love: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (3:16). Only John articulates this principle of love so profoundly and concisely; no other author matches his depth and clarity in expressing God’s love in His purpose with mankind in so few words. John alone shows in one sentence the extent of God’s love for His children, and what He was prepared to give so that we might have a chance of life eternal. i John’s presentation extends to both a deeper revelation of the character and purpose of the Savior himself and also to the use of broader concepts; he shows how the development of Jesus’ ministry reflects that of the Earth on a macroscopic scale. Therefore the same principles underlying the creation of the world underlie Christ’s life here in the gospel according to John. The theme of Jesus mirroring – and refining – the creation sequence of the world will be expanded in what follows. This study gets its impetus from being sensitive to these underlying patterns, by noticing and exploring these unique moments. But before examining these themes in detail; especially those which use the spiritual creation as a pattern for Jesus’ ministry; let us consider some examples that typify the uniqueness and intimacy of John’s gospel: moments in which John pierces through peripheral layers of meaning to reveal the very heart of Jesus. Consider this bold statement from the tenth chapter: “I and my Father are one.” (10:30) This is the most profound declaration of unity between the Son and his Father in all of scripture: how better could we understand the Lord Jesus! As far as describing Jesus’ role in this world – and the next – it is perfect. We should never feel the need to add vindication, corroboration or qualification to this most beautiful statement: it is simply perfect as it is. Expanding the theme of love, John’s beautiful message breaks through once more in his account of the last supper: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (13:34-35) How clear are Jesus’ commands! This simple statement sweeps a sharp, two edged sword through fussy human attempts to define exactly what constitutes a disciple of Jesus. Christ himself has spoken, and no one can gainsay him! Whatever qualities the ii disciple needs, or however proficient he might be in his understanding, if he omits the love the Lord himself specifies, he cannot be recognized as a disciple of the Lord he professes. All four gospels record events from that same, dreadful evening; but only John lets us steal close enough to share a place on Jesus’ breast and clearly perceive the spirit of Jesus’ message for us; to learn of the love that he has commanded, invited and, indeed, provoked us to share with each other. Only John describes discipleship as the enviable status of being a friend of Jesus: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit…” (15:12-16) What a wonderful elevation of status to learn that following Jesus’ commands transforms us from being an unprofitable servant 1 into the friend of Jesus Christ! A friend of Jesus cannot therefore act blindly. He acts in full knowledge of the directives underlying Jesus’ purpose: thus there must exist a direct link between the deeds of a disciple and Jesus’ own works (15:12). What a privilege this is to be a disciple of Jesus: to share a degree of knowledge, motivation and purpose with the Master himself, although what is more, with this illuminating knowledge comes responsibility: to be chosen also means to be commissioned ‘to bear fruit.’ Yet notice how this same passage eliminates any 1 As Paul’s argument concerning Onesimus (Philemon 11). iii prideful thoughts that might result from our elevation to the state of Jesus’ friends. We have not had the intelligence of mind nor the godliness of heart to choose Jesus. John educates us rather that Jesus has had the grace, the very grace of God, to choose us. In addition to these commissions, John also preserves for us amazing statements of comfort. From these same pages Jesus tells us: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.” (14:18-20) “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (16:33) Jesus will come to us, he promises, to overcome the world that would otherwise destroy us. When these words are properly absorbed, if they can ever be properly absorbed, what immense comfort is ours who have heard them! Finally, in the shortest verse of all scripture, John records one of the Bible’s most intimate moments: Jesus wept. (11:35) Only John allows us to eavesdrop so closely on the very heart and mind of our Master. Although we certainly find evidence of Jesus’ compassion outside of John’s gospel, John’s witness alone records that Jesus actually wept. The Jews accompanying Jesus supposed he wept because his friend Lazarus had died. This may be true; but it seems unlikely that Lazarus’ death in itself made Jesus weep: Jesus already knew Lazarus was dead and, more importantly he, and he alone, knew that Lazarus would walk again before the day was done. Perhaps Jesus wept from the sympathy he felt with the grief of those around him, or perhaps he wept because Lazarus’ death brought into sharp relief the fragility of all flesh; that mankind is like a field of flowers: crumpled and blown away by the winds of time and chance. Or he may have wept iv because these events were causing Jesus to appreciate more and more the gulf that was widening between the things he needed his disciples to understand, and what they (and we?) were able to understand. This may have proven the most powerful pathos of all. We are not told why Jesus wept, and therefore we cannot be sure. But we can be sure that these two simple words give us an insight into the extent of Jesus’ empathy and compassion unparalleled by other witnesses. All these verses are unique to John’s gospel, which we have such a great privilege to share and enjoy. Furthermore, this remarkable gospel is not only studded by these singular quotes, but is also underlain by broader concepts, such as light and glory, of which John reveals their complexity and beauty more fully than other accounts. Indeed in all matters of spiritual weight John always troubles to guide our understanding to deeper levels.