John 1. Welcome to the Gospel according to John! Thus far this year we have read the gospel according to Luke and Mark, and we will get to Matthew in December – but John’s gospel is quite a different text. Theologians call the other three gospels the “synoptics” and they share some common material. John’s gospel was written later, with a different perspective. John leaves some narratives out (no birth story here, just straight to Jesus at age 30ish). John also left out most of the parables; and instead, he included new character dialogues (like Nicodemus and the Samaritan women at the well) and new discourses by Jesus that were not captured in the other gospels.

John was determined to answer the question “Who was Jesus?” This theme that traces the identity of Jesus is woven throughout the entire gospel – in the narratives and in the famous “I am” statements John included. As I read through John this month, I am marking all identity references in my Bible with a light blue colored pencil (try it!).

John is also well-known for his imagery and symbolism. Watch for his analogies in each chapter: light and darkness, truth and falsehood, life and death, freedom and slavery, the vine and its branches, and more. If we said that the other gospel writers were more like historians who worked to get all the facts straight, then John would have been more like a teacher who used imagery to ensure his listeners understood the broader events conceptually.

Who was Jesus?

John opens with these statements: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father… (1:1-2,14). Here is our first important image from John – Jesus is called the Word. What do we learn about Jesus in this text? Jesus was present at creation (not created, but eternal). Jesus was with God, meaning he was a distinctly separate person. Jesus was God, meaning he was divine. Jesus became flesh, that is human but still somehow divine and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory as the only Son of the Father.

As we consider these mind-bending claims, we next read the stories about how John the Baptist meets Jesus and then leads others to meet him and become his disciples. One by one as people encounter Jesus, they say out loud who they think he is. In this one chapter, Jesus is given seven titles. Did you notice them? The Lamb of God, Son of God, Rabbi, Messiah, King of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth, and the Son of Man. John is making a claim that this fully human Jesus from Nazareth is the messianic King and teacher of Israel and that he’s the Son of God who will die for the sins of the world. That is who Jesus was, according to John.

Did you also notice the image that John applies to Jesus? Jesus was the true light, which gives light to everyone (1:9). And John, writing after the resurrection of Jesus, can say with certainty that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (1:5). John also reminds us that our task as believers is to bear witness to the light (1:8).

Who do you say Jesus is? Do any of these titles or images stand out to you as being particularly revealing of his identity, and if so, why?