Block 2 Analysis

In the Bible, the parable of the Lost Son tells the story of how a father’s son “got together all he had, set off for a distant country and [squandered his wealth in wild living]. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. (New International Version Luke 15: 11-32) With nothing to eat, he had no choice but to return to his father in shame. The son was fearful his reputation with his father was ruined, and that he would be forced to work as a slave to his father. However, the father was cheerful he had returned and celebrated with a party. The son’s reputation was not ruined and was instead restored with his

Johannine literature has a number of underlying themes and uses its many symbols to express to the believer how one is able to obtain the Truth and gain sight in order to experience God. One theme which uses symbols with the expressed goal of bringing people closer to God is discipleship. Disciple is found through the totality of John’s writing and incorporates symbols, biblical figures, and divine instruction in order to bring people into relationship with God. The Gospel of John, the Epistles, and the Book of Revelation make present the theme of discipleship in their own specific and distinct ways. Discipleship in the Gospel of John is elaborately described and acknowledges that one is only a disciple by divine initiative. The Epistles

John’s Gospel contains more poetic language and almost ninety percent of its material cannot be found the Synoptic Gospels. John’s depiction of the Last Supper also differs from what is written in the Synoptic Gospels. While John’s account also takes place during the Passover, it does not depict the meal in the same way that Luke’s Gospel does. Unlike Luke’s Gospel, John’s Gospel does not describe the actual Passover meal. Rather, it takes place after the meal has finished and the group is still at the table. John’s Gospel describes Jesus as washing the disciples’ feet, a moment that was shocking to the disciples. At this moment, Jesus acts similarly to that of a servant washing the feet of their master. Jesus, rather than acting as a religious superior, humbles himself to become a servant to his friends. In doing so, he encourages them to become vulnerable in his

John Chapter three and four have two very different characters speaking to Jesus. In chapter three there is a Jewish leader named Nicodemus who approaches Jesus at night in the darkness. Then we have a Samaritan woman who is hated by the Jews speaking to Jesus in the middle of the day in bright daylight. Nicodemus comes out of the darkness to speak to the true light of Jesus Christ and the Samaritan woman who is in the day light does not even recognize Jesus as the true light of the world at first. Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born form above to be able to enter the kingdom of God. Nicodemus was confused by what Jesus said but Jesus explained that the Son of Man must be lifted up and everyone who looks at the

John the Baptist is considered an important figure in Christianity for numerous reasons. Before the baptizing of Jesus or even his own birth, the nomadic preacher is foreshadowed throughout the bible. His essence is not automatically recalled at first glance. Yet, through reading and context you can see the correlation of how the New Testament fulfills the old and how the Old Testament foreshadows the new. Taking that in consideration here are some passages that prove this point.

Everything that is written in the Gospel of John is entirely too different. The way Jesus talks is different (as I stated earlier), the stories that are noted are different stories, there aren't any parables, the general theme is different, the description of Jesus, His identity, His ministry, and so much

John, on the other hand, has a much different focus. It opens similarly to Mark with the beginning message of John the Baptist and his purpose to “make straight the way for the Lord” (1:23). Jesus enters the book towards the end of the first chapter and remains the focus for just about the remainder of the book. John is incredibly different than Mark because it depicts more of a personal and detailed view of Jesus. It excludes many of his core teachings and focuses on how he

“You may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-32). This passage leaves us to believe that the evangelist’s goal through the book of John is to let the audience know that he is the messiah that he is there to create a covenant between God and all people. In t he passage of Jesus and the Festival of Passover/Pesach Jesus begins by appearing in Galilee. Jesus is found to be leading people and those who fallow are those who believe in his miracles of curing the sick and providing for those in need. Within the passafe of 6:1 Jesus tests the disciples to see if they will still follow him knowing full well that he is in control of the situation. When Jesus disperses the

“In regards to Salome, she was a disciple of Jesus, and her following Him suggests that after the boys left home, Zebedee died and that the business was sold, allowing Salome to be one of the women who ministered to Jesus of her substance (in other words John came and was immersed in a spiritual home).”3 Another postulation that can be held of John as a boy was that he never really knew what poverty was like till he shared in it with Jesus. Before he came to the decision to follow Christ he was being prepared, in the eyes of Jewish scholars he was like Peter and the other Galilean disciples, an "unlearned and ignorant man." “But he passed through the preparatory school of John the Baptist who summed up his prophetic mission in the testimony to Jesus as the "Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world," a testimony which he afterward expanded in his own writings.”4

John, the youngest of the twelve Apostles of Jesus, was a dutiful follower of Jesus and was writing to a broad audience with the hope of enlightening them. His goal was to show how Jesus is in fact the Son of God and has come to work miracles and save humans from evil through his teachings and experiences, as prophesized in the scriptures of the Old Testament. This is very evident in John’s writing, as he has an order of events different than the other three writers, and in addition he includes details that correspond with the scriptures that aren’t found in any other gospels. “When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom; so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." (John 19.23-24). This is different than the other gospels, as the soldiers were about to tear his clothes and then made the conscious choice to instead cast lots for it, in order to fulfill the scripture. John makes a point to say this is to fulfill scripture to assure that Jesus is in fact fulfilling the predictions of the Old Testament. John also includes a moment where Jesus and his mother see each other before Jesus is killed that is not included in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, or Luke. He then knows it is time, and says “I thirst” (John 19.28). He drinks the vinegar, announces “It is finished” (John 19.30) and then breathes his last breath. In all other interpretations of the gospels, Jesus denies the vinegar and then calls out to god and is freed from the tomb. However, John altered his story so that it would directly fulfill the scripture. John doesn’t include any mention of Jesus destroying the tomb, and instead finishes the passage by showing the soldiers choice not to break his legs, and to only pierce his side

In the book of John, his role as baptizer is downplayed and he is portrayed as a “Christian evangelist.” Not only does John himself ascertain his function as a witness of the Messiah, but Jesus also proclaims John’s role as an evangelist in John 5:31-5. Stanton also suggests that there is a trace of competition between Jesus and John in the fourth gospel as seen in John 3:23 and 4:1. A question of whether John baptizes Jesus in the fourth gospel is raised by Stanton, as the text does not explicitly state that this event occurred. It does, however, portray a deeper, more historically accurate representation of the relationship of John to Jesus, according to Stanton. The fourth gospel, along with the Q source, suggests that the ministries of John and Jesus overlap, and that two of Jesus’ disciples first belonged to John’s circle. Stanton contends that since these traditions are not aligned with previous traditions which separate Jesus and John, they are likely to be authentic and pass the “embarrassment test” outlined in Chapter Nine. Josephus also writes about John the Baptist and unlike the mention of Jesus in his writings, it does not appear to be a Christian interpolation. Moreover, it appears that Josephus, like the authors of the gospels, has an agenda as is indicated by the absence of reference to the eschatological qualities of Judaism. Josephus insinuates that Herod Antipas is responsible for John’s death and

John the Baptist was mentioned many places in the Bible, whether it’s a prophecy, the account of his life, or what Jesus said about him. It’s safe to say John the Baptist’s name is written a good bit of times in the Bible. I am going to discuss what Jesus told others about John the Baptists between the chapters of Luke 1, Malachi 3 and 4, and Isaiah 40. I will also later review the similarities and differences between John the Baptist and Elijah.

The Gospel of John’s story about Jesus as the good shepherd successfully portrays an image of a divine Jesus. The high Christology present throughout this Gospel is evident through Jesus’ recognition of who he is. Unlike what we have seen in the other Gospels, there is no sense of secrecy or questioning; Jesus is who he says he is and everyone should believe what he says. While I value the message contained in these verses, I struggled with this selection of the text for two reasons: first, the way in which Jesus tells his story and second, the way in which John portrays Jesus.

John’s cohort of disciples included Andrew and Simon Peter, who later became disciples of Jesus after his baptism. It was John’s proclamation of Jesus as the “Lamb of God” which thrust both brothers into following the Messiah. This speaks volume into the role John the Baptist played in the lives of his disciples. Even after the death of John, Scripture states that his disciples continued to disciple others (Acts 18:24-25; 19:1). In Ephesus, there were disciples of John the Baptist who had little or no knowledge of Jesus.

Throughout the course of this class we’ve taken in and learned a great deal about the Gospel of John. It’s crazy to see how much you can learn in such a short period of time but when the authors of both of our required text load them down with such rich insight, it’s hard not take anything away from this class. What I want to focus and reflect on in this paper are a few things; the way Jesus is presented in John 1-9, which components of John’s presentation of Jesus surprises me or challenges me, and what component of John’s presentation of Jesus do you believe is the most relevant to the present needs of your local congregation? When the paper is concluded I hope the reader has a better understanding of John so that without even reading