The Gospel of John

The picture here is The Rylands Papyrus and it one of the earliest New Testament fragments; dated from its handwriting to about 125AD. This particular fragment is special to me because (1) I've seen it firsthand and (2) It is affirmation that we have a piece of John's Gospel that nearly goes back to the time he wrote it (he died around 100AD). Thus, we can affirm with the ancient church that the Bible is not something constructed later in history, but rather the true God-breathed testimony of the apostles.

The Gospel according to John is an account of the public ministry of Jesus. It begins with the witness and affirmation by John the Baptist and concludes the death, burial, Resurrection, and post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus. This account is fourth of the canonical gospels, after the synoptics Matthew, Mark and Luke.

Of course don't confuse John the Baptist (Jesus' older cousin) with John the Disciple (likely a teenager when he followed Jesus with his brother James). He is known as one of the brothers of Zebedee, and "the disciple Jesus loved". John presents a higher Christology than the synoptics, describing Jesus as the incarnation of the divine Logos (Word) through whom all things were made, as the object of veneration, and more explicitly as God incarnate.

Only in John does Jesus talk at length about himself and his divine role, often shared with the disciples only. Against the synoptics, John focuses largely on different miracles (including resurrecting Lazarus), given as signs meant to engender faith. Synoptic elements such as parables and exorcisms are not found in John. It presents a realized eschatology in which salvation is already present for the believer.

I consider John to be the first book I would give to someone wanting to explore the Christian faith. Since this is the Christmas season, let us all read this Gospel and the beautiful story it tells - our God so loved the world, that he sent his one and only son, that whoever believes in him would not perish, but would inherit eternal life (John 3:16). Forgiveness, repentance, grace, love, joy, resurrection - it's all here and we need to hear it.

Merry Christmas to all!
Pastor Jim Mueller