Introduction to John

The gospel according to John was written somewhere between AD 80-90, almost five decades after the apostle personally observed the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Although John never mentions himself as the writer of this gospel, it is widely accepted by the early church and church fathers that he, in fact, was the author. Instead of directly stating his authorship, John often refers to himself in the narrative as the disciple “whom Jesus loved” (13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, 20), which demonstrates his humility and understanding of God’s sacrificial love for him.

The gospel of John is a very unique writing amongst the other gospels because John directly states his purpose in writing at the conclusion of the gospel, “… these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). From his own statement, we can safely assume that John’s writing had a theological purpose, Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and a practical purpose, believe in Jesus Christ to receive eternal life. In order to accomplish his purpose, John provides his readers with seven miracles throughout his gospel to prove that Jesus Christ is the Son of God: turning water to wine (2:1-10), healing a nobleman’s son (4:46-54), healing a paralytic (5:1-9), feeding the 5,000 (6:1-14), walking on the water (6:15-21), healing the blind man (9:1-41), and raising a dead man from the dead (11:1-57). Most of his gospel is built around these seven miracles. As people would read about these magnificent works of Jesus, John hoped that they would see Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world and believe in Him as the One sent from God (Genesis 3:15).

To further display Jesus’ deity, John records seven “I AM” statements where Christ affirmed that He was God: Bread of Life (6:35, 41, 48, 51); Light of the World (8:12); the Door (10:7, 9); Good Shepherd (10:11, 14); Resurrection and the Life (11:25); the Way, the Truth, and the Life (14:6); and the True Vine (15:1, 5). All of Jesus’ “I AM” statements are an expression of the salvation He offers to the world through faith in Him.

The gospel of John also contains one of the best known verses throughout the world, “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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17). These verses provide the basis for John’s gospel – God loves mankind even though they are sinners, God sent Jesus to die for the sins of mankind, and mankind must believe in Jesus in order to be saved.

Dear God, provide me with a greater understanding of John’s gospel.