John's Gospel

Why Did John Write This?

Who was John?

John was one of the original twelve disciples and is consider to be apart of the “inner circle” made up of Peter, James and John.

Although John never names himself in the book, he does call himself "the disciple Jesus loved" in chapter 21:20–24. The reason we are sure that it’s John is that he claims to have seen the glory of Jesus. This was only done by Peter, James and John. Furthermore, all the other disciples are named in this gospel, but John. He reserves the title “the disciple whom Jesus loved” to describe himself.

Polycarp, who was a disciple of John, believes he wrote it. As does Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp, and Clement of Rome. We believe that He wrote this later in life, likely in his 80s, from the city of Ephesus, probably decades after Matthew, Mark, and Luke had already written their Gospels.

Now, if John knew that there were three other works, why take the time to write one Himself? He tell us his purpose in John 20.

"These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:30–31)

How John Builds His Case

So, knowing that John wants to convince you that Jesus is God the Son, we need to investigate how he builds his argument. And the way he does this is by choosing to focus on 7 signs and 7 sayings.

The Seven Signs

John doesn't call Jesus's miracles "miracles.” Instead, he calls them signs. The reason is that a sign points beyond itself to something bigger.

Turning water into wine (John 2)

Healing an official's son from a distance (John 4)

Healing a lame man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5)

Feeding the 5,000 (John 6)

Walking on water (John 6)

Healing a man born blind (John 9)

Raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11)

I don’t think it’s a mere coincidence that John specifically chose public miracles that would’ve had multiple witnesses to highlight as he builds His case. Furthermore, notice that there are clear spiritual lessons taught behind these miracles, most powerful of all is the raising of Lazarus.

The Seven "I Am" Statements

Seven times in John, Jesus says "I am ___":

(6:35) I am the Bread of Life

(8:12) I am Light of the World

(10:19) I am the Door

(10:11) I am the Good Shepherd

(11:25) I am Resurrection and the Life

(14:6) I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life

(15:1) I am the True Vine

Perhaps most significant of all is seen in John 8:58. There Jesus says "Before Abraham was, I am." This is clearly a direct echo of Exodus 3:14, where God tells Moses at the burning bush that his name is "I AM WHO I AM." When Jesus says this, the Jewish leaders around him immediately pick up stones to kill him because they understood exactly what he was claiming.

The Passion Week Takes Up Nearly Half the Book

After arguing for the divinity of Jesus, John takes up chapters 12–21 to tell us about the last week of Jesus's life, his death, and resurrection. John, like all four Gospel writers, wants you to know that the cross and empty tomb are the climax of the story of Jesus Christ. Everything before it (all seven signs, all seven "I am" statements) has been building the case for why this death and resurrection matter, because the one dying is God himself, laying down his own life on purpose (John 10:17–18).

After seeing this, John’s message is clear: The One who was nailed to a tree was God incarnate. Will you believe His message, or answer to Him later?