The more one reads and thinks about the Gospel of John the more one loves and learns from the Gospel of John. The book seems to be an infinite reservoir of truth about God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the plan of God. This overview of the Gospel of John in six installments attempts to provide a basic groundwork for believers to dig deeper into the inexhaustible message of the book. It is important for believers to devote themselves to understanding the Word of God in general and the book of John in particular. Spending a great deal of time in the book of John will be a life-changing experience.
Read Previous Posts of The Gospel of John – Part One – Part Two – Part Three – Part Four
We have made the case that the book consists of four sections, two small ones and two large ones: (1) The Prologue (1:1-18). (2) The Book of Signs (1:19-12:50). (3) The Book of Glory (13;1-20:31). (4) The Epilogue (21:1-25). In this fifth part of the series, we will examine the Book of Glory and the Epilogue.
The Book of Glory (13-20)
- Preparation for Passion (13-17)
- The Passion of Jesus (18-19)
- The Resurrection of Jesus (20)
Preparation for Passion (13-17)
These chapters comprise the largest body of Jesus’ teaching in the New Testament. All the words of Jesus have a unique quality and power, but along with the Sermon on the Mount, these words are the most profound. This teaching is often called the Upper Room Discourse. This section begins with the Last Supper and continues through that night. This is the night before Jesus is crucified.
Jesus is preparing his disciples for the shock of his death. What will transpire in the next twenty-four hours will rock their world and threaten to shake them loose from their faith. He has much to say in comfort but much more to say regarding their mission. Believers who read these chapters must do so with deep meditation and prayer.
Chapter thirteen deals with events during and immediately after the Last Supper. After the supper, Jesus washes his disciple’s feet (13:1-17). Washing feet was a task reserved for the lowest servant. Jesus takes on the role of a servant to teach his disciples the attitude they must take towards one another and the people they will serve in their mission. The foot washing was also a picture of the cross.
After the foot washing, Jesus reveals that one of them will betray him (13:18-30). With that revelation Judas leaves the room to do his deed. In a tender and intimate moment, Jesus issued the command to his disciples to love one another just as he had loved them. This would be their defining mark of a true disciple (13:31-38).
The first extended discourse is in chapter fourteen. This chapter is framed at the beginning (14:1-3) and the end (14:28-31) with comfort. Between the two words of comfort, Jesus reinforces his disciple’s hearts with the truth about who he is and his promise of the Holy Spirit who will lead and empower them in their mission. First, we find Jesus revealing to his disciples that he is the exclusive way to the Father (13:4-14). Next, we see Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit (13:15-27).
At the end of chapter fourteen, Jesus and the disciples leave the upper room where they have celebrated the Passover meal. Somewhere along their way Jesus relates to them the parable of the vine and branches. This moving picture of the relationship between Jesus and his followers is designed to encourage them to remain in him, in vital connection to him. They are helpless to complete the mission he sends them on without that spiritual connection. It would serve the reader to meditate on their connection with Jesus and how that relationship impacts their lives in so many ways. The chapter ends with Jesus’ honest and sober warning that since the world hates him, the world will also hate them. The chapter explores three relationships believers experience: (1) relationship with Jesus (15:1-11), (2) relationship with one another (15:12-17), and (3) relationship with the world (15:18-27).
The discourse continues in chapter sixteen with three very meaningful promises of Jesus to his disciples. First, Jesus promises them the Holy Spirit (16:1-15). Second, Jesus promises his disciples that though they will experience great distress in the short term, but they will ultimately have great joy no one can take away (16:16-24). Third, Jesus promises his followers victory over the world. Because they believe in Jesus, the Father loves them, and though they will have struggles in this world, Jesus will give them peace because he has overcome the world (16:25-33).
Chapter seventeen is often called the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. This is the longest prayer of Jesus we have in the NT. This prayer gives us a glimpse into the amazing prayer life of Jesus. No one ever prayed like Jesus. Thinking about and emulating the prayer life of Jesus will be a great blessing for any believer. It is, at the same time, both powerful and beautiful in its expression. The prayer is shaped in three parts. Jesus prays for himself (17:1-5), for his disciples (17:6-19), and for all who will believe through his disciples’ witness (17:20-26). He prays for himself that the Father would glorify him in his work. He prays for his disciples that the Father will protect and sanctify them. And he prays for future believers that they will be unified.
The Passion of Jesus (18-19)
Everything John has told us about Jesus and his ministry was leading to this point. This is the purpose for which Jesus came into the world, or as John puts it, Jesus’ “hour” has come. As we saw in the previous article, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover, and there, the opposition to him became more intense. As we’ve seen throughout the study of John, the opposition to Jesus became more and more intense at the religious feasts in Jerusalem. The intensity of the opposition now reached the level at which the religious leaders were able to rationalize the killing of a righteous man.
In this section chapter eighteen deals with the arrest and the trials of Jesus, while chapter nineteen deals with his crucifixion. Chapter eighteen begins with Jesus and his disciples, minus Judas, going to a garden we know from Matthew and Mark as Gethsemane. There, Judas shows up with soldiers and betrays Jesus into their hands, and they arrest Jesus (18:1-11). Having arrested him, they take him to the house of Annas the patriarch of the high priest family. He questions Jesus and sends him on to his son-in-law Caiaphas, the high priest at the time (18:12-14,19-24). Meanwhile, Peter, who made his way to the high priest’s house, denies Jesus three times before the rooster crows just as Jesus had predicted (18:18-18, 25-27). Jesus is then taken to Pilate the Roman governor, to receive charges against him, leading to execution (18:28-40).
Chapter nineteen finds Pilate trying to render a decision of innocence for Jesus, but the religious leaders and the crowd will have nothing of it. Pilate finally capitulated and delivered Jesus to be crucified (19:1-16). They forced Jesus to carry his own cross to a place called Golgotha, the skull in Aramaic. There, they crucified him between two others. As he hung on the cross, Jesus saw his mother and a disciple, probably John. He gave his mother into the care of that disciple. Finally, Jesus said, “It is finished,” and gave up his spirit (19:17-37). Jesus was laid in the garden tomb of a wealthy man, Joseph of Arimathea, assisted by Nicodemus, whom we saw in chapter three (19:38-42). The work of atoning for sin was complete. Jesus had paid the redemption price. All the promises of the Old Covenant were happening right before their eyes. God was fulfilling his plan of redemption. A redemption experienced by every believer throughout history. This was the pinnacle of human history and the plan of God.
The Resurrection of Jesus (20)
Very early Sunday morning the tomb of Jesus is discovered empty by Mary Magdalene (the Synoptics report there were other women with her). She reported her discovery to Simon Peter and John (the disciple Jesus loved). They ran to the tomb, finding it as Mary had said. Not understanding the implications, they returned to the place where they were staying.
After Peter and John had left, Mary stayed at the tomb, filled with grief. She first encountered two angels but then immediately turning encountered Jesus. Mistaking him for the gardener, she asked him where he had laid the body of Jesus. When Jesus said her name, she recognized him and clung to him. Jesus sent her to his disciples with the message of his resurrection.
On the evening of that day, Jesus appeared to the disciples without Thomas. He then commissioned them to the mission of his kingdom. As the Father had sent him on a mission, so he was sending them on a mission. They were to go with the power of the Holy Spirit and the message of forgiveness. A message that will change the world.
When the disciples told Thomas that they had seen Jesus alive, he did not believe them. Eight days later, Jesus appeared to all the disciples, including Thomas. Jesus showed Thomas his hands and side, to which Thomas cried out, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus received worship as God from his disciples.
John ends chapter twenty by relating to his readers the purpose for which he wrote the book. He wanted people who read or heard the book to believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, and so have life in his name.
Epilogue: The Mission (21)
- Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples by the Sea (21:1-14)
- Jesus Restores & Commissions Peter (21:15-19)
- Jesus’ Relationship to John (21:20-25)
Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples by the Sea (21:1-14)
Seven of Jesus’ disciples were later fishing on the Sea of Tiberias (Sea of Galilee). At daybreak, they see Jesus on the shore but do not recognize him. They had caught no fish that night, but Jesus directed them to a miraculous catch of fish. John recognizes Jesus and informs Peter, who leaps into the water and swims to shore. Jesus had a fire going and cooked them some fish for breakfast. Jesus initiates the encounter with his disciples. Divine encounters are always initiated by God. This is part of the forty days of post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. He is helping his disciples understand what has happened and why it happened, as well as helping them grow strong in the faith they will need for the mission on which Jesus is sending them.
Jesus Restores & Commissions Peter (21:15-19)
In this part of the story Jesus is restoring Peter. He is helping Peter recover from denying him three times and the bitter shame Peter experienced. Jesus challenges Peter with the question of his love. Jesus asks Peter the question three times related to the three denials, “Do you love me?” Peter answers in the affirmative each time, becoming frustrated with Jesus’ persistence. Jesus calls Peter to demonstrate his love by feeding his sheep. Peter would no longer catch fish but tend Jesus’ sheep. Jesus is teaching Peter the painful but very valuable lesson that people matter because Jesus matters most.
Jesus’ Relationship to John (21:20-25) The book ends with John clearing up a misunderstanding concerning what Jesu said about John’s death. John would be the last living apostle. John closes the book declaring that he is the disciple that Jesus loved and that his testimony is true. You can believe the account of Jesus in the Gospel of John. It is the truth. Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of the living God, and all those who believe in his name will have life in him.