The Gospel of John, most likely written later than and possibly with some knowledge of Synoptic material, is known for being different from its Synoptic siblings (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Yet, its unique stories are familiar and beloved—a wedding where water turns to wine; a famous leader questioning Jesus under the cover of night; a Samaritan woman leaving her water jar by the well and testifying to the town under the hot midday sun; Jesus declaring, “I am the light of the world … the gate … the good shepherd,” and, in the midst of a grieving crowd, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Then, on a quiet night after supper, tying the towel and lifting the bowl, the leader bends to wash his friends’ feet and takes his first step toward what John paints as a noble and glorious death.
This unique narrative perspective turns the familiar story of Jesus just enough to cause those encountering it to think twice about what they have heard and what they believe. The author tells us the purpose for writing: “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing, you may have life in his name” (20:31). While scholars rightly point to John’s elevated Christology (1:1; 10:30; 17:11, 21), this doesn’t mean these texts leave preachers stretching for practical implications or devotional connections. Behind the christological picture lie two main themes for discipleship, messages that can encourage and challenge the church today just as they did the early audiences of John’s Gospel:
1) belief as an ongoing encounter that is not absent of questions or doubt, and
2) unity with God and connection to God’s mission for the world as the extension of Jesus’ christological, life-giving work.
What is revealed
Rather than beginning with a birth story or genealogy, John starts with a poetic Prologue, linking our two Testaments, to reveal the crisis behind the thematic plot of his Gospel: “The world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him” (1:10). The narrative carries this plot forward through recognition scenes, where we find ourselves expectantly watching to see if those encountering Jesus will recognize and believe.
Structurally, the first half of the Gospel unfolds in a series of encounters that reveal something christologically significant, often followed by an extended explanatory discourse and a point of decision by those involved. These encounters include signs, which differ from Synoptic miracles in that they come before affirmations of faith and point to some aspect of Jesus’ identity. At times, this happens with a select group, like the servants and disciples who see behind the scenes of Jesus’ first sign at Cana. The encounters also occur amid a crowd divided by Jesus’ difficult discourse, like those who continue to question Jesus after he feeds the multitude and claims, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them” (6:56). Others occur in lengthy dialogues between Jesus and unlikely exemplars such as fearful followers, social outcasts, and doubting disciples.
Unlike the Synoptic accounts, in the Gospel of John, Jesus makes no effort to conceal his signs. Rather, he is explicit about his purpose and openly speaks of being “sent from the Father” to fulfill God’s work in the world. It is God’s mission for the world that drives Jesus’ work and gives him authority, and it is this mission that ultimately offers peace and comfort to Jesus’ disciples at his departure.
John uniquely devotes four full chapters (14–17) to Jesus’ final words to his friends before his death, including an extended prayer on their behalf. In this prayer, the author outlines the theme of unity as a key expression of Christology: “I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (17:23). For John, elevated Christology is not an end unto itself. Jesus’ mission to make God known to the world remains alive as he offers them life, love, and comfort to take this mission on.
Jesus was the manifestation of God’s presence to the world; the Spirit became the manifestation of Jesus’ comforting presence for the disciples, and the disciples became the manifestation of Jesus’ presence in the world.
Complex topics in John: Context matters
We do well to remember that John’s narrative is told through the lens of its audience and author, who lived toward the turn of the first century. Rather than viewing these contextual elements as anachronistic errors, we might see them as rhetorical and literary tools that shape the author’s distinctive portrait of Jesus’ life and ministry. For example, the increasing tension within Judaism for Jewish followers of Jesus at this time may explain the heightened sense of this conflict in John compared to the other Gospels.
Sadly, the Fourth Gospel has been utilized by some who call themselves Christians and by others throughout history to support antisemitism and supersessionism. When preaching John, it is important to be aware of our context and to name where certain parts of our sacred text have been used for great harm. When looking to apply parts of the story to your context, take care to mind the gap between the ancient context and your own. This includes being sensitive to the intra-Jewish nature of the conflict within John. It means recognizing that while the author of this Gospel, who was almost certainly Jewish, may make certain claims about the fulfillment of Jewish religious festivals and texts. Christians should acknowledge what our own faith has inherited from our Jewish siblings, avoid stereotypes, and refrain from presuming knowledge about the Jewish faith based on a text written within and for the Christian tradition.
Adding to its complexity, John is also famous for its dualism: light and darkness, above and below, those who are “in” and those who are “out.” At the same time, each of these seemingly stark binaries is broken down within the narrative of the Gospel, through the work of Jesus. The light shines in the darkness; the Word bridges the world above and the world below; Jesus provides a way in for those who are on the outside through belief and connection to him. Even the binary of life and death is overcome in this transcendent Gospel.
With its layers and complexities, the Gospel often attributed to the Beloved Disciple is authentically and purposefully unique, demonstrating striking intention and compelling attention from those who read it. An exciting invitation awaits the preacher who will follow in the way of the Fourth Evangelist, sharing the story of the Johannine Jesus, minding the historical gap but always with their own audience and context in mind.
