The Gospel of John: A Unique Perspective on Jesus Christ
The fourth book, the book of John, clarifies the riddle of what makes Jesus Christ unique. The narrative introduces a Christology, which explains the genesis and character of Christ. (Bruner, 2012). It stands out because it eschews the majority of the common themes that run through the Luke, Mark, and Matthew tripartite gospels.
John's Distinctive Approach
It specifically omits Christ's brief parables and aphorisms, claims about the kingdom of God, and an account of Jesus' upbringing. The John's Gospel is the most effective because it contains numerous lengthy lectures outlining Christ's deity and provides a sneak peek into what it means to be a genuine follower of Christ. The Gospel according to John deviates from the synoptic Gospels as it concentrates on what a believer needs to be a true Son of God. In addition, it focuses on explaining the good news by demonstrating sermons of Jesus extensively on theological issues.
The Overall Purpose of Christ's Ministry
The main reason why this gospel is most effective as compared to the other three is that it pays close attention on the overall purpose of Christ's ministry to the humankind (Bruner, 2012). The author attempts to explain that he has selected not to write most of the symbolic acts of Christ but has rather incorporated some incidents in order that believers may comprehend and participate in spiritual union of church of Christ. Additionally, it describes that these episodes are intended to help them have faith that Jesus is the Christ (Bennema, 2014). Secondly, it is aimed at helping a true believe realize that Jesus is the Son of God and that through their faith they can acquire the eternal life through his name.
The Gospel's Prologue: Establishing the Foundation
The Gospel starts its explanation with a proclamation on the manifestation that explicitly indirectly explains the book of Genesis. For instance, it begins by stating that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God (Bruner, 2012). The book persistently adds explanatory interpretations to clarify the motives of Jesus. In the account of some of the miraculous deeds such as feeding of five thousand men that is described in all the other gospels, his description is expounded as symbolic of a profound mystical truth (Bennema, 2014). For instance, Jesus implies that he is the bread of life.
The Symbolic Use of Light and Darkness
In addition, he refers himself as the Light of the World hence; he came to the world for the blind to regain their sight. For this reason, Jesus uses the term light as a symbol of righteousness and truth while darkness is considered evil and falsehood. More importantly, in this gospel light is described as life. For instance, John notes that people who will have trust in Him will have everlasting life. On the other hand, John suggests that darkness does not refer to engaging in sinful acts but rather declining the message of God of unending life via Christ. Likewise, Jesus also uses the parable of true vine to describe himself.
The Significance of Jesus' Actions: The "Signs"
The Gospel of John also highlights narrative comprising a sequence of "signs" which illustrates the actions of Jesus (Bruner, 2012). It is fundamentally interested in the meaning of these actions and so deduces them for the believer by numerous discourses, narratives, and reflections. The first symbol is the conversion of water into wine at the wedding at Cana, which signifies the replacement of the traditional ceremonial washings of the Jewish. Additionally, it represents the perfect transforming and creative work of Christ.
The Distinctive Identity of Jesus: A Theological Explanation
Across the Gospel of John, Jesus clearly exhibits himself as the heavenly Son of God as compared to the Gospel of Mark where his identity is quite concealed. Therefore, the Gospel according to John does not simply report a sequence of events but precisely identifies facts that reinforce a well-organized theological explanation of those events (Bennema, 2014). Additionally, this gospel covers numerous details concerning Jesus, which were not included in the other gospels.
Emphasizing Christ's Divinity
For instance, it describes that Jesus participated in a baptizing mission (John 3:22) prior to converting to the ministry of signs and preaching. In John 2:14-25, it noted that Jesus had traveled to Jerusalem for many festivals and experienced severe opposition prior to his death (Bruner, 2012).
A Theological Account
In addition, this gospel is not merely history because its account has been arranged and adapted to meet the theological purpose of the evangelist. For instance, it portrays Jesus Christ as the Messiah and the aspiration to assure Christians that their spiritual practice and belief must be founded in Jesus (Bruner, 2012). Therefore, such theological dedications have encouraged the evangelist to put emphasis on themes that were not so elaborate in the synoptic description of the ministry of Christ. In this regard, the John's Gospel has a clear version on Christ's divinity.
Conclusion
The Gospel of John provides an account of Jesus' work, which are not merely wonders to astonish believers by symbols highlighting the glory of God. The main aim of this gospel is to demonstrate the Jesus is the Son of God hence all who believes in him will obtain an everlasting life (Bennema, 2014). The book is different from the other synoptic gospels because it concentrates on the divinity of Christ. John uses Jesus miracles to interpret their spiritual meaning to believers.
References
Bennema, C. (2014). Encountering Jesus: Character Studies in the Gospel of John. Augsburg Fortress Publishers.
Bruner, F. D. (2012). The Gospel of John: a commentary. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
