The fourth gospel account (FGA), traditionally known as 'the gospel according to John', is like the other gospel accounts with interrelated purposes1 and intentions.
The most obvious purpose in the FGA is the evangelistic aim stated in John 20.30f.
The context of these words is the occasion in which the risen Lord confronts Thomas, one of the 12 disciples, with his unbelief about His resurrection.
When Thomas examines Jesus' wounds and declares, My Lord and My God! Jesus said to him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.2
Jesus' last sentence is addressed to all who have not seen Jesus but will come to put their faith in Him. Now comes a direct statement of the evangelistic intent of this account.
For anyone who isn't a Christian3 but a seeker, the place to go is the FGA because it is the great evangelistic biography of Jesus that sets out two astounding claims about his identity, namely: The most obvious purpose in the FGA is the evangelistic aim stated in John 20.30f.
The context of these words is the occasion in which the risen Lord confronts Thomas, one of the 12 disciples, with his unbelief about His resurrection.
When Thomas examines Jesus' wounds and declares, My Lord and My God! Jesus said to him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.2
Jesus' last sentence is addressed to all who have not seen Jesus but will come to put their faith in Him. Now comes a direct statement of the evangelistic intent of this account.
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye3 might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye3 might have life through his name (Jn 20.30-31).
- He is 'the Christ'
- He is 'the Son of God'
However, in researching for this post, I found a number of commentators eager to equate the two terms above. One scripture that may lend support to this hypothesis is Luke 4.41 which reads:
And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he [Jesus] rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.However, John 5.17-18 points to the fact that the Jewish leadership believed that any claim to be the Son of God was to claim equality with God himself. That being true, then a claim to be Messiah was not tantamount to one also claiming to be the Son (of the Father) in the way that Jesus uses this term all through John 5.
For example, Jesus says in Jn 5.23,
That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
Think of that! Jesus is claiming this equal honour beside the Father who all concede is God the Father.
Jesus 'the Christ'
Why is this claim important? From the beginning of mankind's history, every race yearned for a deliverer or for a salvation that would free them from the ills which beset them.
In the Abrahamic line through Isaac and Jacob, that One is known as Messiah (or 'Christ' from the Greek 'christos'). Christ is not a proper name (as is Jesus) but a title meaning 'Anointed (One)'. An Anointed One is so named because of the office He is called to perform for he is to become the Saviour of mankind.
Jesus 'the Son of God'
The more I read on this title, the more I believe that not only did Jesus' disciples attribute the title to Jesus (e.g., Jn 1.49), not only did first century opponents speak of this title in relation to Jesus (Jn 5.18, 10.33, 19.7; Mk 14.61-64) but Jesus used it of himself (Jn 9.35-36, 10.36, Mt 26.63-65). The title is also a favourite of the writer of the FGA as found throughout5 the gospel account.
2. Jesus' blessing is pronounced upon us living today!
3. Of course today, we regard the language of the King James Version to be archaic but in modernising our language we have also created some problems. For example, we now don't know in some cases whether 'you' in a text means singular or plural 'you'. For example, in the scripture when Jesus said to Nicodemus, 'You must be born again' (Jn 3.7) did He mean that specifically Nicodemus needed to be born again or was he using 'you' in the sense of 'you all' need to be born again? The Amplified Bible renders it 'you all' which shows that a plural y o u is meant as can be verified in the Greek text. The KJV and the ones before it all had the language resources to show this important point. 'Ye' is the plural form of 'you' which modern English now lacks (unlike many other comparative languages such as French, Spanish, and German).
4. The fourth gospel is also for all who are Christian believers now as we will see at a later time hopefully!
5. See Jn 1.34, 49; 3.18; 5.25; 9.35; 10.36; 11.4, 27; 19.7; 20.31.
Opposition to the Claims
Both Israel and Muslims generally are strongly opposed to these claims. See here for one good link on this difficult subject if interested.
I've raised it because the opposition to Jesus as the Son of God in particular is not only opposed by secularists but also by other groups.
Opposition to Jesus and the above claims dates from the first century AD. Jesus was brutally humiliated and finally crucified by the Romans with the full approval of the Israelite leadership. This sacrifice led the way in the ongoing persecution (sometimes lamentably by those claiming to be acting in Christ's name) to more recent times of widespread harassment, displacement, and martyrdom of Christians in both the west, the east, Africa, and the middle-east in particular.
Significantly, 'martyr' is related to the same word which is translated 'witness' in the NT. See here.
1. Hopefully, in the future, we will speak about other purposes the FGA has.I've raised it because the opposition to Jesus as the Son of God in particular is not only opposed by secularists but also by other groups.
Opposition to Jesus and the above claims dates from the first century AD. Jesus was brutally humiliated and finally crucified by the Romans with the full approval of the Israelite leadership. This sacrifice led the way in the ongoing persecution (sometimes lamentably by those claiming to be acting in Christ's name) to more recent times of widespread harassment, displacement, and martyrdom of Christians in both the west, the east, Africa, and the middle-east in particular.
Significantly, 'martyr' is related to the same word which is translated 'witness' in the NT. See here.
Next time, we'll look at some of the signs Jesus did.
2. Jesus' blessing is pronounced upon us living today!
3. Of course today, we regard the language of the King James Version to be archaic but in modernising our language we have also created some problems. For example, we now don't know in some cases whether 'you' in a text means singular or plural 'you'. For example, in the scripture when Jesus said to Nicodemus, 'You must be born again' (Jn 3.7) did He mean that specifically Nicodemus needed to be born again or was he using 'you' in the sense of 'you all' need to be born again? The Amplified Bible renders it 'you all' which shows that a plural y o u is meant as can be verified in the Greek text. The KJV and the ones before it all had the language resources to show this important point. 'Ye' is the plural form of 'you' which modern English now lacks (unlike many other comparative languages such as French, Spanish, and German).
4. The fourth gospel is also for all who are Christian believers now as we will see at a later time hopefully!
5. See Jn 1.34, 49; 3.18; 5.25; 9.35; 10.36; 11.4, 27; 19.7; 20.31.
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