John, The Unique Gospel

by Warren Carter

Within the New Testament, we have four Gospels. Each Gospel writer interprets the significance of the
life and death of Jesus to shape the identity and lifestyle of a community of believers.

Given this common purpose, it is no surprise that there are significant similarities among the four
Gospels: Jesus is presented as a teacher and as a miracle worker. He is in conflict with those who do not
understand or appreciate his mission. His death on the cross overshadows each story.

Yet given the different writers and the different situations for which they wrote, significant differences
naturally do exist among the Gospels. Missing from John are important events in Matthew, Mark, and
Luke (called the Synoptic Gospels—meaning "with the same eye"—because they are more similar to one
another than to John). For example, Jesus' baptism (though see John 1:32-33), the Last Supper (though
see John 6), Jesus' temptations in the wilderness and in Gethsemane, exorcisms, the Transfiguration,
and meals with "tax collectors and sinners" (Luke 5:30) are not included in John's Gospel.

On the other hand, important events in John have no parallel in the Synoptics. The miracle of turning
water into wine (John 2) and the conversations with Nicodemus (John 3) and with the Samaritan woman
(John 4:1-42) are unique to John. Jesus' healing of the man ill for thirty-eight years (John 5), the healing
of the man born blind (John 9), and the raising of Lazarus (John 11) are also found only in John.

We must resist the temptation to smooth out the distinctive voices of each Gospel. We must hear the
special witness of each one.

These differences among the Gospels arise from several factors. The Gospels were written some forty to
fifty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. During this time Christian communities were
involved in worship, mission, teaching, and diverse social situations. Various communities of followers,
Jewish and Gentile, reflected on the significance of Jesus for their particular community of believers.

The Gospel writers inherited these diverse and growing traditions. The writers also contributed to them
as they expressed their own understandings of Jesus' identity and of the life of discipleship. Also shaping
the Gospels were the various socio-historical experiences of the writers' communities. The Gospel
writers sought to present Jesus in a way that would help the readers be faithful disciples in their
particular circumstances.

I will describe some of the features of John's unique presentation of Jesus and indicate how it might
have functioned for John's community in the last decades of the first century. I will emphasize that the
uniqueness of John's Gospel arises largely from a bitter life-and-death dispute about Jesus between
John's community and the synagogue community in the same town. John's community has been forced
out of the synagogue. In their disorientation and new situation, the Gospel addresses issues of their
identity and lifestyle as disciples of Jesus. It seeks to make sense of their rejection and oppression in
terms of their understanding of Jesus and of themselves as Jesus' disciples. Drawing on elements of the

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Jesus story that parallel their own situation, the Gospel helps them understand and sustain their identity
and lifestyle as disciples in relation to their Jewish traditions and to the hostile society.

The Plot of John's Story

The bitter experience of expulsion from the synagogue has left its mark on every aspect of the Gospel,
including its plot. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus' yearlong ministry begins in Galilee. At the end of the
story, he goes to Jerusalem and is crucified.

In John, however, there is no such linear, geographical organization. Throughout his three-year ministry,
John's Jesus moves back and forth between Galilee and Jerusalem, making at least three trips to
Jerusalem (John 2:13; 5:1; 7:10). As early as John 2, Jesus is in Jerusalem upsetting the Jewish authorities
with his actions in the Temple. In the Synoptic Gospels, this event is placed after Jesus' only entry into
Jerusalem in the last week of his life (Mark 11; Matthew 21; Luke 19). John's presentation of Jesus' "back
and forth" movement between Galilee and Jerusalem and John's placement of the Temple scene at the
beginning of Jesus ministry highlight the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish authorities and
institutions that pervades John's Gospel.

Each story's setting also contributes to the atmosphere of conflict. Often, Jesus' actions are set in
relation to Jewish customs (purification, John 2:1-11, especially verse 6), festivals (sabbath, John 5:9;
9:14; Booths/Tabernacles, John 7:2; Passover, John 6:4; 12:1; 13:1), and institutions (Temple, John 2:20-
21; 4:20-24). John's Jesus reinterprets these familiar traditions, claiming that their true meaning is
encountered only in relation to himself.

Miracle stories also have a distinctive emphasis. Instead of displays of the presence of God's kingdom (as
in Matthew 12:28), John labels Jesus' miracles as "signs." They point to the presence of God in the
person of Jesus to those who are able to "see" and "believe" (John 2:11; 2:23; 4:54; 5:19-20). Because of
the exclusive and elevated claims about Jesus, John's miracle stories often involve conflict between
Jesus and the religious authorities (see John 5 and 9).

John's Gospel is not, then, structured in the same way as the Synoptic Gospels. Rather, the plot
emphasizes the rejection of Jesus. Conflict and rejection dominate the first major section of the Gospel
(John 1:19-12:50). Yet there is also a small group of people who accept Jesus and believe in him. Jesus
gives them special instruction about living in a hostile world. They are assured of God's special
protection and presence through the Holy Spirit (John 13-17). These motifs of rejection and acceptance
are signaled, along with other key themes, in the opening section of the Gospel, the Prologue (John 1:1-
18). The final section of the Gospel (John 18-21) also develops these motifs.

Chapters 18 and 19 narrate the events surrounding Jesus' crucifixion, the ultimate act of rejection. But
the account of the Resurrection (John 20-21) proclaims that Jesus has overcome the rejecting "world."
He ascends to God where he awaits the disciples (John 20:17). In the meantime the disciples are
commissioned to perform missions (John 20:21) and to forgive sin (John 20:23). In summary, the four
sections of the plot are:

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 John 1:1-18 The Prologue
John 1:19-12:50Public Ministry: Rejection
John 13:1-17:26Instructions to the Small Community of Disciples
John 18:1-21:25Death and Resurrection

The Words of Jesus

Jesus talks in a very distinctive manner in the Gospel of John. Unlike his speech in the Synoptics, Jesus
does not tell parables in John. Rather, he engages in lengthy monologues that employ extended
metaphors like the sheep image of Chapter 10 and the vine image of Chapter 15.

These images also depict the Christian community. Discipleship is presented as an intimate relationship
with Jesus (John 10:3-5; 15:4); but it is not an individualistic, private existence. Centered on Jesus,
discipleship is lived out in a communal context marked by fruitful obedience (John 15:5, 8) and mutual
(nonhierarchical) love (John 15:9-17). Significantly, these monologues take images used in the Hebrew
Bible for Israel as God's people and claim them for the community of Jesus' disciples (see Psalm 23;
Ezekiel 34; Psalm 80:8-9; Isaiah 5:1-7; Ezekiel 17:1-10).

Also largely absent from John are the many references in the Synoptics to the kingdom of God/heaven.
Instead, John's Jesus talks much more about himself. Seven times he uses "I am" sayings to describe his
mission and identity (John 6:35; 8:12; 10:9; 10:11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1). The "I am" sayings employ images
from the Hebrew Bible that describe God's relationship to and actions on behalf of God's people. Jesus
applies them to himself, claiming special relationship with God (compare Psalm 23:1 and John 10:9).
John' s claim is that Jesus' words and works are the words and works of God (John 5:19; 6:38; 14:9, 24).
In talking about himself and bearing witness to himself, Jesus bears witness to God (John 10:30). Such
claims are an important aspect of the conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities (John 5:18;
10:31-33).

Another important feature of Jesus' words in John underlines the focus on Jesus as the one in whom
God is encountered. Jesus constantly uses dualistic language that contrasts alternative realities—life and
death, light and darkness, "from above" and "from below," from God or from Satan, truth and falseness,
"of God" or "of the world." A person belongs to one of these two spheres. Jesus is the dividing point as
he continually confronts his hearers with a decision about their loyalties, about where they belong.

This decision in response to Jesus has very real social implications. Those inside the community of
disciples have accepted Jesus' claims about himself. However, the majority of society, including the
religious leaders of the synagogue ("the Jews"—see below) do not accept those claims. "To believe" in
Jesus is to entrust oneself to a new reality that defines one's identity and determines one's existence in
a community of disciples over against the unbelieving world.

Consistent with the presentation of Jesus as the dividing point between these two realities is Jesus'
emphasis on the present. Whereas in the Synoptic Gospels we are frequently reminded of Jesus' return
as Son of man and of a future judgment, John's Jesus emphasizes "the now" as a time of decision
(though the future dimension does not totally disappear; see John 5:28-29; 6:39-44, 54). In the present,

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by believing in Jesus, one can move into "eternal life" and "not come under judgment" (John 5:24). Not
to believe in Jesus is to remain under judgment and condemnation, to remain in darkness (John 3:16-
21).

The present is the time of encountering eternal life. In John 17:3, Jesus defines eternal life: "This is
eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." This
relationship with God is a reality in the present for those who believe in Jesus: "Whoever believes has
eternal life" (John 6:47). Hearing and believing Jesus' words are the means by which eternal life, an
intimate relationship with God, is established (John 5:24; 6:68-69). The relationship is maintained as
Jesus' disciples continue to hear and obey Jesus' word (John 8:31; 10:27; 15:1-17). Jesus assures the
community of disciples that though threatened by the surrounding world, "no one will snatch them out
of my hand" (John 10:28). The Holy Spirit also helps disciples live faithfully in a hostile world (John 15:18-
27; 16:4-15).

This relationship with God that disciples now enjoy is expressed in the Gospel's continual references to
God as "Father." The image of God as "Father" is used far more often in John than in the other Gospels
(over one hundred times compared with about thirty-five in Matthew, about twenty in Luke, and about
five in Mark).

Many people, women and men, have found the Bible's image of God as "Father" to be patriarchal and
excluding. It is important to remember two things: First, there is a whole range of images of God in the
Bible. For example, images of God as a mother who like a hen gathers her brood under her wings
(Matthew 23:37) and as a woman who searches for a lost coin (Luke 15:8-10) also appear. The Gospels
present a variety of images of God. Second, the way in which John uses this image of "Father" is
important. John's Jesus uses the image to denote an intimate relationship with God. In John 1:18, Jesus
is described as being "close to the Father's heart." His relationship with God is a partnership of openness
and trust in which Father and Son love each other (John 5:19-24; 14:11; 14:31; 15:9). This intimate
relationship is the reality that is of ultimate importance in our understanding of God and of Christian
existence.

Not only is God the "Father" of Jesus but also of the Christian community (John 8:31-47; 14:1-7; 20:17).
In believing in Jesus as God's Son, a person becomes part of the "children of God" (John 1:12-13). The
same reality of love that marks the relationship of God and Jesus is extended to human beings. The
presence of Jesus among human beings is a display of God's love (John 3:16) and of Jesus' love (John
13:34) for "the world" (John 3:16). This love is evident as Jesus lays down his life for the world (John
10:11, 17). When God's love is accepted, it creates a community of disciples in which love continues to
be encountered in the obedience (John 15:8-10), unity (John 17:21), and relationships of its members
(John 13:34; 15:12-17). Membership in this community is vital if disciples are to remain faithful in their
rejecting environment.

Jesus the Word

Through the Gospel of John, Jesus' words present God's gift and demand to human beings. The
important role of Jesus' words is signaled in the Prologue (John 1:1-18). Jesus is introduced as "the

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Word," an image that draws our attention to his task of revealing or communicating God's purposes
(John 1:18).

This image establishes the foundation for Jesus' revealing work. As the Word, Jesus exists from the
beginning "with God." Even before Creation (John 1:1), Jesus, in intimate relationship with God, shares
with God in creating the universe (John 1:2-3). From this relationship Jesus is sent from above to dwell
among human beings as the revealer of God. Because Jesus has been with God, Jesus is able to speak
the words of God (John 3:34). Jesus carries out what God does in giving eternal life and in executing
judgment (John 5:19-30). Jesus does the will of God (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38).

John's Gospel is uncompromising in its claim that only Jesus is able to carry out this role as revealer of
God (John 14:6). Because Jesus alone has been with God, because only Jesus has seen God, only Jesus
can make God known (John 1:18; 6:46). Jesus alone has "descended" from heaven to reveal God (John
3:13-14; 6:33-38). Only Jesus has been "sent" from God (John 3:16; 6:29, 38) to make God known. The
Gospel's repeated emphasis that Jesus has "come from" or "come down from" or "been sent from" or is
"of" God underlines the authoritative and exclusive nature of Jesus' revelation (John 7:28-29; 8:14;
12:49; 13:3).

Those who accept Jesus and believe in him are said to share the same origin. They also "come from" God
and belong to God. John the Baptist bears witness to Jesus and so is a "man sent from God" (John 1:6).
Those who receive Jesus become children of God, "born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the
will of man, but of God" (John 1:13). Jesus talks of disciples coming from above and of having been
chosen by God (John 3:3, 7; 6:44; 15:16, 19; 17:6, 14-16).

Conversely, those who do not see in Jesus the power and presence of God (as the community of
disciples does [John 1:14]) come "from below" and are "of this world" (John 8:23). The term the world
does not primarily designate the created order of nature but human beings who, though created by God
(John 1:1-3) and loved by God (John 3:16), reject God's love and claim (John 1:10-11). The "world" hates
Jesus and the disciples (John 15:18-25; 17:14-16). This response reveals them as nondisciples and
distinguishes them from disciples (John 17:14-16). Instead of having God as Father, their Father is the
"father of lies," the Devil (John 8:31-47). The Devil opposes God's will; it is the Devil who inspires Judas
to betray Jesus (John 13:2).

The religious leaders are a leading group among those who resist Jesus. They do not understand or
accept Jesus' claim that he has come from and is returning to God (John 7:25-36; 9:15-16). The religious
leaders are in constant conflict with Jesus and actively seek to destroy him (John 7:32, 44; 8:20, 37, 59;
10:31, 39; 11:57). Chapters 18-19 describe their key role in bringing about Jesus' death. Ultimately,
though, they do not triumph over Jesus. Jesus consents to his death (John 10:18), which comes about
only in God's timing at God's "hour" (John 8:20; 12:23-24; 13:1). Jesus' resurrection indicates that the
religious leaders cannot destroy God's work. Jesus' resurrection leads to his ascension and prepares the
way for the believing community to enjoy God's presence (John 14:1-4; 20:17).

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The Historical Circumstances of John's Community

The continual conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders and the elevated claims made about Jesus
address the painful experiences of the community for whom John writes. In three places (John 9:22;
12:42; 16:2), John speaks of conflict with and separation from the synagogue, the central factor shaping
his community's understanding of Jesus, itself, and its society. The community of disciples may have
been evicted because of its claim that Jesus is the Christ, the one sent from God to reveal God's will. If
so, the eviction shows the synagogue's rejection of these claims that Jesus is the definitive revealer of
God (John 5:18; 10:30) and mirrors Jesus' experience of rejection and crucifixion (John 15:18-25). It
could be that the synagogue saw Moses as the definitive revealer (John 9:28).

This context of conflict helps us understand the term the Jews. This term appears over sixty times in
John's Gospel (compared to about fifteen times in the Synoptics) and is used in a negative way. The term
the Jews has been misused in the church's history to feed Christian anti-Semitism. However, since those
who have just separated from the synagogue are also mainly Jewish folks, John's term cannot be
understood as a primarily ethnic designation for an "outside" group. Rather, the term has a symbolic
and "in-house" meaning: those who reject God's gift in Jesus. We can more aptly capture the term's "in-
house" focus by understanding its critique in relation to those within the Christian community who do
not acknowledge Jesus' claim on their lives. Such people would be like "the Jews" in John's Gospel.

This rejection raises questions of the origin and destiny as well as of the identity and allegiance of such
people. It causes us to reflect on our own lives and commitments in relation to John's presentation of
Jesus the Word, the revealer of God's presence and purpose.

John's Gospel, then, speaks to an internal family squabble. It addresses the group committed to Jesus
that is now separated from the synagogue. The Gospel of John seeks to help them make sense of their
experiences in terms of their understanding of Jesus and of themselves as a community of believers. It
seeks to sustain faithful living in a hostile world.

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