During this season of Easter, we are treated to two sets of readings. Both are taken from the New Testament, and both have decidedly different approaches to telling us the Good News. Luke’s Acts of the Apostles is volume two (the first being his Gospel) of his account of Jesus and his earliest followers, after the Resurrection, as the Church begins to form and spread throughout the world. Both of Luke’s volumes are filled the details of not only Jesus’ life, but the lives of his followers. The Gospel of John, on the other hand, is the spiritual Gospel, filled with deep insights into the divinity of Jesus. The “synoptic Gospels” (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) cover many of the same miracles, parables and events of Jesus’ life and ministry. There is a lot of overlap, repetition and even some parallel passages that are nearly identical. The synoptics tell us what Jesus said and did; John tells us who Jesus is. The synoptics focus on the signs and sayings of Christ; John emphasizes the identity of Christ.
There are only eight miracles recorded in John, six of which are not found elsewhere in Scripture. Contrast that with Mark, who details about twenty miracles and mentions ten more. There are no parables in John, no hidden meanings. Compare that with about fifteen in Matthew, nine in Mark and over thirty-five in Luke. John prefers to use metaphors (figures of speech or illustrations) to describe who Jesus is: the Bread of Life, Living Water, Light of the World, the Good Shepherd, the Door, the Shepherds Gate, the True Vine, etc.
Every chapter in John provides a separate portrait of who Christ is and what He does, giving us greater insight into His character and nature. John recorded detailed conversations that Jesus held with individuals—Nicodemus, the Samaritan Woman, Martha, Mary Magdalene, Peter. Over one-third of John’s Gospel (chapters 12-19) covers just the last week of Jesus’ life. In John’s writings, you find a direct connection between Jehovah I AM of the Old Testament, and Jesus I AM in the New Testament. When Moses asked God what His name was at the burning bush, “God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. Thus, you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). I AM means the self-existent One, the Eternal One and expresses the unchangeableness of God’s character. He transcends the past, the present and the future. He always has been, He always is, and He always will be God. John uses the Old Testament name of God (I AM, Exodus 3:14) to describe who Jesus is:
- I AM the Bread of Life/Living Bread (John 6:35, 48, 51).
- I AM the Light of the World (John 8:12; 9:5).
- Before Abraham was, I AM (John 8:58).
- I AM the Door (John 10:7, 9).
- I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14).
- I AM the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25).
- I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).
- I AM the True Vine (John 15:1, 5).
- I AM He (John 18:5-6).
John continued this theme in the Book of Revelation:
- I AM the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8, 11; 22:13).
- I AM the Beginning and the End (Revelation 1:8; 22:13.)
- I AM the First and the Last (Revelation 1:11; 22:13).
- I AM He Who Lives and was Dead (Revelation 1:18).
- I AM He Who Searches the Reigns and Hearts (Revelation 2:23).
- I AM the Root and Offspring of David (Revelation 22:16).
- I AM the Bright and Morning Star (Revelation 22:16).
John unveils the true identity of Christ in greater depth than any other Bible author. John drew closer to Jesus than any other disciple and was given deeper insight into His divine nature. Notice John did not begin his Gospel with the birth of Christ like Matthew and Luke. In fact, he mentioned nothing about the nativity story or Mary and Joseph’s trek to Bethlehem to be taxed and counted. Instead, he went all the way back to the beginning: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). John revealed the deity of Jesus in the very first verse of his Gospel. You see, Jesus did not become the Son of God when He was born of a virgin over 2,000 years ago. No, He has always been the eternal, pre-existent Son of God. He merely assumed a human body in Mary’s womb: “The Word became human and lived among us” (John 1:14). Matthew traced Jesus’ ancestry back to Abraham (Matthew 1:1), Luke traced it back to Adam (Luke 3:38), but John traced it back to God the Father in eternity past. Furthermore, he disclosed how Jesus predates time and creation and was a co-Creator with His Father: “He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:2-3).
John paid attention when others didn’t and highlighted people to whom Jesus revealed His Messiahship. He also included subtle statements when Christ shared His divinity, such as, “I and my father are one” (John 10:30) and “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). John clearly stated the purpose of his Gospel, “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). John presented Christ so persuasively that his readers believe and receive eternal life through Him. This is obvious by John’s use of the key word “believe” (70 times), “believed” (27 times), and “believing” (2 times). John used some form of the word “believe” 99 times in his account proving that faith in Christ is essential for salvation.John was like a mechanic who opens a car hood to see what makes the engine run. In the process, he gets some oil (anointing) all over him. Remember, John literally laid his head on the chest of Jesus and heard the heartbeat of God (John 13:23-25). Imagine that! Hearing the heartbeat of God! God did not allow Abraham to have that experience. God did not allow Moses to have that experience. But Jesus allowed his beloved disciple, John, to hear his heartbeat, the heartbeat of God! The synoptic Gospels inform us of what Jesus said and did; John’s Gospel digs deeper and tells us Who Jesus is. John started as an ignorant fisherman (Acts 4:13), but after spending extended time with Jesus, he is transformed into a man on a mission to tell the world about the God-man he met on the shores of Galilee. C. S. Lewis said it well, “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.”
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!