GOSPEL: St. John's Gospel

http://stfaiths-burwood.org.au/john.html

St. John's Gospel
The writer of the Gospel tells us why he wrote the Gospel. "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name" (Jn.20.30-31). He does not set out to give a complete account of the life of Jesus but selects certain incidents that serve his central purpose of bringing out the nature of the Person of Jesus. He stresses much more than the first three Gospels the divinity of Jesus and that this divine Son of God 'became flesh', i.e. became fully human, and entered human history. This is seen in his Introduction (1.1-18). Mark starts his Gospel with the public ministry of Jesus, Matthew and Luke push the story back to the birth of Jesus, John goes back to the Word co-existing with God at the very beginning.

After an Introduction (Jn.1.1-18), the work is divided into two parts. The first part (Jn.1.19-12.50) covers the public ministry of Jesus and consists of a series of incidents with accompanying reflections on the significance of these incidents. The second part (13.1-21.25) consists of the Last Supper discourses (13.1-17.26), and John's account of the arrest, trials, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (18.1-21.25).

The style of John is markedly different from that of the other Gospels. The first three Gospels concentrate on the life and work of Jesus and the coming of the Kingdom of God. The teaching of Jesus is expressed in short sayings and many parables. There are no parables in John's Gospel and the Kingdom of God is only mentioned in Jn.3.3-5. The sayings of Jesus in John consist of long dialogues or monologues and in many it is difficult to know when the words are the sayings of Jesus and when they are the reflections of the writer. The passages are full of symbolism and often double meanings, e.g. the image of 'water' with the woman at the well (4.1-42). Striking are the "I am …" passages, the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Gate of the Sheep Pen, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection and the Life, the Way the Truth and the Life, the True Vine, where ordinary items and events in everyday life are used to point to the Person of Jesus himself. John's leading ideas recur many times - eternal life, union with God, knowledge of God, truth, faith, light, glory, judgement, the Spirit, the Messiah, Son of Man, Son of God, the Word of God. This richness leads to many different levels of interpretation and has made this Gospel an endless source of inspiration and subject for meditation. The Gospel has had an immense influence on the thought and worship of the church.

The contents of the Gospel are as follows:

1.1-18. Introduction
1.19-12.50. Public Ministry of Jesus
John the Baptist (1.19-34)
The first disciples (1.35-51)
Wedding in Cana (2.1-12)
Jesus in the temple (2.13-25)
Jesus and Nicodemus (3.1-21)
John the Baptist (3.22-30)
Comment on Nicodemus theme (3.31-36)
Woman at the well (4.1-42)
Healing of the official's son (4.43-54)
Healing at Bethesda (5.1-18)
Discourse on relationship of Jesus to God (5.19-47)
Jesus feeds the five thousand (6.1-15)
Jesus walks on the water (6.16-21)
Crowd comes to Jesus (6.22-24)
Discourse on the Bread of Life (6.25-59)
Reactions to the discourse (6.60-71)
Jesus teaching at Feast of Tabernacles (7.1-31)
Failed attempt to arrest Jesus (7.32-52)
Jesus and the adulteress (8.1-11)
Jesus the Light of the World (8.12-20)
Jesus and the Father (8.21-59)
Healing of the man born blind (9.1-41)
Jesus as the Sheepgate and the Good Shepherd (10.1-21)
Jesus is rejected (10.22-42)
The death of Lazarus (11.1-44)
The plot against Jesus (11.45-57)
The anointing at Bethany (12.1-8)
The plot against Lazarus (12.9-11)
Entry into Jerusalem (12.12-19)
Approach to the death of Jesus (12.20-50)
13.1-17.26. Last Supper Discourses
18.1-21.25. Passion and Resurrection
Arrest of Jesus (18.1-11)
Jesus before the High Priest (18.12-27)
Jesus before Pilate (18.28-19.16)
Crucifixion (19.17-27)
Death of Jesus (19.28-37)
Burial of Jesus (19.38-42)
The empty tomb (20.1-10)
Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene (20.11-18)
Jesus appears to the disciples (20.19-23)
Jesus appears to Thomas (20.24-29)
Purpose of the book (20.30-31)
Appearances in Galilee (21.1-24)
Conclusion (21.25)