Dive into the Gospel of John: Magnifying Jesus Christ

The Gospel of John in 10 Minutes (Or Less)

Why Did John Write His Gospel? John wrote his gospel with a threefold purpose, and it's all found in John 20:30-31:

"Therefore, many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book, but these things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

Watch the full video: The Gospel of John Explained in 10 Minutes.

The Threefold Purpose

First, that you would believe that Jesus of Nazareth is Messiah, is Christ, is the savior, liberating king that Israel has been long expecting. This was promised all the way back in Genesis 12:3, and even further back in Genesis 3:15—the first gospel—that through the seed of the woman there would be born one that would crush the head of the serpent while the serpent gave him enmity unto death. This promise continued through Abraham, then David, then Solomon, and so on.

They had long expected this savior king, this liberator, who is the Messiah, to liberate them from their enemies. They just didn't realize that their greatest enemy was sin and death, which Jesus liberates all who draw near to the father through the son, and extends mercy to all to receive him as Messiah, as that savior, liberating king, so that we could have life in his name.

Second, that you would believe Jesus is the son of God. He is God himself, because the son in that culture would 99% of the time do the work of the Father. So that is a title declaring to all that Jesus is God, that he does the work of God and only God can do the work of God. And if any Savior is less than God, he is no savior at all. For our Savior must be of infinite worth and only God is of infinite worth.

Third, that by believing we would have life in his name. By taking God at his word that says, "All who come to me, he will in no wise cast out," that all who call upon the name of Christ would have life, they would be taken out of death, out of Adam, and placed into life who is Christ.

The Major Themes of John

John is very clear about these things: Messiah, son of God (or God), Messiah, God, and life—those are all themes throughout the book of John. Another theme is light and darkness, or truth and deceit. Throughout the gospel of John, you will see that theme of light and darkness, truth and deceit, that Jesus had come to shed light onto who God is, what God is doing, and what God will do.

Jesus came to his own to put on display the character of God. To do, as a man, fulfill the law in all of its requirements and perfection. To die a sinner's death on a Roman tree, which is to be put on display to all that he is cursed by God, not because of anything that he has done, but because of sin and what we have done.

In John, we see that only Jesus who is fully man and fully God could be Messiah. And he's very clear to the Jewish audience at the time and to us today: Jesus is God.

The Eight "I Am" Statements

Jesus does this in eight I am statements. Yes, I said eight. Most scholars will say seven. Stick around—I want to give you an eighth at the end. Jesus has declared "I am" and John has recorded Jesus declaring "I Am," which you find only in the gospel of John and not in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But you see these eight statements recorded in the Gospel of John, all putting on display that Jesus is God. He's the son of God, so that we who turn to the son of God in repentance, in faith would then have life in his name.

Here they are:

1. I am the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51)

2. I am the Light of the World (John 8:12; 9:5)

3. I am the Door (John 10:7, 9)

4. I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14)

5. I am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)

6. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6)

7. I am the True Vine (John 15:1, 5)

8. I am He (John 18:5, 6, 8)

   
   

What Does "I Am" Even Mean?

You might be thinking, well, that's just a bunch of nonsense. I mean, "I am," what does that even mean? Well, "I am" is a clear reference, especially as John uses them, back to Exodus. And Exodus is a key to helping us unlock some of this gospel.

When Moses is out in the wilderness after he tried to deliver Israel by himself and it failed miserably, he's out there as a shepherd. He walks by a bush that is burning and is not consumed, and he's like, "Hmm, this is an odd thing. Let's go over there." And God speaks through the bush and Moses enters into this conversation with the Lord.

In this conversation it is revealed to Moses that the Lord has seen the affliction of his people in the land of Egypt. He has seen the oppression of his people in the land of Egypt, and he is coming to deliver them, and he will deliver them through Moses, but not in Moses' strength. In his strength, he will deliver them from this slavery, the bondage, the power of the Egyptians, and into the land that he had promised them, the land of Canaan, so that they could work and labor to eradicate the giants from the land.

In this conversation with Moses, Moses is like, "Okay, I get what you're doing, but these people that you're sending me to, Israel—I tried this once before, they didn't hear me—so who am I going to tell them is sending me?"

God says to Moses in Exodus 3:14:

"I am who I am. And he said, thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I am has sent me to you."

Essentially the name that we read here, "I am," is a declaration that he is who he always has been and will be always who he is. Let me repeat that: He is who he's always has been and will be who he always is.

God is I am.

And the I am says, "Go and tell my people, Israel, that I am the one who I always have been—the God of your father, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob—has sent me to deliver you from the penalty and power and presence of the Egyptians."

That's exactly the context in which John is writing this. So if you wanna understand John, you have to understand these "I am" statements—that Jesus is the son of God to deliver his sent, as the Messiah to deliver his people, not from Egypt, but from sin.

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