The Message of John’s Gospel
The Purpose of Life
Many notable people have proclaimed what they consider to be the purpose of life. Some stress the search for experiences,
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” Eleanor Roosevelt
Others recognise that there is a subjective purpose that may differ from person to person,
“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” Fyodor Dostoyevsky in 'The Brothers Karamazov'
The answer given in the Bible is that the purpose of life revolves around Jesus. He is the God who created us, he alone can forgive our sin against God and he alone can give us God’s Spirit so we can live Christlike lives.
1. Jesus is God himself
Jesus claims that he is the answer to what life is all about,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
It is striking that John introduces Jesus as ‘the Light of the World’ who was ‘with God in the beginning.’ John summarises this opening section of his gospel by saying,
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
John testifies to this truth. The remainder of his first chapter stresses the importance of individuals testifying about Jesus. It starts with John,
“John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This is he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” John 1:15
“Among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” John 1:27
John the Baptist recognised that Jesus was no-one less than God come in the flesh. This message was clearly vital for all people, whatever their nationality or creed and had to be proclaimed both privately and publicly. Even those whose status and power would be undermined had to hear this message.
“Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent Jews and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, ‘I am not the Christ.’ John 1:19-20
John went on to speak about Jesus and put the focus completely on him. Those who had not recognised who Jesus was needed to do so. There were three major points John the Baptist highlights about Jesus:
Jesus is the incarnation of God himself.
“No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side has made him known.” John 1:18
2. Jesus alone can forgive our sin
John testified that Jesus alone can take away the sin of everybody in the world, the innate rebellion against God that we all suffer from, because he is God. John told this news to all those who would listen,
“John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29
Later, when John was talking with two of his own followers, he saw Jesus passing by and exclaimed,
“Look, the Lamb of God.” John 1:35
Sacrificial lambs were the means by which Jewish people could have their sin symbolically forgive, These sacrifices modelled the one final sacrifice the the Lamb of God would make for the sin of all. This news that the Saviour of the world had come needed to be known by all, even at the risk of losing friends. Those two followers left John to follow Jesus and yet John was clearly satisfied about this.
3. Jesus alone can give us God’s Spirit
Jesus alone can empower His people to live as God wants. This power would come as the Spirit of God enters his people. John tells people about this too,
“Then John gave this testimony: I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except the one who sent me to baptise with water told me,
‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptise with the holy Spirit. I have seen and testify that this is the Son of God. I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” John 1:32-34
Jesus testified about himself
The two disciples who went to follow Jesus were Andrew and probably John, the writer of the gospel. They approached Jesus and began a conversation with small talk.
“Rabbi’ (which means teacher), ‘where are you staying?” John 1:38
I love the way that Jesus uses that question to enter into a relationship with the two.
“Come he replied, and you will see.” John 1:39
Jesus committed a whole day to these two, doubtless spending much of the time chatting and answering their questions. They only left Jesus at around 7pm.
A missionary was talking in a church about his work among Muslims. He was asked what his technique was in evangelising Muslims. His reply was simple,
“I invite them for a meal.”
The impact on those two from spending that day with Jesus was dramatic. Andrew and his companion became convinced that Jesus was God’s Chosen King. They immediately went and testified about what they had discovered. Apparently they saw this as a natural reaction to knowing Jesus.
“The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.” John 1:41
The first thing Jesus did was to say Peter’s name and presumably he had not been told this earlier.
“Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas’ which, when translated, is Peter.)” John 1:42
The following day Jesus searched for Philip and then said to him,
“Follow me.” John 1:43
These three, Philip, Andrew and Peter lived in the town of Bethsaida which means ‘Fish-town’. There is no doubt that Jesus intended his followers to be people who passed on the message that he is the Lord God, the Saviour of the World who could empower his people to live as God wants. In Mark’s record of the account when Jesus called Simon and his brother Andrew, they were fishing in the Sea of Galilee.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Mark 1:17
The Disciples testify about Jesus
This testifying was an active process. These young disciples go out of their way to find people to share the news with.
“Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. . . Come and see.” John 1:44
When Nathanael was introduced to Jesus he was told that Philip had found him sitting under a fig tree. Jesus had the omniscience of |God. It was after hearing Jesus speak that he also came to the astounding conclusion and declared to Jesus,
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” John 1:49
Jesus already knew that Nathanael was a godly man of integrity, but the words Jesus used are significant.
“When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, ‘Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” John 1:47,
In the Old Testament, the patriarch Jacob was originally given that name because of a feature of his birth and literally means ‘he grasps the heel’. This became a Hebrew idiom for ‘a deceiver’.
It is therefore striking that in this conversation with the guileless Nathaniel, Jesus mentions the time that Jacob had met with the Lord. After spending twenty years serving his uncle Laban, Jacob had fled. He then wrestled throughout the night with an extraordinary person and this had a profound effect on Jacob. It was then that he was given the new name ‘Israel’ because he had ‘struggled with God.’
“So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.’” Genesis 32:
Jesus said to Nathanael,
“‘You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.’ He then added, ‘Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.’ John 1:50-51
This is a remarkable statement. Jesus is comparing Nathanael with the first Israelite Jacob. Nathanael was no deceiver but he was also meeting the Lord. When Jacob had first fled from his brother Esau he had had had a dream. He saw a stairway joining earth to heaven with the Lord at the top. The Lord gave him a promise that his descendants would live in that same land and added,
’All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.’ Genesis 28:14
When Jacob awoke he thought,
“Surely the Lord was in this place, and I was not aware of it.” Genesis 28:16
That place was therefore called Bethel, which means “God’s town” and there Jacob made a lifelong vow of commitment that the Lord who had revealed himself to Jacob would be his God (Genesis 28:10-22). Jesus is claiming to be the incarnation of that same Lord who appeared to Jacob.
Nathanael had met God just as the deceiver Jacob had. How could such a message, an explanation of the Old Testament accounts, not be shared with people throughout the world?
Peter testifies about Jesus to people of the world
It is no coincidence that the same three points that John the Baptist originally taught about Jesus were the same ones made by Peter when he gave his first sermon at Pentecost. Peter testified that:
1. Jesus is the Lord God himself,
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this; God made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:36
2. Jesus alone can forgive our sins against God,
“Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins .” Acts 2:38
3. Jesus alone can empower his people,
“ And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38
Summary
John the Apostle longed to bring ‘glory’ to the Lord Jesus. This is the purpose of his written testimony about Jesus. The reason he selected seven of Jesus’ miracles was to emphasise who he is. Thus his first miracle was changing water into wine and the reason for this is given,
“He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.” John 2:11
Just as the best wine was distributed to all present at the wedding, so the news about the glory of Jesus must be distributed. Testifying about Jesus is a prime purpose for all God’s people. John concludes his record by saying,
“This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that histestimony is true.” John 21:24
There can be no doubt that the apostles recognised and taught these three facets of God’s message about the importance of Jesus. What is striking is that both John the Baptist and John the apostle emphasise the need for this message to be passed on by God’s people having personal conversations with others around them.
BVP
