The Gospel of John The Prologue and Four Purposes for Writing By Eric Cleveland INTRODUCTION The Gospel of John begins with an eighteen-verse prologue, which sets the stage for the rest of the Gospel. It is the Genesis of the New Testament. It is not surprising then how the Apostle John introduces his dramatic and unveiled view of the Christ s story. The quality of craftsmanship is unparalleled and is exalted as one of the few great portions of literature of all time. The beauty of the story is related and purposed through eight measured miracles, conflict and resolution, and a dramatic conclusion; all, which continually refer and point, back to eighteen simplistic and yet profound verses contained in John s prologue. These verses are the skeletal structure in which John endeavors to flesh out (see John 1:14) this mysterious Christ. The power of the Fourth Gospel is that it comprises several purposes through the power of the pen: 1) John establishes the power and essentiality of belief, 2) the Apostle employs his calling to confront the doctrinal errors combating the truth, 3) John reveals the identity of the Christ, and 4) he writes evangelistically, compelling those who dwell in darkness to come to the light. All four of these purposes can be found in John s prologue. It is the attempt of this paper, therefore, to reveal clearly why these purposes necessitated the writing of this maverick Gospel. The following is an examination of how these four purposes bring to light the purpose of John s Gospel. 1) BELIEVING: THE GOSPEL AS POWER But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12). 1
The mystery and theology of belief has been pondered, studied, theorized, and dissected throughout the ages. Poets have penned, philosophers have posed, and theologians have taught, yet not one authoritative teaching on the power of believing have compared to the Gospel of John. Believing is foundational to the beginning of life eternal life. As we delve into the Gospel of John we ll see each of the four purposes introduced in the prologue. These are the anchors or reference points in which the Gospel is tied. In the first chapter John introduces the foundation of believing in verse 12, thus springboarding an entire discussion on the realm of unbelief and belief. It is the goal of this Gospel to reveal a deeper level of belief in Jesus Christ and the cruciality of believing on his name. John desperately longs for the reader to make the jump across the chasm and enter into eternal life. The Apostle knows all were born into a realm of unbelief and it is the hearing of this Gospel which allows one the choice to believe. If one truly believes, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:38). That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:15). John discusses the two realms in which the readers find themselves. This is revealed through the conversation Jesus has with Nicodemus in the third chapter. Jesus began to disclose to this Pharisee the mystery of entering the Kingdom of God. He then continues with a discussion about belief and unbelief. John knew one must believe in order to enter into the Kingdom and without this belief the individual would be condemned. This is why Jesus revelation to Nicodemus was so important and why John chose to record this conversation. Transferring from the realm of unbelief to believing liberates the soul and brings eternal life, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16b). John contrasts life with condemnation, he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18). As he spake these words, many believed on him (John 8:30). Most, if not all, of Jesus conversations consisted of confrontations with the realms of unbelief. This was foreshadowed in the prologue, And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not (John 1:5). Often times the confrontation with the multitudes ended up divided, There was a divi- 2
sion therefore again among the Jews for these sayings (John 10:19). This division is directly related to the separation of light and dark found in Genesis and John s prologue. In essence, John was emphasizing the necessity of believing and how that relates to the Gospel as a whole. He wrote to a community of believers and yet was concerned that the focus of their belief, the truth of Jesus Christ, was being maintained and not distorted by the false prophets, which come in sheep s clothing (Matthew 7:15). Because of these false prophets and errant doctrines attacking the belief of the community, John had to write as an apologist. 2) DEFENDING THE TRUTH: THE GOSPEL AS APOLOGIST In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:1,14). None so emphatically declares the humanity and deity of Jesus Christ, as does John. There was a great purpose for John s Gospel in the day and time it was written. It was absolutely imperative that John wrote this book. It was not merely an historic document, but rather it was used often in the church community to maintain the accurate account of the truth and was written to a community that was being heavily influenced by the errant philosophies of the day. Jesus confronted the Jewish ideas of the messiah through his teachings of the Father/Son motif. His sermons brought division in the crowds and John records this, Much like Jesus contentious arguments for truth, John fights for sound doctrine through this polemic. This can also be more readily seen in John s epistles in which he protects the community from the evil power of the lie which is propagated by the opponents and which expresses the last efforts of those forces alien to God to thwart the divine plan of salvation (Kysar, 64). Just as the epistles were written for defense of the truth so do the Gospels confront the father of lies. Jesus teachings throughout the Synoptic Gospels debate issues dealing with Moses and the Law, marriage, and traditions of men. The Fourth Gospel, however, was written much later than the Synoptics and therefore dealt with other issues that the church community was facing. 3
Though the doctrine of Gnosticism had not yet fully developed, its early roots were reaching throughout the Johannine community. Greek philosophy and Jewish thought had pervaded and clashed with the truth and presented ideas like Jesus Christ as a spirit rather than human flesh. The early forms of Gnosticism was a teaching called Docetism, a Christian heresy and one of the earliest Christian sectarian doctrines, affirming that Christ did not have a real or natural body during his life on earth but only an apparent or phantom one (Encyclopedia Britannica). This errant doctrine seems to be the driving force behind John s prologue. John identifies Christ as the Logos and makes direct parallels between the first chapter and verses of Genesis and the first chapter of John. In fact, John used the term Logos which directly applied to the two competing factions of the day. Both the Jewish and Greek cultures had ideas and concepts of the word Logos. The Greek conceived the Logos as a sort of cosmic reason and the Jew as the concept of wisdom (Kysar, 40). It was John s desire to reveal the Logos as God himself and that the Logos became flesh (vs. 14). In fact, it is this revelation of God manifested in the flesh that is argued throughout the book and much of John s epistles. Having a revelation of who Jesus Christ is and using the Gospel of John to defend that truth is imperative to combat the errant doctrines of the Trinity today. Though the present church does not face the ancient doctrines of Docetism or Cerinthianism, there are many other false teachings in the world today. Giving the world the sound doctrine of God in Christ Jesus is truly reflecting the light into the darkness. The Apostle John knew the power and absolute necessity of having this revelation when he quoted Jesus saying, if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins (John 8:24). This is one of many I Am statements that Jesus says and often implies. Which leads us to our third discussion of the necessity of John s Gospel. 3) THE IDENTITY OF CHRIST: THE GOSPEL AS REVELATION Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am (John 8:58). 4
As previously stated, the revelation of who Jesus Christ was and is, is directly related to the deliverance of sins. Understanding that Jesus is the Savior of the world and that eternal life comes through believing in his name simply underscores the power of this revelation, and that believing ye might have life through his name (John 20:31). Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus gives self-disclosing statements that are often referred to as the I Am statements. John desired to make the connection between the God of the Old Testament and the messiah of the New Testament. In Exodus, Moses enquired of the LORD whom he should tell the Israelites that sent him, And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you (Exodus 3:14). This was the first declaration and revelation of God to man we find in scripture. It is no coincidence then that John captures the significance of the I AM statement and records Jesus claims to this title. It was absolutely imperative that John writes his Gospel, to transmit this revelation to his audience. The Synoptic Gospels did not focus as astutely on this revelation as did John s Gospel. Kysar poses two potent questions concerning this revelation, Could it be that the Fourth Evangelist wanted to stir recognition of the sacred name for God in the reader? Was YHWH rooted in God s self-naming, I am? (Kysar, 59). With the abundance of I AM statements Jesus made, we can conclude that the answer is an emphatic yes! Again Kysar makes a profound statement, It is likely that the sound of those words I am in the evangelist s locale implied the very name of God. That name could not be uttered. Jewish piety soon forbade pronouncing the sacred name, YHWH. So, when Jesus is made to say I am, it is the very name of God he is uttering. The implication is that he himself is God (Kysar, 60). This is foundational for salvation because as Jesus said, if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins (John 8:24). Fred Kinzie comments on this verse, Jesus was responding to the question, Where is thy Father? His answer indicates that we must believe Him to be the Father incarnate, the manifestation of God (Kinzie, 109). Out of all of the conversations that John had to choose from in which to write, he chose ones that continually pointed back to the prologue s declaration of Jesus Christ. This declaration described the very identity of who he is. Aaron Wildavsky reveals the power of a name in the ancient Middle 5
East, a name which for us is more like a convenient label represented the innermost identity of a being; consequently, knowing the name meant having access to the power such an identity implied (Wildavsky, 39). Having access to the power of God unto salvation is through the name of Jesus Christ, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). 4) THAT YE MIGHT BELIEVE: THE GOSPEL AS EVANGELIST But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name (John 20:31). For what purpose was John s Gospel written? One of the most explicit reasons is found in John 20:30-31 and corroborated by Kysar, What is written in the Gospel is intended to evoke faith on the part of the readers. The Gospel is an effort to convince readers that this Jesus is the Messiah of Jewish expectation (the Christ) and a uniquely divine revealer (Son of God) (Kysar, 24). In the prologue, we again see the anchor of this purpose of writing. As an interruption in the poetic prose of the prologue, John records the evangelist and prophet John the Baptist declaring, There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe (John 1:6-7). This bearing witness of the Light was John s intent for writing his Gospel. He had a desire for his readers to know Christ and to find salvation. Paul wrote about the calling and honor of preaching this truth, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (Romans 10:15). Kysar again summarizes this idea, the evangelist hoped to win new believers to the faith (Kysar, 24). The hopeless state of man is found as early as verse 5 in the prologue, And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not (John 1:5) and again, He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew 6
him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not (John 1:10-11). John knew if he were to record the Gospel it would be the story of the light of men and the light would continue to shine in the darkness. And though the darkness comprehended it not and his own received him not, John had faith that some would receive him because in verse 12 he writes, But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12). It was this desire, for many to receive him and become the sons of God, which caused John to write. This in fact is the entire mission of the church and the Great Commission given to us by the Lord himself, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). This was John s intent for writing his Gospel. Herman Ridderbos comments, when he (John) says that he has written about these [signs] so that you may believe this means that in the way in which he has narrated and interpreted the signs the utterly unique character of Jesus mission as Messiah and Son of God comes to the fore, both christologically and soteriologically (Ridderbos, 652). Each story and conversation recorded in the Gospel points towards a belief in and a revelation of Jesus Christ and a personal salvific experience. For today s minister the Gospel of John is invaluable. It contains elements of the Oneness of God and the born again experience. When teaching bible studies to those who are seeking God I often suggest to first read the Gospel of John and then continue into the book of Acts. Laying this foundation gives the seeker everything they need to know to find God and obtain salvation. CONCLUSION The Apostle John endeavored to write a Gospel that would reach a global audience with light and truth. It was his heart s desire to accomplish and finish what the Lord commissioned and taught personally to the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 21:7). Clearly there are four distinct purposes for which the Apostle wrote. He emphasized the power and role of believing, he wrote a polemic to the impending heresy, revealed the mighty God in Christ and wrote as an evangelist to bring light into a lost and dying world. The Gospel of John had to be written. The world would be incom- 7
plete without it. John humbly admits with the last stroke of his pen, And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen (John 21:25). REFERENCES Docetism. (2011). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/ebchecked/topic/167323/docetism Kinzie, F. (1995). John: The Gospel That Had To Be Written. Hazelwood, MO: Word Aflame Press. Kysar, R. (2007). The Maverick Gospel (3rd Edition). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press. Kysar, R. (1986). ACNT 1, 2, 3 John. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing. Ridderbos, H. (1997). The Gospel of John. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co. Wildavsky, A. (2005). Moses as Political Leader, Jerusalem: Shalem Center 8