Misunderstanding of Jesus’ identity and origin

• Ignorance about Jesus’ origin and the source of His transcendent powers

  • Recurrence of the word <i>pothen</i>, πόθεν (“where from?”)
    • Jn 1:48 – Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
    • Jn 2:9 – When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom
    • Jn 4:11 – The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?
    • Jn 6:5 – Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?"
    • Jn 7:27 – But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from."
    • Jn 7:28 – So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, "You know me, and you know where I come from? But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know.
    • Jn 8:14 – Jesus answered, "Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
    • Jn 9:29 – We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from."
    • Jn 9:30 – The man answered, "Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.
    • Jn 19:9 – He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer.
  • Recurrence of the word <i>dynamai</i>, δύναμαι (“can”)
    • Jn 1:46 – Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
    • Jn 3:2 – This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him."
    • Jn 5:19 – So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
    • Jn 5:30 – "I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
    • Jn 6:52 – The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
    • Jn 9:16 – Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them.
    • Jn 9:33 – If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
    • Jn 10:21 – Others said, "These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
  • Recurrence of the word <i>pōs</i>, πῶς (“where from?”)
    • Jn 6:42 – They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
    • Jn 6:52 – The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
    • Jn 7:15 – The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?"

• Ignorance or misunderstanding about Jesus’ Identity

  • Jn 1:10 – He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
  • Jn 1:26 – John answered them, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know,
  • Jn 1:31 – I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."
  • Jn 1:33 – I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'
  • Jn 4:10 – Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."
  • Jn 4:12 – Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock."
  • Jn 5:12 – They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"
  • Jn 5:13 – Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.
  • Jn 6:14 – When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!"
  • Jn 7:3 – So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.
  • Jn 7:4 – For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world."
  • Jn 7:5 – For not even his brothers believed in him.
  • Jn 8:19 – They said to him therefore, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."
  • Jn 8:25 – So they said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been telling you from the beginning.
  • Jn 8:48 – The Jews answered him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?"
  • Jn 8:52 – The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, 'If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.'
  • Jn 8:53 – Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?"
  • Jn 9:21 – But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself."
  • Jn 9:24 – So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner."
  • Jn 9:25 – He answered, "Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
  • Jn 14:9 – Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
  • Jn 16:3 – And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.
  • Jn 20:14 – Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
  • Jn 21:4 – Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

• Questions or disputes about Jesus’ identity

  • Jn 6:42 – They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
  • Jn 7:12 – And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, "He is a good man," others said, "No, he is leading the people astray."
  • Jn 7:41 – Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Is the Christ to come from Galilee?
  • Jn 7:42 – Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?"
  • Jn 7:43 – So there was a division among the people over him.
  • Jn 7:52 – They replied, "Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee."
  • Jn 9:16 – Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them.
  • Jn 9:17 – So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."
  • Jn 10:19 – There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.
  • Jn 10:20 – Many of them said, "He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?"
  • Jn 10:21 – Others said, "These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
  • Jn 10:24 – So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

Misunderstanding of Jesus’ words

• The use of metaphors

  • The temple of His body
    • Jn 2:19 – Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
    • Jn 2:20 – The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?"
    • Jn 2:21 – But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
  • Being born from above
    • Jn 3:4 – Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
    • Jn 3:9 – Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?"
    • Jn 3:10 – Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?
  • Living water
    • Jn 4:11 – The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?
    • Jn 4:12 – Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock."
    • Jn 4:15 – The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."
  • Food
    • Jn 4:32 – But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."
    • Jn 4:33 – So the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought him something to eat?"
  • Bread from heaven
    • Jn 6:33 – For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
    • Jn 6:34 – They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
    • Jn 6:42 – They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
    • Jn 6:52 – The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
    • Jn 6:60 – When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?"
    • Jn 6:61 – But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Do you take offense at this?

• Words about where He is going

  • Jn 7:33 – Jesus then said, "I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.
  • Jn 7:34 – You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come."
  • Jn 7:35 – The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?
  • Jn 7:36 – What does he mean by saying, 'You will seek me and you will not find me,' and, 'Where I am you cannot come'?"
  • Jn 13:33 – Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.'
  • Jn 13:36 – Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward."
  • Jn 13:37 – Peter said to him, "Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."

• Words about His divinity

  • Jn 8:21 – So he said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come."
  • Jn 8:22 – So the Jews said, "Will he kill himself, since he says, 'Where I am going, you cannot come'?"
  • Jn 8:27 – They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.
  • Jn 8:33 – They answered him, "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, 'You will become free'?"
  • Jn 8:43 – Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
  • Jn 8:52 – The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, 'If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.'
  • Jn 8:53 – Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?"
  • Jn 8:56 – Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad."
  • Jn 8:57 – So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?"
  • Jn 8:58 – Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."
  • Jn 8:59 – So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
  • Jn 10:30 – I and the Father are one."
  • Jn 10:31 – The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.
  • Jn 10:32 – Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?"
  • Jn 10:33 – The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God."

• Words about the door of the sheep

  • Jn 10:6 – This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

• Words about Lazarus

  • Jn 11:11 – After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him."
  • Jn 11:12 – The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover."
  • Jn 11:13 – Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.
  • Jn 11:23 – Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
  • Jn 11:24 – Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."

• Words about His being lifted up

  • Jn 12:34 – So the crowd answered him, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"

• Words about the betrayer

  • Jn 13:21 – After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me."
  • Jn 13:22 – The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke.
  • Jn 13:27 – Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."
  • Jn 13:28 – Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him.
  • Jn 13:29 – Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the feast," or that he should give something to the poor.

• Words about the way and the Father

  • Jn 14:5 – Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"
  • Jn 14:7 – If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
  • Jn 14:8 – Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."
  • Jn 14:22 – Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?"

• Words about “a little while”

  • Jn 16:16 – "A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me."
  • Jn 16:17 – So some of his disciples said to one another, "What is this that he says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me'; and, 'because I am going to the Father'?"
  • Jn 16:18 – So they were saying, "What does he mean by 'a little while'? We do not know what he is talking about.”

• The use of figures of speech

  • Jn 16:25 – "I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.

• Words to Pilate

  • Jn 18:36 – Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world."
  • Jn 18:37 – Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world–to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice."
  • Jn 18:38 – Pilate said to him, "What is truth?"After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, "I find no guilt in him.

Misunderstanding of Jesus’ actions

• Jn 12:16 – His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.
• Jn 13:6 – He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?"
• Jn 13:7 – Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand."

Jesus’ elusive movements

• Withdrawal or hiding
  • Jn 5:13 – Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.
  • Jn 6:14 – When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!"
  • Jn 6:15 – Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
  • Jn 7:4 – For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world."
  • Jn 7:10 – But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private.
  • Jn 9:1 – As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
  • Jn 9:12 – They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."
  • Jn 11:54 – Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.
  • Jn 12:36 – While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
• Eluding or power over captors
  • Jn 7:30 – So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
  • Jn 7:44 – Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
  • Jn 8:59 – So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
  • Jn 10:39 – Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.
  • Jn 18:6 – When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.
• Unexpected movement
  • Abrupt narrative movement from Jerusalem to Galilee
    • Jn 6:1 – After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.
  • Walking on the sea
    • Jn 6:17 – got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
    • Jn 6:19 – When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.
    • Jn 6:21 – Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
  • Unclear movement
    • Jn 14:31 – but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
• Post-resurrection appearances
  • Jn 20:14 – Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
  • Jn 20:19 – On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
  • Jn 20:26 – Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
  • Jn 21:4 – Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

The words “seek” and “find” suggesting Jesus’ elusiveness or transcendence [footnote text="On a few occasions Jesus &quot;found&quot; someone after He had withdrawn from the scene (Jn 5:14; 9:35)."]

• Jn 1:38 – Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, "What are you seeking?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"
• Jn 1:41 – He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ).
• Jn 6:24 – So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
• Jn 6:25 – When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"
• Jn 6:26 – Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
• Jn 7:11 – The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, "Where is he?"
• Jn 7:34 – You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come."
• Jn 7:35 – The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?
• Jn 7:36 – What does he mean by saying, 'You will seek me and you will not find me,' and, 'Where I am you cannot come'?"
• Jn 8:21 – So he said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come."
• Jn 11:56 – They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?"
• Jn 13:33 – Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.'
• Jn 18:4 – Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?"
• Jn 18:7 – So he asked them again, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."
• Jn 18:8 – Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go."
• Jn 20:15 – Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."

Ignorance about Jesus’ food

• Jn 4:32 – But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."

Factors contributing to the disparity between Jesus and the people

• Jesus’ divinity

  • His signs
    • The signs which He did led to comments, questions, and even disputes about His identity. Examples:
      • Nicodemus’ comment based on the signs Jesus did (Jn 3:1-2)
      • The reaction of the people after Jesus’ feeding of the multitude (Jn 6:14)
      • The exchanges between the man healed of blindness and the Pharisees (Jn 9:16, 17, 24, 25, 29-33)
      • The response of the people to Jesus’ healing the blind man (Jn 10:21, 24)
  • His hour
    • Jesus operates according to His hour
      • He told His mother that His hour had not yet come (Jn 2:4).
      • He ushers in the hour of true worship (Jn 4:21, 23).
      • He ushers in the hour when the dead will live (Jn 5:25).
      • No one laid a hand on Him because His hour had not yet come (Jn 7:30; 8:20)
      • Only when His hour had come to be glorified could His captors arrest Him (Jn 12:23, 27; 13:1; 17:1)

• Different origins

  • Those who are from below do not accept He who is from above (Jn 3:11-12, 31; 8:23, 38, 44, 47).
  • Those who love darkness hate the light (Jn 3:19-20)
  • Those who are not of Jesus’ flock do not believe Him (Jn 10:26)
  • No one can come to Jesus unless the Father who sent Him draws him (Jn 6:44, 65).

• <topic id=“398” startswith=“” nth=“”>Excursus: Jesus’ Divinity in John</topic>

Identity of the beloved disciple

• Unique way of identifying this disciple of Jesus not found in the Synoptic Gospels
  • The Gospel according to John mentions in four places the disciple whom Jesus loved (Jn 19:26; 20:2; 21:7; 21:20).
  • At the Last Supper, he is identified as “one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved” (Jn 13:23) [footnote text=“The Greek relative pronoun, translated &quot;whom,&quot; is singular, referring to this one particular disciple whom Jesus loved.”] Later, in retrospect of the Last Supper, this disciple is called the disciple whom Jesus loved (Jn 21:20).
  • One of the two disciples of John who followed Jesus was not mentioned again in the passage (Jn 1:37)
  • The Bible makes reference to “another disciple” (Jn 18:15) and “the other disciple (Jn 18:16) at Jesus’ trial.
  • The one who witnessed the crucifixion was called “He who saw it” (Jn 19:35).
  • The disciple whom Jesus loved, who ran with Peter to Jesus’ tomb, is called “the other disciple” (Jn 20:2, 3, 8)
  • The writer of the Gospel is identified as “the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things.” (Jn 21:24).
• While we cannot be certain that all the above references point to the same person, we do notice similar traits in the disciple depicted in these passages.

Scenes involving the beloved disciple

• At the beginning of the Gospel (Jn 1:35-40)

  • Formerly a disciple of John (Jn 1:35)
  • Followed Jesus as a result of John’s testimony (Jn 1:36-37)
  • Wished to see where Jesus was staying and stayed with Him that day (Jn 1:38-39)
  • Identity left out and no further mention of him until the second major section of the Gospel (Jn 1:40)

• At the Last Supper (Jn 13:21-26)

  • Reclining in the bosom of Jesus (Jn 13:23)
    • The phrase “in the bosom” echoes Jn 1:18 and implies intimacy.
  • Reclined on the chest of Jesus and asked Him who the betrayer was (Jn 13:25; 21:20)
  • Jesus answered his question (Jn 13:26).

• At Jesus’ trial (Jn 18:15-16)

  • Followed Jesus at His arrest (Jn 18:15)
  • Known to the high priest (Jn 18:15-16)
  • Entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest (Jn 18:15)
  • Went out and brought Peter in (Jn 18:16)

• At the cross (Jn 19:26-27; 31-37)

  • Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near by. He said to His mother, “Behold, your son,” and to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” From that hour, the disciples took her to his own home (Jn 19:26-27).
  • Saw the piercing of Jesus’ side and the immediate flow of blood and water; bore true witness to what he saw so we may believe (Jn 19:34-35).

• At Jesus’ tomb (Jn 20:1-10)

  • Mary told Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved that the Lord was not in the tomb (Jn 20:2).
  • Peter and the beloved disciple went to the tomb. The beloved disciple outran Peter, reached the tomb first, stooped to look in, and saw the linen cloths lying there (Jn 20:3-5).
  • The beloved disciple, who had come to the tomb first, went into the tomb after Peter, saw and believed (Jn 20:8).
  • The disciples went back to their homes (Jn 20:10).

• At the Sea of Tiberias (Jn 20:1-14)

  • The beloved disciple is presumably one of the “two other disciples” who went with Peter to fish. That night they caught nothing (Jn 21:2-3).
  • Jesus stood on the shore. But they did not know that it was Jesus (Jn 21:4)
  • At Jesus’ words, they cast the net and caught a large number of fish (Jn 21:5-7). 
  • The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” (Jn 21:7)
  • The disciples got out on land. Jesus prepared breakfast for the disciples (Jn 21:8-14).
  • As Jesus was speaking with Peter, the disciple whom Jesus loved followed them. Peter saw him and asked Jesus about this disciple. Jesus replied, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (Jn 21:20-23)

• At the conclusion of the Gospel (Jn 21:24)

  • He is the one who bears true witness and has written these things (Jn 21:24).

Scenes in which the beloved disciple was set in contrast with Peter

• At the Last Supper, Peter motioned to the disciple whom Jesus loved, who was in the bosom of Jesus, to ask who the betrayer was (Jn 13:23-25; 21:20). The beloved disciple asked Jesus the question directly, whereas Peter only tried to find the answer indirectly and at a distance.
• The other disciple entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest. But Peter stood outside at the door (Jn 18:16).
• The other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first (Jn 20:4). Peter went in first, then the other disciple also went in (Jn 20:6-8). The Bible commented only on the other disciple, that he saw and believed (Jn 20:8).
• The disciple whom Jesus loved was the first to recognize the risen Jesus and said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Peter heard it, he put on his outer garment and threw himself into the sea (Jn 21:7).
• Peter asked Jesus about the disciple whom Jesus loved, “Lord, what about this man?” But Jesus told Peter, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (Jn 21:20-22)

Traits of the beloved disciple

• Anonymity

  • What stands out about the disciple of interest is the fact that the Gospel seems to deliberately avoid naming who this disciple was. As a witness for the Lord Jesus (Jn 21:24), the beloved disciple functions to direct the reader’s attention to the Lord rather than to himself. As the beloved of Jesus and having an especially close relationship with the Lord, the nameless disciple in the Gospel’s narrative also serves as a paradigm for all believers and followers of Christ.

• Love

  • The most explicit identification of this disciple is that he was the disciple whom Jesus loved.
  • Through descriptions of this disciples’ actions we discern his love for the Lord and for others. Some examples are
    • Being in Jesus’ bosom at the Last Supper (Jn 13:23)
      • In chapter 13, the mention of the beloved disciple is framed on both ends by Jesus’ love for His own (Jn 13:1) and Jesus’ command to love one another (Jn 13:34-35)
    • Bringing Peter into the court of the high priest (Jn 18:16)
    • Being entrusted with the care of Jesus’ mother (Jn 19:26-27)

• Devoted follower

  • Assuming that he is one of the two disciples of John, he was one of the first disciples to follow and remain with Jesus (Jn 1:37-39)
  • He went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest (Jn 18:15)
  • He was at the cross (Jn 26-27; 31-37)
  • He followed Jesus at the end of the Gospel as he did at the beginning (Jn 21:20, 22, 23). [footnote text=“Jesus mentioned the word &quot;remain&quot; when making reference to the beloved disciple (Jn 21:22, 23)—a word that also echoes Jn 1:38, 39.”]

• Faith and testimony

  • He testified to what he had seen at the cross (Jn 19:35)
  • He was the first to believe after Jesus’ resurrection (Jn 20:8)
  • He wrote the signs of Jesus that the readers may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing the readers may have life in Jesus’ name (Jn 20:30)
  • He testified of these things and wrote these things. His testimony is true (Jn 21:24)
  • As the narrator, he proclaims salvation through faith in the Son of God (Jn 3:16-18)

He was in the beginning

• John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 
• John 1:2 – He was in the beginning with God.
• Jn 1:15 – (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'”)
• Jn 1:30 – This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’
• Jn 6:62 – Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
• Jn 8:58 – Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
• John 17:5 – And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
• Jn 17:24 – Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

His unique identity

• He is God

  • John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
  • John 20:28 – Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

• He is the creator

  • John 1:3 – All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
  • John 1:10 – He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

• He is the only Son from the Father

  • John 1:14 – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

• He is the Son of God

  • John 1:34 – And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
  • John 1:49 – Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
  • John 10:36 – do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
  • John 11:27 – She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
  • John 20:31 – but these 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.
• He is the Christ
  • John 4:25 – The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 
  • John 4:26 – Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
  • John 11:27 – She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
  • John 20:31 – but these 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.

• He is the Savior of the world

  • John 4:42 – They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
  • John 10:9 – I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
  • John 12:47 – If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

His origin

• He is from heaven

  • John 3:13 – No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
  • John 3:31 – He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.
  • John 6:38 – For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
  • John 6:41 – So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
  • John 6:50 – This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
  • John 6:51 – I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
  • John 6:58 – This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
  • John 6:62 – Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
  • John 8:23 – He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

• His origin is unique

  • John 7:28 – So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know.
  • John 7:34 – You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.”
  • John 8:14 – Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
  • John 8:21 – So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”
  • John 13:33 – Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’
  • John 13:36 – Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”
  • John 14:2 – In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
  • John 14:4 – And you know the way to where I am going.”
  • John 16:5 – But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
  • John 16:28 – I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
  • John 17:16 – They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
  • John 17:24 – Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
  • John 18:36 – Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

His unique relationship to God the Father

• He is sent by the Father

  • John 3:17 – For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
  • John 3:34 – For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
  • John 4:34 – Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
  • John 5:23 – that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
  • John 5:24 – Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
  • John 5:30 – “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
  • John 5:36 – But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.
  • John 5:37 – And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen,
  • John 5:38 – and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.
  • John 6:29 – Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
  • John 6:38 – For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
  • John 6:39 – And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
  • John 6:44 – No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
  • John 6:57 – As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
  • John 7:16 – So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
  • John 7:18 – The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.
  • John 7:28 – So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 
  • John 7:29 – I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.”
  • John 7:33 – Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.
  • John 8:16 – Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.
  • John 8:18 – I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”
  • John 8:26 – I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”
  • John 8:29 – And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”
  • John 8:42 – Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
  • John 9:4 – We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.
  • John 10:36 – do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
  • John 11:42 – I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”
  • John 12:44 – And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.
  • John 12:45 – And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.
  • John 12:49 – For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.
  • John 13:20 – Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”
  • John 14:24 – Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
  • John 15:21 – But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.
  • John 16:5 – But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
  • John 17:3 – And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
  • John 17:8 – For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
  • John 17:18 – As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
  • John 17:21 – that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
  • John 17:23 – I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
  • John 17:25 – O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
  • John 20:21 – Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

• The Father gives Him…

  • The Father gives Him the Spirit without measure

    • John 3:34 – For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.

  • The Father has given all things into his hand

    • John 3:35 – The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.
    • John 13:3 – Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,
    • John 17:2 – since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
    • John 17:7 – Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.
    • John 17:10 – All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

  • The Father has given all judgment to Him

    • John 5:22 – For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
    • John 5:27 – And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

  • The Father has granted the Son also to have life in Himself

    • John 5:26 – For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

  • The Father gave Him work to accomplish

    • John 5:36 – But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.

  • The Father gave Him the charge to lay down and take up His life

    • John 10:18 – No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

  • The Father had given Him His disciples

    • John 6:37 – All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
    • John 6:39 – And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
    • John 10:29 – My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
    • John 17:6 – “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
    • John 17:9 – I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
    • John 17:24 – Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
    • John 18:9 – This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”

  • The Father has given Him His words

    • John 17:8 – For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.

  • The Father gave Him His name

    • John 17:11 – And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
    • John 17:12 – While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

  • The Father has given him a command

    • John 12:49 – For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.

  • The Father has given Him glory

    • John 17:22 – The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,

  • The Father has given Him the cup

    • John 18:11 – So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

• He calls God “My Father”

  • John 2:16 – And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”
  • John 5:17 – But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
  • John 5:43 – I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
  • John 6:32 – Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
  • John 6:40 – For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
  • John 8:19 – They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”
  • John 8:49 – Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.
  • John 8:54 – Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’
  • John 10:18 – No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
  • John 10:25 – Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me,
  • John 10:29 – My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
  • John 10:37 – If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;
  • John 14:2 – In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
  • John 14:7 – If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
  • John 14:20 – In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
  • John 14:21 – Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
  • John 14:23 – Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
  • John 15:1 – “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
  • John 15:8 – By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
  • John 15:10 – If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
  • John 15:15 – No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
  • John 15:23 – Whoever hates me hates my Father also.
  • John 15:24 – If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.
  • John 20:17 – Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”

• He and the Father are one

  • John 10:30 – I and the Father are one.”
  • John 10:38 – but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
  • John 14:10 – Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
  • John 14:11 – Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
  • John 14:20 – In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
  • John 17:11 – And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
  • John 17:21 – that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
  • John 17:22 – The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
  • John 17:23 – I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

• He is from the Father

  • Jn 1:14 – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
  • Jn 3:2 – This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”
  • Jn 6:46 – not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.
  • Jn 13:3 – Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,
  • Jn 16:27 – for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
  • Jn 16:28 – I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
  • Jn 16:30 – Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.”

• He speaks the words of His Father

  • Jn 3:34 – For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
  • John 7:16 – So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
  • John 12:49 – For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.
  • John 12:50 – And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
  • John 14:24 – Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
  • John 17:8 – For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
  • John 17:14 – I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

• He is working as His Father is working

  • John 5:17 – But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
  • John 5:18 – This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
  • John 10:32 – Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”
  • John 10:37 – If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 
  • John 10:38 – but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
  • John 14:10 – Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
  • John 17:4 – I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

• He is going to His Father

  • John 14:12 – “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
  • John 14:28 – You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
  • John 16:5 – But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
  • John 16:28 – I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
  • John 17:13 – But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
  • John 20:17 – Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”

• He is the Son of God

  • John 1:34 – And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
  • John 1:49 – Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
  • John 10:36 – do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
  • John 11:27 – She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
  • John 20:31 – but these 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.

• The Father glorifies Him

  • John 13:31 – When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 
  • John 13:32 – If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.
  • John 17:10 – All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.
  • John 17:22 – The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
  • John 17:24 – Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

• The Father shows Him what He Himself is doing

  • John 5:19 – So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 
  • John 5:20 – For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.
  • John 5:21 – For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
  • John 8:38 – I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

• He declares what He has heard from the Father

  • John 8:26 – I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”
  • John 8:28 – So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.
  • John 8:40 – but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.
  • John 15:15 – No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

• The Father loves Him

  • John 10:17 – For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
  • John 17:23 – I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
  • John 17:24 – Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
  • John 17:26 – I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

• He does as the Father commanded

  • John 12:49 – For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.
  • John 12:50 – And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
  • John 14:31 – but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
  • John 15:10 – If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

• The Father bears witness about Him

  • John 5:32 – There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.
  • John 5:37 – And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen,
  • John 8:18 – I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”

• He has come in His Father’s name

  • John 5:43 – I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
  • John 10:25 – Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me,
  • John 12:13 – So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

• He knows the Father

  • John 8:55 – But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.
  • John 10:15 – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
  • John 17:25 – O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.

• He was with God

  • John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 
  • John 1:2 – He was in the beginning with God.

• He has seen God

  • John 1:18 – No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
  • John 6:46 – not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.

• He sees what the Father is doing

  • Jn 5:19 – So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
  • Jn 8:38 – I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
  • Cf. Jn 3:11, 32

• The Father seeks His glory

  • John 8:50 – Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.
  • John 8:54 – Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’

• The Father always hears Him

  • John 11:41 – So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 
  • John 11:42 – I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”

• Whoever has seen Him has seen the Father

  • John 14:7 – If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
  • John 14:9 – Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

• All that the Father has is His

  • John 16:15 – All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
  • John 17:10 – All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

• He has manifested His Father’s name

  • John 17:6 – “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
  • John 17:26 – I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

• He had glory with the Father

  • John 17:5 – And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

• He is at the Father’s side

  • John 1:18 – No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

• He is consecrated by the Father

  • John 10:36 – do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?

• He abides in His Father’s love

  • John 15:10 – If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

• The Father is with Him

  • John 16:32 – Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.

• He judges with His Father

  • John 8:16 – Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.

• He is the only way to the Father

  • John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

He is the life

• John 1:4 – In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
• John 2:19 – Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
• John 2:22 – When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
• John 3:15 – that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
• John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
• John 3:36 – Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
• John 4:10 – Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
• John 4:13 – Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
• John 4:14 – but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
• John 4:50 – Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.
• John 4:51 – As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering.
• John 4:53 – The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.
• John 5:21 – For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
• John 5:24 – Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
• John 5:25 – “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
• John 5:26 – For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
• John 5:39 – You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,
• John 5:40 – yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
• John 6:27 – Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
• John 6:33 – For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
• John 6:35 – Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
• John 6:39 – And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
• John 6:40 – For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
• John 6:44 – No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
• John 6:47 – Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
• John 6:48 – I am the bread of life.
• John 6:50 – This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
• John 6:51 – I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
• John 6:53 – So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 
• John 6:54 – Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
• John 6:57 – As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
• John 6:58 – This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
• John 6:63 – It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
• John 6:68 – Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
• John 7:38 – Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
• John 8:12 – Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
• John 8:51 – Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
• John 10:9 – I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
• John 10:10 – The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
• John 10:11 – I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
• John 10:15 – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
• John 10:17 – For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
• John 10:28 – I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
• John 11:25 – Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 
• John 11:26 – and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
• John 12:1 – Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
• John 12:9 – When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
• John 12:17 – The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.
• John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
• John 14:19 – Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
• John 17:2 – since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
• John 17:3 – And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
• John 20:31 – but these 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.
• John 21:14 – This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

He is the light of the world

• Jn 1:4 – In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
• Jn 1:9 – The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
• Jn 3:19 – And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
• Jn 3:20 – For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
• Jn 3:21 – But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God.”
• John 9:5 – As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
• John 9:39 – Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”
• John 12:35 – So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 
• John 12:36 – While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
• John 12:46 – I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

He revealed the Father’s glory

• John 1:14 – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
• John 2:11 – This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

He has authority to take up His life again

• John 2:19 – Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
• John 10:17 – For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
• John 10:18 – No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

He gives peace not as the world gives

• John 14:27 – Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
• John 16:33 – I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

He gives the right to be children of God

• John 1:12 – But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

No one has authority over Him

• John 19:11 – Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

He has divine knowledge

• He knew Nathanael

  • John 1:48 – Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

• He knew all people and what is in man

  • John 2:24 – But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 
  • John 2:25 – and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.
  • John 5:42 – But I know that you do not have the love of God within you.
  • John 13:10 – Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.”

• He knew what the Pharisees had heard

  • John 4:1 – Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John

• He knew the Samaritan woman’s past and present

  • John 4:17 – The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 
  • John 4:18 – for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

• He foretold the future

  • John 2:19 – Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
  • John 2:22 – When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
  • John 13:19 – I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.
  • John 13:38 – Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

• He knew what He would do

  • John 6:6 – He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

• He knew that the people were about to make Him king

  • John 6:15 – Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

• He knew the grumbling of His disciples

  • John 6:61 – But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?

• He knew who would not believe and who would betray Him

  • John 6:64 – But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)
  • John 13:11 – For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

• He knew His hour and His origin

  • John 13:1 – Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
  • John 13:3 – Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,

• He knew whom He had chosen

  • John 13:18 – I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’

• He knew that the disciples wanted to ask Him

  • John 16:19 – Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’?

• He knows all things

  • John 16:30 – Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.”
  • John 21:17 – He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

• He knew all that would happen to Him

  • John 18:4 – Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”

• He knew that all was now finished

  • John 19:28 – After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”

He performed signs and miraculous deeds

• He saw Nathanael under the fig tree (John 1:48)
• He turned water to wine (John 2:1-11)
• He was doing signs in Jerusalem (John 2:23; 4:45)
• He told the Samaritan woman all that she had done (John 4:17, 18, 29)
• He healed the official’s son (John 4:46-54)
• He healed the invalid by the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-9)
• He fed the crowd (John 6:1-14)
• He healed the sick (John 6:2)
• He walked on water (John 6:16-21)
• He spoke like no one had (John 7:46)
• He hid from the crowd that was stoning Him (John 8:59)
• He healed the man born blind (John 9:1-7)
• He escaped from those who sought to arrest Him (John 10:39)
• He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44; 12:9)
• He foretold His betrayal (John 13:18, 19, 21-30)
• He foretold Peter’s denial (John 13:38; 18:27)
• His arresters fell to the ground at His word (John 18:6)
• He resurrected from the dead (John 2:19, 22; 10:18; 20:1-9)
• He appeared to the disciples (John 20:11-29; 21:1-23)
• He did many other signs in the presence of the disciples (John 20:30)
• He gave the disciples a miraculous catch of fish (John 21:4-6)

He fulfilled Scripture’s prophecies

• He is the offspring of David and comes from Bethlehem (John 7:42)
• He sat on a young donkey (John 12:14-16)
• They did not believe in Him (John 12:38-39)
• He was betrayed (John 13:18)
• They hated Him (John 15:24-25)
• The soldiers divided His garments and cast lots for His tunic (John 19:23-24)
• He said “I thirst” (John 19:28)
• Not one of His bones was broken (John 19:31-36)
• His side was pierced (John 19:33-37)
• He rose from the dead (John 20:9)

He is greater than the fathers and prophets

• He is greater than John

  • John 1:15 – (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”)
  • John 5:36 – But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.
  • John 3:30 – He must increase, but I must decrease.” 
  • John 3:31 – He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.

• He is greater than Moses

  • John 1:17 – For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
  • John 1:45 – Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
  • John 5:46 – For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.

• He is greater than Jacob

  • John 4:12 – Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”

• He is greater than Abraham

  • John 8:53 – Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?”
  • John 8:56 – Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”
  • John 8:58 – Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

He would come to His disciples

• John 14:18 – “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
• John 14:19 – Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
• John 16:16 – “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”
• John 16:25 – “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.

Related Topics

• <topic id=“845” startswith=“” nth=””>Jesus’ Divinity</topic>
• <topic id=“804” startswith=“” nth=””>Excursus: Jesus’ Elusiveness in John</topic>
• <topic id=“747” startswith=“” nth=””>“Signs” in John</topic>
• <topic id=“749” startswith=“” nth=””>“I am” in John</topic>
• <topic id=“386” startswith=”Jesus” nth=”1”>“Know” in John</topic>
• <topic id=“390” startswith=“” nth=””>Son of Man, Sons of Man</topic>

• John 1 presents “the Word” without any modifier [footnote text=“Such as, &quot;the word of God,&quot; &quot;the word of life,&quot; or &quot;the word that was spoken.&quot;”] or prior introduction of its identity. [footnote text=“&quot;The word&quot; is also used without any modifier in some other places, such as Mk 2:2; 4:15; Acts 8:25; 11:19; Phil 1:14 etc. But the contexts of these passages indicate that “the word” in these verses are a reference to the word that was preached.”]
• “The Word” is identified with God: He was God (Jn 1:1).
• “The Word” takes on personal qualities: He became flesh (Jn 1:14).

• A “word,” (λόγος, logos), is a spoken form of communication. Its function is to express the speaker’s mind, emotion, and will (cf. Mt 12:34).
• Used absolutely with the definite article, as in John chapter 1, “the Word” suggests that it is a communication that surpasses all other “words.”

• “The Word” in John 1:1-2 is closely associated with God
  • He was in the beginning
  • He was with God
  • He was God
• Therefore, “the Word” is the ultimate expression of God who communicates God’s thoughts and will as well as God’s being.

• A speaker’s word reveals and expresses the speaker’s identity. As such, “the word of the king is supreme” (Ecc 8:4) because the king has supreme authority.
• Creation through the Word
  • All things and the world were made through the Word (Jn 1:3, 10). God the Creator acted through the Word.
  • Psalms 33:6 – By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
• The Word is life
  • In the Word was life (Jn 1:4). God, the Lord of life, gave life to men through the Word.
  • In the Old Testament, God’s word likewise carried life (Deut 32:47; Ps 119:50).
• The Word is light
  • The Word is the truth light that gives light to everyone (Jn 1:4-5, 9)
  • God’s word is also depicted as light (Ps 119:105, 130)
• The Word acts
  • In John 1, the Word is not merely a voice or a writing, but He acts in the created world
    • He came into the world (Jn 1:9, 11)
    • He gives the right to become children of God (Jn 1:12)
    • He became flesh and dwelt among us (Jn 1:14)
    • He made God the Father known (Jn 1:18)
  • Similarly, we see that God’s word also acted in the Old Testament
    • The word of the LORD came (e.g. Gen 15:1; Jer 1:2, etc).
    • The word of the LORD at times was more than a voice, but also involved a visual experience (Isa 1:1; Amos 1:1; Mic 1:1)
    • The word of the LORD went forth to accomplish God’s purpose (Isa 55:10-11).
• Jesus Christ is the ultimate Word
  • Outside of the Gospel according to John
    • The prophet like Moses whom God would raise up is the Lord Jesus (Deut 18:15; Acts 3:22, 23). God’s command is that we must hear whatever He tells us. The identification of Jesus as that prophet finds its parallel in John 1 in the identification of Jesus as the Word. We must hear everything that the Word tells us because He is the very expression of God Himself.
    • Moses spoke about the commandment that is neither too hard or far off. The word is very near us. It is in our mouth and in our heart, so that we can do it (Deut 30:11-14). Paul interprets the word as Christ when speaking about the word of faith (Rom 10:6-9). As such, Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the word of God in the Old Testament.
    • God spoke by the prophets in the past at many times and in many ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son (Heb 1:1-2). The Bible places Jesus Christ the Son of God side by side with the prophets of old and contrasts them. Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God in these last days who surpasses all the prophets before Him. Through Him God speaks to us. Therefore, He is “the Word.” Incidentally, Hebrews 1:2 also mentions that God created the world through His Son. The parallel with John 1 is striking.
  • In the context of John
    • The theme that Jesus is the Word pervades the Gospel according to John and is the central message of the book.
    • Structurally, John 1:1 and 1:18 form the opening and closing of John’s prologue and the two verses are thus closely related. In verse 18, the Gospel tells us that Jesus, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known (Jn 1:18). The word for “make known” means to report. Jesus is the Word because He fully reveals to us God the Father whom no one has seen.
    • Jesus speaks and does what the Father commands Him (Jn 7:16; 12:49, 50; 14:24, 31; 15:10; 17:8, 14)
    • Jesus does the work of the Father (Jn 5:17, 36; 10:32, 37, 38; 14:10; 17:4)
    • Jesus manifested the Father’s name (Jn 17:6, 26)
    • Jesus is one with the Father (Jn 10:30, 38; 14:10, 11, 20; 17:11, 21-23)
    • Seeing Jesus is seeing the Father (Jn 14:7, 9)