Truth Revealed

The Message of the Gospel of John—Then and Now

Robert P. Vande Kappelle

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781498202213
• Topic: Teologia e religione
• Subtopic: Studi biblici

If the New Testament represents the crown jewels of Christianity, the Gospel of John is its "pearl of great price, " the most beloved, most read, most quoted, most distinctive, most memorable, most debated book in its canon. Truth Revealed is ideal for individual and group study. It divides the Gospel of John into twelve units, providing helpful introductory features, summaries, learning objectives, and questions for each unit, and concludes by offering perspective on a specific topic that arises as one follows the narrative, always with an eye on the big picture, namely, guidance for daily living.Few sayings attributed to Jesus are better known or more widely quoted than the words "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8: 32). At his trial before Pilate, Jesus declared that his purpose in life was to witness to the truth. Pilate responds with the Gospel's most memorable question: "What is truth?" The answer is explored in Truth Revealed, a commentary that provides literary, theological, historical, and textual guidelines for understanding the message of this ancient work in a way that is accessible and applicable to twenty-first century readers.

Part I

Beginnings

(John 1:1–18)

chapter 1

John’s Prologue

(John 1:1–18)

Summary: The prologue provides readers with initial, reliable exposition of the identity of Jesus. We are told that Jesus is the Word, the true light, the Word that became flesh, and the only Son from the Father. Verses 9–13 summarize the plot: the true light comes into the world, but the world does not recognize him; he comes to his own people, but his own do not receive him; nevertheless, those who believe in his name are empowered to become “children of God.” As the story unfolds, Jesus’ identity as God’s Revealer is attested by a host of witnesses, beginning with John the Baptist.

Assignment: Read John 1:1–18

Key Passage: John 1:14

Central Theme: Jesus is God’s Word

Key Symbols/Concepts: Word (Logos), life, light, darkness, the world, belief, children of God, flesh, glory, grace, truth

Learning Objectives

Participants will examine:

1. The nature and mission of Jesus in relation to God, the world, and his followers

2. The themes in the passage and their relation to the rest of the Gospel

3. The literary nature of this passage

4. The relation of this passage to other Christological passages in the New Testament

5. The Jewish background of John’s Gospel

6. Ways to interpret John’s symbolic and technical language

7. The Logos Christology of John

Outline to John 1:1–18

I. The Word and God 1:1–2

II. The Word and Creation 1:3–5The Word and John 1:6–8

III. The Word and the World 1:9–13

IV. The Word and the Community 1:14–18

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

The central theme of John, as of the New Testament, is Jesus of Nazareth, a wandering preacher of the first century who changed the course of history. It is he who personifies “truth,” who answers the question “what is truth?” by pointing to himself as “the way, the truth, and the life” (14:6). For Christians in the Johannine community and for Christians ever since, “truth” is not an abstract concept but a person: Jesus the Christ, who embodies a way of living, thinking, and believing that enables believers to live life abundantly as children of God. To know Jesus in that way is to know the truth (8:32).

Truth, for John as for the rest of the Bible, is neither an abstract concept nor a body of knowledge that can be known in one’s head. It can only be known in relationship. The concept of knowing, for John as for the rest of scripture, is less about certainty and more about intimacy. In Genesis 4:1 we read that Adam “knew his wife Eve,” a form of knowing that includes the deepest level of relationship, including emotional, spiritual, and physical intimacy. In John’s Gospel, knowing the truth pertains to the process whereby humans may:

1. Know (experience) God (1:18), not in the sense of comprehending God’s essence, but recognizing God’s benevolent intention toward humanity and all nature as Creator. When humans speak of “knowing” God, they are primarily speaking of experiencing God’s love, for love is the only kind of union between persons of which they have any possible experience;

2. Know (experience) Jesus (20:31), not in the sense of comprehending Trinitarian essence, but recognizing Christ’s benevolent intention as bringer of Life; and

3. Know (experience) the power and possibilities incumbent in their status as children of God (1:12), described as “having [abundant] life” (10:10; 20:31) or as “having eternal life” (3:16).

The ways of the world may be partial truths, lesser understandings of what is true, but Jesus, the “true light,” sheds light on human darkness. With the coming of Jesus, what is real, eternal, and good becomes fully knowable. This Light is the only true light; it is the light that “enlightens everyone.” For John there is no other truth.

John’s Gospel is written as a mystery or detective story, with cryptic clues strategically located for readers to follow. The author sets up a series of pointers for his audience, using the word sēmeia (“signs”) for clues to guide and move readers through the narrative. The signs, taken together, point to the climax of the story, confirming what Jesus had promised he would do for his followers when, early in the narrative, he indicates to a fledgling disciple (Nathanael, whose name means “gift of God,” represents the ideal seeker) that he would see heaven opened (1:51), an experience likened to that of Jacob, who saw the angels of God ascending and descending at the intersection of heaven and earth, and which, for the Church, is the place where truth is revealed, it being the place where Jesus is. Like Nathanael, people of faith are told they will experience moments “when heaven is opened, when the transforming power of God’s love bursts in to the present world.”13 That promise, as John explains in 20:31, is why he is writing this Gospel.

At first glance, John’s explicit statement of purpose in 20:31 appears “the clearest statement of literary intentionality anywhere in the Bible,”14 until we examine the grammatical form of the verb “believe.” While the goal is clear (that believers might have life in Jesus’ name), the meaning of “belief” is problematic. Some ancient manuscripts contain a verbal form (aorist subjunctive) best translated “may come to believe” (pisteusēte), while other manuscripts have a form (present subjunctive) that should be translated “may continue to believe” (pisteuēte). The difference between the two Greek words is slight, only a single letter, but the difference in meaning is significant. The first suggests that the Gospel was written with an evangelistic (apologetic) purpose, to bring people to faith for the first time, whereas the second reading suggests an edificatory (pastoral) purpose, associated with faithfulness, in which case the primary purpose of the Gospel would be to sustain current believers, that they might abide and remain in Jesus as a matter of faithfulness, not abandoning the community as the schismatics of the epistles appear to have done. Both meanings can be found throughout John.

Those who see an evangelistic intent in John appeal to three factors: (1) the many witnesses presented in the Gospel—John the Baptist, the Samaritan woman, the man born blind, the Father, the Paraclete, Jesus’ works, Moses, the Beloved Disciple, even Jesus’ followers—whose primary role is to testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; (2) the so-called signs of Jesus, given to evoke faith, as 20:20–21 suggests; and (3) numerous references to scripture being fulfilled in Jesus, introduced to confirm the authenticity of Jesus’ mission and to demonstrate th...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part I: Beginnings
• Part II: The Public Ministry of Jesus
• Part III: The Public Ministry of Jesus
• Part IV: The Private Ministry of Jesus
• Part V: The Glorification of Jesus
• Part VI: New Beginnings
• Epilogue
• Appendix
• Bibliography