We have begun our journey through the gospel of John. John tells the story of Jesus in a very different way from Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John does include the temptation of Jesus, the Transfiguration, the Lord's supper, Jesus casting out demons, the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord's Prayer, or any narrative parables. However, John is the only gospel where we find Jesus visiting Jerusalem prior to the Passion, the early Galilean ministry, the Farewell Discourse, the story of Nicodemus, and the raising of Lazarus. John is more reflective is telling the story. The emphasis is not the "Kingdom of God" but "eternal life". John also saw us participating in that "eternal life" in the here and now. These are just some of the differences. We hope to discover more as we spend time with John.
The opening 18 verses of John are well known and well loved. One member in the group appreciated how John was able to capture the entirety of the gospel in 18 verses. These 18 verses serve as a prelude to the telling of the story. The use of the Word (Logos) was intentional to speak to a Greek audience. Greeks would have understood Logos as being the instrument of the Divine used to make creation happen since the Divine is perfect (Plato) and the material world is imperfect. The Divine needed an instrument. John identifies that creative instrument as Jesus, who not only was there at the beginning of creation, but took on flesh and came into the world so that we might know the heart of God. John provides an amazing witness that bridges the gap between the Greek and Christian world. The group was taken by the lengths God will go for the sake of us and this world. The group compared the grace of God to a GPS that is always making corrections to bring us home.
The group also spent time talking about enlightenment. Jesus, the light of the world, comes so that we might be enlightened. Enlightenment was understood as finally getting something. My son passed algebra in middle school and could have moved on in high school. He chose to take algebra again. What he said is the he could pass the test, but he really didn't get algebra. In high school, he took algebra again and the light came on. He got it and it made all the difference in the world. Enlightenment is when the light goes on and we get this faith business. Jesus comes so that we might come to truly know grace.
As I said, we are just beginning the gospel of John. Join us on Wednesday at noon or follow along on the blog. Either way, make the Book of Faith a part of your faith journey.
Pastor Summer
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