For our next class, please read Chapters 1-11 of John's gospel, concentrating on the first four chapters. Cite one thing John includes that *isn't* in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Suggest a reason that this material may have been more important to John than to the synoptic writers. What is John's purpose in including the "extra" material?Thursday, February 5, 2015
The Gospel of John--Discussion I
For our next class, please read Chapters 1-11 of John's gospel, concentrating on the first four chapters. Cite one thing John includes that *isn't* in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Suggest a reason that this material may have been more important to John than to the synoptic writers. What is John's purpose in including the "extra" material?
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One story that stood out to me was the story of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman. I don't believe that this story is in the synoptic gospels and I think what John is getting at here is that we are all people of God. It doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Samaritan or if you are a man or a woman. John is portraying the work of Jesus and the Word of God as something for anyone who is willing to accept it. I believe that John's Gospel doesn't focus completely on the Pharisees, the Saducees, or the Gentiles. He is putting a focus on a little more inclusion.
ReplyDeleteI chose the wedding at Cana. I think John added this because he wanted to say what was Jesus's first miracle. I think he also wanted to show how Mary really influences Jesus and people start believing more that he is the son of God. I think John just wants to tell the stories and not really have a point of view compared to the others. He does not write to Pharisees, Saducees, or Gentiles. He write for everyone to hear the truth.
ReplyDeleteMy Bible has a couple of notes about the Gospel of John. It says that “Jesus’ teaching stresses relationships: Jesus’ relationship with God the Father and our relationship with Jesus”. I would have to agree with this statement as evidenced by the first 18 verses of this gospel. John describes what existed in the very beginning, why Jesus was sent to this world, and why John the Baptist was sent as a preparer for the way of Jesus. John seems to use more flowery and descriptive imagery than the synoptic gospels, thus appealing more to emotions and giving readers a yearning to be connected to Jesus on a deeper level.
ReplyDeleteI believe that John is writing the "extra" stuff because he wants people to follow Jesus and his teachings more than just learn about Jesus (like Matthew, Mark, and Luke did). John came before Jesus as someone who would tell the people that He was coming and that they should prepare for his arrival. One way that John showed this in his Gospel was through the famous verse John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus is telling the Pharisee that one must believe in the Son of God if he wants to get to heaven. John included this because it follows along his idea of persuading people to follow Jesus so they can get to heaven.
ReplyDeleteI want to write about John 2:1-12. While I do agree with Donovan, this was probably put in to show Jesus' first miracle, I also think that it may have been put in there to show Jesus's relationship with his mother. In the other Gospels you don't really hear much about Jesus with his parents, other than his birth. In this chapter Jesus and his disciples are at a wedding party. His mother comes up to him and says "they have no more wine". I know that this isn't suppose to be funny, but I can totally picture Jesus rolling his eyes and saying "Really mom? I am here to save the world and you want me to turn water into wine? " And I completely lost it when I read the next line "5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (I am hearing it in my head as a Jewish mom from Brooklyn yelling at her son)
ReplyDeleteOk, with all seriousness, this was one of the first miracles Jesus preforms. It set the standard and I believe that is why John included it.
I also really like the Gospel of John because he calls Bartholomew Nathanael, and that is my name.
DeleteI think that one of the differences between John and the synoptic gospels is the fact that they choose to start off their stories with two different major events. John decides to start off with the creation of the world while Matthew, Mark, and Luke start off with the first event being Jesus' birth or in Mark's case he starts of with the baptism. This popped out to me because it is such an oblivious and obvious difference between John and the synoptic gospels. I personally think it makes more sense to start how John chooses to, but the others must have felt that Jesus' birth was the more important event to start off their stories with. I also think that John includes this type of extra stuff in order to be thorough in his descriptions, but also because I think he finds those details important to the background of the story.
ReplyDeleteJohn 4:13-14 "Jesus answered, 'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whosoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'"
ReplyDeleteThe passage comes from Jesus' interaction with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. Jesus asked the woman to draw some water for him from the well, but she thought herself not worthy to draw water for a Jew. She also questions how Jesus can give the living water when he has no implement to get water from Jacob's well. This also has her questioning why Jesus seems to be knocking Jacob. John must have thought this was important because it shows whoever believes the Word, whether Jewish or Samaritan, can be redeemed. The inclusion of this extra material shows it doesn't matter how you believe in God, just that you do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1agxWvxHOi4
Like others I found myself drawn to the first 18 verses of the book of John. It is so different from how the other books began. John appears to be more interested in establishing Jesus’s legitimacy as the Son of God without bothering to use the Jewish genealogy to do so. I both agree and disagree with this method.
ReplyDeleteOn the one hand God was around long before any of the Jews were. He existed long before Abraham even before the world. In the beginning he was the God of all of humanity not just Abraham and his decedents. He may have focused on the Jews for a time but his ultimate goal was always all of humanity not just a single group of humanity. On the other hand God made it clear through his profits that the Christ would be born of the bloodline of David in Bethlehem. So in a since by not going through the genealogy he is weakening his own position that Jesus is the Son of God.
Either way it make for a refreshingly different start if nothing else.
The Gospel of John is unique in the fact that doesn't start with Mary, Joseph, and Christ's birth. Instead, it introduces Christ with the proclamation of John the Baptist (not the same John as the Gospel writer) of "Prepare the way for the Lord.... There is One who comes after me whose sandals I'm not worthy to untie...". Following this is Jesus calling the first Disciples, along with the wedding feast at Cana.
ReplyDeleteBecause of this, we get a unique perspective from a disciple's perspective.