Abide

Read: John 20:30-31

The Gospel According to John as it is called in some translation of the Bible is as the title describes: good news from the perspective of the author, John the Apostle of Jesus. It was probably written in the late first century, and a tradition attributes the gospel to John, the Apostle of Jesus and one of the inner circle of Peter, James and John. John is unique among the four gospels in the Bible in that it differs in content and structure. Because of its authorship and the internal differences from the other gospels, most think that the content of the book of John is largely based eye-witness accounts of John himself and the eye witness of others. For more info on the Date and Authorship of John, check out the introduction to the book of John at bible.org.

John wrote his gospel with the intent of spelling out the life of Christ so that people would believe in Jesus and have life in his name(John 20:30-31). The content of the book should therefore point its readers towards faith in Jesus so they can have eternal life through him. John gives glimpses into the life of Christ before the week of his crucifixion. The content of these glimpses almost always attempt to establish some sort of spiritual truth about who Jesus is. Also, John places a great deal of importance on the crucifixion week as well giving it emphasis. The events surrounding the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus are quintessential elements to the Christian faith.

Theologically, John makes several points in his gospel throughout the book.

• Jesus is God
• Jesus is the Messiah
• Jesus is the only way to God
• Jesus came to make a way to eternal life
• Jesus’ love compels us to love others

As mentioned, John’s gospel was written so that its reader might believe in Jesus. The testimony of John points to Jesus and we can take his word for it. But when someone experiences Christ for the first time, they become like the Samaritans who heard who heard the woman at the well’s testimony. They were drawn to Jesus by the testimony of another but believed even more so when they experienced Jesus himself (John 4:42).

Your testimony of Jesus’ work in your life (and the lives of others for that matter!) is a powerful tool when talking to people about faith. Think about how you can be like John and communicate spiritual truth of Jesus through the events of your life and others.

Lord, help my life be a living testimony to who you are.