The Gospel of John

John's Gospel has a value which increases beyond that of the others. The synoptic gospels tell us principally about what Jesus. The Gospel of John speaks more about who Jesus is, and this is of great importance in the current age of consumerism and self-image. It was crucial to John that Jesus was a real human being who lived at a particular point in time in a backwater of the Roman Empire. His great statement "The Word became flesh......and we have seen his glory" is an assertion that encountering the particular and the physical Jesus is a way, the way above all others, for humans to draw near to God.

In this gospel we find the great "I am" sayings of Jesus. "I am the Light of the World" - "I am the Bread of Life" - "I am the Good Shepherd" - "I am the True Vine" - "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life". When the church of the fourth and fifth centuries strove to articulate its doctrine of the Trinity it was the gospel of John to which it turned as its main biblical resource.

We hear in this gospel of water which meets the human needs of a thirsty Jesus, life-giving water that springs from the side of the crucified Jesus, water linked to the coming of the Spirit, water as a vehicle of baptism.

It is noticeable that this gospel does not include reference to two key incidents chronicled in the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. In John we find no record of Jesus instituting Holy Communion at the Last Supper and neither do we find the story of the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan river. We are told that at the time this gospel was written people were treating these sacraments almost like magical events to be taken like pep pills. John wishes to demonstrate that these sacraments are related not simply to one moment in Jesus' life but to his whole self-giving life and ministry, summed up in a sacrificial death.

This great gospel of John has been cherished down the ages by the church because it was written for those who were not eye witnesses of Jesus' life, or their contemporaries. From his "eye in the sky" view John saw things in a perspective that makes sense to our generation for whom Jesus has been the lynch-pin of history.

My favourite story is from the end of John's narrative where Jesus challenges Peter, Saying, "Simon Peter, do you love me?" "Yes, Lord," says peter, "you know I love you!" Jesus replied, "Then feed my sheep." Sitting by this beach barbecue that include some of the great haul of fish, Jesus shared with his friends the mission to follow. They were eating the food they had sought all night but could not catch and it was a reminder of the food they were to offer in days to come. It is our reminder that we, in our time, are called to be "fishers of men" and also to feed those sheep that belong to Jesus, even though they deny it.

This redemptive work of the church will never be finished. All through our lives as Christians will be threaded a golden sacramental strand linking us to a saviour who gave up his life that we may have life in God's service.

As I have stated, this is the gospel that says who Jesus was and is. But it seems to me that it is also calling for a response from us. The story of Nicodemus tells us that we must be born again and ultimately the gospel closes with the same message. Reading through John's gospel keep on remembering, "So the Word became flesh; he made his home among us, and we saw his glory, such as befits the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth."

".......So Peter there is work for you to do. You are going to leave the fish business, which you know so well; you're going to leave it for good, and you're going into the sheep business, which at the moment you know precious little about. I want you to feed my lambs. I want you to look after my sheep. I want you to be you, because I love you and have redeemed you; and I want you to work for me, because out there are other people that I love, and I want you to be my word-become-flesh, my love sitting with them, praying with them, crying with them, celebrating with them. And how can you do it?........Peter, don't just tell them in words. Turn the words into flesh once more. tell them by the marks of the nails in your hands. tell them by your silent sharing of their grief, by your powerful and risky advocacy of them when they have nobody else to speak up for them. Tell them by giving up your life for them, so that when they find you they will find me. And Peter, remember: follow me."

John's is the gospel for us. Written for those who never saw Jesus, it speaks of what he did, where he went, to whom he spoke, but most importantly that Jesus is the word made flesh. John speaks about Jesus and he speaks about the real thing. We are linked not to baptism and a supper with friends but to a living Jesus who taught that everyday things like bread and water are the tangible signs of grace. This the gospel in which we read of the raising of Lazarus from death as a precursor to the resurrection of Jesus. He tells us who he is through the "I am" sayings. This is the gospel with the vast panoramic view of Christ's ministry in which we learn the truth