The Gospel according to John

Having discussed the gospel as recorded by Matthew, Mark and John, we now come to the gospel recorded by the disciple, John. Like how the gospel differs in the essence of revelation given their respective authors, so John’s record stands out as one that is written to bring across a divine revelation that unveils Jesus as God in flesh, as Emmanuel (God with us). He uses the deity of Christ as theme and his record of the gospel revolves around knowing the invisible God through the visible Jesus.

Word became flesh

Matthew began his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus, so as to present Jesus as the Messiah, the “Seed” who descended from the line of Abraham and David. Faithful recording of the Lord Jesus’ works in Mark showed Jesus to be the Son of Man, the Servant of God and; a detailed recount of his virgin birth in Luke revealed Him as the Savior of the world. John, in opening the gospel, brought us back to remember the very foundation of all creation, showing that Jesus was indeed the very force of creation Himself - “In the beginning was the Word….”, we read in John 1:1; then back in Gen. 1:1 we see that God created the universe through His spoken word. Besides being the force of creation, Jesus was also the agent in creation - Gal. 1:16-17 and Heb. 1:2 tell us that it was through Jesus that God created the worlds, and through Him that life form is being sustained and matter held together in place. Every and any created thing, be it spiritual or not, was made by Him and through Him. Jesus marks the beginning and indeed punctuates also the end. He is both the Alpha as well as the Omega (Rev. 1:8).

Such was the deity and glory of the Lord Jesus, yet He laid aside these to become “flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14). The revelation of this truth brings us two points for consideration:

1. Jesus expresses the heart and mind of God

Like how our words represent the thoughts of our hearts and mind and therefore are a reflection of our nature, so Jesus being the Word of God (John 1:1,14) represents and reveals the nature of God - “For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form (giving complete expression of the divine nature)”_ (Col. 1:9 Amp). We however also know that the Bible is the word of God recorded for us (2 Tim. 3:16). Thus, Jesus is He who is both being spoken of in the Bible and who speaks to us through the Bible.

In view of what we have just read, that the Word of God communicates to us the nature and thoughts of God and that the Word of God is at the same time a reference to the Lord Jesus Himself, we know that the Bible is indeed one great resource for us who wants to know God i.e. know about His love, grace, mercy, compassion, severity etc. Indeed, we encourage all of us to be diligent in gaining for ourselves the full counsel of God’s Word. This means that we need to know that which have been written in the Bible, from the first scripture in the book of Genesis all the way to the last word in the book of Revelation. Then, not only do we know the nature and thoughts of God, but from applying the principles and ways that we would have picked up from the Word, we will also have prosperity and success in our lives.

Therefore, for the honour, glory and joy of knowing God and walking successful Christian lives, let us take/continue in the first step of knowing the Bible (the written Word). From there, when we yield ourselves to Him, the Spirit of Christ (the spoken and living Word) within us will take our hand and guide us through the written word to reveal more of the heartbeat and mind of the Father (Jn. 16:16:12-13).

2. Force of creation

In Rev. 1:8, Jesus made Himself known as the ‘Alpha’ and ‘Omega’, the words ‘Alpha’ and ‘Omega’ being the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet, respectively. This being the case, can we then say that anything that can be formed in words (i.e conceivable in the human context) can be manifested in the physical realm through the power of Jesus? If we are able to accept this, then let us add also that this explains the working of creative miracles in Christianity (‘creative’ in the sense that the miracle works to call things into existence out of no tangible matter at all e.g. causing an eyeball to take form and fill the place in an empty eye socket of a person). Why is this possible? Only because Jesus is the force of creation. There is nothing impossible for Him. Knowing this, let us not despair in times of need as if there is no deliverance that can be found, but stirring and lifting our faith, let us approach God in prayer. Where there seems to be no way, He can make a way - creative miracle (Is. 43:19).

Jesus, the Bread of Life (John 6:35)

In John 6:31-35, the people challenged Jesus to showing them a sign as an indication of his power, reminding Him at the same time of how their fathers received a sign when manna fell from heaven and they ate of it in the desert. Jesus’ response to them addressed two issues. Firstly, it was not Moses who provided them with the food, but God who did. Then, even the manna which their fathers ate was not the “true bread from heaven” but that the “true bread from heaven” was He (Jesus) Himself.

Jesus showed them the superiority of the bread of life to the manna of the wilderness. The manna was given to sustain physical life, but not to impart life. It was given only to Israel, but not to the rest of the world. The true bread which comes down from heaven, however, gives life to men, and not just to one nation but also to all who would receive it. As the Bread of Life, Jesus is the source of all sustenance and satisfaction of both our physical and spiritual needs. In Him, we truly have no lack (Matt. 6:33; Eph. 1:3). Nevertheless, just as how the manna sustained and satisfied only the Israelites who ate of it in the wilderness, so Jesus is also able to sustain and satisfy only those who are willing to come and eat and drink (believe) of Him (John 6:35).

This recount of how Jesus declared Himself to be the Bread of Life causes us to recall the symbolic of bread in the Lord’s Supper. In Matt. 26:26, Jesus took the bread …… saying “Take and eat, this is my body…”. The bread which was broken during the Last Supper is symbolic of Jesus’ death, of how His body would be broken (in the crucifixion) for us. “He was crushed for our iniquities…..” (Isa. 53:5). Also, “….. by His wounds, we are healed.” Jesus is not only the source of sustenance and satisfaction, but also the savior and healer of the world. Having the Bread of Life, we certainly have everything that we need for living.

Jesus, the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5)

We would not know what light is if there was never darkness in the first place. The reality however, is that the world is in the darkness of sin, ignorance and aimlessness. Jesus makes Himself known as the Light of the world. There is no other ‘light’; apart from Him, there would be no deliverance from the darkness of sin, no guidance along the way of life and, no knowledge as to the real meaning of life, what more the issues of eternity! However, to all of us who would follow Him, He promised that we would not tread in darkness, but would have the light with us.

1. Jesus enlightens us

While He was walking with men, Jesus was the light of the world in a very direct and special way. People saw the light before their very eyes as Jesus carried out His ministry among the multitudes, teaching and performing miracles in their midst.

When He ascended to heaven after His resurrection, however, Jesus did not stop being the light of the world. Indeed, He promised that He would pray the Father for the Spirit of truth who would come to dwell in us. He then continued by saying “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” (Jn. 14:16-18) By this, Jesus was not trying to introduce us to a whole new spirit all together. Rather, He was trying to tell us that the Holy Spirit who lives in us today, the Spirit of truth whom He was telling them about, is really He coming to us in a different form i.e. in spirit rather than in flesh. The disciples were used to having the light in flesh, now they have to get used to having the light in spirit.

Today, Jesus is still the light of the world to those who live in the darkness of sin, ignorance and aimlessness, but at the same time, He is also the light to the believers who trust in Him. He does this by abiding in us, guiding us and illuminating our minds to see the truth in His word (Jn. 16:13, 1 Jn. 2:27; Ps. 36:9). As we continue to abide in Jesus (the Light), our understanding will be enlightened day by day.

1. He enables us to shine as light

If the light of the world (Jesus in spirit form) dwells in us, is it not possible that we reflect this light? “Let your light so shine before men..”, Jesus commands in Matt. 5:16. We are also enabled to be the light of the world because the Light now lives in us. Know however that our ability to shine comes not from ourselves, but from God Himself. We are told to “let” our light shine before men, not “make” our light shine before men. We are but vessels; we do not shine, but our light, Jesus - it is He in us who shines. To allow a brighter radiation of the light, we must let Him dwell in us richly.

1. He empowers us to walk in holiness

Picture yourself in a dark dungeon without any openings. The whole place is dark, except for a corner which is lit by a solitary torch by the wall. We may be in the darkest end of the dungeon, but if keep our eyes on the faintest ray of light cast by the flaming torch and walk in the direction towards it, we realise that because we are facing the light and progressing towards it, the shadows we cast would be behind us and not before. As a result, the area around us becomes brighter and will be brighter still as we near the torch of light. If, however, one were to walk in the opposite direction i.e. away from the torch, then the shadows we cast will be projected before (in front of) us, darkening the area right before us. The further we walk away from the torch, the dimmer our surroundings get, and indeed, one could walk far enough to even beyond reach of the ray of light. He/she then comes to a point where total darkness envelopes.

1 John 1:5 tells us that “…God is light; in Him there is no darkness.” By continuing to walk towards Him, God being the light will dispel our darkness and doubt, and indeed, even the deepest darkness cannot withstand but be scattered in the presence of the light. By focussing on God instead of our struggle with sin, we allow ourselves to be cleansed from our sins and, yes, even the strongholds of sin would be broken and cast down by the light of God.

When, however, does one walk from the light? You know when this happens - that’s the time when you are drifting away from the presence of God. This is when you find yourself not giving the same passion into building the relationship as you used to; also when you find that you are beginning or even already neglecting your devotion time and prayer time with God. When these things happen, you know that you are walking away from rather than towards the light, at which time you also must not delay any further but immediately re-position yourself to walk in the right direction. For when Jesus calls us to walk in holiness, He did not intend for us to do that by our own strength, but for us to turn to Him, the light of the world.

Jesus, the Door of the sheepfold (John 10:9)

We know that Jesus is the only door too salvation (John 10:9), but here, we want to recognise Jesus as also being the door of the sheepfold (John 10:7). Jesus is the door to the sheepfold if we want to minister to His sheep; and whoever does not enter through Him, this person Jesus calls a thief and a robber (John 10:1). The true shepherds of the sheep of course are those who have entered through the Door (John 10:2). Many who are not careful may end up entering the sheepfold through other means e.g. by the favour of men, scholastic recognition etc. But let us not be deceived, for Jesus says “he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1). And if we find ourselves in this position, then we also realise that we have allowed ourselves to become instruments which the devil may use to bring disturbance to the sheep, for “the thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” (John 10:10) This is not to say that people in this scenario are the devil’s workmen who harbour ill intentions towards the sheep; rather, it is to warn that if these people could be led to enter the sheepfold through other ways rather than the prescribed door (Jesus) in the first place, then they could most likely also be manipulated by the devil to bring unrest to God’s fold.

Jesus has come that we may have life and have it more abundantly (Jn. 10:10). If we truly enter the sheepfold by the Door, then our ministry should bring life to the people and lead them into more abundant life in Christ. The following favour will then be upon their ministry:

1. Spiritual authority and favour - “the sheep hear his voice” (Jn. 10:3)

True spiritual authority does not come along by ordination, position, qualification etc.; but it comes to those who have the authority abiding in them. People truly called and sent by the Lord, God will cause the people in their ministry to recognise the authority that abides in us and these will submit and obey us as we lead.

1. Direction and support - “he goes ahead of them, and his sheep follow him …..” (Jn. 10:4-5)

Those who enter by the Door will have a clear direction of what lies ahead and what is to come. These leaders will be ahead of the sheep to lead them to where God beckoning. They need not strife or worry that the sheep will not follow, for the Word says that the sheep in this fold will recognise their authority and follow their leading, and “will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” Those who, however, still follow after strangers are not sheep of the Chief Shepherd even, since they hear neither His voice nor that of those whom He has placed to be their shepherds. True sheep of His however, will hear the voice of the Chief Shepherd (Jn. 10:26-27) and will heed also the voice of those whom He has placed over them.

1. Security and provision - “If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (Jn. 10:9)

When we enter by the Door, we are guaranteed pasture to feed our sheep. This is also to say that those who did not enter by the Door may have to strive just to find pasture for their sheep! When sheep are not given green pastures to graze, they will either be weakened from lack of nourishment or some may even stray to look for green pastures themselves.

For those who enter by the Door, they will not only be guaranteed green pastures reserved for their flock, but are also assured of protection for themselves - security. These will not be harmed until and unless permitted by God. Consider the Chief Shepherd, Jesus. He was kept secure and was well-provided for until His time was up. Even when the multitudes sought after His life, Jesus managed to escape from them (Jn. 7:30, 8:20; 10:39; 10:18) .

Just two questions for us to ponder:

1. To the ‘shepherds’: have we truly entered by the door? Jn. 10:12 speaks of a hireling, one who works for wages and who does not really care for the sheep, who flees when he sees the wolf coming. Are we truly shepherds who have entered by the Door or have we just become hirelings who have entered through other means? There are many ‘hirelings’ today - people who choose the ministry as a comfortable occupation rather than out of true love for the sheep of God. We have to re-examine ourselves, for if we have not entered by the Door, then we may end up allowing Satan to use us to steal, to kill and to destroy God’s fold.
2. To the ‘sheep’: have we allowed those who are hirelings to come to steal from us, or even worse, to kill and to destroy what is ours? Afterall, the holy Scriptures did caution us on false prophets, teachers and shepherds who would arise in the last days. May God lead us to discern and identify the true shepherds from the hirelings.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:11)

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep knows Me and I know the Father - and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (Jn. 10:11-14). The Bible tells us that a hireling will not lay down his life for the sheep, but only the good shepherd would be willing to sacrifice his life to protect the lives of his flock. This verse speaks of the union, communion and intimacy shared between the Father and Jesus, which also exists between the Lord and us (His sheep). To further appreciate Jesus as our good shepherd, let us consider Psalm 23.

I shall not want….

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” (Ps. 23:1)

Because we have the Lord as our Shepherd, we shall never be in lack of anything. He satisfies our needs like how a good shepherd provides for his flock. If however, we find ourselves in situations of want or need, it cannot be anything else but that we have not fully identified ourselves as sheep with the Lord as our Shepherd. If we allow ourselves to be shepherded by our vocation, our abilities, wealth and status etc, we also allow ourselves to be led and driven by these things which will lead us to no green pasture, but only to a wilderness of restlessness, frustration, strife, and even emptiness.

Of course, every one of us wants to be sheep in the Lord’s fold always, we want Jesus as our Shepherd for as long and as far as possible. But before this can be so, we must first recognise and accept ourselves to be sheep. We cannot want to be shepherded and yet conduct ourselves as anything other than sheep! We first need to be the sheep, then can we come under a shepherd.

What then are sheep really like? Experts in the field have described sheep to be one of the animals who are most incapable of self-survival. Sheep are especially noted for their timidity, helplessness and the propensity to stray even from their kind and be lost in some barrenness/wilderness. They are also one of the animals most susceptible to snake bites and other predator attacks. If we are honest in examining ourselves, we will see that whatever is described of sheep above is true of mankind as well. Even the wisest person have at some times realised that he could have been wiser; the strongest individual had at some stage concede that there is a mountain he cannot move, and almost all of us will have to admit that we need no external influence to lead us astray. In fact, we try and struggle so hard with ourselves (not with anybody or anything else!) just to keep in the right course! Like it or not, we tend to be self-destructive no matter how much we love ourselves. Isaiah the prophet recognised this very well, “All we sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” (Isa. 53:6). We are like that - tending towards self-indulgence, individualistic, going our own way and doing our own things.

We need to come to terms with these things. We need to know that we are like that or we would never fully appreciate the need for a shepherd, much less follow one.

Nourishment and Direction

“He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul, He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” (Ps. 23:2-3)

The basic dietary needs of sheep are grass and water, and the shepherd brings his sheep to these places to graze and drink. Jesus , our Shepherd also promises us our basic needs (Matt. 6:25-33) We are told not to worry about our life, as to what we will eat or what we will drink; nor about our body as to what we will wear. Instead, we are told to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to us. God as our shepherd will not deny us of our basic needs, for if He could give immeasurably, beyond all that we can ask or imagine, then we can be assured that the basic necessities will not be left out.

The thing that generates the highest level of anxiety in us today must be uncertainty about the future. We are constantly in the activity of making decisions, and most of them, if not all of our decisions have a bearing on our future. How then do we know that we are making the right decisions for ourselves and not commit our trust to something this day that will rise up and consume us the next? The best person to make decisions, especially those affecting the future, is the person who knows what the future will be, and there is none other but the Lord Jesus Himself who alone holds the future. And what great relief to know that we can have Him as our shepherd!! How then do we get His help in our decision-making? Ps. 119:105, Rom. 12:2, and Jn. 16:13 tell us that if we read His word and wait upon Him, the wisdom in His word will be our guiding principle, and He Himself will also cause His Spirit in us to direct us in the right way. That’s the promise of God! And this He does for His name’s sake. We would not be foolish enough to put our name and reputation at stake by promising something if we were not also capable of performing it. So is God - He will not bring shame to Himself by giving us a promise if He was not able to deliver it. And with His name at stake, we can be sure that God will withhold but will be faithful to fulfil His promise to us! With the Spirit of God guiding us, we know that whatever decisions made based on His counsel will eventually work out to our favour. This is so even when the events that follow immediately after our decision do not turn out as expected - we just need to be patient and trust God to perform His promise to us.

Protection and Discipline

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Ps. 23:4)

“For He Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give You up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down! Assuredly not” (Heb. 13:5 Amp.)

Read together, these verses tell us something - the Lord is our Helper!

The rod and staff are two indispensable tools of a shepherd. The rod is a solid club used to drive away wild animals from the sheep. It is to protect the sheep from enemy or wolf attacks. It is great comfort and assurance for the sheep when they see the rod in their shepherd’s hand. Likewise, the Lord our Shepherd wields such a rod in His hand, and He uses it to protect us against the devil, for “when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.” (Is. 59:19). We need not fight the devil on our own, but we only need to stay by our Shepherd and peace is there (Ex. 20:20). And because the Lord is our Shepherd, we know we are in a winning battle all the time. What great assurance we have in Jesus as our Shepherd!

The staff, on the other hand, is used to aid the shepherd in guiding the sheep. It is an instrument used to direct the flock, and on some occasions, to discipline the sheep. Apart from the outside enemy (the devil), we have an internal enemy to battle with, that is our unrenewed mind that leads us astray. The staff of the Shepherd is used to chasten and subdue this enemy within. Much as the Lord loves us, He also loves us enough to chasten and build us up. And whenever He needs to do this, He do it in love. The Lord reproofs, corrects, encourages and instructs His people in righteousness, dealing with us firmly, but in gentleness. No part of the chastening process will be enjoyable for anyone, but if we were to respond positively when being chastened (i.e. instead of enduring it we repent immediately when being confronted), the process would not take us very long before the Lord’s dealing with us yields “the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Heb. 12:11)

Security and Blessing

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.”

This psalm was written by David when he was driven into the wilderness by his son’s rebellion. He forced himself out in the desert, suffered hunger and battled weariness. Interestingly, three men who were not even Israelites “brought beds and basins, earthen vessels and wheat, barley and flour, parched grain and beans, lentils and parched seeds, honey and curds, sheep and cheese of the herd, for David and the people who were with him to eat. For they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”” (2 Sam. 17:28-29). Truly, with the Lord as our shepherd, He feeds and provides, leads and protects, heals and brings blessings to us, anointing our heads with oil and, causing our cups to run over.

Note that the word “follow” in Ps. 23:6 literally means to “pursue”. If we are obedient and would humble ourselves as sheep and let Jesus be a shepherd in our lives, we cease having the need to even ask for these things, for God’s goodness and mercy shall surely pursue us, yes, even when we are not asking for them! For “if (we) are willing and obedient, (we) shall eat the good of the land” (Isa. 1:19)

Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life (Jn. 11:28)

Consider now the story of Aaron in Num. 17:1-11. It was God who made the rod sprout. It was He who imparts the force of life into the otherwise dead and dried rod. The rod represents man’s position, and the sprouting, resurrection life. Our level of competency and worth is of God. If we want to be effective in our life or ministry, we need God to give the ‘sprouting’ to us. Resurrection means that which is not of the natural, but of the supernatural. It is what we cannot accomplish for ourselves but that which God can give to us. The questions is whether we are constantly and consciously dependent on the resurrection and life within us or have we been relying on our natural strength.

If we still find ourselves in the stage where we are convinced that we are something, then we have not yet come to the knowledge of resurrection life. Those who know the resurrection will not know themselves as anything more than nothing. For so long as natural strength remains, the power of resurrection is obscured. We can, and we must come to a place where we see ourselves as what we truly are, that is, nothing and; living out life by God’s resurrection power and life.

God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Sarah gave birth to Isaac: this was God’s doing, for she was beyond the age to conceive. Hence Isaac represents resurrection. We must believe we serve a God of resurrection, a God who manifests in reality that which is impossible with man.

2 Cor. 4:7 - Paul likens himself to an earthen vessel, and “treasure” to resurrection power. He then went on to explain that though in himself he suffers affliction in every way, yet through the resurrection power in the “treasure”, he is not crushed. There is death working against him on one hand, but life springs for him on the other. Paul gave himself up to death, but manifests life in the process. Only when death has first taken place, can resurrection life work in us.

Jesus - the way, the truth and the life (Jn. 14:6)

Jesus is the only way to salvation, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12). We can go to heaven without money, without our certificates, or even without our friends, but we can never go to heaven without Jesus, for “No one comes to the Father except through (Him)” .

Jesus is still the only Way and Truth, especially when it comes to serving God. To experience success in our ministry, we need to follow Jesus who has the truth of our situation, and who knows the way that we should take. We can use either our left or right hand to pick up something on the table, but it is still the brain in our head that sends the transmission to one of these hands to do the job. A left-handed person may write beautifully with the pen in his left hand, but it would be embarrassing if a right-handed person were to try and do the same. The latter would most probably use his right hand to write, because his head (brain) would tell him it was better for him to use his right hand! Likewise, a group of people may experience resounding success in their ministry based on a particular formula prescribed of the Lord for them, but another group of people who try to use the same formula in theirs may not necessarily experience the same measure of success. Of course, this is not to say that we totally reject the whole idea of learning from others’ successs; we are only cautioning against visionless following.

Col. 2:19 exhorts every one of us to “Hold fast to the head ….”, although we are to be diligent in maintaining fellowship with the Church, we are note yet told to attach ourselves to our fellow members, but to hold fast the Head of the Church. Ultimately, we still need to go to the Head (Christ) of the church for the way.

Now, if Christ is the Head, then neither you nor I may stand in that position! This means that I cannot impose a self-engineered decision on you, and that you also do not make a decision on my behalf. We need to recognise and respect the fact that God has different plans for every individual. Peter and John were two disciples who walked really close with the Lord Jesus, yet the Lord had different plans for them. (John 21:18-22). Peter was called to martyrdom while John was called to receive a revelation on an isolated island of Patmos. This shows that every one of us is unique not just in creation but also in purpose. We should take note of two points here. Firstly, we should not walk in another’s way, but should be confident to walk the way that the Lord has paved for us. Secondly, do not demand of others what the Lord has demanded of you. This is particularly so for those of us who are in the ministry of discipleship and nurturing. We need to remind ourselves that discipleship is not spiritual cloning, but it is helping the people to achieve their fullest potential in following the way, the truth and the life. Let us abandon control over one another, and help to point and lead others to the Way, the Truth and the Life!

Jesus - the Great I Am (Ex. 3:14)

Before John closed his gospel, he said that “there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.” (Jn. 21:25). Indeed, there is no limit to the teaching of Jesus’ words or to the number of His works. How can the world ever contain the books that would be written to describe and record the life of an infinite God? Surely, God is the “I am who I am”, the “I will be that I will be”. Every thing that we need, He will be our fulfiller. Praise God for who He is, for in Him, we are complete.” (Col. 2:10).