Throughout the Gospel of John (as well as the Synoptic Gospels), Jesus is continuously showing people that He is, in fact, the Creator God. Jesus did many signs and miracles to show his close connection with the Father as well as display his deity. Generally, these sings were done in such a way as to prove to the Jews that He was God (as this was what they asked for). However, Jesus did not stop at only doing signs and miracles. He also used the phrase “I AM” to show his deity. To the modern reader, “I AM” simply seems as a phrase of explanation or possession. However, for the Jew, this phrase contains all who God is. In the book of Exodus, God commanded Moses to tell the people that “I AM” sent him to free them from the Egyptian’s bondage. Therefore, they view this simple phrase as God’s identity. When Jesus says, “I AM,” he is directly stating that He is God (if not the same as God). Jesus said this phrase multiple times throughout the Gospel of John, but He didn’t simply stop with the simple phrase. Jesus would add an ending to it (i.e., I AM the vine, I AM the door, etc.) in order to drive home a point with his audience. No matter what statement Jesus would add to the end of “I AM,” He was always pointing his audience to a certain aspect of his nature and ministry.
One of the “I AM” statements found in the Gospel of John is “I AM the light of the world.” Unlike the other “I AM” sayings, Jesus said this phrase two times (8:12; 9:5), but his usage of “I AM” happens in back-to-back narratives. The first usage of this phrase takes place during the narrative of the adulterous woman. The story actually begins a chapter previous where the Fest of Tabernacles is first mentioned. The Feast of Tabernacles is a joyous celebration where ...
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...into the dark. God showed himself countless times to Israel, yet He never sent them the one that they had been waiting for. However, God eventually sent Jesus. Jesus was sent to be the light that would shine into the darkness. Jesus would be the one to bring the spiritually blind into the marvelous light of grace. Jesus showed his deity in part by healing the blind man physically as well as saving the adulterous woman, but He showed his full deity when he saved the soul.
Works Cited
Douglas, J. D. and Merrill C. Tenney. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary,
Grand Rapids: Zondervavn, 2011.
Köstenberger, Andreas J. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002.
Morris, Leon. Jesus is the Christ. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 1989.
Towns, Elmer. The Gospel of John: Believe and Life. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2002.
Brown demonstrated the deity of Christ by focusing on Him as the Son of God and Word of God, who shares in the divine nature, and who revealed Himself to His people in the Old Testament (15-37). I enjoyed Brown’s treatment of the apparent conflict between the passages which declare that no one has seen God with the other passages which clearly state that God was seen by Abraham, Moses, and Jacob (27-34). As he put it, “it is Jesus the Messiah—the divine Son, the image of the invisible God, the Word made flesh, the exact representation of the Father’s being—who solves the riddle and explains how someone could really see God, even though God cannot be seen.
Genesis 22 opens with God calling out to Abraham. Abraham responds, “Here I am!” (Gen 22:1). According to Levenson’s analysis, Abraham is not simply telling God his location but he is conveying “readiness, attentiveness, and responsiveness” (Levenson 67). Similarly, in the Gospel of John, when Jesus responds, “I AM” to the men looking for him, he conveys readiness, attentiveness, and responsiveness (John 18:5). But in addition, Jesus’ reply also expresses his divinity. These words are seen before in God’s call and commission of Moses in Exodus. “I am who I am… This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you” (Ex 3:14). This is only the beginning of the many parallels these narratives seem to share. Fundamentally, however, Jesus’s passion clearly supersedes the near sacrifice of Isaac.
b) Biblical Foundation Many question if Jesus ever claimed to be God. First, Jesus claimed to be the unique Son of God, resulting in the Jewish leaders stoning Him ‘because you,’ the leaders said, ‘a mere man, claim to be God’ (John 10:33). On another occasion, a High Priest asked him: ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ to which Jesus replied ‘I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven’ (Mark 14:61-62). Jesus also claimed to possess the same attributes of God. In the Bible, Jesus has never been recorded saying the exact words, “I am God.” However, Jesus’ original spectators seemed to think He said “I am the Father.” They were even ready to kill Him right there. The controversy is: Jesus didn’t have to say the specific words “I am God,” to claim this. Jesus did, however,...
While teaching a large crowd that had gathered around him, Jesus looks at them and says to them all, “You are the light of the world.” The one who declared that he was the light of the world, is now looking at common people and telling them that they are as well. To prove his point even more he then uses two simple illustrations. The first being a visual of a city built on a hill. No one builds a city on a hill unless it is meant to be seen. The second being a common everyday occurrence that everyone in attendance that day would be able to relate to, and that is the lighting of a lamp and putting it on a stand in their home in order to illuminate everything in the room. The whole purpose, in Jesus’ time, of lighting a lamp and positioning it on the stand or brick that was strategically placed within the wall when the single room house was built, was so that it would light the entire dwelling. Both illustrations were used to convey the idea that God has purposed and positioned each person to be light in a world of spiritual darkness. In the same way that a city on a hill stands out and a lamp illuminates, we are meant to live in such a way that mankind can see our good works, that they can see how we love Jesus and follow Him, and then praise God because of
He is announced by the narrator as Jesus as Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. This is not as strong, or divine, as Mark's announcement calling Jesus as Christ, Son of God. Matthew does later note Jesus as Son of God. Matthew uses other's response to Jesus; his evaluated point of view; Jesus' titles and attributes; and His deeds and words to characterize him. Matthew's Jesus is a very complex character. In chapter two the Magi see him as the King of the Jews. Later, John calls Him "one mightier". The centurion sees Christ as a person of authority as seen in chapter eight, and Jesus called...
John lived throughout the greatest time in human history. He lived during the time of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, God incarnate on Earth. His Gospel thoroughly documents the teaching of God, the miracles He performed, and the ultimate sacrifice that He gave. John thoroughly describes how the Word became flesh in Jesus Christ. By a thorough analyzation of the Nicodemus story, one can clearly see the necessity of Baptism and the need for the Holy Spirit in the Christian faith. Jesus is the Lamb of God and the Bread of life. We are invited to literally eat Jesus as the Eucharist and drink His blood as wine. Jesus is the light of the world that gives light to the man born blind when he gives him sight. Those that witnessed His divine testimony would certainly ascertain that Jesus is God. The son of God, the one that fulfills and surpasses the Old Testament prophecies as revealed in the Gospel of John. With John’s teaching, one can clearly see Jesus’ true identity as the New Adam and Universal Savior.
Matthew 's Gospel said that an Angel appeared and said that his name shall be Jesus because he would be the savior of the world. The Angel knew by whose authority Jesus would be operating; God the Father. John takes it a step further says that “For this is how God (The Father) loved the world: He gave his one and only Son (Jesus), so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. He was saying that Jesus IS the Son of the
he lead them to Bethany he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he
...itten in, and can also be seen because there is no mention anywhere of the parables, Jesus' primary teaching method according to the synoptic gospels. Instead, John makes use of miracles and uses examples from Jesus' ministry to demonstrate his power and divinity. He uses his power over nature to raise people from the dead, heal a blind man and feed 5000 people with the physical amount of food for only a few.
John focuses on the profound meaning of the life of Jesus, whom he saw as the
The Gospel of John begins by stating that God sent John the Baptist to identify Jesus Christ as the true Light and Savior. First Christ became a human being and lived here on earth among us and was full of loving forgiveness and truth(John 975). One day while John was baptizing in the Jordan River, Jesus approached to be baptized. Once He was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended from Heaven in the form of a dove and rested on Jesus. This sign told John that Jesus is the Son of God(John 977).
Luke records the boy, Jesus’ first words in the temple, “Did you know that I must be about my Father’s business,” this begins the slow unveiling of Jesus as the son of God who is God.
At the very beginning of the gospels the authors make their representation of Jesus known to the reader, but they rely upon different methods. Mark focuses on Jesus’ role as a servant is apparent as he quotes the prophet Isaiah: “Here is my messenger, whom I send on ahead of you!” (Mark 1:2) This is a rather simple statement, and the use of the word “messenger” connotes a sense of being under another’s command; Jesus is seen as an intermediary between God and man. John’s introduction to Jesus is much more majestic and poetic, devoting many verses to explaining his divine relationship with God: “In the beginning there was the divine word and wisdom. The divine word and wisdom was there with God, and it was what God was. It was there with God from the beginning. Everything came to be by means of it” (John 1:1-3).
Jesus’ healing ministry constructed a profound theological statement to Israel, similar to his selection of the twelve apostles and his eating with sinners. God’s promise one day to establish his kingdom and renew his people visible and available in preview to any who witnessed his deeds of the teacher from Nazareth.
“Although 1 John had its origins during a period of false teaching, the author’s main purpose is not to confront heresy, but to reassure those who remain that they do indeed know the truth about Jesus, and consequently do have eternal life.” 1 John was written to reassure believers to keep the faith and continue to hold the values that they have, through a time when a schism was taking place within the church. The believers were living in a confusing time and according to Thompson “The turmoil within their congregation undoubtedly caused many to question their own faith and practice, and to wonder whether they were also guilty of or prone to the failings of the departed dissidents.”