John 17-21 Interpretive Essay
The Bible as a whole is all about Jesus. For those who believe in Him, he is the pivotal character in all of scripture. While the Bible contains much about Jesus, John 17-21 highlights the climax of all scripture, which is his death, burial, resurrection and an opportunity for people to know the truth (John 18:37, NIV). This is why it is important to study this particular passage. For my essay I will give an indication of the settings, and indication of the main conflicts driving the plot and the extent to which those conflicts are resolved, observations on how Jesus is portrayed and the role of the other characters in providing a context for Jesus’ interactions with others, a statement on how this passage
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is similar to and different from a historical narrative, and a statement on how this passage has had an impact on me. The temporal setting took place in approximately 29-30 A.D.
According to the NIV Life Application Bible, the physical setting took place between 29 A.D. and 30 A.D because these chapters occurred after Jesus feeds 5,000, which was in 29 A.D. and during when Jesus was crucified, rose again, and ascends which occurred in 30 A.D. According to Carver, Jesus was approximately 37 years old when he died according to his timeline (Carver, 2011, p. 204). The physical setting took place in Jerusalem and John 18 took place in the Garden of Gethsemne also known as the wilderness. Jesus travels from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters according to John 18:28. In John 19:13 (NIV), Jesus goes to the Stone Pavement which in Aramaic is Gabbatha. John 19:17 (NIV), Jesus carried his own cross to the place of the skull which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. In John 21:1 (NIV), Jesus appeared to His disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. In regards to cultural settings, at that time Gabbatha was where they pronounced judgment, whereas in today’s world they most likely do not. Another cultural setting includes Golgotha was the location where they committed the crucifixions of criminals, whereas today it is more of a historical monument where people
visit. As Carver mentions, there are three types of conflicts in a plot including character conflict, environmental conflict and spiritual conflict. The first character conflict in John 17-21 is when Judas carries out his betrayal of Jesus. In previous passages, Jesus states that Judas will betray him, and in John 18:2-8, Judas helped guide the soldiers and officials of the chief priests and Pharisees to Jesus’ locations who desired to harm Jesus. John 18:3 (NIV) states, “So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.” Judas, the soldiers and officials of the chief priests and Pharisees were pitted against Jesus. This character conflict did not seem to resolve favorably, but the conflict was resolved by Jesus’ death which provided atonement for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2, NIV). The second character conflict involves Caiaphas and other religious leaders who handed Jesus over to Pontius Pilate for death on the cross. In John 19:11 (NIV), Jesus states “Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” He is referring to Caiaphas and the other religious leaders who handed him over, and were pitted against Jesus; these people premeditated Jesus’ murder. Lastly, another person to person conflict is Pilate and Jesus. According to John 18:31-19:16 (NIV), Pilate questions Jesus whether or not He’s king, in which Jesus does not directly answer Pilate. This segues into the next section in which Jesus confirms His power and authority over Pilate and Pilate gets scarred, which leads to Jesus’ crucifixion. The environmental conflicts in these chapters are the conditions that Jesus experienced surrounding His crucifixion. For example, In John 18:22 (NIV) one of the officials struck him in the face, which contributed to the hostile environment He was exposed to. Another example included when Jesus was deprived of water or fluids, which contributed to the severe conditions of His crucifixion (John 19:28, NIV). The soldiers also confiscated Jesus’ clothing which contributed to the cruelness of His environment (John 19:24, NIV). Finally the last indication that He was experiencing a hostile environment was in 18:40 (NIV) because the crowd chose to free a thief over Jesus who was innocent. The first inner or spiritual conflict involves Pontius Pilate. John 19:4 (NIV) states, “Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” This passage suggests that he is having an internal struggle with convicting Jesus. He even asks the crowd a second time, which indicates he may be unsure about their first verdict of persecution. He finally gives into the crowd against his own beliefs about his innocence (John 19:6, NIV). Another inner conflict involves Mary Magdalene, who is worried about where Jesus’ body is due to the stone removal from His burial site (John 20:1-7, NIV). Following in the next verses, Mary cries about the loss of Jesus, and then Jesus appears to her. She does not recognize Him at first, but soon after speaking with Jesus she does. Lastly, another inner conflict involves Thomas who is called Didymus. Commonly, he is referred to as doubting Thomas. He had an internal struggle regarding who God was. He had trouble believing that Jesus was the son of God, until Jesus allowed him to see His hands, where His nails were. His struggle of doubt turns into a victory of belief (John 20:24-29, NIV). Lastly, Peter is another example of inner conflict, because in a passage prior to 17-20, Peter tells Jesus that he will be His faithful follower until the end. However, in John 18:17-27 (NIV), Peter denies Jesus several times. This indicates a doubt in his mind that he wrestled with. In chapter 17 Jesus is portrayed as God who has authority over all the people and desires to bring glory to the Father by completing the work the Father gave Him to do (John 17:1-5, NIV). Jesus is also portrayed as someone who is in complete submission to God the Father, and desires to care for and pray for the believers in the world. In addition, Jesus desires that believers be protected from the evil one. He not only cares about believers, but also the people in the world who may believe at a later point (John 17:6-26, NIV). In chapter 18 Jesus is portrayed as someone who speaks the truth, at all costs. He spoke up about who he was, even though he knew speaking up would potentially condemn him (John 18:1-23, NIV). Jesus was portrayed as someone who was not afraid of death, because He knows that He is not of this world (John 18:36, NIV). Jesus is portrayed as someone who deeply cares about His disciples and followers, especially in the scene with Mary of Magdalene. He is concerned with her, and asks why she is crying (John 18:15-16, NIV). Chapter 21 portrayed Jesus as someone who desires that His followers spread the good news of the gospel and care for others. In John 21:15, (NIV) Jesus tells Peter to “Feed my lambs”, “Take care of my sheep” (John 21:16, NIV), and “feed my sheep” (John 21:18, NIV). In addition to the example of Jesus and Mary, Pilate and Jesus’ interactions demonstrate how He interacts with others. Jesus is portrayed as powerful, in the interaction with Pilate because Jesus essentially tells him that He can leave this world if He desires, and Pilate would not be able to stop it (John 18:35-36, NIV). Jesus is the protagonist and Pilate is the antagonist. Upon first look, Pilate seems to be in control of the situation, and then Jesus speaks and then Pilate has no power. Jesus also demonstrates His power in the communication between the soldiers and some officials from the chief priests, when He declares that “I am he”, and they fall to the ground (John 18:6, NIV). A historical narrative is similar to this passage because they both consist of four main components, including setting, characters, plot, and point of view. For those who believe in the authority and truth of scripture, this passage is similar to a historical narrative in that it presents the history of an ancient people by means of a story (Carver, 2011). However it has several differences which include the centrality of Jesus, loosely connected narrative units, and embedded subgenres (Carver, 2011). For example, John is centered on Jesus as the Messiah who died to save the world, versus just a historical account. Other characters are less developed than Jesus, this emphasizes His claim that He is God; it is a persuasive argument in the form of a story. In John 17-21 there are rarely transitions or summaries after a specific event, instead it is one continuous story. Historical narratives tend to have more introductions, transitions and summaries. One embedded subgenre in this passage is the moral story about Thomas who doubted Jesus’ resurrection, but ended with belief. Another example is the embedded passage from the Old Testament in John 19:24 (NIV), which references Psalm 22:18 (NIV). This passage makes me reflect on Matthew 5:5 (NIV), which states “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” This passage made me realize that Jesus was the true definition of meek. Meek is not the same as weak, instead it is power under control. Jesus displayed great meekness during His crucifixion. He could have easily used His powers to stop His death, or using his powers to control the people who wanted to kill him (John 18:36, NIV). Instead He chose to be faithful and submit to God’s will, even unto death. This has a big impact on me because it can be easy to follow God when there is not much required from me, but when there is a big cost, it is much more difficult. My hope is that I will follow Jesus’ example the next time I experience a trial or persecution, and show meekness and humility. I was touched by Jesus’ prayer regarding future believers. It reminds me that I need to be praying for opportunities to share the good news of Jesus with others who may not have heard it before. Jesus’ repeated command to feed His sheep reminds me that I need to start following this command, by loving others and sharing the gospel. This is how God’s love can be manifested in me, by loving others (John 21:15-18, NIV). The greatest impact that this passage had on me, was that it confirmed my present belief that Jesus died for me and the sins of the world. Although His death was incredibly horrific, I am thankful that God did that for me so I can have eternal life through Him!
John focuses on the profound meaning of the life of Jesus, whom he saw as the
The Gospel of John, the last of the four gospels in the Bible, is a radical departure from the simple style of the synoptic gospels. It is the only one that does not use parables as a way of showing how Jesus taught, and is the only account of several events, including the raising of Lazarus and Jesus turning water into wine. While essentially the gospel is written anonymously, many scholars believe that it was written by the apostle John sometime between the years 85 and 95 CE in Ephesus. The basic story is that of a testimonial of one of the Apostles and his version of Jesus' ministry. It begins by telling of the divine origins of the birth of Jesus, then goes on to prove that He is the Son of God because of the miracles he performs and finally describes Jesus' death and resurrection.
The Gospel of Matthew is an eyewitness story written for an audience of believers, under great stress, and persecution. Matthew develops a theological plot incorporating genealogy, speeches, parables, inter and intra textual references, common vocabulary, and fulfillment quotations, with a tension that builds as we are invited into the story. The crucifixion and resurrection bring us to a Christological climax that symbolically points beyond its conclusion to God’s Kingdom, bringing atonement, salvation and the ushering in the Eschaton. The extraordinary events surrounding the crucifixion act as commentary, adding important details concerning the death of Jesus.1
As we read John, we see that the stories center around the concept of belief. In the second chapter of John, we are told of the miracle that Jesus did at a wedding: turning water into wine. This miracle was told so that we may believe. “Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (John 2:11). Through these miracles we are able to see signs of Jesus’s power and glory and how God’s presence is in him, leading many to believe in him. After this, Jesus went to Capernum, then Jerusalem to the temple, where he found people selling things
The setting is a place they call The Skull, outside of Jerusalem. It was a place of death. Many criminals had been crucified at Golgotha and Luke emphasized that Jesus would be crucified right there with other horrendous criminals. Luke makes no time reference until Jesus’ actual death in Luke 23:44 when the sun’s light failed from noon until 3 in the afternoon. We can assume that our periscope took place earlier in the morning on the same day.
In the days of Christ’s life on this earth, believers did not have access to the Bible in its entirety as we know and are familiar with today. Believers in this ancient time period only had access to the Old Testament. However, through their access to the Old Testament, believers were provided a foundation for New Testament times. This foundation provided New Testament believers with the Lord’s established principles of right and wrong they were expected to follow. In addition, the Old Testament is overflowing with accounts of people whose lives exemplified the future life of Christ on this earth. These pictures allowed the Israelite nation to begin to have an understanding of why Christ needed to come as their Messiah and the work He needed to do on earth. Finally, there are common themes that are interwoven throughout the entire Old Testament. Three of these themes: transgression, redemption, and consummation point to the purpose of Christ’s atoning death on the cross. These themes portray God’s work both in the lives of Old Testament believers, but they also foreshadow God’s desire and plan for believers in New Testament times and beyond.
The book consists of three parts. The first part has five chapters of which focuses on explaining what the key questions are and why we find them difficult to answer. The second part has nine chapters explaining in detail what N.T. Wright considers Jesus’ public career and the approach he had in first century Palestine. The third part of the book, the last chapter, challenges readers to wrestle with the questions of Jesus’ life and ministry.
Senior, Donald. 1998. "The Gospel of Matthew and the Passion of Jesus : Theological and Pastoral Perspectives." Word & World 18, no. 4: 372-379. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed March 13, 2014).
This essay will show contrasts in views on the Gospel of John regarding authorship,dates, and the relationship between John's Gospel and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Some comparison of thought, concerning composition and life setting, will also be presented.
John 9 contains a story of yet another healing from the hand of Jesus, in what becomes an incredibly similar story to the healed paralytic from John 5. Both stories share a similar setting, and a similar reaction from the Pharisees. We will see the Pharisees be confronted with Jesus ' authority to heal. This chapter contains a discussion regarding blindness, both in the actual, physical sense, as well as the condition on the part of those who are supposed to be directing society in God’s word. By the end of this chapter, Jesus will both heal a blind man, and label the Pharisees as the ones who are actually blind.
Luke 23:26-43 – The crucifixion – As The – Bible Gateway. 2014. Luke 23:26-43 – The crucifixion – As The – Bible Gateway. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+23%3A26-43 [Accessed 22 May 2014]
In chapter 1 of Revelation John, was instructing his audiences that he was instructed to record everything he seen so this makes John a true witness to the current events that is happening during this time period. The numbers that occur throughout the book of Revelation is very important to understanding and interpreting the Scripture. In Revelation 1:20 when is speaking of the seven stars or seven lampstands it really is speaking of seven angels and the seven churches in Asia Minor that John is writing the letters to. John wrote letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor in the following passages to instruct the people of the churches of the people of the Second coming of Christ and the punishment and salvation that will occur. We see that
After this comes, the proclamation that this Jesus is the Son of God sent from the Father to finish the Father’s work in the world (4.34). God’s own glory is made visible in him (14.9), and what he does glorifies the Father. In him the full grace and truth of God has shown itself. John’s Gospel is rather different from the other three. In any event, his witness to Jesus goes its own way, highlighting matters that in the other Gospels remain unspoken and weak. The literary style of this witness of Jesus is also unique among the Gospels; here focus is on the “signs” of Jesus’ identity and mission and on lengthy, theologically rich discourses. Intimate and reflective, "The Gospel of John" offers an unparalleled opportunity to experience the incomparable life and times of Jesus the Christ. The Gospel of John uses a pattern of threes where there is an identification, explanation, and declaration. John also works very hard to distinguish Jesus and John the Baptist. Jesus as the Masonic character is the theme of the gospel. Jesus, himself, users of “I AM” statements where Jesus is a reflection of the Heavenly
The gospels explain Jesus’ life and death including His identity but also his activities, works, leadership and his suffering. Jesus is seen as a manifestation of God’s relationship with humans. An important fact about Jesus is the humility and modesty associated with his birth, upbringing and death. The fact that such a person ...
Throughout the Bible the author(s) and, by default, Jesus try to reassert the importance of Jesus and his calling. They try to illustrate Jesus as the leader to human kind’s salvation and the only way to God. This depiction of his importance isn’t always subtle but hidden between the lines and in parables.