Jesus, Son of God
In the lead up to Easter, we’re going through a mini series. Last week Ruth talked to us about Jesus, Lamb of God. Next week Mark’s speaking on Jesus, Bread of Life. This week, we’ve got Jesus, Son of God.
But I already know Jesus is the Son of God!
That’s what I thought… You’ll have to correct me if I’m wrong, but I feel like the majority in the church would already agree with the statement!
I do think there’s something deeper here though. Something more than ticking a belief box: “Yes, I agree that Jesus is the Son of God.” I mean, even Satan believes that, right?
Let’s look at the book of John.
Why? Good question.
As an answer, let’s look at this sentence from the end of John’s Gospel. John wrote his gospel “...so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
Do you see that? John wrote his book
so we would believe Jesus is the Son of God
and, by believing, we could have life in his name
The important question here is
“Do we know that Jesus is the Son of God in a way that gives us life?”
I want to take a bit of time to provide an overview of John’s Gospel, in order that God would reveal in a deeper way Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. So that we might have life in his name.
Before we take a tour of John’s Gospel
When I was a kid, we had to write stories at school. We’d have to create a plot about a journey or an adventure. I loved it. I got really excited about coming up with characters and scenes and developing crazy twists. I don’t like to brag, but I was actually really good at it.
Up to a point.
Because the way it worked was that if you didn’t finish in class, you had to finish it for homework. Now, before anyone chips in, yes, I do run Workspace, the homework club for Blank Canvas, so this is off the record, but homework wasn’t my thing. I don’t know if you can relate.
So, what would happen is that the characters in my beautifully crafted stories would suddenly - sometimes right in the middle of a conversation - die. Drop dead. Again and again. In every story. I think my parents were quite worried that all my stories ended in death, but honestly, it was just a case of Mrs. Rolles giving us a two minute warning and me signing things off as fast as I could.
I’m saying all of this because that’s not what John’s done here. He’s a craftsman. An artist carefully selecting exactly the right elements to perfectly suit his end. And what was his purpose? That we would believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And, consequently, that by that belief we would have life in his name.
It can be hard for us to feel the full effect of John’s work, not being from that ancient Jewish culture. Things get muddied in translation. One metaphor might be really vivid for one language or culture but not mean much in another. It’s hard to get to the heart of it sometimes.
Hard, but not impossible.
One key to understanding John’s gospel is symbolism. In John’s day, things meant things. Ordinary things had extra meaning. Specific numbers were special. Like the number seven. An ordinary number that carried the meaning of completeness, wholeness. It came to represent God himself.
Another key to this particular book is the holy name of God: I AM. God introduces himself to Moses as the great I AM back in Exodus. Jesus, in John’s Gospel, uses it to make the ultimate claim. Guess how many times Jesus says I AM this, or that? Yes, Seven. And there are a further seven occasions when Jesus just replies to someone with I AM. Full stop.
Let’s try and hold all of that in our head as we take a whistle-stop tour of John’s labour of love.
How has John crafted this book to show us that Jesus is the Son of God?
John’s Gospel is in four main parts. An introduction, a bunch of signs and controversies, Jesus’ last days, and a short epilogue. Let’s start with the introduction.
John starts at the beginning. Like really the beginning. He takes the creation story and remixes it into a philosophical poem putting Jesus, his friend from Nazareth, there at the moment the cosmos was spoken. Actually Jesus was the spoken word. He was with God and he was God.
The introduction continues with a short story where people meet Jesus. First John the Baptist, then the first disciples. As they meet him they say who they think he is. Jesus is given seven titles. Lamb of God, Rabbi, Messiah, King of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Man, Son of God. These are big claims, and John follows up with his evidence with a bunch of stories.
Four stories
Except of course, being John the craftsman, he hasn’t chosen them randomly. He starts with four stories that see Jesus turn four Jewish institutions upside-down. Then we see Jesus at four Jewish festivals. All this leads to the death of Lazarus, a major sign that is a turning point of the book.
For Jesus’ first sign, he turns water into wine at a wedding. Lots of wine. Lots of GREAT wine. This echoes back to Isaiah (25:6), which says that God’s coming kingdom would have amazing wine. John shows Jesus as bringing in the Kingdom of God, as God’s Son.
Jesus then goes to the temple, an incredibly sacred place for the Jews. The place where God dwelled in the midst of his people. Except now it’s full of con artists and expensive pigeons. When faced with the Jewish leaders, Jesus challenges them: “Destroy this temple and I’ll raise it again in three days.” He wasn’t talking about the building, but his body: his body was the reality that the temple pointed at. Symbolism.
Jesus then has a night-time conversation with a Rabbi, a teacher. Nicodemus is confused and Jesus tells him that Israel needs more than a teacher. New birth is required for the new kind of life he is bringing.
Then we see Jesus at the well with the woman. She wants water, Jesus is offering life - the new kind of life he mentioned to the Rabbi. John’s showing us that Jesus was more than a Rabbi. There was something different.
So that’s our first four stories. The beginning of John’s evidence.
Four feasts
John then sets up four stories set in four different Jewish feasts. Again, Jesus goes into these situations, does a sign or makes a claim and causes trouble.
First, he heals a man on the Sabbath. The leaders don’t like this, but they like Jesus’ response even less. He tells them that, well, my Father is working, and so am I. They read this as a claim to be equal with God. Which it was!
During Passover, Jesus feeds five thousand people. They want more. Jesus says I AM the bread of life. If you eat my body, you’ll have eternal life. Lots of people stop following him at this point.
The next feast was the feast of Tabernacles. This feast remembered when God led Israel through the wilderness. I don’t know if you remember, but on the journey through the wilderness, God provided water from a rock and lit up their way by going before them in a pillar of fire. This is the context in which Jesus says “if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink” and “ I am the light of the world.” He is life-giving water and God’s illuminating presence. Big claims which split the crowd.
The final feast is Hanukkah, which came from a rededication of the temple. In this festival, Jesus claims that he and the Father are one. This really sets the Jewish leaders into a frenzy.
So, John’s shown us Jesus making claims and doing signs in four stories, then four feasts.
Lazarus raised
All of these signs and stories lead up to the death of Lazarus. This is where Jesus really makes a name for himself and shows his power over death… by calling Lazarus from the tomb! This is the last straw for the Jewish leaders - who plot murder - and propels us into the last days of Jesus’ life.
Last Days
We now move into the last days of Jesus’ life. John focuses on Jesus’ final words to his disciples. He’s preparing them for the coming mission. This is where we get a taste of what “Life in his name” means… spoiler, it’s quite a lot to do with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus washes the disciples’ feet and gives them a new command: to “love one another as I have loved you.”
John then tells how Jesus gives this incredibly rich speech where he talks about life after he’s gone. The Father will send the Spirit. Jesus and the Father are one. Jesus’ followers must abide in him in the coming days. The Spirit will empower them to love as he’s instructed. There will be opposition. But Jesus has gained the victory. This last part must have been confusing for the disciples, especially as they go through the trauma of the next day...
Jesus arrested, crucified, risen
...because that night, Jesus is arrested. And here we see the final I AM. The guards approach Jesus and the disciples in the garden. Jesus takes control of the situation and asks, “Who are you looking for?” They say, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answers: “I AM.” Fullstop. Not I AM the good shepherd, or I AM the bread of life. Just I AM. In our bibles it usually reads “I am he.” But look at the effect of Jesus’ statement on the guards: “They drew back and fell to the ground.” This isn’t the response of someone simply saying “That’s me.” It’s a response to God. Can you imagine being there? The Jewish readers would have instantly seen this as Jesus saying, I’m God. The creator.
And then Jesus goes through the most horrific violence, humiliation and ultimately death.
What can we say about Jesus’ death? His death is absolutely central to our life. We rightly talk about it all the time. But it can become familiar. My prayer is that this Easter, maybe as we read through John or another gospel, Jesus meets us afresh.
And yes, Jesus speaks today because he didn’t stay dead. John carefully records the account of the resurrected Jesus meeting first Mary, then the other disciples. He breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The rest, as they say, is history.
Epilogue
There’s one last chapter, though. Where John shows us what life can be like for Jesus’ followers. I don’t know if you remember, but the disciples are fishing unsuccessfully. Jesus calls to them from the shore and directs them how to catch a huge haul. We, as Jesus followers can step into that new kind of life that sees us listening, obeying and being fruitful.
How can we have life in his name?
What does it mean for you to have life in his name?
Think about that in the context of what we’ve been talking about here.
For me, this is part of what it means to have life in his name. From Ephesians:
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Ephesians 3:14-21
