Portraits of Jesus in the Gospel of John
Robert P. Lightner
Portraits of Jesus in the Gospel of John
Copyright © 2007 Robert P. Lightner. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf & Stock, 199 W. 8th Ave., Eugene, OR 97401.
ISBN 10: 1-59752-878-1
ISBN 13: 978-1-59752-878-8
EISBN 13: 978-1-4982-7624-5
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
To my brothers, Harold, Kenneth, and Richard, and in memory of my sister, Lucille, all of whom have trusted Jesus as their personal Savior.
Introduction
Winston Churchill, the famous defender of the British Empire, had a most fascinating and amazing career. He was 65 years old when he was called upon to become England’s protector. Throughout his political life he demonstrated great and brilliant leadership. History will remember him as the one largely responsible for saving his nation from Nazi take-over. This man might be called England’s savior.
Jesus of Nazareth, the very Son of God came to earth to be the world’s Savior, not just England’s. He was man, but more than man. As the God-Man, He, unlike all of us, was not born into the world dying. No, He was born of woman that He might die as a Substitute for the world’s sinners.
One of Jesus’ apostles whose name is John was especially close to Jesus during the three years of Jesus’ public life and ministry. In the apostle’s book called the Gospel of John, he paints what I call a number of portraits of Jesus. We will look seriously at 29 of them in this book.
John was Jesus’ beloved disciple. He was one of the three that made up the inner circle of the twelve apostles. The other two were Peter and James. These three were especially privileged to be chosen to be with Jesus at critical times in His life here on earth. For example, they were with Him when He was transfigured (Matthew 17), when He prayed in Gethsemane (Matthew 26) and when He raised Jairus’ little daughter from the dead (Mark 5). These same three apostles were prominent also when Jesus instructed His apostles on how to catch fish (Luke 5). What a contrast that is—raise the dead and instruct on fishing.
The apostle John was supernaturally equipped to write the Gospel of John, one of the four Gospels. Each Gospel was written with a unique way of setting forth Jesus. John’s book presents Jesus as the Son of God. Matthew’s presents Jesus as the King of Israel. Mark’s sets forth Jesus as the divine Servant, and Luke’s Gospel pictures Jesus as the Son of Man.
When I thought about writing this book on Portraits of Jesus, one of my wife’s hobbies came to mind. Pearl takes and collects pictures regularly and seriously. She identifies each one before putting it in an album by writing on the back the name of the persons or scene, the place and date taken. All Pearl’s pictures are clearly identified, in other words. When anyone looks at them, no guess work is necessary as to who, when or where, and sometimes even why.
In the Gospel of John the apostle has given us at least 29 portraits of Jesus that unmistakably identify Him as God the Son. Each one is carefully identified and prominently displayed for our instruction and delight. That is what this little book is all about–learning some of the ways Jesus is portrayed in each of the 21 chapters of John’s Gospel. It is very important that we remember as we gaze upon these portraits that we are looking at the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.
As I write this book, I view my readers as primarily lay people. My purpose is not to give an exposition of John’s Gospel. Rather, it is my wish that when this book is read and responded to, the reader will be assisted in thinking through or walking through John’s Gospel with the help of these portraits. I hope I have made it easy to do that for individuals, members of Sunday School classes, or Bible Study classes. Happy looking and learning as you gaze upon John’s portraits of Jesus.
Personal applications and study questions are included at the end of each chapter to help the reader be a better person and better acquainted with Jesus, God’s beloved Son.
God’s Revealer and Revelation
Portrait 1
John 1:1–18
How wonderful it is that the true and living God is not mute. Suppose for a moment that God had not made Himself known, had not revealed Himself at all, ever. That’s hard to even imagine, isn’t it? How would we know right from wrong? How would we know how to get to heaven or even if there is a heaven or a hell, for that matter? We would not know what God expects of us if He had not revealed Himself. The fact of the matter is we would not even know if God exists or not if He had not spoken. We would not know how we got here either or what the chief end of man is.
But, thankfully, God has made Himself known; He has revealed Himself. He has done this in His Written Word and in His Living Word as well as in His world around us. The Bible, the Written Word of God, claims to be His message to mankind. In God’s Written Word He has said that the heavens declare, they tell of, God’s glory and their expanse declares His work (Psalm 19:1). To all, God has given evidence of the reality of His existence (Romans. 1:19).
The personal revelation of God was made when Jesus was born of Mary. He is both the personal Revelation of God and He gave God’s revelation to mankind as He taught. He made God known to us both by who He was and by what He said. Nobody has ever seen God fully; but Jesus Himself explained God the Father who is Spirit (John 4:4). Jesus laid Him bare, as it were, to the scrutiny of mankind. Only Jesus could do this because He alone is “the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father” (1:18). He was sent, was given, by God the Father to the world so that no human need ever perish (3:16).
When Jesus was here on earth, He claimed many times to be God’s Revelation, God’s Messenger. He also while here on planet earth gave many messages, many revelations, about God the Father and how humans can have personal relationships with Him. Jesus revealed God to individuals, small groups, large multitudes, the rich, the poor, the young, the older, the rulers, and the common people.
The first portrait of Jesus we want to see and stand back and admire from John’s brush is Jesus as God’s Revelation of Himself (vv. 1–18). Jesus as God’s Revelation is portrayed in a rather unusual way. He is described as “the Word” who existed before He was born of Mary. His birth had nothing to do with His origin, His beginning. Do you know of any one else of whom this is true? First, then, we might call Him the eternal Word or the Pre-Incarnate Word of God (vv. 1–13) which describes His existence before He was miraculously conceived in Mary’s womb. In the same chapter John then presents Jesus as the incarnate Word of God (vv. 14–18). In both cases He is God’s Revelation to man.
Let’s step up a little closer now and observe some specifics about both of these poses of Jesus as God’s Revelation to us.
Jesus, the Eternal, Pre-Incarnate Word of God (vv. 1–13)
How can we be sure the “Word” John writes about here is in fact a reference to Jesus? The answer to this important question is in verse 14 where we read, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Jesus of
