Recently I looked through St. John's gospel and found some interesting patterns. In every chapter but the last I could find some description of Jesus as the one who removes the barrier between us and God, a description of that action, and something in the context that connects that action with atonement. Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to paste it into the blog in a table, so I put it into a less handy format. Here are the results:
Ch. 1. Title: The Word of God
Atoning Action: became flesh
Connection with atonement: God takes on our flesh, becoming “at one” with us (v. 14)
Title: The Lamb of God
Atoning Action: who takes away the sin of the world
Connection with atonement: Reference to the use of lambs in the Levitical sacrificial system
Ch. 2. (no title; Jesus is a wedding guest)
Atoning Action: turns water of purification to wine
Connection with atonement: Purification (stone waterpots, v. 6) and giving life (wine, v. 10)
Title: Son of the Father
Atoning Action: cleanses the temple
Connection with atonement: "Temple" refers his own body and death (vv. 19-21)
Ch. 3. Title: Son of Man, Son of God
Atoning Action: sent to save the world & give eternal life
Connection with atonement: Eternal life (vv. 16-18, 36)
Ch. 4. Title: The Messiah
Atoning Action: who gives the water of life
Connection with atonement: Eternal life (vv. 14, 25,26)
Title: The Lord
Atoning Action: who gives life
Connection with atonement: Eternal life not mentioned, but giving life is the prerogative of God (vv. 49, 51)
Ch 5. Title: The Son
Atoning Action: who works to heal
Connection with atonement: His healing is part of his father’s work, which is the reconciliation of God and man(vv. 8-9, 17)
Title: The Son
Atoning Action: who obeys the Father and gives life instead of judgment (condemnation) to believers
Connection with atonement: Believers honor the Son and have passed from death to life (vv. 19-24, 27)
Title: The Son
Atoning Action: who bears witness
Connection with atonement: “That you may be saved” (v. 34)
Ch 6. Title: The Son, The bread of life, the bread of God
Atoning Action: who gives life to the world
Connection with atonement: Resurrection and eternal life (vv. 39-40)
Ch 7. Title: The prophet, Messiah
Atoning Action: who gives living water
Connection with atonement: Reference to life & the Holy Spirit (vv. 38-39)
Ch 8. Title: The light of the world
Atoning Action: who gives the light of life
Connection with atonement: Connection of light with life (v. 12)
Title: The Son
Atoning Action: who makes free
Connection with atonement: Freedom from the slavery of sin (vv. 31-36)
Ch 9. Title: The light of the world
Atoning Action: who gives sight
Connection with atonement: Judgment (v. 39) and the removal, or not, of sin (v. 41)
Ch 10. Title: The door of the sheep
Atoning Action: who gives salvation and pasture
Connection with atonement: Connection of pasture with salvation (v. 9)
Title: The good shepherd
Atoning Action: who lays down his life for the sheep
Connection with atonement: Gives life by dying (v. 11)
Title: The shepherd
Atoning Action: who knows &calls the sheep
Connection with atonement: Knowing (v. 15) & hearing (v. 16) express union & belonging, esp. with the comparison “even as the Father knows me and I know the Father” and the result, “and I lay down my life for the sheep,” both in v. 15.
Title: The shepherd
Atoning Action: who knows the sheep & they follow
Connection with atonement: Knowing and hearing related to eternal life (vv. 27-29)
Ch 11. Title: The Lord, Christ, Son of God
Atoning Action: who gives life
Connection with atonement: Reference to the resurrection (vv. 24-25, 43-44)
Ch 12. Title: The Son of Man
Atoning Action: who draws all men to himself
Connection with atonement: Connection with “if I be lifted up,” v. 32.
Title: Light
Atoning Action: who delivers believers from darkness
Connection with atonement: Light and belief connected with being converted and healed (v. 40)
Ch 13. Title: The Servant
Atoning Action: who washes us
Connection with atonement: Connection with the OT washings (implicit)
Ch 14. Title: The Son
Atoning Action: who prepares a place for us
Connection with atonement: in the Father’s house (v. 2, 3).
Title: The Son
Atoning Action: who gives the Spirit
Connection with atonement: to be with us forever (vv. 16-17).
Ch 15. Title: The true vine
Atoning Action: through whom the branches bear fruit
Connection with atonement: These are the branches that the Father prunes (v. 2) and keeps (v. 6).
Ch 16. Title: The Son
Atoning Action: who goes to the Father
Connection with atonement: Connection with giving the Holy Spirit (vv. 7 ff.) and the Father’s love for us (vv. 27-28)
Ch 17. Title: The Son
Atoning Action: who gives eternal life
Connection with atonement: Eternal life (v. 2)
Title: The Son
Atoning Action: who manifested God’s name to his disciples
Connection with atonement: and God gave them to him (v. 6).
Title: The Son
Atoning Action: who prays on our behalf
Connection with atonement: “Sanctified in truth” (v. 17) means belonging to & union with God (vv. 21, 23).
Ch 18. Title: King of the Jews
Atoning Action: who bears witness to the truth
Connection with atonement: “Hearing” is connected in previous passages with belonging to Jesus
Ch 19. Title: King of the Jews
Atoning Action: crucified
Connection with atonement: References to the Passover (vv. 14, 36) depict Jesus as our Passover lamb; reference to Zechariah 12:10 (v. 37) connects the crucifixion with the coming of "the Spirit of grace and supplication"
Ch 20. Title: The resurrected Son
Atoning Action: grants peace
Connection with atonement: Peace with God (v. 21)
Title: The resurrected Son
Atoning Action: gives the Holy Spirit
Connection with atonement: Union with God (v. 22)
Ch 21.
