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.
2 comments:
I was just reading an article on Jesus' death in John when I clicked over here!
The only question I'd raise at this point: why in ch. 1 did you say "esp. Passover" for a lamb who takes away sin? That doesn't seem to be how the narrative of the Passover sacrifice works?
Daniel,
It was also my impression that Passover doesn't fit the action of "taking away sins," although it might fit "covering." Then I found some passage that (I thought) made a connection between the two - and now I can't find it!
Consequently I have changed the post.
Thanks for the feedback.
Post a Comment