The Divinity of Jesus in the Gospel of John
From the very beginning of the first chapter, the Gospel of John places Jesus above any man and prophet and calls him the Word and God, thus challenging his readers and stating that he became flesh and dwelt among us and He is called the only son of the father who is in the arms of the father.
John also declares the seven statements “I am” of Jesus Christ and the explicit references that Christ has to his relationship with the Father and with these explanations, he shows the true personality of Jesus to the readers, although John says at the end of the Gospel What Christ did and what was written was only enough for people to believe that he is the Christ and the Son of God and find life, and the world cannot contain what was in him and what happened.
Referring to the seven words “I am” of Jesus Christ
In John 6:35, Jesus Christ says: “I am the bread of life.” Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
To understand the meaning of Jesus Christ from this verse, perhaps it is better to pay attention to the previous verses, where Jesus says that Moses did not give the bread from heaven, but it was God the Father who gave the true bread, and the true bread is the one that comes down from heaven. in order to give life to the world, in fact, Jesus introduces himself as the heavenly man that was meaningful to the Jews, but he is the bread that whoever eats it will not be hungry. That is, knowing God is actually the true bread for receiving eternal life.
In John 8:12 and 9:5, Jesus spoke to the people again and said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. And “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
In chapter 1 of John, verse 4, the word of God says: “In him was life, and the life was the light of man”, God is light and Jesus Christ is the same light and lights the way of life and is like a pillar of fire in the desert in Exodus 13: 21 He lights the way for the Israelites and lights the way for all the worlds, and whoever walks with him will not be in the darkness of the world.
In John 8:58, Jesus says: “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am!”
erse, Jesus Christ does not say that “he was”, but he says “I am” and in this way he declares his eternal existence and oneness with God the Father. For the Jews, Abraham was a person with whom God made a covenant and God’s prophecy to Abraham was seen in the multiplication of his descendants in the nation of Israel, and now Jesus Christ said that he was before Abraham.
In John 10:11 he says: “I am the good shepherd.” The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Shepherd was a word that had a special meaning for the people of Israel, where this description is provided for Jacob, the father of Israel, in Genesis 31:39, and also for David in 1 Samuel 17:34-37, Jesus calls himself a shepherd. Nico declares that he is ready to lay down his life for the sheep, which is giving life to believers at the cost of his own life.
It is also possible to refer here to Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 53 verses 6 and 7 about the suffering servant and to the Gospel of John chapter 15 verse 13 that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
In John 11:25, Jesus says: “I am the resurrection and the life.” Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, he will live again. Jesus Christ is not only life, but the resurrection of all those who believe in him from spiritual death, in the Acts of the Apostles chapter 3 verse 15, Jesus is called “prince of life” by Peter, and according to Hebrews 7:16, this life that he gives is immortal. .
The Jews knew very well that Jehovah is the giver of life, and Jesus Christ emphasized his oneness with God the Father and his divinity by announcing this.
In John 14:6, Jesus says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; No one comes to the Father except through me.” Perhaps this saying of Jesus is the most beautiful and profound word of evangelism and salvation, that he is the only way and not one of many ways, but he is the only way, truth and life, all those who are thirsty for heaven, can only come to the presence through him. Father, come.
Even the followers of Jesus were called people of tariqat, because he called himself tariq or the same way. In the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 4, Verse 12, and in Hebrews, Chapter 10, Verses 19 and 20, we can see the emphasis on this issue. He is the only way to reach eternal truth.
In John 15:1 he says: “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.” In the Old Testament, the vine has been repeatedly used for the people of Israel, this can be seen in Psalm 80 verses 8-16, Isaiah 5 verses 1-7 and Jeremiah chapter 2 verse 21.
Here, Jesus introduces himself as the true vine that God the Father is the gardener and whoever stays in this vine will bear much fruit. This fruit is life and the fruits of the spirit. If he does not stay in the vine, it will wither. The remaining vine will be pruned.
What can be understood from the words of Christ from the beginning to the end of this Gospel is that the Father has entrusted the implementation of the plan of saving mankind to him, his only son, as it is said in chapter 3:16 and 17 that the heavenly father, because of his love for humans, gave his son sent to bring them salvation through him, and whoever does not believe in him will be judged.
No one in the history of Judaism and even in the history of mankind had spoken of such a phrase and connection with Jehovah, and Christ showed not only with his words but also with his actions that he is indeed the only Son of the Father, Christ showed with his crucifixion and resurrection that His essence is full of the same love that is in his father.
With various references to the fact that Jesus Christ is the incarnate word and God, that he is the only son of God, and also to the words of Christ in the seven sentences “I am” and being one with the Father, John beautifully portrays the divinity of Christ and in a beautiful way from all These topics are used to bring the readers to the true knowledge of the savior of the world.
All the attributes declared for Jesus Christ are unique to him and there is no one in the world who can be described like this and the narrative of his life is to give his life to save all people, which with his strange and awesome resurrection, showed that he is alive from eternity to eternity. Amen
Today in the article : Divinity of Jesus in the Gospel of John We reviewed useful information about the Bible and the way of Jesus. If you wish, you can view other articles of Ali Vahidi about Christianity
