LIBERTY UNIVERSITY RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY

Blog Post: The Gospel of John; How “The One Who Jesus Loved” Perceived Jesus

Submitted to Dr. Robert Wayne Stacy,

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of

201740 Fall 2017 NBST 515-B01 LUO L24718991

NBST 515 New Testament Orientation I

by

Brian J. Styer

October 7, 2017

Updated 5/25/2023 16:41

CONTENTS

Blog Post: The Gospel of John; How “The One Who Jesus Loved” Perceived Jesus.

The Word Made Flesh.................................................................................................................1

Introduction..................................................................................................................1

What is the primary Christological Image by which the Gospel Writer Depicts

Jesus?.......................................................................................................................................3

John’s Portrait..............................................................................................................5

Wake up and smell the coffee; the Messiah is here!....................................................6

Bibliography....................................................................................................................7

Updated 5/25/2023 16:41

Blog Post: The Gospel of John; How “The One Who Jesus Loved” Perceived Jesus. The

Word Made Flesh

Introduction

In my Gospel the gospel writer portrays and depicts Jesus as The Word [Gr. Logos] Made

Flesh (John 1:14).1,2 Unlike the Synoptic Gospels who take enormous effort to expound on the

genealogy of Jesus. John trumps this declaring that Jesus the Messiah [Gr. Christos] was present

at Creation, and that nothing was made without him. My NBST 515 New Testament Orientation

Professor, Dr. Robert Wayne Stacy explained that “this week’s assignment was to create a blog-

a contraction of a web-based log”.3 I have viewed a fellow chaplain’s blog “Lesson From Lou”

on WordPress,4 as well as Dr. Stacy’s blog “Disciple's Diary”,5 as well as one of my fellow

Clinical Pastoral Education CPE classmates [Chaplain (Army Colonel/PhD). Michael Milton]

who introduced me to proper Turabian writing style.6 The gospel assigned was indicated by my

last name, so I was assigned the Gospel of John. I have never done a blog in my life but had 1 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten

from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” (John 1:14–18, NASB95)

2 “” The ancient Greek word “logos,” usually translated “word,” has a wide variety of meanings and is common to all periods of Greek literature, both prose and verse, with the exception of Epic literature where it is rarely used.””

Thomas H. Tobin, “Logos,” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 348.

3 Robert Wayne Stacy, “Week 6 (Blog)” (YouTube Video of lecture, Liberty University Online, Lynchburg, VA, August 18, 2017), accessed October 7, 2017, https://youtu.be/9k3zGnaQO4E.

4 Parker, Lou. “NASA Re-Adds Old Zodiac Symbol: If I be Lifted Up from the Earth, (John 12:32) or See, I Told You, Everywhere a Sign. Can’t You Read the Signs?.” Lessons From Lou: Kainos Ktisis – Learning What It Means to Be a New Creation In Christ! A New Creation (blog), August 23, 2017. Accessed October 7, 2017. https://lessonsfromlou.com/2017/08/23/nasa-re-adds-old-zodiac-symbol/.

5 Robert Wayne Stacy, “Advent Meditation,” Disciple's Diary Reflections of a Follower of Christ:(blog), December 10, 2015, accessed October 7, 2017, http://www.rwaynestacy.com/.

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dabbled with a rather expensive program to design our churches first website, so bear with me if

this is slightly course.

Stacy (2017) is correct in that many people are taught the story narrative of the Gospel by

learning a verse or a few verses at a time. This aligns with what my friend Chaplain Lou Parker

means, when he says in a humorous manner, that “he is a carnal Christian”, or he likes some

“meat” instead of being fed “milk and honey” from the pulpit on Sunday morning. For me, it is

the equivalent of eating a cherry pie- one cherry for each bite minus the crust and the ice cream

on top. So, hopefully I will not only capture the main Christology7 of John to receive an

excellent grade, but learn along with you my reader (s).

As a former volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician EMT in my twenties,

I learned to appreciate the early podcasts of Jamie Davis also known as the Pod Medic where I

could listen to his perspective as an EMT student. Likewise, I believe that all scripture is inspired

by the Holy Spirit and that that same Spirit of God uses the whole author’s personal time, talent

and treasures that flavored every gospel (2 Timothy 3:16). Every person has her or his story that

God can use their personal narrative to reach one with similar interests and backgrounds. So, I

was also trained as a youth to memorize scripture a spoonful at a time[and in the Old English

Language of Sir William Shakespeare as it is written in the King James version KJV] thus never

hearing the entire story Spiritual preparation, while driving to serve in Joplin, MO for the

disaster relief mission after an F5 tornado destroyed much of the city, included both prayer and

listening to the New Testament produced by Faith Comes by Hearing website recommended to 6 Michael Milton, “Music to Heal the wounded soul: A new compilation,” Faith For Living, Inc. (blog),

October 06, 2017, accessed October 7, 2017, http://michaelmilton.org/.

7 CHRISTOLOGY (NT). The main object of NT christology is to trace the emergence of Christianity’s distinctive claims regarding Christ as documented in the writings of the NT.

James D. G. Dunn, “Christology (NT),” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 979.Updated 5/25/2023 16:41

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me by a military chaplain who distributes their free Bible Stick MP3 players for troops in the

field or in combat.8. So. As Professor Stacy suggested, I read all of the preceding gospels as well

as the required Gospel of John, and then listened to the narrator Dale McConachie read the

YouVersion New American Standard Version Bible while driving to a Veteran’s Council

Pancake Breakfast at 6:00 am followed by a five kilometer Stop, Drop, and Run fundraiser raiser

for our all-volunteer fire department. After the race, I read the New Kings James version of John

in my Logos Bible Software library.

What is the primary Christological Image by which the Gospel Writer Depicts Jesus?

John’s Word Made Flesh image depicts him before the foundation of Creation:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:1–5, NASB95)

This is why when reviewing a series at a local fire department called “I believe” covering

the tenants of the Apostolic Creed says simply and concisely that he was quick to point out

that,“I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, Our Lord” as compared to what is stated in the

Nicene Creed:

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven 9

He referenced the subject-verb conjugation that could easily be mistranslated that God

gave birth to Jesus. This runs counter to the Jehovah’s Witness faith tradition that depicts Jesus

8 God’s Word for Every Person: Offering hope to 6 billion people through Bible recordings in 1,102 languages,” Faith Comes By Hearing, 2017, accessed October 7, 2017, https://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/.

9 “Section Two the Profession of the Christian Faith,” Catechism of the Catholic Church, n.d., accessed October 7, 2017, http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/credo.htm.Updated 5/25/2023 16:41

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having been born or created by God. Radio show host June Hunt in her book Biblical

Counselling Keys on Jehovah’s Witnesses writes:

Jehovah’s Witnesses admit that Jesus was born of a virgin, but maintain He is not God. Jesus was born by God’s holy power. (They believe that the Holy Spirit is an active force, not a member of the Trinity.18)10

Tal Davis writes in his article “Jehovah’s witness View of Christ” that:

Jehovah God created Jesus as a divine-like spirit at some point in ancient, pre-creation time. "This means that he was created before all the other spirit sons of God, and that he is the only one who was directly created by God" (You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth [Live] [Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1982], p. 58).11

John completely skips and reference to Jesus’ childhood or youth and jumps right to the

adult Jesus who begins his ministry with Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist where the

Holy Spirit Descend like a dove and God the Father pronounces his blessing on his Son saying:

John testified saying,

“I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”” (John 1:32–34, NASB95)

John’s Portrait

John writes about John the Baptist announcing Jesus’ ministry. John seemingly paints

Jesus calling out his disciples in pairs, often family members Simon Peter and his brother

Andrew (John 21:3). Dr. R. Wayne Stacy sums up that the portrait of John includes him more as

God, “almost to the exclusion of the man”, and then he goes on to cite Jesus’ conversations with

818 Should You Believe in the Trinity? 20–22.

10 June Hunt, Biblical Counseling Keys on Jehovah’s Witnesses: A Counterfeit Kingdom ... or Not? (Dallas, TX: Hope For The Heart, 2008), 4.

11 Tal Davis, “Apologetics: Jehovah's Witnesses View of Christ,” North American Mission Board of The Southern Baptist Convention, n.d., accessed October 7, 2017, https://www.namb.net/apologetics/jehovah-s-witnesses-view-of-christ.Updated 5/25/2023 16:41

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the Scribes, Pharisees, and, “even at his trial he is portrayed as the one being in charge’.12 John’s

Jesus encapsulates the Word wrapped in flesh concept that when asked cites each time the

encounter with Moses at the burning bush when Moses asks, “who should I say sent me?”

(Exodus 3:13). He offers a no-nonsense, no story approach that his Jesus uses signs as practical,

visual illustrations to prove that he is who he says he is, and then Jesus goes on to explain the

meanings of the miracles through his sermons. John’s Jesus speaks of the Jewish feasts and that

Christ has come as the object of the feast to replace the purpose of the feast. For example, many

people get their focus skewed by the first miracle that Jesus preforms at the wedding in Canaa

where he turns water into wine. There is significance in that the vessels used were used for

ceremonial cleansing, the wedding feast itself echoes of how Jesus’ purpose is to restore

humanity’s relationship with their Creator, and the wine itself is the best because he poured out

himself for us as a drink offering sparing nothing but the best that he had to offer.

Wake up and smell the coffee; the Messiah is here!

A repeating theme throughout John’s narrative is how frequently Jesus preforms the

supernatural that should be evidentiary of his divinity, yet both citizen and ruler alike seem

reluctant to accept that the Christ walks with them.

12 Robert Wayne Stacy, “Presentation: An Overview of the Four Gospels” (PointeCaste Presentation of lecture, Liberty University Online, Lynchburg, VA, Date), accessed October 7, 2017, https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-18423527-dt-content-rid-167560867_1/courses/NBST515_B01_201740/Presentations/NBST515%20iSpring%20Presentations/NBST515%20Module%206%20Overview%20of%20Four%20Gospels%20%28LMS%29/res/html5.ht.Updated 5/25/2023 16:41

Bibliography

God’s Word for Every Person: Offering hope to 6 billion people through Bible recordings in 1,102 languages. 2017. https://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/ (accessed October 7, 2017).

Lea, Thomas D., and David Alan Black. The New Testament: Its Background and Message. 2nd. Grand Rapids, MI: B&H Academic, 2003.

Parker, Lou. NASA Re-Adds Old Zodiac Symbol: If I be Lifted Up from the Earth, (John 12:32) or See, I Told You, Everywhere a Sign. Can’t You Read the Signs? Blog at WordPress.com. . August 23, 2017. https://lessonsfromlou.com/2017/08/23/nasa-re-adds-old-zodiac-symbol/ (accessed October 7, 2017).

Scott, J. Julius Jr. Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament. . Grand Rapids, MI : Baker Academic, 2000.

Stacy, Robert Wayne. Week 6 (Blog). Lecture. YouTube Video. Prod. Liberty University Online. Lynchburg, VA, August 18, 2017.

"Stacy, Robert Wayne. ." Advent Meditation. blog. December 10, 2015.

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