Christ Through the Ages, 10: John–Heavenly Word, Human Flesh

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.Listen to the 10th podcast in the series (11 minutes), John: The (Heavenly) Word in (Human) Flesh.Emphasized in this podcast:90% of John’s material is unique, and mainly set in Jerusalem, as opposed to Galilee.Unlike the Synoptics, John is not structured around the Caesarea-Jerusalem trek following Peter’s confession (Mark 8).Emphasizes Jesus’ incarnation: humanity.Antitheses: simple yet effective use of paired opposites, combined with physical and spiritual levels (and frequent misunderstanding).Has the most universal focus of the four gospels.Triple-7 (7 signs, 7 confessions, 7 I AM statements). (More on this in the Worship podcast series.)Humanity: fatigue 4:6; anguish 12:27, 13:21; weeping 11:33-35; irritation 2:4; friends 11:11.A study of John 11:1-35Jesus has friends, and he spends time with them.Jesus is affected by the emotions of others (Mary, Martha, the crowd).Jesus loves Lazarus, in a way he did not love others. Like us, he is closer to some persons than to others.Jesus is seized with emotion ("Jesus wept"), and this was obvious to others.Jesus shows us how to be human.QuestionsAm I aware of the differences among the four Gospels?Do I grasp the message of John's gospel?Do I lean towards conceiving of Christ as more and Angel or more as a human? Do I have a balanced Christology?Have I ever been taught that the body is somehow unnecessary, or even unspiritual?Am I attempting to imitate Jesus, as an example of the perfect human?Next:  Jesus in James: Wisdom from Above.