Jesus in the Book of John: Creation, Life, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension
Introduction
The Gospel of John provides an in-depth account of Jesus's journey, touching on everything from creation (John 1:1) to life, death, resurrection, and ascension (John 3:13, 6:62, 14:2-3, 16:5). Johns Gospel shows Jesus as both divine and human, describing the duality of His nature and His important role as the Savior of mankind. This paper examines Jesus as the Beginning and the End, by exploring the elements of His journey as presented in the Gospel of John, so as to see more clearly His identity and mission. The thesis of this paper is that through Jesus's creation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, John illustrates the divinity and humanity of Jesus and His ultimate role as the Saviorin short, Jesus as the Beginning and the End of life for us.
What Does It Mean?
What does it mean to be both the beginning and the end? This mystery is wrapped up in Gods eternality. God has no beginning and no endyet Jesus is God and is also the Beginning and the End, which is His title in the Book of Revelation (also written by John): I am the alpha and the omega (Revelation 1:8, 21:6, 22:13). He is the End because union with Him is the goal of every Christian. He is the Beginning because as John states in the Gospel, In the Beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus is the Word as well as the Alpha and the Omega. Man was created to be with God, and Jesus is the Savior who makes that possible after the fall of mankind.
Creation
In the Book of John, Jesus's role in creation is expressed in the Prologue (John 1:1-18), which is unique to John's gospel. Here, Jesus is identified as the 'Word' or the 'Logos' - the divine principle of reason that governs the universe. Kstenberger (2004) explains that the concept of 'Logos' was familiar to both Greek philosophy and Jewish wisdom tradition. By using this term, John creates a bridge between different cultures, effectively communicating the divine role of Jesus to all peoples.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). This passage emphasizes the eternality and the divinity of Jesus, affirming His existence prior to creation and His oneness with God. As the 'Word,' Jesus is not a mere instrument of God's creative action but rather the active agent through whom creation happened. This thought is further reinforced in John 1:3, where it is stated that "all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." The...
…completion of His mission on earth. The "end" here does not signify a termination but rather the fulfilment of Jesus's divine purpose. The resurrection narrative in John 20 affirms that Jesus conquered death, providing a path for humanity to attain eternal life. His ascension marks the end of His earthly mission, as Jesus returns to His rightful place in the heavenly realm, promising to send the Holy Spirit as a guide for His followers.Moreover, Jesus is the "end" in the sense that He is the ultimate revelation of God. As stated in John 14:9, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." Through Jesus, humanity can fully comprehend the nature and love of God, making Him the culmination of God's revelation. He is the also the end goal for humanitythe end that all should pursue if they want to be happy. This is why Jesus gave us His body and blood as spiritual food at the Last Supper: He desires that we have real communion with Him, that we allow Him to live within us.
Conclusion
The Book of John provides a profound exploration of Jesus's journey from creation through life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus is portrayed both as a divine entity integral to creation and the savior who, through His death and resurrection, offers salvation to humanity. Understanding these aspects of Jesus's identity illuminates His role in Christian…
References
The Bible. (1984). New International Version. International Bible Society.
Köstenberger, A. J. (2004). John. Baker Academic.
Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel according to John. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
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