Jesus comes upon a man blind from birth and gives the
man sight. The Pharisees are frustrated to realize that Jesus really
has cured the man, who now professes faith in him. For their failure
to believe, Jesus pronounces the Pharisees blind and teaches that
he is the good shepherd, and that it is only through him that the
sheep of Israel’s flock shall be saved. Months pass, and at the
Feast of Dedication, the Jewish holiday Hanukkah, Jesus is again
confronted by the Jews in the temple, who ask whether or not he
is the Christ. He responds by announcing that he is the Son of God,
united with God. The crowd tries to stone him, but Jesus escapes
Jerusalem.
Jesus is called to Bethany, the village where two of his
devout followers, Mary and Martha, live with their brother Lazarus,
who has fallen sick. Arriving in Bethany too late, Jesus finds Lazarus
dead. He works a miracle to inspire belief in the observers, resurrecting Lazarus.
Hearing of this spectacle, the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem,
including the chief priests, decides to kill both Jesus and Lazarus. Nevertheless,
Jesus travels to Jerusalem for Passover. He has foreseen his own
death, as well as the salvation that he will bring through his sacrifice.
Many of the Jews, despite witnessing signs of Jesus’s divinity, continue
to disbelieve, and Jesus decries their lack of faith.
At the Passover meal, or Seder, Jesus preaches extensively
to the apostles. Through washing their feet, he teaches them that
they must serve each other, saying, “I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another” (13:34).
Jesus stresses his unity with God: “I am in the Father, and the
Father is in me” (14:10).
Jesus foresees his own death and his betrayal by Judas. “I am going
to the Father,” he tells the apostles (14:28).
Jesus assures the apostles that in Jesus’s place, God will send an
advocate, the Spirit of God, who will continue to dwell with the
faithful, and who will lead them toward truth and salvation. He
warns them that even after his death, they will continue to be persecuted,
but that their ultimate salvation is imminent. Hearing this prophesy,
the apostles finally express their firm belief in Jesus, and Jesus
responds triumphantly, “I have conquered the world” (16:33).
In a long, private prayer, Jesus addresses God directly, asking
him to consecrate, glorify, and protect the faithful.
The narrative moves quickly toward its conclusion. Jesus
is arrested by the soldiers whom Judas leads to him. He is brought
first before the Jewish high priest, and then before Pontius Pilate,
the Roman prefect. Pilate repeatedly interrogates Jesus, who refuses
to confirm the allegation against him—that he has acted treasonably against
Caesar by declaring himself King of the Jews. Pilate is reluctant
to condemn Jesus, but the Jews agitate for Jesus’s execution, and eventually
Pilate consents. Jesus is crucified, and the soldiers cast lots
to determine who will get his clothing. Pilate affixes a notice
to the cross, reading “Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews” (19:19). Jesus
dies, and to ensure his death, a solider pierces his side with a lance.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus bury Jesus on a Friday.
On Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene comes to Jesus’s grave
and finds it empty. Jesus appears to her, and she brings the news
of his resurrection to the disciples. Later that day, he appears
to the disciples, whom he charges with the propagation of his message:
“As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (20:21).
Thomas is absent from the room, and he expresses doubt as to the
resurrection until, a week later, Jesus reappears to him as well.
For I have set you an example that you
also should do as I have done to you.
(See Important Quotations Explained)
Analysis
For John, Jesus’s miracles are not simply wonders to astonish onlookers,
but signs pointing to his glory that come from the presence of God
within him. In the early stages of his ministry, John tells of an
encounter between Jesus and a Samaritan woman at the well. At this
time, the Samaritans were a group of people despised by the Jews,
and casual conversation between men and women was taboo. Jesus asks
the woman to fetch him water, but she misunderstands his words to
mean literal water. Quickly, she learns that the water to which
he refers is already in her presence, that Jesus is “a spring of water
gushing up to eternal life,” to which she replies, “Sir, give me this
water so that I may never be thirsty” (4:14-15).
This story is not a short parable, but an opportunity for Jesus
to explain elaborately his personhood using life giving symbols
characteristic of John’s writing: water, words, bread, and light.
John tells of this Samaritan woman leaving to then become a successful
missionary of the “good news” in Samaria (4:42).
