The Gospel of John was written to show that salvation was only through Jesus, the Son of
God, the true Messiah, and is for all nations and for all people. Yet, there are those who will
argue that book of John was written for only the Jews. One such scholar, Israel Abrahams in
1924 wrote, “To us Jews, the Fourth Gospel is the most Jewish of the four!” [1]. In their book
The Gospel of John: Believe and Live, Elmer Towns and Mal Couch backup Abraham’s claims
stating, “The religion of the Jews was in part to point them to Christ who is fulfillment of the
Law. It is only natural, then, to expect the various feasts of the Jewish calendar to be typical of
Christ”[2].
In Exodus 3, Moses is talking to God, and ask Him, who should he tell the Israelites that
sent him to free them from bondage? God responds to Moses in Exodus 3:14, “I AM WHO I AM,”
this is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I AM has sent me to you”[3]. Towns states that the
reference to “I AM” from God had a specific implication to the Jews. In John’s Gospel, seven
times Jesus refers to himself as “I AM” and in John 8:58, “Very truly I say to you,” Jesus
answered, “before Abraham was born, I AM.” In Exodus, using “I AM” was revealed to Moses in
the burning bush, and shows that Jesus is the same “I AM.” Symbolism in John’s Gospel is
involved with the Jewish festivals that are reflected in Jesus’s ministry and in other Gospels.
John used Old Testament references and examples to prove Jesus was the Messiah, the ‘One’ the
Jews had been looking for. The Jews were very familiar with the Old Testament and would be
more likely to believe or trust those writings more than other Gospels.
Jesus was called ‘rabbi’ eight times in John’s Gospel and the title was used many times
by Jesus’s followers [4]. John was born a Jew and and I do not think he would not give up an
opportunity to convert the Jewish people and convince them that Jesus is the Messiah and “no
one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:16). John is trying to convict his audience
by quoting Isaiah 53:1 and John 12, showing the Jews what was prophesized by Isaiah, their
denial of Christ [4]. The Jews kept asking Jesus for signs that he was truly the Messiah. It was
the only way they would believe in Him, even though Jesus gave them signs, they still did not
believe. Their denials were confirmed in Corinthians 1:22 and in John 6:30-35. Even after all the
proof the Jews required, Jesus Himself, was the only sign needed to prove He needed to prove he
was the true Messiah.
[1] Morris, L. Jesus is the Christ: Studies in the Theology of John. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1989.
[2] Towns, Elmer L., Couch, Mal. The Gospel of John: Believe and Live. Chattanooga, TN:
AMG Publishers, 2002.
[3] Holy Bible, New International Version.
[4] Kostenberger, Andreas J. Encountering John. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academics, 2013.
