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The Gospel of John has a very different feel than the three "synoptic" gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke).  It is often said that The Gospel of John has a "High Christology" - which means it focuses more on Jesus' divinity than on his humanity.  As our textbook points out, "The words of the Johannine Jesus are often ambiguous, even deliberately confusing his listeners (e.g., 3:3), conveying two levels of meaning at once." (206)  (Note:  "Johannine" is the word used to refer to things as they appear in the Gospel of John.)

We are going to focus on John 14 - 17, which is often referred to as the "Farewell Discourse" because these chapters contain Jesus' farewell instructions to his followers.   He says a number of confusing - even contradictory - things in these chapters regarding his relationship with God.   Please read Chapter 14 very carefully, and then write on the following questions:

1.   What are some of the things Jesus tells his followers about their connection with him and, at the same time, their connection with God?

2.  What do you think that Jesus means when he says that "anyone who believes in me will perform the works I perform and will be able to perform even greater feats"? (14:12)  This is a fairly astounding thing to say, so don't pass it over without giving it careful thought.  

As always, you must include chapter and verse references if you wish to get a higher grade on this Discussion Forum post.  :-)