BIBLE STUDY WEEK # 7 (EXTRA)

Extra:

John's Gospel was written later than the Synoptics and apart from them.  It is the most

theologically sophisticated of all the Gospels. With the passage of time, there was increased reflection on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This theological reflection often uses poetic imagery. Far from Mark's very human Jesus, John's Jesus is the Eternal Word, Bread of Life, the

Way, the Truth and the Life, and the Light of the World . John emphasizes Jesus' divinity more strongly than any of the other gospel writers. The emphasis is not so much on Jesus' suffering as his freely choosing to suffer and to die for us. Jesus is self–confident in the face of death. In

John, on the night before he dies, Jesus gives long theological discourses on the meaning of his time with them and what is to happen. The unique character of the Gospel, many believe, is based on the experience and insight of the Beloved Disciple of Jesus. John the evangelist's audience was a diverse group, primarily Jewish-Christian from the Diaspora, mixed with Samaritan converts, some followers of John the Baptist, and some Gentile-Christians. This community, persecuted by its Roman overlords, as well as feeling isolated from, and even in conflict with Jewish and other Christian communities, created a gospel of sublime theological and poetic expression. However, the community also felt compelled to identify all who refused to follow Jesus as the children of darkness. Perhaps due to the preponderance of Jewish Christians in the community, the unfortunate generalization "the Jews" was often used to describe those who rejected Jesus. At other times, "the Jews" is used in a historical and objective manner, referring to the Jewish religious leaders, or people of the Jewish faith.