I believe the Apostle John, the author of the Gospel According to John, would heartily agree with the statement above: IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS. The Apostle was born into a family of fishermen. As far as his fellow Jews were concerned, his was a necessary, but an “unclean” profession. Everyone pretty much had to have fish to live, but those who did the fishing were considered “unclean.” Thank God, Jesus saw in John, James, Simon Peter and Andrew, the stuff of mighty, faithful, world-changing men of God. He called them to leave their fishing for fish; and as they followed Him, He patiently transformed them into the world-changers only He, as the Messiah, could make them. Though they would each often disappoint Him with their misdeeds, their miss-spoken words, and their misunderstandings; Jesus faithfully and daily walked with these and His other disciples, ate with them, laughed and joked with them, admired the heavens with them, prayed with them, taught them His Father’s Ways; and as we might say today; He did life with them. Imagine their privilege—engaging in personal discipleship everyday with the living Word of God right there beside you.

So, it does not surprise me in the least when John makes the following statements as He is closing out his own Gospel account of  Jesus, His life and His teachings, His death and His resurrection—and all of the miraculous things He said and did during those three years. Following Jesus obviously changed John’s life forever.

John 20:30 ESV

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples,
which are not written in this book,
but these are written
so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 21: 25 ESV

Now there are many other things that Jesus did.
Were every one of them to be written,
I suppose that the world itself
could not contain the books that would be written.

*************

 

 

I Can Never Say Enough About Jesus

I can never say enough about Jesus
who is the absolute Word of God,
who came the Lamb of God
to live and die and rise again among us.

I can never say enough about Jesus
who though He is the very Son of God
called me, John, and my
brother, to leave our fishing and follow Him.

I can never say enough about Jesus
who though He had come from the Throne of God
sat in the dirt and
ate dried fish as He joked and laughed with me.

I can never say enough about Jesus who
taught multitudes the perfect Love of God,
then fed them as if they
were just a few friends needing a simple meal.

I can never say enough about Jesus who
during the midst of a terrible, a threatening storm
walked across the waters
to us, casting aside both the storm and our fears.

I can never say enough about Jesus who
who even after His friend, Lazarus, had died
and had lain in his grave
four days—Jesus commanded him to arise and he did.

I can never say enough about Jesus who
took Peter, brother James and me up on the mount
where in wonder amazed
we saw Him transfigured, Elijah, Moses and our Lord.

I can never say enough about Jesus who
even hanging, in agony on the Cross, called
me to care in His place
for His dear mother in the loss of her Son, and God’s.

I can never say enough about Jesus who
arose victorious, up from the grave
securing for us His own life
eternal, redeeming us as the Children of God.

 

I have no doubt that John had it right. He knew the Truth when he saw it every morning, every day, every night. I believe He was led by the Spirit of God to include in the Gospel according to John these seven statements, in which Jesus taught His disciples, that in every way He was the Word of God, God the Son, God Incarnate among God’s own people. So, in revealing the Glory of God as expressed in Himself, Jesus boldly and truly says, “I AM.”

 

 

John 6:35 ESV

Jesus said to them,
“I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me
shall not hunger,
and whoever believes in me
shall never thirst.

First, we remember the phrase “I Am” echoes God’s reply to Moses at the Burning Bush when asked for His name. God replies, “I am that I am.” God expresses His Holiness and His eternal identity as the One God, who has always been, is now, and will always be. So, in the face of those who question His own identity, Jesus repeatedly uses “I Am” as He explains to those He teaches His divine nature. Here, in chapter 6, after feeding five thousand with five barley loaves and two fish; Jesus, discusses with the crowd their reference to the manna from heaven they attribute to Moses. Jesus reminds them the manna came from God, and that now, in Jesus Himself, God offers them the true bread from Heaven. Therefore,  Jesus proclaims Himself, “I am the Bread of Life.” Then he explains that this bread is eternal, so that those who receive Him, will never hunger nor will they thirst for eternal life. 

John 8:12 ESV

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying,
”I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me
will not walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life.”

 

In John 8:12 Jesus follows up His forgiveness of the woman caught in adultery as He proclaims, “I am the light of the world.” Those who had accused the poor woman had spoken out of the darkness of their hearts, feeling no mercy for the one they had entrapped only as an attempt to entrap Jesus. Yet Jesus brought light to banish the darkness of their ugly hatred for HIm and their utter lack of compassion for this poor woman. It is Jesus those desperately selfish religious leaders need. Otherwise they will perish in darkness. Only Jesus can bring to them and to us the light of life. Jesus reveals the validity of His claim when in John 9, He heals a man who been born blind—something no one had ever done before.

John 10:7 ESV

So Jesus again said to them,
”Truly, truly, I say to you,
I am the door of the sheep.”

Anyone who knows anything about the Bible, knows Psalm 23 in which David vividly pictures God as the Good Shepherd who lovingly provides for His sheep. Jesus proclaims Himself to be that same Good Shepherd walking among His People, the sheep of His Pasture. He uses the example of a shepherd protecting His sheep by sleeping in the entrance to the fold. Jesus, indeed, claims to be the One who calls the sheep by name and allows them into the safety of the fold, and then guards them by placing HImself as the door, He not only gives them the permission to enter, but also blocks the way, so that no enemy can enter. Jesus assures His own sheep; “Welcome, come in, rest, and I will keep you safe.” Jesus is, indeed, the  door for His sheep.

John 10:11, 14 ESV

”I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life
for the sheep.

”I am the good shepherd.
I know my own and my own know me.

Jesus adds to this claim to be the door, an even more powerful image when he repeats it twice in chapter ten, “I am the good shepherd.” Then He explains, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” The sheep are safe. The shepherd will defend them with His own life. We know this is true because He actually did so on the Cross and then rose from the dead to emphasize His power to keep His sheep. Next he adds another layer of assurance, “I know my own and my own know me.” Nothing can divide the Shepherd from His sheep. We are wonderfully kept by Jesus as our Good Shepherd.

John 11:25 ESV

Jesus said to her,
”I am the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me,
though he die, yet shall he live.

John 11 reveals both the depth of Jesus’ love for His own, and also His power to act on that love with incredible power. How beautifully Jesus relates to His dear friends, Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Of course, Martha and Mary are heartbroken. Their relationship with Lazarus as his sisters clearly reveals a deep bond forged by their mutual love. Jesus actually reveals here the depth of His humanity as He mourns deeply with these dear friends. Still, as not only their friend, but also as their Messiah, He claims and then demonstrates His power. He says to the distraught Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He assures her, even though Lazarus has died, he will live again. And, as we know, after a similar, heartbreaking encounter with Mary, Jesus acts. He calls Lazarus from the tomb, although he has been dead four days; and Lazarus comes forth to the wonder of many and to the horror of some. Jesus, is indeed, the resurrection and the life.

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”

In this sixth of Jesus’ I Am statements, it seems He is looking forward to our own day when so many people want to make Jesus a way, a source of truth and a satisfying life among many others. God did not send Jesus to the world to be one option among many for people to discover God in all of His Love and His provision for all of His people. God did not will His Son to die on His horrible cross so that Jesus could be merely an option. God did not raise Jesus gloriously from the dead to identify Jesus as a preferred option among several good choices. No! No! No! Jesus makes it clear: “I am THE WAY. I am THE TRUTH. I am THE LIFE.” Jesus is not just a better option in a multiple choice question. He is the ONE and ONLY answer—and by the way, He is the most excellent way—the blessed way—the perfect way. Praise God! These are the words Thomas and the other disciples needed to hear as they dealt with their own doubts and the doubts of many others. These are  the words you and I need. These are the words we can take as our strong foundation. These are the words we “can take to the bank.” Again, praise God!

John 15: 1, 5

”I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vine dresser.

”I am the vine; you are the branches.
Whoever abides in me and I in him,
he it is that bears much fruit,
for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, He further insists in his final I Am statements, that His beloved disciples must depend on Him for their very lives. Notice how He emphasizes that He exists as the one and only vine. “I am the true vine.” He reminds them how they as branches depend upon our connection to Him as the Vine, for their very lives. He further insists they can do nothing outside of His loving, powerful connection to their own lives. Without Him they have no life. When we, ourselves, remain connected to Him, fruit will come, for He is the source of all life, all growth, and all the fruit we bear. 

In the Gospel according to John, Jesus’ beloved disciple takes Jesus’ own words in the midst of His powerful miracles and signs—to make an air tight case—Jesus did, indeed, make it clear—in every way He lived as God-on-the-Earth, as God-among-His-people, insisting in everything He did and everything He said—“I am One with God, and God loves you. In every way you need God, I Am here among you.”