Jesus in the Gospel of John

It would be hard to overestimate the influence of the fourth Gospel on the history of the Church.   Over the centuries, followers of Christ have turned to John for reassurance, edification and encouragement in their faith.   Theologians alike have found the elevated Christology of John’s Gospel to be one of the highest expressions of who Christ is in the Bible.   Both of those thoughts aside, the Gospel of John is filled with imagery, metaphors and illustrations that draw the reader into the world of this writer/evangelist.   More importantly, as we see characters either accept or reject Christ’s message of eternal life, we, in turn, are prompted to make the same decision for our lives.  
The Gospel of John, sometimes referred to as the “Book of Signs” sets out much like the other canonical Gospels in an effort to tell the story of Jesus’ origins, ministry, death and resurrection.   While John’s Gospel does not give the same precedence to certain events in the narrative of Christ as the Synoptics, he focuses more specifically on the spiritual aspects of Jesus’ life and uses these acts to lay emphasis on Jesus’ Messiahship and divine nature.  
The story of the life of Jesus Christ didn’t begin in Nazareth or Bethlehem.   As John’s Gospel tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” (John 1:1).   It would be more accurate to state that Jesus of Nazareth was God, or more correctly that God became Jesus of Nazareth.   The eternal Christ, who became Jesus of Nazareth, was the creator Christ from the beginning.   He is the God of atoms and suns, life and death.   He was and is the source of all life from start to finish.   He is the light and logos that entered the world to snuff out darkness.   Jesus Christ entered the world exactly as His Father had pinned from the beginning – born a Jew to a virgin mother in meager circumstances.   His genealogy wasn’t the line most Jews expected the Messiah to come from, but fulfilled Old...