Who is Jesus, According to the Gospel of John? Jesus is Creator, King, Savior, Friend: GOD
- Caleb Mckee
- Dec 5, 2023
- 10 min read
INTRODUCTION
Who is Jesus?
I suppose the answer to the question depends on who you ask.
But, today, you’ve asked me… and there is, of course, objective truth: A correct answer - one that I will do my best to represent. But, no matter who you ask, if they’ve truly had an encounter with the living, manifest will of God, they will know him as King, Creator, Savior, and Friend, just as John did.
Of course, in order to explain this properly, one must delve into some form of Christology, the hypostatic union, and of course, the trinity. In the six-page requirement of this paper, we will barely scratch the surface of those topics, opting to instead place John’s gospel in the overall metanarrative of scripture (as one should) to look at the claims he makes, rather than doing a deep dive on one of those theological topics.
WHO IS JESUS, ANYWAY?
The introduction of Jesus, according to John
Jesus is, as per the gospel of John, the Son of God (I thought it would be funny to turn in a paper that ends here, but my wife insisted on me passing your class). According to John, he wrote his gospel account so that we “may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that by believing, [we] may have life in his name.”
Perhaps I should’ve tagged the above paragraph with a spoiler alert, because the reader doesn’t get to glance at that verse until the end of the book of John, in chapter 20. Instead, John sets the stage for his gospel account by stating who Jesus is. You see, after reading the beginning of the gospel of John, one learns that in the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. God, loving humanity, sent the Word to us, and in doing so the Word became flesh so that he could be our tabernacle: the presence of God among us. After stating that, John quickly sets the stage by presenting seven different titles for who Jesus is: Lamb of God, Son of God, Rabbi, the Son of man, Messiah, King of Israel, and Jesus of Nazareth.
That’s a lot to take on board all at once, I know (enough to digest that someone could write a whole six-page paper about it). Once mentally digested, one can begin to see the image John was forming for us with all that information: Jesus, who is perfectly God, is a fully human man from Nazareth. This man from Nazareth is the savior of Israel: the Messianic King/Teacher of whom the prophets foretold and the One who will die for the sins of the world.
Creator, King, Savior, and Friend; God.
Creator
In John's gospel account, Jesus asserts, over and over, in both action and words, that he is, in fact, God. This is first, most obviously displayed in the title/descriptions used of Jesus in John’s account of the events. This pattern of declaring Jesus to be God, which John leans into throughout the entire gospel, begins immediately, in chapter 1 verse 1 where Jesus (the Word) is described to be God. Again, in that same chapter, in verses 17 and 18, John calls back to the Old Testament figure of Moses, who received the law from God: 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” John, the clever, beloved disciple, was making several different parallels with just those two verses. As plainly stated, grace and truth did not come from Moses or the Law. Rather, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ, who is “the only God.” This appears to be a reference and/or parallel to Exodus, where God reveals himself and sends Moses; and now that same God is being revealed through Jesus. John is intentionally drawing a parallel between the great I AM and Jesus Christ. In fact, he does it again, just a few verses later, Jesus is referred to as “the Lord,” in verse 23; antenatal echoing the Tetragrammaton found in Isa 40:3. Again, John draws another title parallel to the ‘Old Testament’ God of Israel, doing almost the same exact thing he did in 1:23 in 20:28. Except this time, instead of harkening back to Isaiah, he is pointing back to the psalms of King David - specifically Psalm 35:23.
Before that, in chapter 17, Jesus himself declares that he has the Father’s holy name, because they “are one.” That’s a lot to digest, right? Well, if all of that wasn’t overwhelming enough, it's nothing compared to the amount of times Jesus makes both absolute and predictive “I AM” statements: Jn 4:26; 6:20, 35, 41, 48; 8:12, 24, 28, 58; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 13:19; 14:6; 15:1 18:5, 6, 8. The statement, and title, I AM, is EXACTLY how YHWH reveals himself to Israel in the Old Testament: Ex 3:14; Deut 32:39; Isa 41:4; 43:10, 13, 25; 46:4; 48:12; 51:12; 52:6. If that feels overwhelming, it’s because it is; It’s meant to be. This is why, Jesus’ statement in John 8:58, “Before Abraham, I AM,” is so powerful, and caused such a strong reaction. John under the divine inspiration of God, quoting the divine God, left no room for us to wonder who Jesus was/is. Jesus is the great I AM. Jesus is, was, and will be my Creator.
King
In the gospel of Mark, it is declared that “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Mark declares this, because Jesus the King, of both Israel and of Creation, was at hand. While the theme of Jesus as King is overtly present in the synoptic gospels, its presence is more subtle in John. Subtle, but not absent. The gospel of John does, in fact, crown Jesus with the titles Messiah, Christ, and King several times: 1:41, 49; 12:13-15; 18:33-37; 19:14-15, 19-22. However, rather than say something as plain as, “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” John presses into this idea of Jesus’ Kingship in a more abstract way.
You see, as King, Jesus offers everything that people at that time would expect a king would offer; safety, justice, protection, riches, life, ect. Strangely, however, according to the gospel of John, (18:36) Jesus’ kingship is not a spacial earthly kingship (although it ultimately will extend to that). He would not go about swinging a sword, amassing an army and riches as he demanded a crown of gold. He seems unconcerned with reclaiming the promised land. He seems to care little for soldiers, and even less so for worldly wealth. This forced onlookers of Jesus’ earthly ministry to beg the question: “If Jesus is King, what kind of justice is he providing, if not with a sword? What kind of protection is he giving me, if not from Rome? Over what is he ruling, with no throne and no land? What kind of safety does he have to offer, if not with an army?”
It is because of all this, that John waits to most clearly reveal the kingship of Jesus Christ on the cross. It’s here that he is publicly declared to be King of the Jews, being recognized as such by a worldly ruler, the religious elite of the Jews, and the culture at large, because of the inscription put over the cross. It’s here, ultimately, that Jesus enacts his right/role as King, bleeding on the cross, chest rasping for breath, with a crown driven into his skull. It’s here, naked and scarred, blood running over his brow, that King Jesus looks out on his kingdom with pride and love. It’s here that the Creator is named King. And it’s here, on the cross, that Jesus declares what it means to actually be a king - to be the KING. His power wasn’t displayed through conquering territory but by actually fulfilling the duty of a king by providing perfect safety and justice for his people: grace. Jesus is my King.
Savior
Jesus is, of course, a savior. How could we talk about who Jesus is, according to any gospel account, and not talk about the fact that “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” How can we not rejoice over the fact that Jesus, King and Creator, did not come to condemn the world, but he came that the world might be saved through him! Hallelujah.
In John chapter 4, after Jesus chooses to love the woman at the well, and reveal himself (and as a result the perfect will of the Father) to her, she shares her testimony with her kin. It is shortly after that, in the text, the Samaritans, of all people, declare Jesus to be the savior of the world.
It’s well before chapter 4 however, that John asserts Jesus to be THE savior. You see, in verse 29 of chapter 1, Jesus is declared to be the Lamb of God, who came to take away the sin of the world. This is a wonderful verse, because not only is it made overtly clear that Jesus came to take away the sins of the world, but he is also given the beautiful title of Lamb. See, the symbol of the Lamb would’ve had great power for those who knew the story of YHWH as he revealed himself to his people. The Lamb is the first sacrifice that is offered to God, and it is recorded as being pleasing to him, in Genesis four. Abraham, as he took his son to the mountaintop to sacrifice him, was convinced that God would provide a Lamb to stand in. It was the blood of a Lamb that protected the Israelites from the Angel of Death in their great exodus from Egypt.
So here is Jesus, Creator and King, also being presented as the Lamb of Israel. And I hope you see, it’s the only way; penal substitutionary atonement (historically in the form of animal sacrifice) has always been the way to enter back into a relationship with God. It’s why he set up such an intense sacrificial system for his people. The cost of sin is death, and the Lamb of Israel, who came to take away the sins of the world, paid that cost. Jesus is my Savior.
Friend
I think that perhaps John best knew Jesus as a friend. He is, after all, “the disciple that Jesus Loved.” I think there are countless moments of implied in-between: little moments that happened in between the big ones. Moments of shared laughter and tears; moments shared by men doing life together. I think that John was so in love with his friend he was willing to die for him. I think that, as listed above, John finds a Creator, a Savior, and a King in Jesus… but also found a friend.
You see, there comes a point in describing the majesty of Jesus where one simply runs out of words. I believe I have reached that point in this paper. No matter how much I learn or improve at academic expression - there comes a point where only tears and laughter can suffice, where only worship matters. See I know, in my head, that God (Jesus) is all of the things I have said above. He is, of course, the second person of the trinity, perfect in divinity, while also perfect in humanity. He’s the word of God. The will of the Father: King, Creator, and Savior.
And yet, he chose to be my friend, and that is the Jesus that I know. The Jesus whose love and grace boil my very bones as passion spills over from my heart and seeps into my life. The Jesus that I can’t stop talking about. The one that invaded my life, that dragged me kicking and screaming from the grave I had so vehemently dug for myself. That’s who Jesus is… and I’m afraid my six pages of undergraduate theology just don’t do him justice.
I’m afraid that, none of my words, will ever do my friend Jesus justice.
I know that Jesus is God; He is my King, my Creator, and my Savior. But I KNOW that Jesus is my friend, you’d have to be in order to stick it out with someone like me. See, I think John discovered, just as I have, that there is no greater love, than that someone would lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus is my friend.
APPLICATION
So what now? Well, go live, as John did, as if Jesus is God: Creator, King, Savior, and friend. One ought to worship their Creator, serve their King, love their Savior, and rejoice with their friend. Perhaps if we live that way, we too will have stories worth swapping with those brave men and women who came before us, as our collective worship echoes off the halls of eternity.
Perhaps then, as we enter into the good joy of our Father, we will hear our Creator, our Savior, our King, and our Friend, utter the words, “Well done good and faithful servant! You’re home, my child. Enter into to the joy of your father.” Perhaps then, our God’s tear-stricken laughter will shake the gates of heaven, forcing them, open as he embraces us with nail-scarred hands, ordering is angles to kill the fattened calf.
Not because we are good creations, nor good servants, nor are we good rescues- we aren’t even good friends, but because Jesus is a good God.
So who is Jesus? Well, Jesus is “the way the truth, and the life,” “the bread of life,” the source of “living water.” Jesus is, “the Lamb of God,” “Son of God,” “Son of Man,” “Rabboni,” the “King of the Jews,” and the “Messiah.” But, perhaps the easiest way, to describe Jesus, as per the beloved disciple’s Gospel account, is that Jesus is Creator, King, Savior and Friend; Jesus is God.
Amen.
Bibliography
Benner, Drayton C. ESV exhaustive concordance. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018.
Calvin, John, and Henry Beveridge. Commentary on the book of John. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1979.
DeYoung, Kevin, and Kevin DeYoung (Ph. D. “Distinguishing among the Three Persons of the Trinity within the Reformed Tradition.” The Gospel Coalition, September 27, 2016. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/distinguishing-among-the-three-persons-of-the-trinity-within-the-reformed-tradition/.
Enns, Paul I., and John MacArthur. The Moody Handbook of Theology: Revised and expanded. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2014.
ESV study bible. Crossway, 2016.
Grudem, Wayne A. Systematic theology: An introduction to biblical doctrine. London: IVP, 2020.
Guzik, David. Verse by verse commentary on The book of John. Simi Valley, CA: Enduring Word Media, 2001.
Homo, Heterodox. “An Argument against the Trinity: Why the Central Dogma of Christianity Is Incoherent.” Medium, April 25, 2023. https://medium.com/@thompsonwd3/an-argument-against-the-trinity-why-the-central-dogma-of-christianity-is-incoherent-9e7c53368c15.
Köstenberger, Andreas J. Father, son and spirit: The Trinity and John's gospel. IVP Academic, 2016.
Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity. London: William Collins, 2017.
Swain, Scott R. “Father, Son, and Spirit: The Trinity and John’s Gospel.” The Gospel Coalition. Accessed October 12, 2023. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/review/father-son-and-spirit-the-trinity-and-johns-gospel/#:~:text=John%20presents%20the%20relationships%20among,explication%20only%20in%20trinitarian%20terms.
Comments