William Taylor
You might think the context of the Gospels is so obvious that we don’t need to spend much time on it. But my observation is that neglecting the broader biblical story often leads us to under-preach and minimize what’s happening in the Gospels with Jesus breaking into history.
That’s why I encourage those I work with to read the whole Bible at least once a year, so that the great themes and truths of biblical theology remain fresh. When we come to the Gospels, we can then see just how radical and decisive the arrival of Jesus is—for our world and for eternity.
We might even describe the Gospels as an “eschatological thunderbolt” from God. In John’s opening chapter, the titles given to Jesus already make this clear:
The Christ — God’s anointed King, the King of Israel.
The Son of Man — a massive Old Testament theme from Daniel 7 and elsewhere.
Understanding the backdrop to these titles is essential if we are to grasp the significance of Jesus. If we under-preach Jesus, we inevitably overemphasize man. Preaching becomes more about us, rather than about what God has done in sending his Son into the world.
As with any biblical book, the author’s aim and pastoral intent are key if we are to preach it rightly. I sometimes describe the Bible as a collection of sixty-six sermons, each with a pastoral goal. We must teach each book with that original pastoral aim in mind.
Thankfully, John makes his purpose explicit in John 20:30–31:
“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.”
Here is John’s goal: belief in Jesus’ identity as the Christ, the Son of God, leading to life in his name.
There’s sometimes debate about whether John writes for unbelievers (“that you may come to believe”) or for believers (“that you may go on believing”). But that’s a false distinction. The Gospel is both the word that makes us Christians and the word that grows us as Christians. So as we preach, we should aim at both—evangelism and edification.
Traditionally, John has been seen as a book of two halves:
Chs. 1–12 — the “Book of Signs”
Chs. 13–21 — the “Book of Glory”
But I want to suggest another pattern that fits more closely with John 20:31 and John’s use of “signs.”
John deliberately identifies certain miracles as “signs” and places them as bookends around sections:
Identity (John 2–4): Begins with the first sign (water into wine, 2:11) and ends with the second sign (healing the official’s son, 4:54). Both echo Isaiah 25—messianic banquet and conquering of death. This section emphasizes Jesus’ identity as the Messiah, the true Bridegroom.
Work (John 5–10): Framed by two Sabbath signs (healing at the pool, ch. 5; healing the man born blind, ch. 9). These highlight Jesus’ work as the Son of Man, the Lord of the Sabbath, doing the works of the Father.
Life (John 11–20): Begins with the raising of Lazarus (11) and climaxes with the resurrection of Jesus (20). This section centers on life through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The Upper Room Discourse (chs. 13–17) fits here as teaching on what life looks like for disciples once Jesus has departed—life through his Word and Spirit as we await his return.
So the overarching structure looks like this:
Introduction (1:1–51)
Section 1: Identity (2–4) — Jesus as Messiah, Bridegroom, Christ.
Section 2: Work (5–10) — the Son of Man doing the Father’s work.
Section 3: Life (11–20) — life through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Conclusion (21)
John 20:31 identifies the key issues: belief, identity, and life. Each major section emphasizes these themes in different ways.
Chs. 2–4 — Identity: Jesus is the Messiah and Bridegroom. Application: Who enters this kingdom? Nicodemus (must be born again, ch. 3), the Samaritan woman and villagers (ch. 4).
Chs. 5–10 — Work: Jesus is the Son of Man doing the Father’s work. Humanity is exposed as condemned, spiritually dead, blind, enslaved, children of Satan. But Jesus brings life, sight, freedom, and rest.
Chs. 11–20 — Life: Life comes through Jesus’ sacrificial death (chs. 12, 18–19) and resurrection (20). The Upper Room teaches us how to live as disciples now—by his Word and Spirit.
A major theme in John is the role of God’s Word. True faith is not about witnessing spectacular signs but about trusting the Word of God and the Word of Christ.
John 2:22 — The disciples believed the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.
John 4:41–42 — The Samaritans believed “because of his word.”
John 5:24 — Eternal life is for those who “hear my word and believe.”
John 20 — Thomas failed because he would not trust the apostles’ word.
Again and again, John stresses that faith comes through hearing and trusting the Word.
Finally, we must not under-preach Jesus in the Gospels. It’s easy to make them about “me and my problems” or “society and its troubles.” But the Gospels are first about God breaking into the world to save his people and bring about a new creation.
John 1 shows us this clearly:
1:18 — Jesus makes the Father known.
1:51 — Heaven is opened; angels ascend and descend on the Son of Man.
How will he gather his people? Through his substitutionary, sacrificial death.
1:29 — “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
19:36–37 — Jesus is the true Passover Lamb, pierced for his people.
Caiaphas (11:50) — “It is better that one man die for the people.”
This is the gospel at the heart of John: God glorified in the cross of Christ, where the Son of Man is lifted up, slain for the sins of the world, and raised to life.
Thank you for joining us for this session of Getting Started. I hope this helps you as you prepare to teach John’s Gospel—seeing Jesus’ identity, his work, and the life he brings, all through the Word. Above all, I hope you will enjoy and benefit from proclaiming Christ in John’s Gospel.