He claims he is the both the door through which the sheep enter as well as the Shepherd who knows the sheep and lays down his life for them. Synopsis: In John 10:1-18, Jesus makes two of the I Am sayings together. OT Background: Psalms 118:20 (gates = door) Ezekiel 34 and Jeremiah 23 (cf. 3) I Am the door or gate & 4) I Am the Good Shepherd This light has to do with the salvation of the nations, and it is probably the primary reference in other passages like John 12:35-36, 46. Just as the Israelites were led by the pillar of fire (light) in the exodus and saved from the Egyptians as they crossed the Red Sea, so also Jesus says those who follow him (light) will have life.Ī secondary OT background of the image of light is found in Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6. John picks up light from a rich OT heritage and shows how Jesus is the light.īased upon the fact that in John 8:12 Jesus ties the idea of being the light with his people following after him in the light, the most likely OT background in mind here is the light of God’s presence leading Israel in the wilderness via the pillar of fire (Exodus 13-14). One cannot see or lead others in the darkness, so light is necessary to guide us and walk forward. The darkness cannot change its condition. The world is lost and hopeless in darkness (John 1:4-14). Synopsis: Light is one of the most prominent themes in John’s Gospel.
14:19-20) Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6 (both verses are in the four Servant Songs of Isaiah). The manna pictures Jesus, who is sent from God, comes down from heaven, must be taken by faith, who must be eaten/fully taken in, and who gives life. He explains the bread in the wilderness of Exodus was only a temporary provision, and that it points to a true and eternal bread from heaven God would later give. Jesus takes this Old Testament background to bread for God’s people and he claims to be the bread of life. God will provide what we need most, and we should raise our eyes in faith. We need more than physical bread and we need it from someone other than ourselves. It comes from above-from God-and comes down to us only by his grace and goodness. It’s not an earthly bread but a heavenly bread. There is more to the bread from God than the bread itself (Exodus 16). More important than solving their physical hunger for food through bread, Jesus offers himself as the Bread of Life to fulfill deeper longings and an eternal need. Synopsis: Jesus enters a dialogue with Jews who had followed him because of his miracles-including the recent feeding of the 5,000-and yet they missed the reality behind them (he is the Divine Messiah). NT Fulfillment: John 6:22-59, especially verses 28-35. All the OT and God’s redemptive acts were pointing to the coming of Jesus as the God-in-flesh, the true and better Israel, and the fulfillment of all the OT types and shadows. The seven “I Am” statements in John might best be understood as falling under and echoing this initial, ultimate claim of Jesus. The Jews knew taking on this title was making such a claim, which is why they immediately pick up stones to kill him (8:59). He has life in himself and he can give life to us. He is greater than Moses because he is the God of Moses. Not a helper to God or a great teacher, but the divine, eternal, pre-existent, infinite, perfect Being. When Jesus applies the title “I Am” to himself, he claims to be God (John 8:58). He is the I Am, the eternal, unchanging, self-existent one, infinite and glorious in every way, and above and beyond all created things. God’s name discloses who He is and what He is like.
God reveals Himself to His people and comes to redeem them out of exile and lead them into a new life. Synopsis: When God calls Himself the “I Am” in Exodus 3, it’s a pivotal moment in redemptive history. OT Background: Exodus 3:1-20, especially verses 13-18. John’s 2 questions for the reader to wrestle with: 1) Who is Jesus? 2) What do I do with his words/teachings? John’s background for his book: “the framework for Jesus’ understanding of his own mission is shaped by the Scriptures mediated by the Jews” (D. John’s purpose for writing the gospel: “these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ” (John 20:31).
0 kommentar(er)
