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Believing in the Gospel . . . According to St. John, by Fr. Thomas Hopko

by Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko

The Christian faith appeared on earth as God’s Gospel in His Son Jesus. It was presented as such in St. Paul’s letters before the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were written.

A “gospel” in the ancient world was a ruler’s formal proclamation, which his subjects were obliged to accept as “good news.” Most usually, a gospel heralded the king’s victory over his enemies. It announced that the king had triumphed in battle, his reign was secure, and his people were saved. The Christian Gospel was the glad tidings that God had defeated His enemies, the last of which was death itself, through the death and Resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

Christ’s suffering, death, and Resurrection were—and still are—the main message of the Christian Gospel. They are the central concern of all the New Testament Scriptures, establishing and verifying their theological and moral teachings. Christ’s Last Supper with His disciples and His betrayal, arrest, Passion, and post-Resurrection appearances occupy more than half the contents of the four canonical Gospels. These events are virtually absent, or strangely spiritually interpreted, in the false writings of gnostic origin, be they called “gospels,” “epistles,” “acts,” or “apocalypses.” Indeed, the emphasis on the real flesh-and-blood humanity and suffering of Jesus is what radically distinguishes true Christian writings from false writings.

The Four Gospels

The Gospel according to St. John has always been known in the Christian Church as the “theological Gospel.” Mark is apocalyptic. Matthew is Christian Torah. Luke–Acts is a two-volume historical chronicle (in the ancient sense of “history”). And John is “wisdom literature” or “theology.” Its author is traditionally called John the Theologian or John the Divine (divine being an old English word for theologian).

St. John’s Gospel is read liturgically in the Orthodox Church (except for certain feast days) only during the fifty days from Pascha to Pentecost, when there are, theoretically, no inquirers or catechumens in church. We may therefore surmise that this Gospel is not basic evangelical preaching like the Synoptic Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke (called “synoptic,” which means “same point of view,” because of their similar contents, structure, and style). John’s Gospel is rather a profound theological catechesis in the biblical genre of “wisdom literature” for baptized believers. Indeed, we may note that the word “gospel” never appears in the Gospel according to St. John. Thus, it may be claimed, this writing is, in narrative form, more a theological commentary on the Gospel than it is a Gospel itself.

Literary Structure

The literary structure of St. John’s Gospel is like that of many biblical writings, including the Synoptic Gospels (from which it greatly differs in content, language, style, and purpose). In this scriptural structure a book’s opening and closing are closely interrelated. Its “high point” is in the middle of the work. Its first part reaches a climax in the book’s center. Its second part explicates the first part as it brings the reader from the work’s climactic center to its conclusion, which recapitulates its beginning.

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke start with Jesus’ conception and birth. They continue, where Mark begins, with Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan, His reception of the Holy Spirit, and His temptation in the wilderness. They then go on to describe Jesus’ public ministry of preaching and miracle-working, which reaches its climactic “high point” in Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. This prompts the Lord’s first announcement of His impending crucifixion and occasions His Transfiguration in glory as God’s Beloved Son. Then come the descriptions of Christ’s clash with the leaders of the people, and His further teachings and parables, most of which concern the end of things. These Gospels then end with Christ’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, His Last Supper with His disciples, and His agony in the garden, arrest, trial, Passion, and death as “King of the Jews.” They reach their conclusion with Christ’s Resurrection, His appearances to His disciples, and His Ascension to the Father, which form a “poetic inclusion” with the Gospels’ opening chapters. 

The Gospel of St. John, on the other hand, begins with a majestic theological prologue, whose content is immediately elaborated in Christ’s encounter with His first disciples and with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. These already confess Him as God’s Son and Word, the promised Messiah, who brings divine light and eternal life to the world. The Gospel then presents seven carefully selected miracles, with accompanying conversations, which are called “signs” witnessing that Jesus is truly the Christ, the Son of God. These messianic “signs” bring the Gospel to its “high point” with the raising of Lazarus, where, in her conversation with Jesus, Martha affirms that Jesus is “the resurrection and the life” and (like Peter in the center of the Synoptic Gospels) confesses Him to be “the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (11:25–27).

The Gospel of John then continues with the Lord’s extended theological discourse at the Supper where He washes the feet of His disciples. In this long catechetical narrative, Jesus discloses His relationship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, and also with His faithful followers, and with “the world” that refuses to believe in Him. The Gospel then describes Christ’s Passion, which (unlike in the Synoptics) takes place at Passover. It ends with the Lord’s post-Resurrection appearances to Mary Magdalene and the apostles. Its conclusion is the story of Thomas, which provides the final inclusio poetica that recapitulates the Gospel’s beginning in a strikingly detailed manner. The doubting disciple sees and touches the risen Christ and worships Him with the words, “My Lord and my God!” The Lord responds, addressing His words to the reader through Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (20:28, 29).

“That all might believe”

The verb “believe” appears in St John’s Gospel no less than 93 times. It is used in all of its three common usages: to believe, to believe that, and to believe in. The noun “faith” does not occur in the work at all, not even once. This fact may be telling us that according to John, believing is the dynamic act of the whole person, ultimately depending on one’s own vision, witness, knowledge, and experience. It is not a static intellectual acceptance of dogmatic theses held on the basis of someone else’s testimony and authority.

As we already noted, St. John’s Gospel begins with the theological prologue confessing that the Word of God, who is God, has become flesh as God’s only Son Jesus, who is the promised Christ. It ends with Thomas’s proclamation that Christ is his Lord and God, in whom all must believe. And it finds its climactic center in Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead before His own death and Resurrection, thus spectacularly revealing Himself as “the Christ, the Son of God” who is personally “the resurrection and the life.”

These three key parts of the Gospel clearly show that the work is essentially for and about Christian believing.

The prologue:

In the beginning was the Word [Logos], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. . . . There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. . . . That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. . . . As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. (1:1–18)

The epilogue:

The doors were shut . . . Jesus came and stood in the midst . . . He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” . . . These [signs] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (20:19–31)

The climactic center:

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” . . . Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” Then they took away the stone. . . . And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You . . . but because of the people standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” . . . Many of the Jews . . . who had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. . . . Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered . . . and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him.” (11:23–48)

Witness, Signs, Name

The words “witness” or “testimony” (martys, martyria) and “to bear witness” or “to testify” (martyreo) occur in St. John’s Gospel no less than 44 times.

The witnesses are many in St. John’s Gospel that bear testimony to Christ, the Son of God, in whom all are called to believe. They include Abraham, Moses, Isaiah and all the prophets, and all the Scriptures. The final human witness is John the Baptist. The most crucial witnesses are Christ Himself, in the words He speaks and the signs He performs, and God the Father and the Holy Spirit, who testify to Jesus as God’s Son, the promised Messiah.

The so-called “book of signs” that follows the Gospel’s prologue begins with Jesus’ first sign at the marriage in Cana of Galilee, where He “manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him” (2:11). It proceeds with Jesus’ other signs and His conversations about them with Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, His disciples, and the leaders of the people. The signs include His healing the paralytic on the Sabbath and His conversation with him, His raising the official’s dead son and His conversation with the official, His walking on the stormy sea following His feeding of the multitudes, and His long discourse about Himself being “the bread of life” that “comes down from heaven” (6:35–38). It continues with His healing the blind man on the Sabbath, and His conversation with him and the leaders of the people. It concludes with the ultimate sign that precipitates His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and His subsequent arrest and crucifixion. This is, of course, His raising Lazarus from the dead and His claim that He Himself is “the resurrection and the life” who gives eternal life to those who believe in Him.

Jesus’ long discourse to His apostles at the Last Supper, which follows the raising of Lazarus, includes testimony and discussion not just about what Jesus says and does, but about who He is. The disciples are now called to reflect theologically on the works they have seen and the words they have heard. They are enlightened to understand Christ’s relationship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, and also with those who believe in Him, and with “the world,” which does not. They are illumined to understand that the “name” in which they are called “to believe” is the name of God Himself, the biblical “I AM” that was revealed to Moses in the burning bush.

In St. John’s Gospel, Jesus not only says “I am” with the predicate nominatives that His adversaries considered blasphemous: the bread of life; the door; the good shepherd; the true vine; the light of the world; the way, the truth, and the life; the resurrection and the life. Jesus also says that He is the I AM (ego eimi) Himself. I AM is the Greek translation of YHWH, which the Jews pronounced in prayer with the word Adonai (Lord), which was translated and pronounced Kyrios (Lord) in the Jewish-Greek Old Testament and the Christian New Testament.

 •   “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” (8:24)

•    “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.” (8:28)

•    “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (8:58)

•    “Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I AM.” (13:19)

•    “Jesus therefore [in the garden], knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, ‘Whom are you seeking?’ They answered Him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I AM.’ . . . When He said to them, ‘I AM,’ they drew back and fell to the ground. Then He asked them again, ‘Whom are you seeking?’ And they said, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you that I AM.” (18:4–8)

The Final Discourse

In St. John’s Gospel, after Jesus washes His disciples’ feet at the supper, He delivers His final catechetical discourse (13:31—17:26). This extended passage is familiar to Orthodox Christians as the first of the twelve Gospel readings at the Matins of Great and Holy Friday during the week of Christ’s Passion. It establishes the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity by describing the relationship between God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and the relationship of the three divine Persons with those who believe and keep the commandments and those who don’t. It ends with Christ’s final prayer to the Father before His crucifixion and glorification, in which He asks that those who believe be kept in God’s name and be perfectly one as He and the Father are one.

In this final discourse the Lord Jesus declares what may well be the most astounding words about believing in Him that were ever uttered:

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he [or she] will do, because I go to My Father.” (14:10–12)

See and Know, Witness and Work, Love and Live

In St. John’s Gospel the crowds ask Jesus, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answers them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” And they respond to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do?” (6:28–30).

We have seen the signs and works that Jesus performs in St. John’s Gospel. And we have heard His words about them. What we must now notice is the essential and organic connection that exists in the Gospel between believing and seeing and knowing, witnessing and working, loving and living.

The words “see” and “know” occur in different forms in St. John’s Gospel more frequently than words of believing. We find them more than 100 times. This tells us that, according to John, believers know what they believe and believe what they know. It also shows that Christ’s disciples believe because of what they see and know, and they come to see and know because of what—and in whom—they believe.

We have already noted how often St. John’s Gospel speaks of “witness” and “witnessing.” Thus those who see, know, and believe do so on the basis of many witnesses and much witnessing. They then bear witness to what they have seen, heard, known, and believed themselves.

St. John’s Gospel also always joins loving to seeing, knowing, witnessing, and believing. Words of “love” appear in the Gospel about 35 times. This tells us that believers love what they believe, see, and know—and that they are able to see, know, and believe because they love, while witnessing to their belief, knowledge, and love by their words and deeds.

St. John’s Gospel also joins believing, seeing, knowing, witnessing, and loving with keeping God’s commandments—the greatest of which is love. This shows us, in the same way, that believing, seeing, knowing, witnessing, and loving lead to keeping God’s commandments, and that keeping God’s commandments leads to loving, knowing, seeing, believing, and witnessing.

And finally, all that St. John’s Gospel says about believing, seeing, knowing, loving, witnessing, and keeping God’s commandments is summed up in the teaching that these acts are the works of believers that give them abundant and eternal life, both in this world and in God’s coming kingdom, through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Thus the Gospel ends with the message with which it began:

Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (20:30, 31)

“Why do you not believe Me?”

Why did most people who saw and heard Jesus not believe Him? Why did the leaders of the people decide to kill Him because He raised a stinking corpse from the tomb? Why do countless people who have read the Gospel, and still read it today, refuse to believe it? And why do Christians who continue to hear it, and even to read and study it, still pass through periods of darkness, doubt, and disbelief?

St. John’s Gospel gives the answer to these questions from the mouth of Christ Himself:

•    “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” (3:19, 20)

•    “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” (5:44)

•    “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. . . . If I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” (8:45–47)

•    “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. . . . My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life.” (10:26–28)

 

Father Thomas Hopko is Dean Emeritus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary. He is also the author of many books, including the popular four-volume The Orthodox Faith series.

This article was originally printed in the Vol. 12 No. 1 issue of The Handmaiden, published by Conciliar Press, winter 2008.