My Thoughts on the Gospel of John

The Gospel of John has made some intersting unique impressions on me that are different from when the synoptic gospels. John portrays a different Jesus than all the other gospels. We come to have, in my mind a more intimate view of Christ.
There is a great focus on the Oneness that is not in any other Gospel, we learn more of Jesus' intimate nature with the father. I feel that it is really here in this Gospel that we learn to address our God as Father. We learn of more of the Divine Christ than in the other Gospels; Mark focuses on his humanity and Peter and Luke on his teachings and miracles, but John starts our with decreeing Christ' godhood, by saying " In the Beginning there was the Word"
John opens with his bold testimony that Jesus is the Son of the Living God. It is through Christ divine intercession that we can approach the throne of God. In John 7 :15-16 we are shown this, that the Spirit will teach us all things of the Father, that we as individuals have access to the Father, not just through the high priest or the prophet of the time. John shows us that Christ is and his Father are not unreachable entities, even in the name John chose for himself " the beloved disciple" shows us, that God and Christ are beings with whom we can have a real and meaningful relationship with.
We learn more of the Oneness that Christ shares with the Father when we read in Chapter 7 the story when Christ declares that he is the God of Israel of Old, that he is the Great I AM. John shows us the way in which Christ understood that his will is perfectly aligned with the Father, being perfectly in sync with his Father so that he identifies himself as I AM with the Father.
This Oneness we know is something that we can partake of, John shares the stories of Christ speaking of abiding in him, of being part of him, the idea of the Vine, The Way and in the great intercessory prayer where Jesus petitions the Father to let us be one in him as he is one with the Father.
While all of the Gospels have great things to offer, the Gospel of John is my favorite. I feel that it gives us a better understanding of the atoning grace through which we are saved. It shows me the ready access to heavenly power that can come to my aid, if I only ask of it.
The Gospel of John helps me to really come to love and care about my relationship with Christ, for it is through that love that Christ influences my life, it is through that love that Christ atones for my transgressions, and it is through that love that I may one day be perfected and brought into the Abraham's Rest, even the bosom of the Father.
John shows me the divine, but also the attainable Christ. A Christ to whom I can talk to, and bring my wearied soul to. And these are things that I just don't get from the synoptic gospels.

A trip to the art museum

I found it especially interesting to view this exhibit in comparison to the exhibit of religious art depicting Jesus Christ that the BYU Museum of Art displayed a couple of years ago—that exhibit featured mostly straightforward images of Christ. I had the opportunity to attend that particular exhibit on multiple occasions, and while interesting and beautiful, I was surprised to find how much more I appreciated the “Types and Shadows: Intimations of Divinity” exhibit (which happily included some of the art I liked from the other exhibit). It was really neat to listen to the other students’ comments during the tour; like me, it seemed like everyone had their own interpretation of the art work. There were three pieces in particular that I really liked. The first was “The Rod and The Veil.” The idea of reaching through the veil, of being given something through the veil, is a powerful one to a Latter-day Saint. Likewise, the image of a rod simultaneously made me think of the iron rod spoken of in the Book of Mormon, and the staff of Moses. Catching hold of the rod, which is given (seemingly as a gift) from a source outside of ourselves is something that must be done carefully, as the rod is slender and could slip from our fingers if we are not conscientious. I also liked the Ron Richmond piece of the glass. Having first seen the work in the context of the “Types and Shadows” exhibit, I was surprised to find a similar painting of his hanging in a local restaurant. The images of circle and square, alongside the bold colors of the work, were arresting, and gave me a lot of different things to think about—all the different things that water symbolizes: newness, baptism, covenants—all backed by the image of a woman seeming to think about all of the same things. In some ways, the shape of the glass combine with the attitude of the woman made me think of the votive candles used by many of Catholic faith in worship. This juxtaposition creates a question (and I would argue also give an answer) as to what truly paves the way to our personal salvation. Finally, my favorite image was the photorealistic “Man of Sorrows." I was surprised that a lot of the student in my tour group found the image disturbing. They didn’t like the expression that the artist put on the face of Christ. However, I thought that it captured Christ really well. Instead of weeping, bloodied, and weakening, Christ’s face is given a stoic resolution and the necessary strength to perform the task ahead of him. His is a willing, freely given sacrifice.

John 1: An Early Christian Hymn

In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord tells his people that the "song of the heart is a prayer unto me." This is one of the first places in modern times that we learn of the important significance of music in Christen worship. This same truth would have been known unto the early Christens, and because of this reason we see the Apostle John start his Gospel with an early Christen hymn.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God." These are the opening words of the Gospel of John, they are meaning rich. The first thing that we see here is that the idea of High Christology, the idea that Christ is a deified being, was not an idea developed over time, but rather something that the early Christens knew from the start. John boldly states that the Word, who is Jesus, was in the beginning with God and that he was God. Here we see one of the men that knew him in his life, and testifies of his Divinity.
In the second verse we learn another truth: that the Word was God, but we also read that He was with God. Here the Apostle John is adding his testimony to the true doctrine of the the trinity, or that God and the Son are two distinct and separate individuals. This truth would be later be distorted and shown in a more Hellenistic light, by making God into a Platonic form that can neither be personal nor understood. But here the doctrine is to be found, again, but it took the corrective lenses of the Restoration to enable mankind to see it again.
In verses 4 John is trying to share with us the central message of his Testimony of Christ. It reads:In him was life; and the life was the light of men. " Here John shares with us the fact that the light, or rather the hope of all mankind is found in the life that Christ led, that by the sacrifice and expiation of that life all men may find salvation and live again. John uses this verse of the hymn to share with us his testimony of salvation that comes only from Christ.
In the final verse we read: "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."
John shares with us a the ray of hope that the Gospel gives unto men. The word 'comprehend' is probably better translated 'overcome' so it should read the the darkness can not overcome the light which is Christ. This is the ultimate good news of the Gospel that in the End Christ will over come all wrongs, and make all things equal and extend the arm of Mercy to all those that will accept him as their Savior.
I find this a very poignant way in which to begin the Gospel that John saw fit to share with us, and it makes it even more poignant that it was all found as an early Christian hymn, a song create to praise God and offer up thanksgiving for the sacrifice of His Son, and for the Atonement that was made for our sake, so that we may one day return to God's presence.

Matthew's Passion

So we have reached another Passion narrative. Now in the Matthian version of the story, one unique aspect is clear: the narrative follows Matthew's established pattern of comparing Christ unto Moses. When Christ is taken before Pilate and brought before the crowd in Matthew chapter 27, verse 25, they say "His blood be on us and on our children." While the Jews did not understand it, they partook in an interesting gospel reversal. For remember that on the Day of Atonement that the blood of the atoning lamb is sprinkled upon the temple alter all the gathered Israel, to redeem them from their sins. It is thus we see the true fulfillment of what was trying to be conveyed at the Temple ceremony on the Day of Atonement.

The second of the Moses parallels is found in what happened in the Temple at the time of crucifixion. Jesus was on the cross at the time when prayer would have been being given in the temple in the Holy place. Now according to Exodus when the prayers were given if God found the prayers worthy then He would part the veil to receive the prayer at the Mercy Seat. This was done symbolically on the Day of Atonement once a year by the high priest. It is interesting that at the time of Christ's last utterances on the Cross then there veil at the temple literally tore in half, receiving the work of God's own Son, and there by leaving the way clear for all to approach the Mercy Seat through Christ.

I find the types and shadows portrayed here to be very fascinating. We really see how the Matthian narrative focuses in and around the temple. The temple was the center and focus of the Jewish religion and played an important role in their lives. So even in his death Jesus still was making significant contributions to the understanding of the Temple and the deeper levels of significance that He brought to his followers. He brought the true meaning that God had wanted the people of Israel to have. This is especially significant to the Latter-Day Saint reader, as we too understand the focus our modern-day temples place on our Savior, Jesus Christ. Matthew’s passion narrative can help add a deeper and fuller understanding in our own temple attendance.