A Recap and Looking Forward

Who is Jesus? part 60 – John Chapters 6 -12

So far in my look through John’s Gospel I’ve only looked at the first 5 chapters, starting before Advent 2024, and now it’s after Easter 2026. Think of it a slow walk through a park, taking time to rest or to go and smell the flowers.

The story so far:

Chapter 1 is an intro to the gospel made up of three poems or songs and is linked to the Old Testament not only with the nod to Genesis in starting “In the beginning,” but also links to the prophets using references to Isaiah.

Chapter 5 mirrors chapter 1 by having 3 songs, and links this time to the law, by referring back to Deuteronomy.

Between these two in chaprers 2 to 4 I focussed on it being large chiasmus which starts and ends in Cana. Chiasmus, meaning crossing over, is a form used in nearly all Psalms and is a repetition of similar ideas in the reverse sequence. Where there is a central section it is often the main theme.

If you wish to look at it another way, it had four sections, each based on a Jewish institution of the time.

1. A wedding, where Jesus turned water into wine.
2. The Temple, where Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers.
3. A Rabbi, Jesus tells Nicodemus, a teacher that the world does not need another teacher, What the world needs is new birth.
4. A well. At a sacred well, Jesus talks to a non-Jewish woman, using water as a picture of himself bringing a new quality of life infused with God’s love.

What comes next?

there are two continuing themes, the first one started back in Chapter 2 and runs through to chapter 12: seven signs, miracles that Jesus performs.
The other on starts in chapter 6, right here, and runs throught this section and into the next one, which is about Jesus last night with his disciples: seven sayings of Jesus beginning, “I am the…”

Chapters 5 – 10 are another section in four parts, arranged around Jewish festivals

1. The Sabbath, I’ve already covered this in Chapter 5
2. Passover
3. Tabernacles
4. Hanukkah

This section concludes in chapters 11 and 12 with the raising to life of Lazarus, and it’s consequences for Jesus.

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