“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17)
The eagle has always been esteemed by many civilizations as the greatest of all the birds. For the Greeks, the eagle was associated with Zeus, the king of the mythological gods of Olympus; for the Romans, it was the symbol of their mighty legions. Even today, these symbolic uses of the eagle remain as evidenced by the Untied States’ national seal or Mexico’s national flag. Without a doubt, this regal bird has been embraced by so many because of its many natural virtues. The eagle is known to have the strength to soar higher than any other bird and its stealth makes it a lethal predator for any prey. Perhaps the most effective and deadly weapon an eagle has is its eyes. Experts have discovered that an eagle can spot small prey (like that of a rabbit) from as far as three miles away, while in flight. It is said, however, that the most distinguishable feature of the eyes of an eagle is its ability to look directly into the sun without harming them. If it is true that the calf has been used to represent Luke’s account of the Gospel, the eagle is undoubtedly fitting for the apostle John’s book. The eagle’s ability to see deep into the sun with such clarity is a true manifestation of John’s profound theological understanding in relation to the Master. Due to John’s different perspective of Jesus and His ministry, he stands alone outside of the “Synoptic Gospels.” He, too, sought to prove that Jesus of Nazareth is God’s Chosen One, but in a unique way. Unlike Matthew, Mark, and Luke who penned their books for a specific culture or region, John amazingly writes for a larger, more universal group. In other words, he does not target one specific group, rather he targets all nations, kingdoms, and cultures under the sun. John’s gospel account is the only one to record Christ’s revelation to Nicodemus that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). It is wise to observe that this statement spoken by the Master is expressed to “a man of the Pharisees…a ruler of the Jews” (John 3:1). John’s unique way of bringing together both Jews and Gentiles are found throughout his entire inspired book, strengthening the suggestion that his book is the more universal of the four. Biblical historians believe that a major reason for his universal approach was in great part due to the period he chose to pen this inspired book. There is much debate as to the precise date of when the book of John was written, but it has been the consensus that it was already circulating in the late first century. If this is accurate, the relationship between Jews and Gentiles was no longer a hostile one because bitter enemies had transformed into brethren through their shared bond in Christ. Christianity had exponentially grown among the Gentiles outside of Palestine, where the majority of the people did not come from a Jewish background. This meant that a vast amount of the brotherhood in those regions had no knowledge of what a Messiah was, since this was a Jewish concept. The challenge was to find a way to teach those of a Hellenistic background about Christian doctrine without misleading them to believe that Judaism was still necessary for salvation. Hence John’s realization that his Gospel book needed to be written in a way that did not exclude any background, but instead brought all of them together. Therefore, he excludes genealogies, uses only 20 Old Testament passages (the fewest of the four), and selects only seven miracles performed by Jesus. Five of the seven “signs” he chose (John 20:30-31) are exclusive to his treatise, but only one exclusion completely separates his composition from the Synoptic Gospels. The book of John does not record a single parable of Christ. This glaring omission by the apostle are the pillars of Jesus’ teachings found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Instead, the beloved disciple opts to exhibit the Master’s ministry in his personal conversations such as with Nicodemus (John 3) and the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob (John 4). These choices made by John manifest also that his intent for writing this book was different from the others. His intent, as previously stated, was a more profound one. Luke determined that it was important for the Gentiles to understand that Jesus was the Son of Man who descended from heaven; John determined that it was important for everyone to understand that Jesus is the Son of God. This choice made by the inspired apostle was heavily influenced by the threat of Gnosticism. Let us bring to memory that the wicked philosophy of Gnosticism is that matter is evil and spirit is pure. For this reason, according to them, it is impossible for a spiritual being to be made into matter. Therefore, with this false doctrine they were either denying that Jesus was God incarnate or that Jesus resurrected and ascended into heaven. This terrible threat had risen during the end of the first century and the apostle John brought it upon himself (inspired by the Holy Spirit) to prove it wrong. Once more, because of the predominant Greek background in the church during this time period John focuses on the examples that prove both the Divinity and humanity of Jesus. However, John makes it abundantly clear that his purpose for focusing on Jesus’ dual nature is “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). The inspired cosmic scribe uses the term believe more than ninety times in his 21 chapters. He also emphasizes the importance of man having to grow his faith into a deeper understanding with teachings such as The True Vine (John 15). This, undoubtedly, is echoed by the apostle Paul as he exhorts that we must be “rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith” (Colossians 2:7). The threat of the Gnostic’s teachings opened the door for the Holy Spirit to inspire John to delve deep into the Divine nature of our Lord. His understanding of the Master as the Son of God was expertly presented in a manner that could be understood by all. What is incredible about this is the fact that John was able to do so with a single Word shared by Jews and Greeks of his time. A Divine Word that opened the doors of their understanding. To be continued…