By J. Vernon McGee
The Gospel of John was written for the wretched man, and we shall see who that wretched man is.
It is generally assumed that the Gospel of John is easy to understand. Often you hear the cliche, "The Gospel of John is the simple Gospel." The simplicity of the language has deceived a great many folk. It is written in monosyllabic and dissyllabic words. Let me lift out a couple of verses to illustrate. Notice how simple these words are:
He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on his name. (John 1:11, 12)
We have no problem with the words themselves, but actually, we're dealing here with the most profound Gospel. Take an expression like this: "Ye in me, and I in you" (John 14:20). Seven words - one conjunction, two prepositions and four pronouns - and you could ask any child in the fourth grade the meaning of any one of those words and he could give you a definition. But you put them together - "Ye in me, and I in you" - and neither the most profound theologian nor the greatest philosopher has ever been able to probe the depths of their meaning. "Ye in me" we know means salvation, and "I in you" means sanctification, but beyond that none of us can go very far. We think, sometimes, because we know the meaning of words, we know what is being said. The words are simple, but the meaning is deep.
Jerome said of John's Gospel, "John excels in the depths of divine mysteries." And no truer statement was ever made. Dr. A. T. Pierson put it like this, "It touches the heart of Christ."
Though it is assumed that John is the simple Gospel, it's not always assumed that the apostle John is the author of it. The BaurTubingen School in Germany years ago began an attack upon the Gospel of John. This has been a place where the liberal has really had a field day. I had a course in seminary (even in my day) on the authorship of the Gospel of John. The professor finally concluded the course by saying he thought John was the author. A wag in the class remarked, "Well, I believed John wrote it before I started the class and I believe it now, so I just wasted a semester!" Let me assure you that we are not going to waste time here relative to the authorship of this Gospel other than to mention two statements that make it quite obvious John is its writer.
One of the reasons it was felt that John might not be the writer was because Papias (I've quoted him now for each of the Gospels) was thought to have never mentioned the authorship of John. But Professor Tischendorf (the German who found the Codex Sinaiticus - which is probably our best manuscript of the Old Testament - down in St. Catherine's Monastery in the Sinaitic Peninsula) was working in the Vatican library when he came upon an old manuscript that has a quotation from Papias in which it was clear that John was the author of this Gospel. I personally wouldn't want any better authority than that. Also Clement of Alexandria, who lived about AD 200, made the statement that John was persuaded by friends and also moved by the Spirit of God to write a spiritual Gospel. And I believe the Gospel of John is that spiritual Gospel. In my mind there's not a shadow of a doubt that John is the author.
However, the more significant question is: Why did John write his Gospel? It was the last one written, probably close to AD 100. All the other apostles were dead, the writers of the New Testament were all gone, and he alone was left. In an attempt to answer this question, we find again a diversity of theories. There are those who say it was written to meet the first heresy of the church, Gnosticism. The Gnostics believed that Jesus was God but not man at all, that the apostles only thought they saw Him, but did not actually. And Irenaeus expressly makes the statement that the purpose of John was to confute the Gnostic Cerinthus. But Tholuck makes it very clear that this is not a polemic Gospel at all, and he is not attempting to meet that issue. Also, there are those who say it is a supplement to what the others had written, that he merely added other material. But Hase answers that by saying, "This Gospel is no mere patchwork to fill up a vacant space."
You see, these theories do not give an adequate answer to account for all the peculiar facts that are in this Gospel, which a true explanation must do. And, in my judgment, the only satisfactory explanation is that John wrote at the request of the church, which already had the three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke were being circulated) and wanted something more spiritual and deep, something that would enable them to grow. That's exactly what Augustine, the great saint of the early church, said:
In the four Gospels, or rather in the four books of the one Gospel, the Apostle St. John not undeservedly with reference to his spiritual understanding compared to an eagle, has lifted higher, and far more sublimely than the other three, his proclamation, and in lifting it up he has wished our hearts also to be lifted.
That was the purpose of the Gospel of John. That is the reason he wrote it.
Accordingly, therefore, when we come to the Gospel of John, we find that he does not take us to Bethlehem. We will never grow spiritually by singing umpteen times "O Little Town of Bethlehem" at Christmastime. John won't take us to Bethlehem, because he wants you and me to grow as believers. So he takes us down the silent corridors of eternity, through the vast emptiness of space, to a beginning that is not a beginning at all.
In the beginning was the Word. (John 1:1) Some say that this world came into being three billion years ago.
I think they're pikers. I think it has been around a lot longer than that. What do you think God has been doing in eternity past, twiddling His thumbs? May I say to you, He had a great deal to do in the past, and He has eternity behind Him. So when you read, "In the beginning," go as far back as your little mind can go into eternity past, put down your peg - and Jesus Christ comes out of eternity to meet you.
In the beginning was [not is] the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
Then come on down billions more years.
All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. (John 1:3)
Then John takes another step:
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
The Greek philosophers and the Greek mind for which Luke wrote would stop right there and say, "We're through with you. We can't follow you." But John was not writing for them, and he goes even further.
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (John 1:18)
"Declared him" is exegeted Him, led Him out into the open where man can see Him and come to know Him. The Man who had no origin is the Son who comes out of eternity.
Dr. Luke looked at Him under a microscope. Though John's method is altogether different, He comes to the same conclusion as did Luke. You could never call John's method scientific. The Christian who has come to a knowledge of Christ and faith in Him, doesn't need to have the virgin birth gone over again and again - he already believes that. Therefore, when he comes to the Gospel of John, he finds sheer delight and joy unspeakable as he reads and studies it.
Unfortunately, though, he thinks the unbeliever ought to have it also. And you'll find it is used in personal work more than any other Gospel. After all, doesn't the average Christian consider it the simple Gospel? Is it simple? It's profound. It's for believers. It enables them to grow.
When I was a pastor in Pasadena, California, I had a doctor friend who, because of his position, was able to get together students at Cal Tech for a Bible class. Do you know what he taught? The Gospel of John. He told me, "You know, I really shook that bunch of boys with the first chapter." I met him several weeks after that and asked him how the class was getting on. "Oh," he said, "they quit coming." Well, after all, they had been in a school where you pour things in a test tube, where you look at things under a microscope. I said, "Why didn't you take the Gospel of Luke?" "Because," he said, "I wanted to give them the simple Gospel." Well, he didn't. John is not simple; it's profound. It is for believers.
Also there was a seminary professor in this area not long ago who was asked to teach the Bible to a group of businessmen at a noon luncheon. Guess what book he taught. You're right! He said, "They don't know very much, so I'll give them the Gospel of John." I wish he'd given them the Gospel of Mark. That's the Gospel of action, of power, for the strong man.
The Gospel of John is for those who already believe. When you come to the section of chapters 13 through 17 you can write a sign over it "For Believers Only" and you could put under that "All Others Stay Out." I don't think that section was ever meant for an unbeliever. Jesus took His own into the Upper Room and revealed to them things that enabled them to grow. No other Gospel writer gives us that. Why? Because they're the evangelists who are presenting Christ as the Savior of the world. Somebody asks, "But doesn't John do that?" Yes, he does, but he is primarily writing for the growth of believers.
John has more about the resurrected Christ than does any other Gospel. In fact, more than all the others put together. Paul said that "though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more" (2 Corinthians 5:16). Rather, we know Him as the resurrected Christ. For this reason John attempts to give the appearances of Jesus after His resurrection, and he mentions seven of them.
The first was one of the most dramatic as He appeared to Mary Magdalene there in the garden. The second was to the disciples in the Upper Room, Thomas being absent. The third appearance was again to the disciples in the Upper Room, with Thomas present (these three appearances are recorded in the twentieth chapter). Then (in the next chapter) we see Him appearing by the Sea of Galilee. Several disciples were out fishing, and He called to them from the shore, "Do you have any fish?" He is going to ask you that someday. Have you been doing any fishing recently? Well, you catch them only the way He tells you. You have to fish by His instructions. Then He prepared breakfast for them. I wish I had been there for that outdoor breakfast. That was a real cookout. And friend, He still wants to feed you in the morning - also during the day and in the evening - with spiritual food. Then He commissioned Simon Peter: "Simon, do you love Me?" (See John 21:15-17.) Jesus did not say you have to be a graduate of a seminary to be able to serve Him. He asked, "Do you love Me?" That's the one condition. Don't misunderstand me. If you love Him, you will want training to prepare you for the ministry He has for you, but He wants to know that you love Him. The reason multitudes of folk are not serving Him today is that they do not love Him. Then Peter was told that he was to be a martyr; but John, no, he will live on in order to write this Gospel, three epistles, and the Book of Revelation. There are the seven appearances that John records, and all of them are for believers; they minister to us today.
Now somebody is going to say to me, "Preacher, at the very beginning you mentioned the fact that the human family was divided into four major divisions at the time Christ came, and that John's Gospel was written for the Oriental, the people of the East." Yes, I did, and I'd like you to see what is a profound truth and a fingerprint of the Holy Spirit here.
At the time of the birth of Christ, there was a great expectation throughout the heathen world. That was a strange thing. Suetonius relates that "an ancient and definite expectation had spread throughout the East, that a ruler of the world would, at about that time, arise in Judaea." Tacitus makes a similar statement. Schlegel mentions that Buddhist missionaries traveling to China met Chinese sages going to seek the Messiah about AD 33. So there was an expectation throughout the world at that time that He might come. And it was out of the mysterious East that the wise men came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" (Matthew 2:2).
The marvel is that this Gospel of John, so definitely designed to meet the need of believers, is also designed for the Oriental mind as is no other. Whom do I mean by Orientals? The Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the uncounted millions in India and China. Even to this good day we know so little about that area of the world. What about Tibet or Outer Mongolia? It is still the mysterious East. We do know this: There is fabulous wealth there, and right next to it is abject poverty. Strange area. Out of this land of mystery came the wise men. They were bringing gifts - gold, frankincense, and myrrh - for Him. There are a lot of questions to be answered there. Out of that land of mystery they came. That Oriental splendor we've heard so much about reveals unbelievable wealth, and it is still there - ornate palaces, gaudy grandeur, priceless gems. It has so entranced the West that when Columbus started out for this country (we give him credit for discovering America, but he wasn't looking for our continent), he was trying to find a new route to the East in order to bring back something of the wealth that was there.
By the side of that wealth there is extreme poverty of the basest sort, dire destitution, millions living in squalor and misery. Their worldly goods consist of the rags they have on their backs. One hundred million will die of starvation in this next decade, we're told. You may ask, "Well, why don't we send food to them?" There's not enough to go around. Our decision is, What hundred million will starve? Will it be these or those? But the thing that arrests us is that the poor were crying for help, and the wealthy had found no solution to the problems of life. The Orient gave freest rein to human desires. Although they had this freedom, there was no satisfaction. They've had the great pagan religions - Buddhism, Shintoism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Muhammadanism. Yet out of that area, with all they had, their wise men came, asking, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him" (Matthew 2:2). They needed salvation. They had none, no religion ever gave that to them. This is the reason people in the mysterious East have reveled in the Gospel of John as no others have. It is a mind today that will revel in the Gospel of John. The Lord Jesus can meet the need of this type of mind, as John reveals.
Out of heaven's glory He came, that One who was before any beginning we can envision. "And the Word was made flesh" and walked down here among men (John 1:14). The Orient had religion. After all, Israel belonged to that area of the world. They had temples - ornate, hideous, with degrading rituals. They had cults of the occult. And John tells us that the first public act of the Lord Jesus was to go into the temple of that day and cleanse it. By this He is telling them, these people who worshiped in their degrading temples, that God is holy. If you're going to worship God you'll have to be cleansed, the temple will have to be cleansed, for there can be no compromise with evil or wrong.
A religious ruler came to Jesus one night - John alone tells us this. Our Lord that night said to this religious ruler, who had everything and was religious to his fingertips, "Ye must be born again" (John 3:7). He needed to have a new life and get rid of the old religion. Jesus said that He had come not to sew a patch on the old garment, but He came to give them the robe of righteousness that would enable them to stand before a holy God. This is what that area of the world needed.
Womanhood was degraded in the Orient. Our Lord ennobled womanhood because He came, born of a woman. He went to a wedding to answer the mockery they'd made of marriage with the harems of the East. Christ went to a wedding and put His blessing upon it. Also Jesus sat down at the well and had a conversation with a woman of very questionable character. But she was a woman for whom He died. The soul of a woman was as precious to Him as the soul of a man.
Christ fed the multitudes, followed the meal with a discourse on the Bread of Life, and then escaped because He did not want them to make Him king of their stomachs.
Out of the East comes the inspiration for these lines, which may be found in several languages:
If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed the soul.
The Oriental mind would understand Jesus' discourse on the Bread of Life. It is unfortunate that the managers of our supermarkets don't understand it - they think it's bread and beans on the shelf that are important, and He said it's not. A man in the Orient who hasn't bread and beans will understand that. I am afraid some of us miss it today.
The Lord Jesus said in this Gospel, "I am the light of the world; I am the bread of life; I am the way, the truth, and the life." And the Orient was wretched and perishing in that day, as it is today. John says:
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. (John 20:30, 31)
The thing that they needed above everything else was life. When I watch the multitudes of Christmas shoppers, they look like spiritual zombies. They need life - and they're buying presents.
A lady once called me on the telephone and said, "Dr. McGee, I used to attend your church, but I went into a cult [and she named it]. I've lost the glow that I had when I was down there, and I'm wondering today just where I am. You had some literature you gave me at that time. Would you please send it to me again? I want to get back." The Gospel of John is for her. Oh, what we need today is life, not religion. Life!
Perhaps you will recall that I said at the beginning of this message the Gospel of John was primarily written for the church, also that it is the Gospel that will reach and touch the mind of the Orient, yet I say it is the Gospel for the wretched man. Now you may ask, "You don't think believers are the wretched man, do you?" I sure do. Paul, in Romans 7:24, said, "Oh, wretched man that I am!" To whom was he speaking, and about whom was he speaking? He was talking to you and me, and he was talking about himself. He was not an unsaved man when he said that. That cry did not come from a man who was unsaved, but from a man who had met Christ on the Damascas road and who was trying to live the Christian life in his own strength, in ignorance of the Word of God. That is the reason God had to train the man as He did.
The most wretched people at the Christmas season are in two groups. One is the unsaved man who tries to drink his way through Christmas. The other is the uninstructed Christian. Dwight L. Moody put it in his quaint way: "Some Christians have just enough religion to make them miserable." There are a lot of Christians today who are compromising, pussyfooting, running with the hare and the hounds. They're trying to go with all the crowds and trying to please everybody. They live for the devil six days of the week and try to live for God one day of the week. Of course they lack that all-important sense of security. They have what the psychologist is emphasizing now: insecurity. That's the reason a great many put the Bible under their arms, learn a few Christian cliches, join a little group and lean on them - because they're insecure. They are not living for God or growing in grace and in the knowledge of Him. They're miserable. Some of you reading this now can put up a good front, but you're miserable down underneath.
It is interesting to hear a man, probably the greatest psychologist today, voice this same conviction. He says that the so-called neurotic is a bona fide sinner, and his guilt is from the past, that his difficulties arise not from inhibitions but from actions - actions that have been kept carefully concealed, unconfessed, and unredeemed.
That's the miserable man, the "wretched man that I am," the Christian who tries to keep up a front. He is insecure and doesn't dare say he's a sinner. The first time I said this from the pulpit of a church I served, I received several letters from people who wrote, "Don't you dare call me a sinner. I've been a member of this church for years." Friend, you are a sinner. Why don't you tell God about it and get the thing straightened out so the Spirit of God can move in your life with power and bring blessing to you?
The columnist Russel Kirk made this statement:
Disciples of Sigmund Freud notwithstanding, this commentator declares that there's nothing wrong with a sense of guilt. On the contrary, the man who thinks himself guiltless is either stupid or abnormal. And a society which has denied the reality of personal guilt soon becomes a decadent and indolent culture. This is the reason many in the Orient have responded to the gospel. They don't mind coming and saying, "I have no front to put up. I do not need a status symbol. I have none. I'm a sinner." To do that would bring joy in your heart because everything would be made right with God. Quit trying to please your little crowd. Take a stand for God; stand tall and see how it feels.
Many people think of Ernest Hemingway as a swashbuckling, big, brave man. But his biographer says that his he-man swagger was a camouflage and that he had "the undruggable consciousness of something wrong." Do you have this same feeling? And you can't get rid of it? Oh, you can if you'll come to Jesus Christ and be honest.
You and I need to sit at Jesus' feet. Living Prophecies has translated Hosea 6:6 (it is more an interpretation than a translation): "I don't want your sacrifices - I want your love; I don't want your offerings - I want you to know Me." This is what God is saying today: "I want you to know Me." This is the reason the Gospel of John was written. And the reason Christians are miserable today is that they are too far from Him; they are not growing in their knowledge of Him. However, over the years I have found that if I'll just teach the Word of God, there are some who will listen, some who want to grow. May I say to you, friend, we need today to sit at Jesus' feet and let Him teach us. He wants to talk with us. He wants us to grow. That is the reason He has given to us the Gospel of John.
You may be like the Israelite, a religious person. Jesus can speak to you today. You may be like the Roman, a person of action. God wanted to reach you, and He gave a Gospel for you. You may be the thinking man. He has written for you. He wants you to know Jesus Christ. You may be that one who today professes Him as your Savior and today you are miserable. He wants you to know Him. The only place you'll ever get acquainted with Him is in His Book.
