John's Purpose

The book of John is unique and very different from the other Gospel's. While Matthew was written primarily for the Jewish audience, and Mark and Luke for the Roman and Greek, John appears to have been aimed at a universal audience. His motive is clear, to an evangelistic view: calling on man to make a decision on Jesus. The writer states his purpose in chapter twenty verse thirty and thirty-one. "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name." In these verses, the two 'that' words introduce John's clear purpose for the Gospel of John. The first is so that we might believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God through his miracles and testimony. That faith is not created by man. It comes from God. The writer tries to persuade that how or what we believe guides our daily lives. The second 'that' clause shows the result of "right believing." 'That you may have life in His Name.' This tells of the quality of one's life. As we believe, our life will be changed. We will experience a real changed life.

The writer's goal is to persuade you in believing Jesus is the Christ and not to just create a book of historical information. The writer never uses the word "faith" throughout the book instead opting for the word "believe." He references the signs and/or miracles for his argument from chapter two through eleven. Miracles, in the bible, served as a sign from God. In the writer's case, the miracles Jesus performed proved He was from God. (John2:1-11, 4:46-54, 5:1-18, etc...) In this book, the writer identifies Jesus as the messiah through the miracles. Jesus was God in flesh, and uses these miracles for supporting evidence that serve as proof or credentials. Through these signs Jesus gained attention and showed God's compassion for the lives of man. Jesus never performed