First Impressions: The Gospel of John

I'm only halfway through John.

Jesus keeps telling people how they need to believe in him to have eternal life. He keeps telling them that he is sent from God, and God is working through him. He uses bread and water as metaphors for partaking of God and salvation.

Every person in authority says, "No way. Who are you again? Get out of here before we kill you." Even normal folks say, "We are children of Abraham. Are you saying you are greater than Abraham?" and turn away from him. Jesus knows who will believe and who will not already.

Jesus goes around performing miracles. The first one was transforming water in large basins into wine. The second one was walking on water or feeding five thousand - I can't remember which one came first. He also healed a sick man who couldn't enter a pool by himself. There was a man blind since birth whom Jesus saw while walking. Jesus spit into the ground and made mud. He then spread the mud on the blind man's eyes and told him to wash it off in some lake. The blind man did, and afterwards he could see. The authorities asked the former blind man how he could see; he told them that some man had spit into the ground and put mud on his eyes to wash away in a lake. When asked who this man was, the blind man couldn't say. Later, Jesus met the former blind man again, and Jesus said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" The blind man said, "Show me where he is, and I will believe in him." Then Jesus said, "He is here; you are speaking with him." At that, the  former blind man knelt down and worshipped Jesus. When the former blind man was once again summoned by the authorities, he told them that Jesus was the one who healed him. They asked him how could he do this. Some of them believed Jesus to be a sinner, which is how he had these abilities. The blind man asked them, "Why do you not believe in him?" Jesus would later call the authorities blind. "But we can see," they said. "How can you say that we are blind?" Jesus said to them, "If you can't see, then you are fine; however, if you say you can see but really can't, then you do not have eternal life" - or something like that.

Jesus tries to prove who he is most of the time. He does a lot of stuff that's against the Law, too. Like he heals a sick man and tells him to walk and pick up his mat - even though it's the Sabbath. I don't know if this is against the Law, but Jesus goes into a Temple that is used as a marketplace and start knocking over the stalls and driving off the animals with a whip. Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman while he sits at a well. He asks her for a drink, even though Jews and Samaritan's can't share the same cups. Jesus says that if she wishes, she could never be thirsty again. She asks how. Jesus says by believing in him. She then leaves and tells the rest of the town about Jesus, and people begin to believe him. This was before he crossed the lake, I believe. Oh yeah, even though I forgot to mention it, this is probably important. The well that Jesus sat it was the same well Jacob dug years before which the town has used ever since. A quick wikipedia search said that this part is sometimes referred to as The Water of Life Discourse.

I guess there's a whole bunch of symbolism and meaning behind this scene. Any suggestions? The well: symbolism of life, but also can be of death, ie, a poisoned well. Jesus' kindness to those considered inferior can also be seen as God's word extending to all people, not just a chosen few. The water Jesus offers is salvation through him. The historical significance of the well indicates Jesus' connection with the past. According to John, the well was dug by Jacob. Jacob (I don't know much about him), according to wikipedia, was the grandson of Abraham, and later renamed Israel by God. Thus, Jesus' words and salvation, which is like the water in the well, comes to Jesus through Jacob from God.

I'll get to the next half later.