That would be true for the other statements as well. Please note that Jesus did not say he gave bread, but that he is bread. The "I am" recalls God's revelation of his name, "I AM," to Moses (Ex. "I am the bread of life" (6:35,41, 48, 51) "I am the light of the world" (8:12, 9:5) "I am the door for the sheep" (10:7, 9) "I am the good shepherd" (10:11, 14) "I am the resurrection and the life" (11:25) "I am the way, the truth, the life" (14:6), and "I am the true vine" (15:1, 5). To accomplish this purpose, John meticulously records seven "I am" statements that Jesus made that can only be attributed to God himself. ![]() ![]() He writes with a clear evangelistic purpose. He makes the audacious claim by stating the purpose for his writing: "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" (John 20:31 NIV). John uses every event, every statement, every miracle, and every title to show us that Jesus is God. John's Gospel is not so much biographical as it is a theological argument for the deity of Jesus. Whereas the first three Gospels major on describing events in the life of Jesus, John emphasized the meaning of those events. John, the beloved disciple, writes to both Jews and Gentiles, presenting Jesus as the Son of God, emphasizing his divinity. Luke wrote his Gospel for the Greeks and introduced Jesus as the sympathetic Son of man, emphasizing Jesus' humanity. Mark wrote for a Gentile audience, the busy Romans, presenting Jesus as the suffering Servant, ministering to needy people. Matthew wrote with his fellow Jews in mind and emphasized that Jesus of Nazareth had fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies. John differs from the other three Gospels, known as the synoptic Gospels. In communication, we want to understand and to be understood. It is frustrating when people speak in a coded language or have insider information, and we don't understand. And when someone is speaking to us, we want them to speak in a language that we can comprehend. When we write, we want our thoughts to be grasped. ![]() Isn't the goal of communication clarity? When we speak, we want our message received. Marshall McLuhan wrote, "The greatest obstacle to communication is the illusion that it has been achieved."
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