Keywords

Lens of Three, Christology, Johannine Christology

Abstract

In comparison with the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Gospel of John has a very different interpretive lens through which it answers the age-old question “Who is Jesus?” The Gospel itself identifies its purpose: “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 20:31). While many individuals in the Synoptic Gospels declare Jesus to be the Son of God, there are very few accounts of Jesus himself declaring so until the latter part of his ministry. In this respect, John’s Gospel is very different because in it Jesus makes frequent declarations about his divine status throughout his entire ministry.1 Thus John’s Gospel is frequently described as having a high Christology, and Clement of Alexandria identified it as “a spiritual gospel.” 2