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Last updated 10.15pm Sunday 9 August 2026 (BAF).
Sunday 9 August 2026
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Concluding the Gospel of John
A short sermon and a long conclusion!
21:20-23 -adopt a humble spirit; never assume we’ve got our faith sorted! Remember 2 ears and eyes; one mouth!
How might the Gospel of John be summed up in the context of believers in 2026?
‘Put your phone down and look at Jesus!’ More accurate than we might think!
Last week received pictures of some beautiful sunsets – nice, but then onto the next thing.
The week before stood in the Lake District looking at mountains all around – couldn’t take my eyes of them; words just didn’t capture the splendour.
Two ways to respond to John’s Gospel:
1. Like photographs of sunsets – very nice, what’s next?
2. Recognise that John isn’t inviting us to look at pictures of Jesus; he wants us to encounter Jesus – the call of the first disciples = ‘come and you will see’ (1:39); ‘come and see’ (1:46)
John’s purpose in writing his gospel: ‘these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name’ (20:31) – an easy task for John! His life is a life totally captivated be the reality and utter beauty of who Jesus is.
The context in which John writes his gospel – most likely AD90 and therefore he is an old man; almost certainly the last eyewitness to the earthly life of Jesus. John doesn’t set out simply to provide a well-presented rationale to prove that ‘Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God’. It is amazing to consider all that John had seen, heard and experienced. This is why there is something utterly compelling about his gospel.
It has been said of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) that he lived with ‘a Christ-exalting, God entranced vision of all things.’ The same is true of John.
John doesn’t offer his opinions concerning Jesus, he simply and gloriously tells us what Jesus said about who is, through his words – I Am statements – and his actions – signs/miracles. John boldly concludes his gospel by saying: ‘Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written’ (21:25) Another way of reading this is that ‘there is no more that needs saying about Jesus.’ Sufficient evidence/testimony has been provided for people to make up their minds if they believe who Jesus really is. Remember 6:25-30: ‘When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?’? That said you can imagine John bursting to say more!
John simply wants us to see Jesus for who he really is, which explains the fact he opens with such an incredible description of him in his prologue, which is considered by some, ‘to be one of the most sublime sections in all of Scripture.’ Then as he records all Jesus said and did, he does so through the lens of having witnessed and experienced first-hand the earthly ministry; the Transfiguration; the death and resurrection; the ascension of Jesus, and everything else that affirms the truth that ‘Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.’ You can picture John as he writes stopping to ponder it all!
As we read his gospel we can observe (and be inspired) that John is a man who:
· Routinely meditates on the Scriptures – the place which reveals unequivocally that Jesus is indeed who he says he is.
· Allows the Scriptures to shape every part of his life – because Jesus is indeed who he says he is.
· Receives and basks in the love of the one in whom the Scriptures are fulfilled – which is the abundant overflow of the Father’s love for the Son and the Son’s love for the Father.
· Follows in the footsteps of Jesus – Christlikeness is the ultimate destiny of those who believe that Jesus is indeed who he says he is.
· Makes Jesus known to others – this is the great delight for all who believe that Jesus is indeed who he says he is.
For John, Jesus is much more than a passing thought, a Sunday obligation, a comfort blanket when needed, or a convenient ally for a personal agenda. John is utterly captivated by Jesus, nothing (as in NOTHING) compares! A potentially difficult question to answer, but how much thought do we give to who Jesus says he is? Do we ever get lost in those thoughts? John’s Gospel (and the Puritans) can help us to.
If John had been stood next to me as I looked at the mountains in the Lakes he would have whispered, ‘you think they’re impressive, but there not as impressive as the one who created them’! Our theology should always lead us to doxology (or what we believe must move from our head to our heart).
When I was a youngster there were lots of sermons preached around the idea that, ‘Your God is too Small.’ John’s challenge to the church today is, ‘Your Jesus isn’t glorious enough! If he was, you’d be so captivated by him, nothing else would matter in comparison’. Quick test: How do we react to the invitation to read our Bibles?
We all know the saying ‘Familiarity breeds contempt.’ It is easy to become satisfied with less. We’ve seen it, done it and got the tee-shirt. This week I started to read the 1611 edition of the King James version of the Bible to slow my reading of the Bible and to challenge me to think more carefully as I did. Have we ever come away from church thinking, ‘well I’m glad that’s over’? Not a danger when the Jesus we look to is the glorious Jesus of John’s gospel – ‘The serious student of John will find that each time he returns to the Gospel, Christ will be a little bigger.’ (R Kent Hughes)
An appropriate response as we come to the close of John’s Gospel would be to say, ‘Jesus, help me/us to see more of your glory, and more of your glory, and more of your glory …’
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The Latest Starfish Malawi news can be found on-line here.
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Jim's hosts while in the UK worship at Living Word Church, Fareham. Jim was able to have a meeting with their Pastor, Rev Chris Wickland - aka The Vexed Vicar. Jim contrasts issues affecting Christians in the UK with the global context.
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Yesterday, Saturday 11 April 2026 1pm
