The Case for Christ in John’s Gospel

The stated purpose of John’s Gospel is this: “these [signs] have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). John supports this claim using structures, language and motifs reminiscent of a legal process.

The witnesses

The claim that Jesus is the Son of God is evidenced through the gospel by a series of witnesses, as demonstrated in the following table. Note particularly the frequent use of testify and testimony.

Primary witness	Reference	Secondary witness
1. John the Baptist	John […] came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. (John 1:6-8)
	John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” (John 1:15)	Confirmed by his disciples: And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.” (John 3:26)
	This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” (John 1:19-20)	Confirmed by his disciples: You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’(John 3:28)
	John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. […] I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:32, 34)	Confirmed by Jesus: There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. (John 5:32-33)
2. Jesus himself a) his testimony about the Father and the truth	Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. (John 3:11) [Jesus’ testimony in this context is of his knowledge of the Father; yet this itself is evidence of Jesus’ heavenly origins]	Confirmed by John the Baptist: What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. (John 3:32)
	Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (John 18:37)
3. Jesus himselfb) his testimony about him	“If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. (John 5:31) [NASB addition of ‘alone’ reconciles this passage with the following references. The point is not that Jesus did not testify of himself, but rather that Jesus acknowledges that his witness alone would be insufficient to convince them]
	So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.” Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. (John 8:13-14)
	Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true. I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”(John 8:17-18)
4. The woman of Samaria	From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”(John 4:39)	Confirmed by the Samaritans Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Saviour of the world.” (John 4:41-42)
5. The works / signs of Jesus	But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. (John 5:36)	Confirmed by Nicodemus “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”(John 3:2) Confirmed by the people Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” (John 6:14) Confirmed by the chief priests and Pharisees: Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. (John 11:47)
	Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. (John 10:25)
6. The Father	And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. (John 5:37)
	I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.” (John 8:18)
7. The Scriptures	You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; (John 5:39)
8. The witnesses to Lazarus’ resurrection	So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. (John 12:17)
9. The Spirit of truth	“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, (John 15:26)
10. The disciples	and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning (John 15:27)
11. John the author	And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.(John 19:35)
	This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things (John 21:24a)	Confirmed (by the apostles?) and we know that his testimony is true. (John 21:24b)

The strength of the case for Christ is seen not only in the number of witnesses, but also that five of the witnesses receive confirmation from secondary witnesses. In the case of the signs, even Jesus’ enemies bear witness of their reality, despite the fact that they do not see them as evidence of his divine Sonship.

Refutation of false accusations

The case for Christ rests not only on the evidence of witnesses, but also on the refutation of accusations. In some instances, misunderstandings about Christ are corrected by the words or actions of Jesus. For example, Nathanael says of Jesus, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (1:46), a question which might still have been in the minds of some of John’s readers. Jesus counters his doubt with his miraculous insight into Nathanael’s character, resulting in Nathanael’s declaration, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel” (1:49).

Three specific charges are made against Jesus by the Jewish leaders – charges which (in their eyes) make him worthy of death.

The first is that Jesus is a Sabbath-breaker:

For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. (5:16)

Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” (9:16a)

This charge arises in John’s gospel from two miracles of healing: the man at Bethesda pool, and the man born blind (both illustrations of the spiritual state of the Jews). Jesus responds to the charge in three ways. His first reply is “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working” (5:17). Drawing from the record of the institution of the Sabbath where God “rested from all His work” (Genesis 2:3), Jesus declares the redemptive work of the Father continues eternally, and identifies himself with that work. Thus, the work of Christ in doing the works of God is not subject to the Sabbath law. He develops this argument in his second defence. Even the Jews allow circumcision on the Sabbath, so spiritual works ­are permitted: “if a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath?” (7:23). On the third occasion that the issue arises, Jesus offers no defence. Instead, he accuses the Pharisees: “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains” (9:41).

The second charge against Jesus is that he is a blasphemer:

For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. (5:18)

The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” (10:33)

The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.” (19:7)

On the first occasion, Jesus responds by explaining the relationship between the Father and Son. The Son can do nothing of himself (5:19, 30), but both work (5:17, 19), both give life (5:21) and both are worthy of honour (5:23). Moreover, the Father has delegated judgment to the Son (5:22), and his divine mission is supported by the fourfold witness of John (5:33), the works (5:36), the Father (5:37), and the Scriptures (5:39). Thus Jesus’ defence forms a key part of John’s case for Christ. On the second occasion, Jesus argues that since the elders of Israel could be called ‘gods’ (10:34, 35; cf Psalm 82:6), there was nothing blasphemous in Jesus claiming to be the Son of God. In both cases, Jesus shows that their allegation is false. He does not make himself equal with God, since he acknowledges his dependence on the Father. He does not make himself out to be God, since he said “I am the Son of God”. Nevertheless, he asserts his right to receive the same honour as the Father, and implicitly to be called God, in the sense used in the Old Testament for God’s agents. On the third occasion, Jesus (as with the first charge) gives no answer, but instead turns the focus on the Jewish leadership: “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin” (19:11).

The third charge is that Jesus is an evildoer. This accusation does not emerge until the trial of Jesus, and may have been used by the Jewish leaders in order to justify bringing Jesus to Pilate. Pilate would have seen the first two charges as strictly under Jewish religious law, whereas a charge of evil doing would fall more readily under his jurisdiction. Nevertheless, Pilate’s verdict is “I find no guilt in Him”, three times (18:28, 19:4, 19:6).

The reason used ultimately by the Jewish leaders to justify the arrest of Jesus is his miraculous signs:

Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” […] So from that day on they planned together to kill Him. (John 11:47, 48, 53)

Even in their plot against Jesus, they inadvertently testified to the truth of his claim. They provide further testimony of the works, the fifth witness in the table above.

The subsequent trial of Jesus by Pilate results only in him being declared innocent, and repeatedly proclaimed the king of the Jews (18:39, 19:3, 19:14, 19:15, 19:19).

Conclusion

In his gospel, John makes the case for Christ. He calls eleven witnesses to support the claim that Jesus is the Son of God. Five of these are supported by secondary witnesses. John also outlines the main accusations against Jesus, and Jesus’ response to them. Finally, in the record of the final trial of Jesus he shows that even in the plot to kill Jesus, he is confirmed as a worker of miracles, one in whom there is “no fault”, and the king of the Jews.