Theology Quest and Questions in Tiverton (TQQT)

Art work by Sophie Hacker

What’s So Special About John’s Gospel?
That John’s Gospel is special is something all Christians would agree. At Christmas time all our singing and reading come to a climax in the majestic summary of faith: ‘In the beginning was the Word… and the Word became flesh’. That’s special to John. And at Easter we have in our imaginations stood in the garden with the tearful Mary Magdalene and discovered that the apparent gardener was anything but… That’s only in John. So why, oh why, and how, oh how, has John’s writing come to be so very, very special?

The simple and obvious answer is that the Jesus of John is some kind of visiting stranger, resident in the world for a short while on a journey from God and back to God again. But nothing is really simple, and the obvious is often a front for a puzzle wrapped in an enigma – in short, a hidden mystery crying out to be revealed. Hence the need for a course of study!

So, among other things, we ask: Why is this story of Jesus so different from the three other versions provided by Mark, Matthew and Luke? Jesus talks all the time about himself and his origin with his Father before the beginning of time. This rather distinctive Jesus must reflect the faith of a very distinct Christian community, one which turns out to have had some very painful experiences at the hands of co-religionists. We will place our fingers on the pulse of Johannine faith, recover how this Gospel understood faithfulness, and examine the reasons for its immense long-term influence on the later Christian Church. We will study the remarkably creative way in which the Jesus of John returns to his Father and sets out his plan for the future of his people.

Session 1:   John’s transparent story of the Son of God
Session 2:   Does no-one really come to the Father except through me?
Session 3:   If all are equal, why is one more equal than the others?
Session 4:   Living in the light of the resurrection