Jesus Freaks: Sins of the Father

My eyes roam the table as I sit back in my seat, and I see a mix of shock from Joy and Silas and pride from my roommates. Jonah looks conflicted, as usual—the poor, broody boy—and Matt only looks at me and mouths, “Seriously?”

“That’s good, Kennedy. Really good. About ninety percent of the Gospel of John is unique compared to the other three. We’re going to spend the next few weeks examining why that might be. We’ll cover some practical reasons, and then get into the debatable ones. First, though, I want us to simply read this text for what it is—and try not to compare it to the others. And we’ll be able to discuss why this Gospel is the go-to Gospel for evangelicals.”

“Because it’s the only one that talks about being born again,” I blurt out without raising my hand. “Sorry,” I whisper.

“Your enthusiasm is refreshing, Kennedy,” Jack says.

“Yeah,” Eden replies. “I had no idea you knew so much about this.”

I shrug. “Pastor Roland had a sermon series on this two or three years ago. I found it really fascinating.”

I remember the series as the first time I transitioned from passive viewer to engaged listener. I’d never in my life heard about the differences between any of the Gospels, let alone one that was so different that, while listening to the series, it seemed odd to me it was included in the group at all. It was the first time I brought the Bible to my computer, googled, and made notes. Something in the words of John’s Gospel stirred inside me that day three years ago.

Until this moment, I’d always thought it was simply my critical mind that fed on the comparisons, the layers of meaning. I’ve always defaulted to digging into any text I read, and for the first time with the Bible, I was given something worth uncovering. I knew I’d never “discover” anything scholars hadn’t already argued to exhaustion, but something about it ignited me.

Admittedly, the Gospel of John is the only text I really know this well. Which is kind of unfortunate since there are books after, written by John as well—if you believe this Gospel was written by John at all—and contextual texts throughout the rest of the New Testament that scholars use to detangle him a bit.

Maybe I could be a Biblical scholar, I think as I daydream for a brief second. If people have been studying it critically for…however long there’s been an actual Bible…then certainly I could make a career about it. And since I’m technically a Christian, but not a “fall down on my face” kind, maybe that will give me a different perspective than those who can’t view the Bible as anything other than absolute truth.

Then I tell myself to calm the crap down. This is all just interesting, not a lifelong mission.

“Two or three years ago?” Joy leans forward, her face toeing the line between interested and annoyed.

“Three,” I confirm. “I think it was one of his last sermons at Grace Covenant Church before he came to New Life. I watched them online.” Then, I dive into a speech I prepared months ago, but haven’t had to use yet. “Even though I went to an Episcopal church, I’ve always been interested in fundamental teachings. Where I live, there aren’t very many churches like that. So I found GCC online and continued watching Pastor Roland after he was hired by New Life.”

“Hmm,” Joy huffs as she sits back, seemingly annoyed that I know something at all.

Jack nods approvingly and his face indicates he’s formulating a change in game plan for the group. “How many of you are familiar with this text, forward and backward?”

Everyone but me and Matt raises their hands.

“I’m familiar with the popular stuff, I guess,” I offer.

“Me too,” Matt adds.

I mouth “liar” to him and he shrugs with a wicked grin on his face.

“I think what we should do, then, before we dive into what is different about the Gospel of John, let’s talk about some practical reasons for why it might be different.”

Jonah raises his hand. “I think one important factor is to note that this text was written later than any of the synoptic texts. So while, yes, it was written further away from the actual life of Jesus, it was written by someone who was older, wiser, and had more time to consider the events and their meaning in the world in which he lived.”

“Maybe,” Joy adds, “but wouldn’t the time away affect his memory?”

“Not of the important stuff, I don’t think,” Jonah replies.