87: John — Grafted | BEMA Podcast Notes

BEMA Episode Link: 87: John — Grafted
Episode Length: 40:35
Published Date: Thu, 04 Oct 2018 01:00:00 -0700
Session 3
About this episode:

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings spend time in the gospel of John, investigating the different tools he uses in speaking to his particular audience.

Discussion Video for BEMA 87

Map of Asia and Asia Minor

Transcript for BEMA 87

Notes

*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.

BEMA Episode 87: John — Grafted

Comprehensive Study Notes

Title & Source Summary

Episode Title: John — Grafted Episode Number: 87
Topic: The Gospel of John and its unique approach to communicating the message of Jesus to a blended audience of Hellenistic Jews and Gentiles in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey).

This episode explores how the Apostle John, as “Pastor to Asia,” crafted his Gospel not to fill in gaps left by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but to present Jesus in a way that would resonate with the specific cultural and religious context of his audience in Ephesus and the surrounding regions. The term “Grafted” describes John’s approach to bringing together Jewish and Gentile believers into one unified understanding of who Jesus is.

Key Takeaways

John wrote to a unique audience: Unlike Matthew (Jews), Mark (Romans), or Luke (synagogue companion reading), John wrote to a blended community of Hellenistic Jews and Gentiles in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), particularly around Ephesus.
John was the “Pastor to Asia”: Historical tradition and biblical evidence (including his letters and Revelation) establish John as the primary spiritual leader in Asia Minor, home to approximately 20% Jewish population living in large Greek cities.
The opening verses speak to two audiences simultaneously: “In the beginning was the Word (Logos)” addresses both Greek philosophical concepts and Jewish understanding of Torah, demonstrating John’s brilliant dual-audience approach.
The seven “I Am” statements serve dual purposes: Each statement confronts both pagan Greek gods (Apollo, Demeter, Pan, Dionysus, etc.) and simultaneously claims that Jesus embodies what Torah represented to the Jewish people.
John’s Gospel is layered with multiple sub-narratives: Beyond the Jew-Gentile dynamic, John weaves in Genesis themes, Jacob parallels, and creation motifs (including the garden resurrection scene) to create a multi-dimensional portrait of Jesus.

Main Concepts & Theories

1. The Grafted Gospel

Definition: John’s Gospel represents a “grafted” approach—bringing together Jewish and Gentile believers into one family, echoing Paul’s imagery in Romans 11 of Gentiles being grafted into the Jewish tree.

Context:

After Jesus’s resurrection, the Gospel spread from Jerusalem outward to Judea, Samaria, and eventually to “the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8)
Asia and Asia Minor (western and central Turkey) became major centers of early Christianity
These regions had large Greek cities (Ephesus had 500,000-1,000,000 people) with approximately 20% Jewish population
Unlike the Jerusalem church, which maintained a Judeo-centric identity, believers in Asia Minor lived in an assimilated, Hellenistic context

John’s Challenge: How do you communicate the Gospel of a Jewish rabbi to people living in the heart of Greek culture and pagan worship? John’s answer was to create a Gospel that speaks simultaneously to both audiences.

2. The Logos — Speaking to Greeks and Jews at Once

Greek Understanding of Logos:

Greek philosophers (Plato, Aristotle) discussed the logos as a transcendent force holding the universe together
The logos was understood as an impersonal, mysterious reality—something beyond mere matter
Even Jewish-Greek thinkers like Philo of Alexandria engaged with this philosophical concept
When John begins “In the beginning was the Logos,” Greek readers would nod in agreement with familiar philosophical language

Jewish Understanding of Word/Torah:

Jews spoke of Torah as existing before creation—”In the beginning was Torah”
Torah was sometimes personified as “Wisdom” in mystical Jewish traditions
Torah represented the mind, will, and words of God—eternal and pre-existent
When John writes “In the beginning was the Word,” Jewish readers would think of Torah

The Subversive Twist:

John 1:2 begins with “He was with God in the beginning”
The pronoun “He” transforms the impersonal logos/Torah into a person
Both audiences must reconsider their understanding: “Wait—the Logos/Torah is a person?”
John reveals that Jesus is the embodiment of both the Greek philosophical ideal and the Jewish Torah

This demonstrates John’s genius—using the exact same text to communicate two profound truths to two different worldviews simultaneously.

3. The Seven “I Am” Statements — Dual Confrontation

John employs seven “I Am” statements that function as both:

Confrontations of Greek pagan deities
Claims that Jesus is the fulfillment of what Torah represented

The Seven Statements and Their Dual Meanings:

“I am the bread of life” (John 6)

Greek Context: Confronts Demeter (Ceres in Roman mythology), goddess of provision and grain (our word “cereal” comes from Ceres)
Jewish Context: Torah is the bread of life, like the manna in the wilderness—God’s word sustains life

“I am the light of the world” (John 8)

Greek Context: Confronts Apollo, god of light and the sun
Jewish Context: Torah is “a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105)

“I am the gate/door for the sheep” (John 10)

Greek Context: Confronts Janus, the two-faced god of transitions and doorways (our word “January” comes from Janus, the doorway to the new year)
Jewish Context: Torah is the doorway to eternal life, the invitation to walk through into God’s presence

“I am the good shepherd” (John 10)

Greek Context: Confronts Pan, the half-goat, half-man god of the flock and fertility
Jewish Context: God shepherds through His voice/word; Torah is the good shepherd that leads and guides

“I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11)

Greek Context: Confronts Asclepius, god of healing who was said to have resurrected a ruler’s son and was himself raised from death
Jewish Context: Torah is the resurrection and the life—keeping Torah leads to being raised in the age to come (Pharisaic teaching)

“I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14)

Greek Context: Confronts Athena, goddess of truth and wisdom whose temple sat in the center of the Pergamon library
Jewish Context: Predating the Gospels by 70-80 years, there’s a Jewish reference to Torah being “the way, the truth, and the life”
Important Note: Jesus isn’t claiming to be the only way to get to heaven, but rather claiming to be the way to see God—the truth that both Athena and Torah pointed toward

“I am the true vine” (John 15)

Greek Context: Confronts Dionysus, god of wine and one of the most widely worshiped deities in the Greco-Roman world
Jewish Context: Likely connected to Torah (though this connection is less documented than the other six)

The Brilliant Strategy: John essentially tells Gentiles, “Everything you’re looking for in Apollo, Demeter, Pan, Dionysus, and all these gods—you can find in Jesus. These gods are counterfeits; Jesus is the real thing.” Simultaneously, he tells Jews, “Jesus is the embodiment of Torah—He is what Torah has always pointed to.”

4. Multiple Sub-Narratives in John’s Gospel

Beyond the Jew-Gentile dual narrative, John layers additional themes:

Genesis and New Creation Theme

John counts the first two signs/miracles, prompting readers to count all seven signs
The seventh sign is the raising of Lazarus (culminating in resurrection)
Jesus’s own resurrection becomes the first sign of a new creation
Garden imagery: Jesus is resurrected in a garden, where a gardener is present, and a woman (Mary—just one woman in John’s account, unlike the other Gospels) comes looking for him
This deliberately echoes Genesis: one woman, one man, a garden—pointing to new creation

Jacob Sub-Narrative

The lifetime and narrative of Jesus parallels the story of Jacob
John presents Jesus as the “new Jacob” through various thematic connections

The Count of Seven

Seven signs leading to the ultimate sign of resurrection
Reflects the seven days of creation, with resurrection as the first day of new creation
Demonstrates John’s sophisticated literary structure

5. Church Leadership Structure in the Early Church

The Three Pillars:

Peter, James, and John formed the inner circle of Jesus’s disciples (the havurah or rabbinical group)
Paul references them as “the pillars” of the church in Galatians
This wasn’t just church tradition but biblically documented leadership structure

Geographic Distribution:

Peter: Leader of the church universal, considered the “rock” on which the church was built
James: Leader of the Jerusalem church, overseeing the Jewish center of Christianity
John: Pastor to Asia (and Asia Minor), bringing the Gospel to the Greek-influenced regions

Asia vs. Asia Minor:

Asia: The western coastal region of modern-day Turkey, including major cities like Ephesus, Sardis, and Pergamon
Asia Minor: The interior and remainder of Turkey
Philadelphia served as the doorway between the two regions

6. The Cultural Context of John’s Audience

Size and Scale Differences:

Jewish cities: Bethsaida (1,000-3,000 people), Chorazin (3,000-5,000 people)
Greek cities: Ephesus (500,000-1,000,000 people)
This represents a completely different world—small, tight Jewish communities vs. massive cosmopolitan Greek centers

Religious Context:

Rome was driven by government, military power, and civic structures (the Praetorium, Colosseum)
The Greek world was driven by pagan mythology, temples, and religious practice
The Pantheon in Rome was tucked away and small compared to the prominence of pagan religious sites in Greek cities

Jewish Population in Asia Minor:

Approximately 20% of the population was Jewish
These were largely Hellenistic Jews who had assimilated to varying degrees
They would align more with the “Herodian” response to Hellenism (engagement/assimilation) rather than separatism
This created a unique cultural blend requiring a unique Gospel presentation

7. Text to Context — The Mission of the Gospel Writers

The Core Principle: The Gospel writers weren’t merely trying to record events before they forgot them (they had phenomenal memorization skills). Instead, they were on a mission to help their specific audiences know Jesus the way they knew Jesus.

The Process:

Disciples received their “Ph.D. in Jesus”—years of walking with Him, learning from Him
They then spent years gaining their “Ph.D.” in their cultural context
Only then could they effectively bring Text to Context—translating the Jesus story into language and imagery their audience would understand

Why the Gospels Were Written Decades Later:

Not because memories were fading
But because it took years to understand the culture deeply enough to communicate effectively
John had to live in Asia long enough to understand Greek philosophy, pagan worship systems, and the unique challenges of a Hellenistic-Jewish community

John’s Unique Contribution:

Matthew’s Gospel wouldn’t work in Ephesus (too Jewish-centric)
Mark’s Gospel worked for Romans but not for the Greek context
Luke’s Gospel served as a synagogue companion reading
John needed something entirely new for the grafted community of Asia

Examples & Applications

Example 1: The Logos in Modern Context

Imagine trying to communicate the Gospel in a modern academic setting where people are steeped in quantum physics, evolutionary biology, and philosophical materialism. You might begin by saying, “You know how you talk about the fundamental forces that hold the universe together? About the elegant mathematical equations that govern reality? Well, let me tell you about someone who is that ultimate reality…”

This is what John did with the logos—he took the philosophical language of his day and infused it with the personal reality of Jesus.

Example 2: Cultural Translation Today

Consider how missionaries must deeply understand a culture before effectively communicating the Gospel:

A missionary to Japan might spend a decade learning about honor/shame dynamics, Shinto traditions, and Buddhist philosophy
A missionary to a secular European university town would need to understand postmodern philosophy, critical theory, and scientific naturalism
Just as John spent years in Ephesus learning Greek culture, modern missionaries must become “Ph.D.s” in their context

The BEMA principle of “Text to Context” applies to all Gospel communication—we must know both our message and our audience deeply.

Example 3: The “I Am” Statements in Modern Terms

If John were writing today to a Western secular audience, he might confront modern “gods”:

“I am the bread of life” → confronting consumerism and material security
“I am the light of the world” → confronting scientism and human enlightenment
“I am the way, the truth, and the life” → confronting relativism and individualism
“I am the good shepherd” → confronting self-help psychology and therapeutic culture

Simultaneously, for Christian audiences steeped in religious tradition, he would show how Jesus fulfills and embodies the very things we’ve always valued in our faith.

Example 4: Multiple Audience Communication

John’s ability to speak to two audiences simultaneously has modern parallels:

A skilled preacher addressing both seekers and mature believers in one sermon
A Christian professor teaching evolution in a way that respects both believing and non-believing students
A parent explaining faith to children of different ages around the same dinner table

The key is understanding your audiences so well that you can find language and imagery that resonates with multiple groups without compromising truth.

Example 5: Recognizing Subtexts in Scripture

John’s layered approach teaches us to look for multiple meanings in biblical texts:

When we read about Jesus in a garden with Mary, we should think of Eden
When we notice counting patterns (like the seven signs), we should consider creation themes
When we see unusual details (only one woman at the tomb in John’s account), we should ask, “Why did the author choose this?”

This reading strategy honors the sophistication of biblical authors and unlocks deeper meanings.

Potential Areas for Further Exploration

1. The Five Books of John

Deep dive into how the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Revelation work together as a unified corpus
Study the development of John’s themes across all five books
Investigate how Revelation speaks to the seven churches in Asia that John pastored

2. Greek Mythology and Biblical Confrontation

Comprehensive study of each Greek deity mentioned and how the Gospel confronts pagan worship
Research the Asclepion in Pergamon and other temple sites in Asia Minor
Explore how early Christians navigated a world saturated with pagan religious practice

3. The Jacob Parallels in John’s Gospel

Line-by-line comparison of Jesus’s life narrative with Jacob’s story
Identify the thematic connections that establish Jesus as the “new Jacob”
Understand why John would choose Jacob specifically as a parallel

4. Philo of Alexandria and Jewish-Greek Thought

Study how Hellenistic Jews like Philo synthesized Greek philosophy and Jewish theology
Examine Philo’s treatment of the logos concept
Understand the intellectual world that shaped John’s audience

5. The Order of Gospel Authorship

Investigate the debate about which Gospel was written first
Explore Marty Solomon’s proposed order: Matthew, Mark, John, Luke
Study M.D. Goulder’s theory about Luke and the parashah readings

6. The Geography of the Seven Churches

Map study of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamon, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea
Understand the unique challenges and characteristics of each city
Connect the messages in Revelation 2-3 to local cultural and religious contexts

7. The Concept of Havurah in Rabbinical Judaism

Study the structure of rabbinical disciple groups
Understand the inner circle dynamics (Peter, James, John)
Compare Jesus’s havurah to other first-century rabbinical groups

8. Apostolic Succession and Church Leadership

Trace how leadership passed from Jesus to the apostles
Study the biblical evidence for the “three pillars” (Peter, James, John)
Understand how this relates to both Catholic and Protestant ecclesiology

9. The Herodian Response to Hellenism

Review the five responses to Hellenism (Zealots, Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Herodians)
Understand why Herodian-leaning Jews might settle in Asia Minor
Explore how assimilation created unique theological challenges

10. Torah as Pre-Existent Wisdom

Study Jewish mystical traditions about Torah predating creation
Explore the personification of Wisdom in Proverbs 8
Connect these concepts to John’s Christology

Comprehension Questions

1. Who was John’s primary audience, and how did this differ from the audiences of Matthew, Mark, and Luke?

Answer: John’s primary audience was a blended (grafted) community of Hellenistic Jews and Gentiles living in Asia and Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), particularly around Ephesus. This differed significantly from:

Matthew, who wrote to a Jewish audience in a Judeo-centric context
Mark, who wrote to Romans in Rome, addressing a Roman imperial worldview
Luke, who wrote as a companion to the parashah (Torah portion) readings in synagogue settings

John’s audience lived in large Greek cities, were steeped in Greek philosophy and pagan worship, and represented a highly assimilated Jewish community mixed with Gentile converts. This required an entirely unique approach.

2. Explain how John 1:1-2 (“In the beginning was the Word…”) speaks simultaneously to both Greek and Jewish audiences, and what makes verse 2 so significant.

Answer: For Greek readers, the word “Logos” connected to centuries of philosophical discussion about a transcendent, impersonal force holding the universe together—a concept discussed by Plato, Aristotle, and others. For Jewish readers, “Word” evoked Torah, which Jewish tradition taught pre-existed creation as the mind and will of God, sometimes personified as Wisdom.

Both audiences would initially agree with verse 1, but verse 2’s opening word “He” is revolutionary. By using a personal pronoun, John transforms both the impersonal Greek philosophical logos and the abstract Jewish concept of Torah into a person—specifically, Jesus. This forces both audiences to reconsider everything they thought they knew: the logos/Torah is not just a concept or force, but a living person.

3. Choose two of the seven “I Am” statements and explain what Greek deity and what Jewish concept each statement confronts or fulfills.

Sample Answer (any two statements work):

“I am the good shepherd” (John 10):

Greek deity: Confronts Pan, the half-goat, half-man god who was the deity of the flock and fertility
Jewish concept: Fulfills the idea that Torah is the good shepherd—God’s word that leads, guides, and directs His people through wilderness and desert

“I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14):

Greek deity: Confronts Athena, goddess of truth and wisdom, whose temple sat prominently in the library of Pergamon
Jewish concept: There’s a pre-Gospel Jewish reference to Torah being “the way, the truth, and the life”—the path to knowing God

In both cases, John tells Gentiles that Jesus is what their gods falsely claim to be, while telling Jews that Jesus embodies what Torah has always pointed toward.

4. What evidence does John provide in his Gospel that the resurrection represents a “new creation,” and why is this significant?

Answer: John provides several deliberate echoes of the Genesis creation account:

Seven signs: John counts the first two miracles, prompting readers to count all seven signs, mirroring the seven days of creation
Seventh sign: The raising of Lazarus, which culminates in resurrection themes
Garden setting: Unlike other Gospels that mention multiple women at the tomb, John specifically mentions only one woman (Mary) in a garden, where a gardener is present

This garden scene with one woman and one man (Jesus, mistaken for a gardener) deliberately parallels Eden with one woman (Eve) and one man (Adam) in a garden. This literary construction signals that Jesus’s resurrection is not just a miracle but the beginning of a new creation—the first day of God’s new creative work in the world. The significance is that Jesus isn’t just restoring the old creation but inaugurating something entirely new.

5. What does the phrase “Text to Context” mean, and why did it take the Gospel writers decades after Jesus’s resurrection to write their accounts?

Answer: “Text to Context” means taking the biblical text (in this case, the life and teachings of Jesus—the rabbi the disciples followed) and translating it effectively into the specific context/culture of the audience.

The Gospel writers didn’t wait decades because their memories were fading—they had excellent memorization skills trained through years of discipleship. They waited because they needed to:

First gain their “Ph.D. in Jesus”—deeply understanding their rabbi through years of walking with Him
Then gain their “Ph.D. in their cultural context”—living in their mission field long enough to deeply understand the philosophy, religion, challenges, and worldview of their audience
Only then could they effectively communicate Jesus in a way their specific audience could understand and receive

John, for example, had to live in Ephesus and Asia Minor long enough to understand Greek philosophy, the pantheon of gods, pagan worship practices, and the unique challenges of a Hellenistic-Jewish community before he could craft a Gospel that spoke powerfully to that context. The Gospels were written not just to record, but to communicate effectively—and that takes time, cultural immersion, and deep understanding.

Personalized Summary

The Gospel of John emerges not as a simple gap-filler to the Synoptic Gospels, but as a sophisticated, multi-layered masterpiece designed for a unique audience—the grafted community of Jews and Gentiles in Asia Minor. John, serving as the “Pastor to Asia,” spent years immersed in the Greek culture of cities like Ephesus, understanding both the philosophical discussions about the logos and the deeply embedded pagan worship of deities like Apollo, Dionysus, Pan, and Athena.

His genius lies in his ability to speak simultaneously to two audiences with the same words. When he opens with “In the beginning was the Word,” Greeks hear their philosophical logos and Jews hear Torah—but both are confronted with the revolutionary truth that this Word is a person: Jesus. The seven “I Am” statements function as dual declarations: to Gentiles, Jesus confronts and supersedes their pantheon of false gods; to Jews, Jesus embodies and fulfills what Torah has always represented.

Beyond this primary dual narrative, John weaves multiple sub-themes throughout his Gospel—Genesis and new creation motifs, Jacob parallels, and sophisticated numerical structures (like the seven signs leading to resurrection). The resurrection scene in a garden with one woman deliberately echoes Eden, signaling that Jesus’s resurrection is the first day of a new creation.

What makes John’s work even more remarkable is understanding the context in which he wrote. He ministered in massive Greek cities (Ephesus had perhaps a million people) that dwarfed the small Jewish villages of the Galilee. His audience included both Hellenistic Jews who had assimilated into Greek culture and Gentile converts who were leaving behind the pagan worship that permeated every aspect of civic life.

The lesson for modern readers is the principle of “Text to Context”—the Gospel writers weren’t merely recording history; they were translating the reality of Jesus into language and imagery their specific audiences could receive. This required years of cultural immersion and deep understanding. John’s Gospel reminds us that effective Gospel communication requires both profound knowledge of the message and profound knowledge of the audience—a truth that remains relevant for anyone seeking to share Jesus in their own context today.

Study Notes Created: October 31, 2025 Episode Released: June 21, 2023 Transcript Approved: December 9, 2022

These notes are designed for personal study and group discussion. They represent a synthesis of the teaching in BEMA Episode 87, organized to facilitate deeper understanding and practical application of the material.

Original Notes

Review
- Matthew: Mumzer; a Jew writing to Jews
- Mark: Roman Gospel; a Jew writing to Romans
- Luke: Ordered Gospel; a Jewish Convert writing to Jews
Order
- Popular opinion argues that
  - Matthew was written first
  - Mark was written secondly
  - Both shared Q material.
  - Popular conservative evangelical opinion is that Luke was next and his purpose was to write a more orderly and accurate account of the gospel. This was challenged in the last gospel.
  - John comes along later and tells a gospel to fill in the gospel to fill in the gaps found in the synoptic gospels.
- Marty’s opinion is that the order was Mark, Matthew, John, and then Luke. He also disagrees with the intent behind John’s gospel thinking he had something else in mind when he writes it.
Who?
- John was a Jew.
- Brent reads 1 John 1:1-4
  
  1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
- John is the pastor to Asia.
- Jesus had Peter, James, and John as the three leaders of his church.
- Peter led the entire church.
- James led the church in Jerusalem.
- Paul would take the gospel to Asia and Asia Minor. Asia is the coastline where all of the major cities lie. Everything else in Turkey would be Asia Minor.
- 20% of the population of Asia and Asia Minor was Jewish.
- There were two different kinds of Judaism though. Those in Jerusalem held tightly to that identity of strict Judaism. The Jews of the Diaspora were more Hellenistic and likely had a more assimilated world view.
- John goes to Asia to Pastor the Greeks and the Hellenistic Jews.
- This greek world is steeped in a unique world of paganism.
Grafted and Blended
- During Bema 1.0, Marty used the word “blended” implying a blended family of Jews and Greeks.
- He has since begun using the term “grafted” implying Greeks have been grafted into an existing family tree.
- Brent reads John 1:1-5
  1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
- John has two different kinds of audiences here: Jews and Gentiles.
- The greek word for “word” was logos. In the non-biblical greek world, philosophers often discussed the world and are getting huge mileage out of the word “logos”. The greek idea was that there was something out in the universe that transcended the world and held everything together and this logos was it. Greeks would agree with verse 1. When they read “HE was with God in the beginning” that would be a completely brand new idea. Logos was NOT a person and would have caught them off guard.
- The Jews speak of the word as “Torah.” In the beginning was Torah. Jews speak that Torah in its unwritten form has always existed. Jews would have heard/read verse 1 and completely agreed. However, when they read “HE was with God in the beginning” that would have been a completely brand new idea. Torah was NOT a person.
- In the exact same paragraph, he’s able to speak to two groups simultaneously and make the exact same point from two entirely different perspectives.
- John has a grafted audience and he has to figure out how to communicate the gospel in a completely unique way.
- We as westerners like John like we do Mark and for a lot of the same reasons. John additionally uses a lot of images.
- I Am Statements
  - 6: I am the bread of life
  - 8: I am the light of the world
  - 10: I am the gate for the sheep
  - 10: I am the good shepherd
  - 11: I am the resurrection and the life
  - 14: I am the way the truth and the life
  - 15: I am the true vine
- These I Am statements were statements that were already made by pagan gods.
  - 6: I am the bread of life (Demeter/Sirius said this)
  - 8: I am the light of the world (Apollo is the best candidate for this)
  - 10: I am the door/gate for the sheep (Janus; this is tricky, Janus was the god of transitions. January, transition to the new year).
  - 10: I am the good shepherd (Pan is the half goat/man and overseer of the flocks)
  - 11: I am the resurrection and the life (Ascelapius the son of Apollo and given to the centaurs to learn how to heal and he then resurrected a ruler’s son. Zeus was furious and killed him. Ascellapius was then raised back to life.).
  - 14: I am the way, the truth and the life (Athena, the goddess of truth and of the way).
  - 15: I am the true vine (Dionesius, the god of wine).
- Everything that you’re looking for in Demeter, Apollo, Janus, Pan, Ascelapius, Athena, Dionesus, etc. I can give you those things.
- All of these statements have history in the scriptures as well.
  - 6: I am the bread of life (Torah was the bread of life).
  - 8: I am the light of the world (Your word is a lamp unto my feet; Torah is the light of the world).
  - 10: I am the door/gate for the sheep (Torah is the doorway to eternal life so the sages would say).
  - 10: I am the good shepherd (God is our good shepherd. A good shepherd leads with his voice. Torah is the voice of God. Torah leads us. Torah is the good shepherd.)
  - 11: I am the resurrection and the life (Torah is the resurrection and eternal life.)
  - 14: I am the way, the truth and the life (This is the way you see God. I am the way.)
    - Jesus may or may not be the only way to God but that is not what Jesus is saying, according to Marty.
  - 15: I am the true vine (Marty has not connected this to Torah but assumes there is a connection that he hasn’t found yet.)
- There are many other sub-narratives in John.
  - He definitely plays off of the book of Genesis. Signs for instance. The first sign, the second sign, then stops enumerating, but there are seven signs total with the resurrection being the final sign. His resurrection happens in a garden. When he’s raised, a single woman, Mary, comes back to the garden and speaks to a gardener alluding to a new creation with Eve in Eden with God. We have a new creation on our hands. Garden imagery is blatant.
  - There is a Jacob subtext where the narrative of Jesus follows the lifetime of Jacob as though Jesus is the new Jacob.
Text-to-Context: The gospels authors are taking the text and lessons of their Rabbi and putting it into context.

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