| My Lord and my God! — John 20:28  The Messiah in John by N. T. Wright from Broken Signposts 
 A major theme in John's picture of Jesus is messiahship.
There was no single model of messiahship in the Jewish world at the time. Various scriptural sources all contributed to the prevailing idea of a warrior king who would get rid of Israel's enemies, build or restore the Temple so that God would come and live there again, and bring peace and justice to the world. That's why many people were puzzled when Jesus seemed to be doing and saying striking things, but still didn't fit the idea of "messiah" they might have held (e.g., John 7:31–52).
But John, like Paul, sees a clue. In two or three passages in the scriptures, the coming King is spoken of as the "Son of God." That is clear in 2 Samuel 7:12–14; Psalm 2:7; and Psalm 89:26–27. These famous biblical passages were well known in Jesus's day. But, so far as we can tell, nobody then was linking them to the idea that, if and when the Messiah turned up, He would somehow embody Israel's God in person in a way for which the language of "father and son" would be the most appropriate expression.
Throughout the early Christian movement, however, this conclusion was being drawn. The early disciples quickly realized that it matched up with the vivid way in which Jesus had spoken of "My Father" or "the Father who sent Me." We see it in Paul and especially here in John. A full study would take a whole book, but we may just look at two passages, one early on in the fourth gospel and one near the end.
At the end of chapter 1 Jesus has a strange conversation with a new disciple, Nathanael, who is initially very suspicious. After a bit of banter ("Wait a minute. Are you telling Me that you believe just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree?" John 1:50), there comes one of the "solemn truth" moments: "You'll see Heaven opened, and God's angels ascending and descending on the Son of man" (John 1:51). This strange, complex saying comes to life when we realize that Jesus is alluding to the story of Jacob. In Jacob's dream there was a ladder set up between Heaven and earth. That idea, in the ancient world, would remind people of a Tabernacle or Temple, a place where Heaven and earth were joined (see Genesis 28:10–22). But what Jesus is saying here is that the "ladder" is now Jesus Himself, seen as the "Son of man."
That too is confusing. The phrase "Son of man" could, in Jesus's day, simply mean "I" or "someone like me." But its use elsewhere in the gospels, and particularly in John, points us to Daniel 7. There, "one like a son of man," representing God's true people, is exalted after apparent suffering and ends up sitting on a throne next to the "Ancient of Days."
Jesus's comment to Nathanael may still seem oblique, dense to the point of incomprehension. But when we read the exchange between Jesus and Nathanael in the light of the whole book, it begins to make sense. Nathanael had questioned whether Jesus could really be the Messiah. Jesus is saying that this will become clear, but that messiahship itself is to be seen as a vocation to join Heaven and earth together, to do and be for Israel and the world what the Temple was and did. This is then immediately confirmed in the next chapter, where John explains that Jesus was "speaking of the 'temple' of His body." The same point emerges, in very different ways, in the closing passages of the book — that is, in the original ending, since we assume that John 21 was added sometime later. Thomas famously declares that he won't believe that Jesus is risen unless he can touch and see the marks made by the nails and the spear. Jesus — with a smile, we must assume! — invites Thomas to do just that: to touch and see. Fascinatingly, John does not say that Thomas actually did reach out and touch the wounds. Instead, he has Thomas say,
My Lord and my God! — John 20:28
This is the first time in the whole book that someone has used the word "God" to address Jesus. John is bringing us back to where he started, with the Word who was and is God. Now, he is saying, all is revealed. And then comes the "official" conclusion:
Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which aren't written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that the Messiah, the Son of God, is none other than Jesus; and that, with this faith, you may have life in His name. — John 20:30–31
People debate whether the "you" here refers to people who have not yet believed or people who have believed but need to go on doing so. That doesn't matter so much for our discussion. What matters is the precise focus of that last sentence.
Most translations put it like this: "that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah [Christ], the son of God." In other words, John would be saying, "You've heard of Jesus. Now I've shown you that He is the Messiah, the Son of God." But the Greek strongly suggests that it is the other way around. Like Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael in John 1:35–51, there is already a question in the air about a messiah who will be the "son of God" in the "royal" sense of Psalm 2. But now John has shown that this "Messiah, son of God" is none other than Jesus Himself. That was what the book was designed to demonstrate.
This means that in John, as in Paul, we are watching the phrase "son of God" do something that hadn't been done before — because nobody had thought it needed to be attempted. This powerful little phrase now holds together two meanings that had originally been distinct. In Jewish writing, "son of God" could be used for Israel (e.g., Hosea 11:1) or, as we saw, for the Messiah. Sometimes, indeed, it could also be used to designate angelic beings (e.g., Genesis 6:4; Job 1:6). But the earliest followers of Jesus seem to have realized that with Jesus Himself, who constantly referred to His "Father" and even suggested that he and the Father were "one" (John 10:30) and that anyone who had seen him had seen the Father (John 14:9), the phrase "Son of God" was the natural and appropriate way of holding together the two previously unconnected strands.
There was, on the one hand, the idea of Israel's Messiah. There was, on the other, the altogether larger and more mind-boggling notion that Israel's God, in fulfillment of His ancient promises, would come to dwell as a human being among His people and would there overcome the dark forces of evil, rescue Israel and the world from their grip, and launch the new creation. In other words, just as John is suggesting by his placing of John 1:14 ("the Word became flesh") that there is an utter appropriateness about the Incarnation, so he is suggesting throughout his Gospel that there is an utter appropriateness about Israel's messiah being this "tabernacling" presence of God.
To be sure, we cannot fit all these notions together as though they were part of a mathematical equation or an experiment in high-energy physics. But within the narrative and prophecies of Israel's scriptures, John insists, it makes every possible sense. When we look at Jesus and recognize Him to be Israel's Messiah, we also realize that in this Messiah the living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the I Am who rescued Israel from Egypt, has at last fulfilled His greatest promise to come and dwell with His people. He has come in person, in the Person of the long-awaited Messiah, to rescue them and to bring about His new creation. Excerpted with permission from Broken Signposts by N. T. Wright, copyright N. T. Wright. Share this devotion with someone who needs it today.
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by N. T. Wright
In this thoughtful follow-up to Simply Christian, today's leading Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and acclaimed author uses the Gospel of John to reveal how Christianity presents a compelling and relevant explanation for our world. N. T. Wright argues that every world view must explain seven "signposts," indicators inherent to humanity: Justice, Spirituality, Relationships, Beauty, Freedom, Truth, and Power.
If we do not live up to these ideals, our societies and individual lives become unbalanced, creating anger and frustration—negative emotions that divide us from ourselves and from God, he contends.
Using the Gospel of John as his source, Wright shows how Christianity defines each signpost and illuminates why we so often see them as being "broken" and unattainable.
Drawing on the wisdom of the Gospels, Wright explains why these signposts are fractured and damaged and how Christianity provides the vision, guidance, and hope for making them whole once again, ultimately healing ourselves and our world.
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An amazing book. He grounds everything in the Scripture, doesn't shy away from the hard questions and gives practical advice to deal with a hard time.
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What are we supposed to think about the Coronavirus crisis?
Some people think they know: "This is a sign of the End," they say. "It's all predicted in the book of Revelation."
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Some join in the chorus of blame and condemnation: "It's the fault of the Chinese, the government, the World Health Organization…"
N. T. Wright examines these reactions to the virus and finds them wanting. Instead, he shows that a careful reading of the Bible and Christian history offers simple though profound answers to our many questions, including:
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