John’s gospel is a contentious courtroom of a gospel. Legal language dominates the whole gospel – witnesses are called, Jesus promises an advocate, the Jews are constantly trying to put Jesus in the dock. But the whole gospel is really the trial of the Jews, just as what appears to be the trial of Jesus before Pilate is really the trial of the Jews who ultimately say they have no king but Caesar. John’s gospel shows Jesus bringing the covenant lawsuit against Israel, and Revelation, John’s companion volume, shows Jesus carrying out the sentence against His own who have rejected Him.
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