Page 266 - Through New Eyes

The New World 267

Accordingly, the Tabernacle-commentary aspect of John’s
Gospel is not merely a curiosity. It is, rather, a profound state-
ment of the nature of Biblical worldview. In Christ, the entire so-
cial order and the entire cosmic order are renewed.
One other point that should be made is this: John’s Gospel is
not on~ a commentary on the Tabernacle. John also comments
on the various feasts of the Old Testament, and on other matters
as well. The Tabernacle is only one dimension, one layer, of his
Gospel. With this in mind, let us briefly tour the Tabernacle.
John begins in John 1:14 by saying that “the Word became
flesh, and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory, glory
as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
The reference to glory is to the glory-cloud that filled the Taber-
nacle and was enthroned in it.
John begins where the priest would begin, with the laver of
cleansing, Here the priest would wash himself and also the sacri-
fice before offering it. Jesus is both priest and sacrifice, and also
the one who washes His living sacrifices, the Church.T Thus, John
1:18-34 concerns the baptism of John the Forerunner. In John 2:1-11,
at a wedding Jesus takes water out of “six stone waterpots set
there for the Jewish custom of purification” (2:6) and turns it
into wine. In John 2:13-25, Jesus cleanses the Temple. In John
3:1-21, Nicodemus engages Jesus in a discussion of the new birth,
of water and the Spirit. In John 3:22-36, John’s baptism leads to
an argument over purification, and a discussion of Jesus as the
Bridegroom. In John 4:1-42, Jesus presents Himself as Bride-
groom to a Samaritan woman at a well. In John 4:46-54, Jesus
restores a dying boy to life at “Cana of Galilee, where He had
made the water wine” (4: 46). In John 5:1-47, Jesus htxds a man
at the pool of Bethesda, and then gets into a discussion with the
Jews about resurrection, This concludes John’s section on the
laver, which has revolved around water, purification, baptism,
resurrection, and Christ as Bridegroom.
John then turns to the Table of Showbread. In John 6, Jesus
feeds the five thousand, calls Himself the bread of life, and tells
the people that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood (v.
53). In John 7, Jesus presents Himself as the drink of life (v.
37), recalling the libations that went with the showbread and
meal offerings.