How It All Goes Down
The Gospel of John begins with a lovely little poem about Jesus. Here's what we learn:
- He is God's word in human form.
- He's come to earth to be a light to everyone.
- He's going to destroy the evil of darkness.
All in a day's work for the savior of the world.
When Jesus appears on the scene, he starts to gather a nice little entourage of disciples. He travels with them around Judea bringing God's truth and racking up an impressive list of miracles. Turning water into wine? Check. Healing a blind man? Check. Raising a guy from the dead? Check. Jesus does it all without even breaking a sweat. Tons of people are starting to put their faith in him.
But not everyone is so thrilled with the coming of the messiah. The religious authorities in Judea are fuming at the idea that there's a man walking around who can raise people from the dead. They hatch an evil plot to have Jesus killed and then, we assume, they start practicing their maniacal laughs for when that day comes.
They don't have to wait long. The next time Jesus is in Jerusalem, one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, conspires with the religious authorities to have Jesus arrested. He's taken to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, and sentenced to death by crucifixion.
So, that's the end, right? Not a chance. Three days after he dies, Jesus comes back to life. He appears to some of his disciples and even gives out some pretty good fishing advice. Jesus tells them to keep spreading his story around. The disciples oblige and the rest is the history. The history of the western world, that is.