📖 Utangulizi wa Agano Jipya — Sehemu ya 5: Yohana: Utambulisho wa Logos📖 New Testament Survey — Unit 5: John: The Identity of the Logos

I. Mwanafunzi Ambaye Yesu AlimpendaI. The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved

Kati ya waandishi wote wa Agano Jipya, Yohana ndiye aliyekuwa karibu zaidi na mapigo ya moyo wa Bwana. Yeye ndiye yule mwanafunzi "ambaye Yesu alimpenda" (Yohana 13:23). Yeye ndiye aliyeegama kifuani pake katika Karamu ya Mwisho. Yeye ndiye ambaye Bwana, akiwa msalabani, alimkabidhi mama yake mwenyewe (Yohana 19:26–27). Na kati ya waandishi wote wa Agano Jipya, Yohana ndiye aliyeishi muda mrefu kuliko wote — hadi miaka ya mwisho ya karne ya kwanza, hadi Efeso, hadi mapambazuko ya kizazi cha pili cha waumini ambao hawakuwahi kumwona Bwana kwa macho yao. Fikiria kuwa mtu wa mwisho aliye hai ambaye aliwahi kutembea katika njia zenye vumbi pamoja na Yesu wa Nazareti. Fikiria kuwa shahidi wa mwisho aliye hai wa kaburi lililokuwa tupu. Huyo ndiye mzee aliyeshika kalamu takriban mwaka 85 hadi 95 B.K. na kuandika Injili tunayokaribia kuisoma.Of all the writers in the New Testament, John was the one who had been closest to the Lord's heartbeat. He was the disciple "whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23). He was the one who leaned on His breast at the Last Supper. He was the one to whom, from the cross, the Lord entrusted His own mother (John 19:26–27). And of all the writers in the New Testament, John was the one who lived the longest — into the closing years of the first century, into Ephesus, into the dawn of the second generation of believers who had never seen the Lord with their eyes. Imagine being the last man alive who had walked the dusty roads with Jesus of Nazareth. Imagine being the last living witness of the empty tomb. That is the old man who picked up a pen around AD 85 to 95 and wrote the Gospel we are about to study.

Kufikia wakati huo, Injili za Mathayo, Marko na Luka zilikuwa zimeenea kwa miaka thelathini. Yohana hakuandika ili kuzirudia. Aliandika kwa sababu bado kulikuwa na swali moja lililoning'inia hewani juu ya kila msomaji wa zile Injili tatu, na ni yule tu aliyeegama kifuani pa Yesu katika Karamu ya Mwisho aliyekuwa na haki ya kulijibu. Swali hilo lilikuwa jepesi kuliko yote duniani, na pia lenye kina kuliko yote: Mtu huyu ni nani? Mathayo anakuonyesha Mfalme, Marko anakuonyesha Mtumishi, Luka anakuonyesha Mwanadamu — lakini Yohana anakuonyesha kile ambacho moyo wako unatamani zaidi kujua. Yohana anakuonyesha Mungu.Matthew, Mark, and Luke had been in circulation for thirty years by then. John did not write to repeat them. He wrote because there was still one question hanging in the air over every reader of the other three, and only the man who had leaned on Jesus' breast at the Last Supper had the right to answer it. The question was the simplest in the world, and the deepest: Who is this Man? Matthew shows you the King, Mark shows you the Servant, Luke shows you the Man — but John shows you what your heart most longs to know. John shows you God.

II. Utangulizi wa LogosII. The Logos Prologue

Mistari kumi na minane ya kwanza ya Yohana si hadithi. Ni wimbo wa sifa. Huenda ndiyo aya ya nathari iliyo bora kuliko zote zilizowahi kuandikwa katika lugha yoyote. Inaanza kwa maneno yaliyochaguliwa kwa makusudi ili yalingane, silabi kwa silabi, na maneno ya kwanza ya Biblia ya Kiebrania: "Hapo mwanzo kulikuwako Neno, naye Neno alikuwako kwa Mungu, naye Neno alikuwa Mungu. Huyo mwanzo alikuwako kwa Mungu. Vyote vilifanyika kwa huyo; wala pasipo yeye hakikufanyika cho chote kilichofanyika. Ndani yake ndimo ulimokuwa uzima, nao uzima ulikuwa nuru ya watu" (Yohana 1:1–4). Neno la Kigiriki lililotafsiriwa Neno ni Logos. Kwa Myahudi, Logos ilimaanisha Mungu Mwenyewe akinena, pumzi iliyoziita dunia zikawepo katika Mwanzo 1: "Mungu akasema, Iwe nuru; ikawa nuru" (Mwanzo 1:3). Kwa mwanafalsafa wa Kigiriki, Logos ilimaanisha akili yenye busara iliyo nyuma ya ulimwengu, kanuni inayoshikilia vitu vyote katika mpangilio unaoeleweka. Yohana anachukua neno ambalo tayari lilimaanisha jambo lenye kina kuliko yote katika fikra za Kiyahudi na za Kigiriki, na kutangaza kwamba Logos huyu si wazo. Logos ni Nafsi, ni Mtu. Kisha katika mstari wa 14 Yohana anapiga nyundo: "Naye Neno alifanyika mwili, akakaa kwetu; nasi tukauona utukufu wake, utukufu kama wa Mwana pekee atokaye kwa Baba; amejaa neema na kweli" (Yohana 1:14). Kanuni ya milele ya ulimwengu ilivaa mwili na kupiga hema lake katika kijiji kimoja cha Galilaya. Huo ndio utambulisho ambao Yohana amekuja kuutetea.John's first eighteen verses are not a story. They are a hymn. They are perhaps the highest paragraph of prose ever written in any language. They open with words deliberately chosen to overlap, syllable for syllable, with the opening words of the Hebrew Bible: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:1–4). The Greek word translated Word is Logos. To a Jew, Logos meant the speaking-self of God, the breath that called the worlds into existence in Genesis 1: "And God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light" (Genesis 1:3). To a Greek philosopher, Logos meant the rational mind behind the universe, the principle that holds all things in coherent order. John takes a word that already meant the deepest possible thing in both Jewish and Greek thought and announces that this Logos is not an idea. The Logos is a Person. And then in verse 14 John drops the hammer: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). The eternal principle of the universe took on a body and pitched His tent in a village in Galilee. That is the identity John is here to defend.

III. Swali Lililo Nyuma ya InjiliIII. The Question Behind the Gospel

Mara nyingi nimewawazia wanafunzi wakiwa wamelala nje chini ya nyota pamoja na Bwana katika usiku wa kiangazi kando ya Bahari ya Galilaya. Ninaweza kumwazia Petro au Yohana akiamka usiku, akiinuka kwa kiwiko, akimtazama yule aliyelala kando yake, na kujinong'oneza, Je, ni kweli? Je, Mtu huyu anaweza kuwa Mungu wa milele? Huyu ni nani? Haishangazi kwamba walitatanishwa. Walikuwa pamoja naye kila siku kwa miaka mitatu na nusu; walikuwa wameona vumbi la miguu yake na mkate wa meza yake na machozi ya huzuni yake na jasho la uchovu wake. Alikuwa mwanadamu. Hakuna shaka kwamba alikuwa mwanadamu. Na bado — alikuwa ametuliza upepo kwa sentensi moja, amemfufua msichana wa miaka kumi na miwili aliyekufa kwa kumshika mkono, amewalisha watu elfu tano kwa chakula cha mchana cha mvulana mmoja, amemtazama mwenye kupooza na kusema, "Mwanangu, umesamehewa dhambi zako." Swali lilizidi kukua kila mwezi. Mtu huyu ni nani?I have often pictured the disciples lying out under the stars with the Lord on a summer night by the Sea of Galilee. I can imagine Peter or John waking in the night, rising up on an elbow, looking at the sleeping figure beside him, and whispering to himself, Is it true? Can this Man be the eternal God? Who is this? No wonder they puzzled. They had been with Him every day for three and a half years; they had seen the dust of His feet and the bread of His table and the tears of His grief and the sweat of His exhaustion. He was a man. There is no doubt that He was a man. And yet — He had calmed the wind with one sentence, raised a dead twelve-year-old by the hand, fed five thousand from a boy's lunch, looked at a paralytic and said, "Son, your sins are forgiven." The question grew larger every month. Who is this Man?

Kufikia wakati Yohana anaketi kuandika Injili yake, swali hilo lina jibu moja tu linalolingana na ushahidi wote. Na Yohana anaandika kitabu kizima ili kulithibitisha. Sikia jinsi yeye mwenyewe alivyoeleza hoja yake kuu karibu na mwisho: "Basi ishara nyingine nyingi alizifanya Yesu mbele ya wanafunzi wake, ambazo hazikuandikwa katika kitabu hiki. Lakini hizi zimeandikwa ili mpate kuamini ya kuwa Yesu ndiye Kristo, Mwana wa Mungu; na kwa kuamini mwe na uzima kwa jina lake" (Yohana 20:30–31). Hiyo ndiyo kauli ya kusudi. Huo ndio mstari mkuu. Madai mawili: Yesu ndiye Kristo, na Yesu ndiye Mwana wa Mungu. Hoja ya Yohana kwa dai la kwanza ni zile ishara saba. Hoja yake kwa dai la pili ni zile kauli saba za MIMI NDIMI. Injili nzima imejengwa juu ya nguzo hizo mbili za saba.By the time John sits down to write his Gospel, the question has only one answer that fits the data. And John writes the whole book to demonstrate it. Hear how he himself stated his thesis near the end: "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:30–31). That is the purpose statement. That is the key verse. Two propositions: Jesus is the Christ, and Jesus is the Son of God. John's argument for the first is the seven signs. John's argument for the second is the seven I AMs. The whole Gospel is built around those two columns of seven.

IV. Ishara Saba — Vyeti vya MasihiIV. The Seven Signs — The Credentials of Messiah

Yohana hatumii kamwe neno la Injili Ndugu (Injili tatu za kwanza) muujiza. Anatumia neno ishara. Muujiza ni jambo la kushangaza; ishara ni jambo la kushangaza ambalo linaelekeza kwa kitu fulani. Yohana anachagua saba kati ya zile nyingi alizomwona Bwana akizitenda yeye mwenyewe, na kuzipanga ili kila moja ielekeze kwenye alama fulani ya Masihi aliyeahidiwa. (1) Maji kuwa divai katika arusi ya Kana (Yohana 2): kisicho na uhai kinafanywa hai — ishara ya furaha ya agano jipya. Kama mtoto mmoja wa Shule ya Jumapili alivyosema baada ya kusikia hadithi hiyo: "Siku zote ni wazo zuri kuwa na Yesu karibu." (2) Kuponywa kwa mwana wa diwani akiwa mbali (Yohana 4:46–54): baba aliyevunjika moyo anaponywa pamoja na mtoto. (3) Kuponywa kwa mwenye kupooza kwenye birika la Bethzatha (Bethesda) baada ya miaka thelathini na minane ya kifungo (Yohana 5): walioonewa wanawekwa huru. (4) Kulishwa kwa watu elfu tano (Yohana 6): wenye njaa rohoni wanashibishwa. (5) Kutembea juu ya maji (Yohana 6): wenye hofu wanatulizwa kwa maneno "Ni mimi, msiogope." (6) Kuponywa kwa mtu aliyezaliwa kipofu (Yohana 9): vipofu wanaona. (7) Kufufuliwa kwa Lazaro kutoka kaburini (Yohana 11): wafu wanafufuliwa. Weka ishara hizo saba kando ya Isaya 35 na Isaya 61 — vyeti vya Masihi vilivyosomwa huko Nazareti — nazo zinalingana kabisa. Yohana hakuchagua ovyo. Amechagua ishara saba zinazothibitisha sifa za Masihi.John never uses the synoptic word miracle. He uses the word sign. A miracle is something amazing; a sign is something amazing that points. John selects seven of them out of the many he had personally watched the Lord perform, and arranges them so each one points at a particular mark of the promised Messiah. (1) Water into wine at the wedding in Cana (John 2): the inanimate is made alive — the symbol of the joy of the new covenant. As one Sunday-school child put it, having heard the story: "It is always a good idea to have Jesus around." (2) The healing of the nobleman's son at a distance (John 4:46–54): the brokenhearted father is healed along with the boy. (3) The healing of the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda after thirty-eight years of captivity (John 5): the oppressed are set free. (4) The feeding of the five thousand (John 6): the hungry of soul are fed. (5) The walking on the water (John 6): the fearful are quieted with "It is I; do not be afraid." (6) The healing of the man born blind (John 9): the blind see. (7) The raising of Lazarus from the tomb (John 11): the dead are raised. Lay those seven signs alongside Isaiah 35 and Isaiah 61 — the Messianic credentials read out in Nazareth — and they line up exactly. John has not chosen at random. He has chosen the seven signs that prove the resume.

V. Kauli Saba za "MIMI NDIMI" — Jina la MunguV. The Seven "I AM" Statements — The Name of God

Ishara saba zinathibitisha kwamba Yesu ndiye Kristo. Lakini Yohana anapanda juu zaidi ya hapo. Atathibitisha kwamba Kristo ni Mungu Mwenyewe. Na ili kulithibitisha hilo hatumii muujiza bali sentensi. Kwenye kichaka kilichowaka moto katika Kutoka 3, Musa aliiomba ile sauti jina la kuwapelekea Israeli. Sauti ikajibu: "MIMI NIKO AMBAYE NIKO... Ndivyo utakavyowaambia wana wa Israeli, MIMI NIKO amenituma kwenu" (Kutoka 3:14). Jina hilo takatifu — MIMI NIKO wa milele — ndilo jina ambalo hakuna Myahudi aliyethubutu kulitamka. Yohana anaandika nyakati saba ambapo Bwana Yesu alilichukua Jina hilo kinywani mwake mwenyewe na kulitumia kwa nafsi yake.The seven signs prove that Jesus is the Christ. But John is going higher than that. He is going to prove that the Christ is God Himself. And to prove it he reaches not for a miracle but for a sentence. At the burning bush in Exodus 3, Moses asked the voice for a name to take back to Israel. The voice answered: "I AM WHO I AM... Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'I AM has sent me to you'" (Exodus 3:14). That sacred Name — the eternal I AM — is the name no Jew dared to speak. John records seven moments when the Lord Jesus reached out and took that Name on His own lips and applied it to Himself.

"MIMI NDIMI mkate wa uzima" (6:35) — mtegemezaji wa nafsi yenye njaa. "MIMI NDIMI nuru ya ulimwengu" (8:12) — mwangazaji wa moyo wenye giza. "MIMI NDIMI mlango" (10:9) — njia pekee halali ya kuingia zizini. "MIMI NDIMI mchungaji mwema" (10:11) — anayeutoa uhai wake kwa ajili ya kondoo. "MIMI NDIMI huo ufufuo na uzima" (11:25) — nguvu isiyohitaji msaada kutoka nje. "MIMI NDIMI njia, na kweli, na uzima" (14:6) — njia pekee ya kurudi nyumbani. "MIMI NDIMI mzabibu wa kweli" (15:5) — chanzo cha kila tunda ambalo tawi lolote litawahi kuzaa. Kauli saba za MIMI NDIMI. Kila moja ni Nafsi iliyounganishwa na Jina la Mungu."I AM the bread of life" (6:35) — the sustainer of the hungry soul. "I AM the light of the world" (8:12) — the illuminator of the dark heart. "I AM the door" (10:9) — the only authorized entrance to the fold. "I AM the good shepherd" (10:11) — who lays down His life for the sheep. "I AM the resurrection and the life" (11:25) — power that needs no help from outside. "I AM the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6) — the only path home. "I AM the true vine" (15:5) — the source of every fruit any branch will ever bear. Seven I AMs. Each one a Person attached to the Name of God.

Na kuna kauli moja zaidi ya MIMI NDIMI ambayo Yohana anaiweka kwa ajili ya kilele. Katika bustani ya Gethsemane, kikosi cha askari kinakuja kumkamata. Yesu anasonga mbele. "Mnamtafuta nani?" "Yesu Mnazareti," wanajibu. Anasema maneno mawili kwa Kigiriki: egō eimi — MIMI NDIMI. Yohana anaeleza kwamba aliposema hivyo, "walirudi nyuma, wakaanguka chini" (Yohana 18:6). Kikosi kizima cha kumkamata kiliangushwa chini kwa maneno mawili. Jina la Mungu kinywani mwa seremala kutoka Galilaya.And there is one more I AM that John saves for the climax. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the cohort of soldiers comes for the arrest. Jesus steps forward. "Whom are you seeking?" "Jesus of Nazareth," they answer. He says two words in Greek: egō eimi — I AM. John notes that when He said it, "they drew back and fell to the ground" (John 18:6). A whole arresting cohort knocked off its feet by two words. The Name of God in the mouth of the carpenter from Galilee.

VI. Mafundisho ya Chumba cha JuuVI. The Upper Room Discourse

Kauli tano kati ya zile saba za MIMI NDIMI ziko katika nusu ya kwanza ya kitabu. Mbili za mwisho — "Mimi ndimi njia, na kweli, na uzima" na "Mimi ndimi mzabibu wa kweli" — ziko ndani ya sehemu ya ndani kabisa na ya karibu zaidi ya Injili yoyote, yaani Mafundisho ya Chumba cha Juu. Yohana anatupa sura tano (13–17) za usiku ule kabla ya msalaba. Mathayo, Marko na Luka kila mmoja anatoa aya moja kwa Karamu ya Mwisho; Yohana anatupa mazungumzo yaliyofuata baada yake. Anaandika kuoshwa kwa miguu (13). Anaandika ahadi ya nyumba ya Baba yenye makao mengi (14). Anaandika habari ya mzabibu wa kweli na wito wa kukaa ndani yake (15). Anaandika ahadi ya Msaidizi (Mfariji), Roho Mtakatifu (16). Na katika Yohana 17 anatupa Sala ya Kuhani Mkuu — sala ndefu kuliko zote za Bwana Yesu zilizoandikwa katika Injili zote nne, sala ambayo anawaombea wanafunzi wake na kisha kila mwamini ambaye angekuja kuamini kupitia neno lao — maana yake alikuombea wewe. Kwa jina. Hata kabla hujapewa jina. Maisha ya ndani ya Utatu yanafunuliwa kwetu kwa sura moja, nasi tunaruhusiwa kumsikia Mwana akizungumza na Baba kuhusu sisi.Five of the seven I AMs sit in the first half of the book. The last two — "I am the way, the truth, and the life" and "I am the true vine" — sit inside the most intimate section of any Gospel, the Upper Room Discourse. John gives us five chapters (13–17) in the night before the cross. Matthew, Mark, and Luke devote one paragraph each to the Last Supper; John gives us the conversation that followed it. He records the foot-washing (13). He records the promise of the Father's house with many mansions (14). He records the true vine and the call to abide (15). He records the promise of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit (16). And in John 17 he gives us the High Priestly Prayer — the longest recorded prayer of the Lord Jesus in all four Gospels, the prayer in which He prays for His disciples and then for every believer who would ever come to faith through their word — which means He prayed for you. By name. Even before you had one. The interior life of the Trinity is opened to us for one chapter, and we are allowed to overhear the Son speaking to the Father about us.

VII. "Imekwisha"VII. "It Is Finished"

Marko na Mathayo wanatuacha tusikie kilio cha kuachwa kutoka msalabani. Luka anatuacha tusikie sala ya msamaha. Yohana anatuacha tusikie neno moja la Kigiriki linalokuwa injili nzima: tetelestai — "Imekwisha" (Yohana 19:30). Liko katika wakati timilifu (perfect tense), ambao kwa Kigiriki unamaanisha tendo lililokamilika lenye matokeo ya kudumu. Imekwisha, na itabaki imekwisha milele. Wanaakiolojia wamegundua stakabadhi za Kigiriki za karne ya kwanza zenye neno hilo hilo limegongwa juu yake: tetelestai — imelipwa kikamilifu. Katika Yohana, msalaba si kushindwa kwa huzuni kwa mwalimu (rabi) mmoja; ni ukamilisho wa ushindi wa utume ulioanza kabla ya wakati. Logos ambaye katika sura ya 1 alinena uumbaji ukawepo, katika alasiri ya Ijumaa moja katika sura ya 19 alitangaza ukombozi wake kutoka msalabani.Mark and Matthew let us hear the cry of dereliction from the cross. Luke lets us hear the prayer of pardon. John lets us hear one word in Greek that becomes the whole gospel: tetelestai — "It is finished" (John 19:30). It is in the perfect tense, which in Greek means a completed act with permanent results. Finished and standing finished forever. Archaeologists have found Greek receipts from the first century with that very word stamped across the top: tetelestai — paid in full. In John, the cross is not the tragic defeat of a rabbi; it is the triumphant completion of a mission that began before time. The Logos who in chapter 1 spoke creation into being, on a Friday afternoon in chapter 19 announced its redemption from a cross.

Na Yohana peke yake anaandika jambo lingine. Askari alipomchoma Yesu ubavuni kwa mkuki, "mara ikatoka damu na maji" (Yohana 19:34). Waandishi wa kitabibu wamedai kwamba ute wenye maji uliotengana na damu ni ishara ya moyo uliopasuka — kwamba Bwana Yesu hakufa tu kwa kusulubiwa. Alikufa kwa moyo uliovunjika. Neno aliyefanyika mwili aliutoa mwili kwa hiari, kwa mapenzi yake mwenyewe. "Hakuna mtu aniondoleaye, bali mimi nauweka mwenyewe" (Yohana 10:18). Logos aliyenena ulimwengu ukawepo alichagua wakati ule ule hasa wa kuitoa roho yake. Tetelestai.And John alone records something else. When the soldier thrust the spear into the side of Jesus, "immediately blood and water came out" (John 19:34). Medical writers have argued that the watery serum separated from the blood is a sign of a ruptured heart — that the Lord Jesus did not merely die of crucifixion. He died of a broken heart. The Word made flesh laid down the flesh willingly, of His own accord. "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself" (John 10:18). The Logos who had spoken the universe into being chose the precise moment to give up His Spirit. Tetelestai.

VIII. Kaburi Tupu na Tomaso Mwenye ShakaVIII. The Empty Tomb and Doubting Thomas

Sura ya ufufuo ya Yohana (20) ina matukio manne. Mariamu kaburini, akilia, anayegeuka na kusikia neno moja la Kigiriki: "Mariamu." Petro na Yohana wakikimbia kwenda kwenye kaburi tupu, Yohana akiona sanda zikiwa zimelala kana kwamba mwili ulipita ndani yake bila kuzivuruga, naye akaamini papo hapo. Wanafunzi katika chumba cha juu kilichofungwa jioni ile ya Jumapili, Bwana aliyefufuka akisimama katikati yao akiwa na majeraha mikononi mwake. Na mwanafunzi mmoja hakuwepo. Jina lake lilikuwa Tomaso, naye alikataa kuamini kwa habari za kusikia tu. "Mimi nisipoziona mikononi mwake alama za misumari, na kutia kidole changu katika mahali pa misumari, na kutia mkono wangu ubavuni mwake, mimi sitaamini kamwe" (Yohana 20:25). Siku nane baadaye Bwana alitokea tena, na Tomaso alikuwa chumbani. Bwana alimtazama Tomaso moja kwa moja na kusema, "Lete hapa kidole chako; uitazame mikono yangu; ulete na mkono wako, uutie ubavuni mwangu; wala usiwe asiyeamini, bali aaminiye." Na Tomaso, katika ukiri pekee wa sentensi moja wa uungu kamili katika Agano Jipya, akasema, "Bwana wangu na Mungu wangu!" (Yohana 20:28). Hicho ndicho kilele cha Injili nzima ya Yohana. Kuanzia Logos katika sura ya 1 hadi Bwana wangu na Mungu wangu katika sura ya 20. Safari imekamilika. Utambulisho umekiriwa. Tai ametua.John's resurrection chapter (20) has four scenes. Mary at the tomb, weeping, who turns and hears one Greek word: "Mary." Peter and John running to the empty tomb, John seeing the grave clothes lying as if a body had passed through them undisturbed and believing on the spot. The disciples in the locked upper room that Sunday evening, the risen Lord standing among them with the wounds in His hands. And one disciple was missing. His name was Thomas, and he refused to believe on hearsay. "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe" (John 20:25). Eight days later the Lord appeared again, and Thomas was in the room. The Lord looked straight at Thomas and said, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." And Thomas, in the only one-sentence confession of full deity in the New Testament, said, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). That is the climax of the whole Gospel of John. From the Logos in chapter 1 to my Lord and my God in chapter 20. The journey is complete. The identity is confessed. The eagle has landed.

IX. Mstari Mkuu — Kwa Nini Yohana IliandikwaIX. The Key Verse — Why John Was Written

Mistari miwili baadaye Yohana anatuambia kwa nini aliandika kitabu hiki. "Basi ishara nyingine nyingi alizifanya Yesu mbele ya wanafunzi wake, ambazo hazikuandikwa katika kitabu hiki. Lakini hizi zimeandikwa ili mpate kuamini ya kuwa Yesu ndiye Kristo, Mwana wa Mungu; na kwa kuamini mwe na uzima kwa jina lake" (Yohana 20:30–31). Hii ndiyo kauli ya kusudi iliyo wazi zaidi kuliko ya mwandishi mwingine yeyote katika Agano Jipya. Yohana haandiki wasifu kwa ajili ya wasifu tu. Haandiki tafakari ya ibada. Anaandika ushahidi — uliochaguliwa, uliopangwa, ulioundwa kumfikisha msomaji kwenye uamuzi. Ili mpate kuamini. Na tunda la kuamini si dini; ni uzima kwa jina lake.Two verses later John tells us why he wrote the book. "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:30–31). It is the most candid statement of purpose by any author in the New Testament. John is not writing biography for its own sake. He is not writing devotional reflection. He is writing evidence — selected, ordered, designed to bring a reader to a verdict. That you may believe. And the result of believing is not a religion; it is life in His name.

Hili hapa swali ambalo bado linaugusa moyo wa kila msomaji wa Yohana: Injili hii ina maana gani kwa wewe? Si kwa msomi. Si kwa mwanatheolojia. Kwa wewe. Na jibu la kweli ni kwamba huwezi kumsoma Yohana kwa uaminifu kisha ukaondoka ukiwa na hisia zisizoegemea upande wowote. Unaweza kumsoma Mathayo ukawa raia bora. Unaweza kumsoma Marko ukawa mtumishi bora. Unaweza kumsoma Luka ukawa rafiki bora. Lakini huwezi kumsoma Yohana bila kuwa mwabudu. Yohana hakuachi katikati bila kuamua. Yohana anakuacha ukiwa umepiga magoti pamoja na Tomaso, ukimwita Yesu jina lile lile ambalo Tomaso alimwita: Bwana wangu na Mungu wangu. Yohana ndiyo Injili ya kumpa kwanza mtafutaji yeyote — kwa sababu iliandikwa hasa kwa ajili ya mtafutaji. "Hizi zimeandikwa ili mpate kuamini." Kitabu kizima ni mshale uliolengwa kwenye moyo wa mwanadamu.Here is a question that still finds the heart of every reader of John: What does this Gospel mean to you? Not to a scholar. Not to a theologian. To you. And the honest answer is that you cannot read John honestly and walk away with neutral feelings. You can read Matthew and become a better citizen. You can read Mark and become a better servant. You can read Luke and become a better friend. But you cannot read John without becoming a worshipper. John does not leave you on the fence. John leaves you on your knees with Thomas, calling Jesus what Thomas called Him: my Lord and my God. John is the Gospel to put first into the hands of any seeker — because it was written precisely for the seeker. "These are written that you may believe." The whole book is an arrow aimed at the human heart.

Songa mbele, rafiki yangu, katika sehemu iliyosalia ya Agano Jipya pamoja na Logos yule yule aliyenena dunia zikawepo, aliyetembea katika vijiji vyenye vumbi pamoja na wanafunzi wake, aliyeimaliza kazi msalabani, aliyefufuka siku ya tatu akiwa na funguo za mauti na za kuzimu mkononi mwake, naye ni yeye yule jana na leo na hata milele. Yeye ni Bwana wako. Yeye ni Mungu wako. Amina.Press on, my friend, into the rest of the New Testament with the same Logos who spoke the worlds into being, who walked through dusty villages with His disciples, who finished the work on the cross, who rose on the third day with the keys of death and Hades in His hand, and who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is your Lord. He is your God. Amen.

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