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message to His disciples, "I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God,
and your God" (John 20: 17).
John's Gospel presents us with the Apostle ("Sent") and High Priest ("I ascend"), the
Author ("Grace and truth came into being by Jesus Christ") and the Finisher ("I have
finished the work"). The actual word "apostle" does not appear in the A.V. of the
Gospel, but apostolos is found in the original.
"The servant is not greater than his Lord; neither he that is sent (the apostle) greater
than He that sent him" (John 13: 16).
Here, moreover, is a strange thing. One would expect that in "He that sent him" the
kindred verb would be apostello, simply and easily rounding off the subject, but it is
pempo, which occurs 33 times in John, while apostello occurs 28 times. Apostello means
"to send away", "dispatch", "dismiss", and pempo, while including these meanings, adds
the idea of "accompaniment" and "escort".
In John 20: 21 there is therefore a gracious reason for the change of verb:
"As My Father hath sent Me (apostello, sent Me as on a mission, with some element
of `dispatch' and `dismissal', or at least `distance', adhering to the word), even so send I
you (pempo, but this time, `escorted', `accompanied', for He had said `I will not leave
you comfortless')."
Eternal, or aionion life, is bound up with this "Sent One" for it is written not only at
the opening (John 3: 16, 17), but also at the close of the Gospel.
"And this is life eternal (aionion), that they might know Thee the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, Whom thou hast sent" (apostello) (John 17: 3).
We might also note that whereas apostello occurs seven times in the great prayer of
John 17:, pempo is never used. When God so loved the world and "gave" His only
begotten Son, He "sent" Him to execute a commission; He came as the great "Apostle",
even as He returned as the great High Priest.
(2) "HIS SON."--In this Gospel the Lord is referred to as the "Son", with the
following additions to the title:--
"The
only begotten Son" (John 1: 18; 3: 16).
"The
Son of God" (John 1: 34, 49).
"The
Son of Joseph" (John 1: 45).
"The
Son of man" (John 1: 51; 3: 13, 14).
"The
Son of the living God" (John 6: 69).
The references given are not complete, as some of the titles recur with frequency, but
by far the greatest number are to "the Son", without additional title, as: "The Father
loveth the Son" (John 3: 35); "He that believeth on the Son" (John 3: 36). This title
occurs fifteen times in the Gospel.