Lesson 1 Student Notes

# Introduction To The Gospel of John Author: John the Beloved - Son of , brother of James (Sons of Thunder) - Wrote his gospel based on his own eye witness accounts - 21 Chapters - He outlived the remaining apostles, he was the only one to die of old age (93 or 94) “The disciple whom loves” - humility - not to be identified by the Romans - everyone reading this can fit themselves in as “the beloved disciple of Jesus” # Gospel of John Structure (4 parts) 1. Prologue (1:1–18) 2. Book of Signs (1:19-12:50) 3. Book of Glory (13:1-20:31) 4. Epilogue (Chapter 21)

A Gospel full of ______and ______One example is the ______Divinely perfect

7 “ ______”s of Jesus 1. I am the Bread of Life (6:35) 2. I am the (8:12) 3. I am the Gate for the Sheep (10:7) 4. I am the (10:11) 5. I am the Resurrection (11:25) 6. I am the Way, the Truth and Life (14:6) 7. I am the (15:1) Symbolising the Son of God’s perfection and completeness of His Work 7 “I AM”s of Jesus “I AM”: ______(YHWH) The personal name of God revealed in the Old Testament Exo 3:14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' " 1. Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." (4:26) 2. But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." (6:20) 3. …if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." (8:24) 4. "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He (8:28) 5. "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." (8:58) 6. …that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. (13:19) 7. They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He." (18:5) :6 Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground.

# Prologue

John’s prologue packed deep and extensive truths into 18 verses When we unpack it, we see an ultra-macro view of God’s creation plan from beginning till the end

We will only fully understand John’s Gospel when we understand his prologue

# Prologue: Creation

John 1:1-5 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. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. ______

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word” clearly parallels Gen 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”

# Prologue: The Fall of Creation John 1:10-11 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

Creator God came to His own creation and His own creation rejected Him By the Jewish religious leaders and people

An echo of the fall of creation in Genesis

# Prologue: The Rescue of Creation

John 1:12-13 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The narrative moved from a Genesis narrative to an ______

“Children of God” is an echo of Exodus The rescue of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt

Exo 4:22-23 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the Lord: "Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn." ' "

Exodus is about God rescuing His people from slavery to Egypt and Pharoah An allegory of fallen creation A picture of slavery to sin & death (Egypt) and satan (Pharoah)

John’s Prologue is telling us that a good God made a good creation His good creation has fallen but He is not going to destroy it and make a new one

He is going to ______and ______His creation

The rescue of creation is through the Passover Lamb, Jesus Delivering us from the bondage of sin, death and satan

Children of Israel cried out because of oppression & UNREST in Egypt

John 1:14 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.

Dwelt = ______(Greek): to fix one's tabernacle, tabernacle

# The Tabernacle in the Wilderness

Exo 40:33-34 And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

At the last chapter of Exodus The Tabernacle was finished and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle God came and dwelt among His people! When you are in the tabernacle, its not as if you are in heaven, you are in heaven!

Exo 33:15 Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. Moses desired for God’s Presence more than Canaan (milk and honey) In God he found his rest

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” - Saint Augustine

Matt 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

# Prologue: New Creation

Exo 40:36-37 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up.

The Exodus story ends with this. The children of Israel followed the cloud and fire above the tabernacle Leading them to inherit their Promised Land, Canaan

Canaan = A Picture of ______

Pillar of cloud and fire = A Picture of the ______

John 20:22-23 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon His disciples  Sending them out to inherit New Creation

We too are now led by Holy Spirit to inherit New Creation - proclaiming to the defeated dark powers that Jesus is King - preaching the Gospel and bringing the lost back to Jesus - redeeming creation as the Royal Priesthood (arts, culture, government etc)

How is God going to do that?

# Prologue: The Word

Why did John call Jesus as “The Word”?

Isa 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Jesus is The Word who goes out from God’s mouth into the world and goes back to God He will accomplish the purpose of God for rescuing and renewing the fallen creation

Genesis: God made Creation in ______John: Jesus will rescue & renew Creation through ______

7 Signs: 1. Turning water into wine at (Chap 2) ("The beginning of signs") 2. Healing the royal official's son in (Chap 4) 3. Healing the paralytic at Bethesda (Chap 5) 4. Feeding the 5000 (Chap 6) 5. Healing the man blind from birth (Chap 9) 6. The raising of Lazarus (Chap 11) 7. The (Chap 19) (The Final Sign)

Creation has been rescued and renewed through 7 signs from Jesus # Dawn of the New Creation

God placed Adam and Eve in Eden and gave them two assignments 1. Be ______and ______2. ______the earth

John 20:1, 19 Now on the first day of the week went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."

The double emphasis on the “first day of the week” signifying that New Creation has dawned

New creation has dawned all Jesus followers have a job to do

1. Be fruitful and multiply (Family) Go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations

2. Subdue the earth (Land) Rule as the Royal Priesthood Reflect God’s loving and wise rule into creation

John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

The prologue ends with the most important theme in this Gospel: The ______and _____ theme

John 20:17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.' "

After such an incredible and unbelievable prologue John brings in his first Witness to testify

# The First Witness:

John 1:19-23 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" He said: "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the Lord," ' as the prophet Isaiah said."

“Are you the Prophet?” Something unique in John’s Gospel

Deut 18:15 "The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear

The Jews were waiting for a Moses like Prophet to appear as prophesied

John 1:29-30 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'

John the witness testifies that Jesus is the Messiah, the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world! (Likely quoting from Isa 53)

John 1:32-34 And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."

God told John that whoever has the Spirit descending and remaining on is the Messiah who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

# The Next Pair of Witnesses: Andrew and John the Beloved

John 1:35-37 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

Andrew and John the Beloved They followed Jesus after John testified

John 1:38-39 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).

Andrew and John bore witness that Jesus is indeed the Messiah

# More Witnesses: Philip and Nathanael

John 1:43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to , and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."

Philip joined the party. This Gospel particularly highlights Philip and Andrew more than the other Gospels

John 1:45-46 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

“Come and see” The invitation that begun with Jesus is now being extended by Philip Philip saw Jesus and now invites Nathanael to “come and see” Kingdom way of preaching the Gospel

John 1:47-49 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!" Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

Why was a sceptical Nathanael suddenly so convinced?

Fig Tree = ______(Hosea 9:1, Joel 1:6-7) Later rabbinical literature show us that Jews are encouraged to study the Torah under the Fig Tree

Jacob = ______

Gen 32:28 And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."

You shall no longer be a man of deceit, you shall be Israel (Prince with God)

Nathanael likely was meditating on being a man of no deceit under a fig tree

John 1:50-51 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

Gen 28:12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Heaven and Earth: These two spaces split when creation fell Jacob had a dream about a “ladder’ connecting heaven and earth Through this ladder, there is easy access between heaven and earth. Angels ascend and descend through it

# The Wedding at Cana

This is the first sign of Jesus in John’s Gospel, turning water into wine at a wedding.

What is the significance of Jesus performing His first sign at a wedding? A wedding is about a ______between ______

1. Jesus has come to unite ______and ______

This wedding is a foretaste of the great heavenly feast in store for God's people when heaven and earth unites

Rev 21:1-2 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 2. Jesus has come to unite _____ and _____

# “Woman” :4 Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come."

Was Jesus being rude to His mother? “Woman” is a common word John used in his gospel

John 4:21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.

John 8:10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" Even the angels at Jesus Tomb employ this word

John 20:13 Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."

“Woman” is likely a reference in Genesis after The Fall

Gen 3:15-16 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."

God cursed Adam and Eve after they sinned A prophecy that the Seed from the woman will crush satan’s head was given

Gen 3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

Eve’s name was given after the prophecy of the Seed crushing the serpent’s head

John 20:15-17 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.' "

Eve’s name came after the prophecy was given Mary Magdalene’s name came after the prophecy was fulfilled

# Mary (mother of Jesus) the Marker of Jesus’ Ministry

John records Mary’s appearing at the first and final sign of Jesus Mary the mother of Jesus is the marker for the beginning and end of Jesus’s ministry She appears at the wedding at Cana now

John 20:25-27 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.

The wedding in Cana points to Jesus' moment on the Cross

John 20:28-30 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!" Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

Jesus drank the lowliest and worst of wine (sour wine) so that He can give us the best wine in God’s Kingdom