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Home , John 8

The of John

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

Introduction1

It doesn’t take much of a reading to quickly discover that the is not like the other gospel accounts. The distinctions are obvious but the following are worth noting.

John’s Gospel leaves out a great deal of material that is characteristic of the synoptic (Matthew, Mark and Luke). There are no narrative parables in John, no account of the transfiguration, no record of the institution of the Lord’s Supper, no report of casting out a demon, no mention of Jesus’ temptations. There are more discourses, yet no description is given to Jesus’ baptism or the calling of the Twelve. Themes that are common to the synoptics are also missing. In particular, the kingdom or reign of God or heaven.

The distinctions are not to be found in the omissions alone. John has much material that is unique to its writing. For example, all of -4 is unique, including the transformation of water into wine, his dialogue with and his ministry in . Further, the resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus’ frequent visits to , and his extended discourses in the temple and in various synagogues, not to mention much of his private instruction to his disciples, are all exclusive to the Forth Gospel. Author

The author is assumed to be The Apostle John, the son of , brother of James. It is formally anonymous as it does not bear its authors name as the synoptics. Though there has been controversy (always is), most in history look at :20-24 as identifying the individual who wrote this Gospel. He is also the :

• Whom Jesus loved (13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7) • Who leaned on Christ’s breast at the . This leads us to believe that this disciple was very close to Jesus • “Who testifies of these things; and we know his testimony is true.”

Since this was the disciple Jesus loved and he sat next to Jesus at the Last Supper it can be deduced that he must be Peter, James or John, the three who were closest to Jesus. Since Peter refers to this disciple in 21:21, “But Lord, what about this man?” and James died prior to the writing of this Gospel (Acts 12:2), it is safe to declare John as the author. Historical testimonies2 of the early church also testify to this claim: *Eusebius (c. A.D. 263-339)*, Origen (c. 210-250), Clement of (c. 190-200), Tertullian (c. 190-200), *Ireneus – a pupil of Polycarp, one of John’s disciples (c. 180-190), and Theophilis (c. 170- 180). Date

The date is an ongoing debate with 70 A.D3. being the dividing line. Either written before 70 or after doesn’t change much in terms of the purpose and meaning of the writing.

1 D. A. Carson, ‘The Gospel According to John’ The Pillar Commentary, (Apollos 1991), pp 21-22 2 R.C.H. Lenski, ‘The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel’, (Augsburg Publishing House 1943), pp 13-17 3 70 A.D. marks the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem by the Romans. John does refer to a pool in Jerusalem in the present tense. This pool was destroyed in A.D. 70. Purpose

The purpose of John’s Gospel is clearly stated in 20:31. It agrees with the general purpose of the other Gospel writers. They differ as follows: Matthew writes with the Jews in mind and shows that Jesus is the promised Messiah. Mark and Luke have the Gentiles in mind and show that Jesus is the Redeemer for whom the nations longed. John wrote when the different between the Jews and Gentiles had disappeared, when the beginnings of gnostic4 and other heresies appeared, and thus showed that Jesus is the Son of God, and that salvation is found by faith in him alone. Structure5

Prologue: The Word became flesh, 1:1-18

Theme: Jesus Christ is Attested as the Son of God

I. The Attestation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God in his Public Ministry, 1:19-12:50. a. The opening attestation as his ministry begins, 1:19-2:11. b. The public attestation through the Holy Land, 2:12-4:54. c. The attestation arousing unbelief, chapters 5 & 6. d. The attestation in open conflict with unbelief, chapters 7 & 8. e. The final attestation before the people, chapters 11 & 12. II. The Attestation of Jesus as the Son of God in his Passion and his Resurrection. a. The attestation in Jesus’ preparation of the Apostles for the end, chapters 13 – 17. b. The attestation in his death, chapters 18 & 19. c. The attestation in his resurrection, chapters 20 & 21.

4 Gnosticism taught that there were deep hidden secretes that must be understood in order to gain salvation. Genosis means knowledge in greek. 5 Lenski, pp 22-23 The Gospel of John Lesson 1 Chapter 1:1-18 Structure

1:1-5 The eternal Word, the Creator of all, is the light and life shining into the sinful world

1:6-12 The Word came into the sinful world, awakening faith and arousing unbelief

1:13-18 The Word became flesh in the world and brought us grace and truth from the Father

Compare the first three words of verse 1 with those of Genesis 1:1. Why did John begin his Gospel in this way?

John begins his Gospel speaking about, “The Word.” What do we know about the Word from the first 14 verse of ?

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“The Word” or Logos6, is a title for Jesus that is specific to John. Looking again at the creation account of Genesis, what affect did God’s Word have on creation? Why is this an appropriate title for Jesus?

“In him was life.” What does John mean by that?

6 A definition of from Lenski could be that in Christ, “all the purposes, plans, and promises of God are brought to a final focus and an absolute realization. How can the life be the light7 of men?

What is meant by darkness?

What does John mean when he says, “The darkness did not overcome it?”

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.” What are two points that John makes with this statement? What is the purpose of making these points?

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How does John describe the ministry of in verses 7 and 8?

In verse 9, John adds on simple adjective to “the Light.” What is this word and why did he add it?8

Verse 10 serves as a summary and an introduction to a new piece of information. What are the three summary points that he makes? What new information found in verse 11 does he introduce?

7 Luther comments, “Christ has always been the Life and Light, even before his birth, from the beginning, and will ever remain so to the end. He shines at all times, in all creatures, in the Holy Scriptures, through his saints, , and ministers, in his word and works; and he has never ceased to shine. 8 Luther writes, “There is only one light that lighteth all men, and no man comes into the world who can possibly be illumined by any other light.” Verses 5 and 11 both deal with rejection. Darkness/the sinful world rejected the light. His own (that is the Jewish people of the time) rejected the true Light. This is a common theme throughout the Gospel. Verse 12 introduces us to the counterpoint of rejection-that is reception. What does John say about the reception of the true light?

What does John stress about the, “right to become children of God?” It comes through belief, no through…

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Read :10-14. Notice how Jesus’ interaction with the woman at the well agrees with John’s description of the right to become children of God.

Finally, in verse 14, John concludes….

“Full of grace and truth” is a loaded phrase. What is the message that this phrase drives home? Can you see the incarnation in verse 14? Read Exodus 34:6

What is meant by grace for grace (v 16)?

Verse 17 mentions Moses. A threefold antithesis is brought out in this verse

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Is “only begotten” an eternal or temporal reference? What point does John make in verse 18?

The Gospel of John Lesson 2 Chapter 1:19-2:11

In the previous lesson, John the Baptist was introduced as, “a man who was sent by God.” He came as a witness to Jesus. In the following, we will learn of his testimony and see the impact that his witness had on those who had heard it.

4 sections marked by 4 successive days, linked together with references to time: v. 29 – 35 – 43 – 2:1

2 Parts: The Baptist’s Attestation of Christ as the Son of God, 1:19-42; The First Testimony of Jesus Himself, 1:43-2:119

Who were the, “Jews of Jerusalem?

Who did this group send to meet with John the Baptist? Why were these individuals sent? Look at verse 24, who else was sent? What was their main concern?

What was the Baptist’s first confession? What is the significance of this?

Read Malachi 4:5. How does this tie into the question from the Jews in verse 21?

How did John answer this question? Is this in conflict with Matthew 17:10-13; Matthew 11:14; or Luke 1:17?

Who was the the Jews referred to in their questioning of John the Baptist? (Read Deuteronomy 18:15-22)

9 Lenski, p. 103 What error had the Jews made in their interpretation of this passage (Deuteronomy 18:22)?

Read Acts 3:22. What does Peter tell us about the prophets?

John said that he was not the Christ, Elijah or the prophet. What did he say was? What does this mean?

What did the ask John the Baptist? Why did they ask this question?

How did John answer their question? Did he really answer their question?

How did John the Baptist identify Jesus? What does this mean? How did John know this?

John’s testimony shifted from who he was not (v. 20) to who Jesus was (v. 34). Who did he say Jesus was?

Since John identified Jesus in this way and said that he saw the Spirit descend on Him, what events in Christ’s life had already happened?

How did Jesus get Philip to become a disciple?

How did Philip respond to Christ’s call?

How did Philip identify Jesus when speaking to Nathanael?

How did Nathanael respond to Philip? Why?

Jesus complimented Nathanael for being an Israelite in whom there is nothing false or in whom there is no deceit. To what was Jesus referring when he said this?

What shocking news did Jesus have for Nathanael? What does this information tell us about Jesus?

Nathanael became an instant believer, calling Jesus, “Rabbi; Son of God and King of Israel.” What more, according to Jesus, did Nathanael have to look forward to? What does this mean?

How did Jesus identify himself? Why?