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The Gospel of John A NOW YOU KNOW MEDIA STUDY GUIDE The Gospel of John Presented by Rev. Donald Senior, C.P., S.T.D. THE GOSPEL OF JOHN STUDY GUID E Now You Know Media Copyright Notice: This document is protected by copyright law. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You are permitted to view, copy, print, and distribute this document (up to seven copies), subject to your agreement that: Your use of the information is for informational, personal, and noncommercial purposes only. You will not modify the documents or graphics. You will not copy or distribute graphics separate from their accompanying text and you will not quote materials out of their context. You agree that Now You Know Media may revoke this permission at any time and you shall immediately stop your activities related to this permission upon notice from Now You Know Media. WWW.NOWYOUKNOWMEDIA.COM / 1 - 8 0 0 - 955- 3904 / © 2 0 1 5 2 THE GOSPEL OF JOHN STUDY GUID E Table of Contents Program Summary ............................................................................................................... 4 About Your Presenter ........................................................................................................... 5 Topic 1: Introducing the Gospel of John ....................................................................... 6 Topic 2: The Prologue of John’s Gospel as Its “Center” ............................................... 9 Topic 3: The Prologue and the Christology of John .................................................... 11 Topic 4: The Meaning of Discipleship in John’s Gospel ............................................ 13 Topic 5: The Johannine Discourses ............................................................................. 15 Topic 6: The “Signs” of John’s Gospel ....................................................................... 17 Topic 7: The Bread of Life Discourse ......................................................................... 20 Topic 8: Opposition to Jesus ........................................................................................ 22 Topic 9: The Raising of Lazarus as the Summation of Jesus’ Mission ....................... 25 Topic 10: The Farewell Discourse of Jesus ................................................................... 28 Topic 11: The Passion of Jesus in the Gospel of John .................................................. 30 Topic 12: The Resurrection of Jesus in the Gospel of John .......................................... 33 Selected Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 36 WWW.NOWYOUKNOWMEDIA.COM / 1 - 8 0 0 - 955- 3904 / © 2 0 1 5 3 THE GOSPEL OF JOHN STUDY GUID E Program Summary Explore the Fourth Gospel with one of Catholicism’s leading biblical scholars. From the time of its first appearance, the Gospel of John has gripped the imagination and the hearts of Christians. Composed towards the latter part of the first century, the so-called “Fourth Gospel” presents a compelling and distinctive portrait of Jesus and His mission. Now you can explore this powerful portrayal of Jesus with Rev. Donald Senior, one of the world’s top biblical scholars, as your personal teacher. As you explore the philosophical and theological understanding John enkindled, you will find new insights into the gospel’s timeless messages. Just as distinctive as it is inspiring, the Gospel of John will lead you to encounter the Word of God. In John the Evangelist’s account, there are no parables, no exorcisms, and only rare uses of the metaphor of the “reign of God.” Despite its major differences from the synoptic gospels, modern biblical scholarship affirms that John’s Gospel is just as authentically “historical” as the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. John, however, reflects a different style of Jewish literature and a unique way of portraying Jesus himself. In these 12 lectures, you will explore John’s narrative starting with the majestic and poetic prologue that depicts the origin of Jesus as the Word of God, before following the Jesus of John’s Gospel in His teaching and healing. You will also learn why scholars debate whether the final author of John’s Gospel was familiar with the synoptic gospels or drew on a tradition about Jesus independent of these sources. Rev. Senior brilliantly highlights the similarities between John’s account and the other gospels, but he also carefully examines John's divergences from their familiar pattern. Throughout the millennia, mystics and ordinary Christian disciples have been drawn to this gospel. It expresses, in powerful words and symbols, the heart of Christian faith: that in Jesus the eternal Word of God has become incarnate. In contemplating the person of Jesus, the Risen Christ, the disciple encounters the human face of God. Encounter the Word of God in the Gospel of John today. WWW.NOWYOUKNOWMEDIA.COM / 1 - 8 0 0 - 955- 3904 / © 2 0 1 5 4 THE GOSPEL OF JOHN STUDY GUID E About Your Presenter Rev. Donald Senior is one of Catholicism’s leading New Testament scholars. He is President Emeritus of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he is also a professor of the New Testament. A Roman Catholic priest of the Passionist order, Fr. Senior has served on the Pontifical Biblical Commission since Pope John Paul II named him to it in 2001. He has taught and led study tours in the Holy Land for over 25 years. In addition to having written books and articles too numerous to list, Rev. Senior is the general editor of The Bible Today and The Catholic Study Bible, as well as coeditor of the 22-volume commentary series New Testament Message. He earned his doctorate in New Testament Studies from the University of Louvain, Belgium, and completed further graduate studies at Hebrew Union College and Harvard University. He is past president of the Catholic Biblical Association and of the Association of Theological Schools of the United States and Canada. In 1994, the Catholic Library Association of America gave him its Jerome Award for outstanding scholarship. In 1996, the National Catholic Education Association awarded him the Bishop Loras Lane Award for his outstanding contribution to theological education. WWW.NOWYOUKNOWMEDIA.COM / 1 - 8 0 0 - 955- 3904 / © 2 0 1 5 5 THE GOSPEL OF JOHN STUDY GUID E Topic 1: Introducing the Gospel of John I. Jesus’ Mission and the Gospels A. Virtually from its first appearance, the Gospel of John has dominated the Christian understanding of Jesus and his mission. 1. Its powerful concentration on the mystery of the Incarnation remains its great attraction. 2. John’s Gospel is “A Gospel in which a child can wade and an elephant can drown…” B. The Gospels, in general, result from the intersection of three factors: 1. Traditions about Jesus 2. The situation of the community from which the gospel emerges 3. The evangelist who ultimately composes the gospel. II. John the “Maverick Gospel”: Distinctive from the Synoptic Gospels A. No parables. B. No exorcisms. C. No single journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. D. Infrequent use of the Kingdom of God metaphor. E. Its discourse format. F. Its cosmic and spatial imagery. G. The different sequence of events in its “plot”. H. Its high Christology. III. Change in scholarly estimation of the context and origin of John’s Gospel A. From a later Hellenistic text to a Palestinian Jewish context. B. Revision in our knowledge of Palestinian Judaism over the past 50 years: from uniformity to diversity. C. John’s Gospel is viewed as either dependent upon or parallel to the Synoptic tradition. IV. Possible evolution of the Johannine community A. Rooted in heterodox Judaism. B. Contact with Samaritans. WWW.NOWYOUKNOWMEDIA.COM / 1 - 8 0 0 - 955- 3904 / © 2 0 1 5 6 THE GOSPEL OF JOHN STUDY GUID E C. On the fringe of mainstream Christianity. D. Tensions with mainline Judaism. E. Location in the Gentile world. F. Possible division in the Johannine community in post-New Testament era. V. John’s Gospel as bridging diverse worlds: A. Old Testament and Judaism. B. Hellenistic world. C. Traditions about Jesus. VI. General Structure and flow of the Gospel: A. Prologue (1:1–18). B. The Book of Signs (chapters 1–12). C. The Book of Glory (chapters 13–20) D. Chapter 21. VII. Conclusion A. Savoring John: a Gospel with a contemplative spirit. St. John the Evangelist by Guido Reni, 17th century WWW.NOWYOUKNOWMEDIA.COM / 1 - 8 0 0 - 955- 3904 / © 2 0 1 5 7 THE GOSPEL OF JOHN STUDY GUID E REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What is meant by calling the Gospel of John the “maverick” Gospel? Can you identify some of the differences between John’s Gospel and the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke? 2. What are some of the elements that might account for why John’s Gospel is so different from the other three? 3. What are some of the main sources from which the evangelist composed his portrait of Jesus? WWW.NOWYOUKNOWMEDIA.COM / 1 - 8 0 0 - 955- 3904 / © 2 0 1 5 8 THE GOSPEL OF JOHN STUDY GUID E Topic 2: The Prologue of John’s Gospel as Its “Center” I. Viewing the Prologue A. Viewing the first 18 verses of John’s Gospel as the conceptual “center” of the Gospel more than simply an introduction. B. It presents the core vision from which the rest of the gospel narrative radiates. II. The Beginning A. Each of the gospels begins with a different way of connecting the story of Jesus to its origins in the story of salvation. B. John pushes the origin of Jesus back to the beginning of beginnings within the very being of God. C. The prologue as poetic vision; relationship to the composition of the rest of the narrative. III. The Structure of the Prologue as Indicative of its Theological Vision: A. The Word with God (vs. 1-2). B. The Word and Creation (vs. 3-5). C. The Word in the World (vs. 10-12b). D. The Word Made Flesh and the Community (vs. 14, 16). IV. “Word”: The Key Metaphor in the Prologue and the body of the Gospel A. Word as dabar, i.e., communication, creation (see Isaiah 55:10-11). B. Word as logos: coherence, order, word. V. Key theological motifs of the Prologue: A. God as self-communicating. B. The Logos/Word/Jesus as embodiment of God. C.
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