INTRODUCTION Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31) So concludes John’s gospel. After 20 chapters, his intent should hardly come as a surprise! From the very outset of his gospel John confronts, indeed bombards, the reader with the person of Jesus. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1, 14) Look again at 20:30-31 and you will find the key words which reveal John’s plan as an evangelist-writer. Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples (which are not recorded in this book.) But these are written that you may believe 1that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. In John’s gospel the miracles of Jesus are called signs which are to produce belief which results in life. Everything in John’s 21 chapters is to this end. If one were to take an afternoon and read through all four gospels in the order we find them in our Bibles, John would stand out. When we come to the fourth gospel we will immediately be impressed with its uniqueness. It’s so different! In John we find no record of Jesus’ birth or childhood, no mention of Mary (by name) and Joseph, no record of Jesus’ temptation in the desert. We look in vain for the Lord’s Prayer. We find no parables, no exorcisms, no transfiguration, no Olivet discourse,2 no celebration of the Lord’s supper with the disciples in Jerusalem, no cursing of the fig tree, and no agony in the garden of Gethsemane. 1Is John writing to confirm the belief of Christians who need assurance or is he trying to persuade the unpersuaded? Readers of his gospel have debated this for centuries. John uses the subjunctive mood in 20:31 which the NIV brings out with may believe. The subjunctive could be rendered so you might believe. 2This is the name given to Jesus’ sermon recorded in all three of the synoptic gospels (Mark 13, Matthew 24, Luke 21) which details the events surrounding the second coming of Jesus. STUDIES IN JOHN’S GOSPEL PAGE 1 INTRODUCTION But the fourth gospel should not be defined according to what the author leaves out of his life of Jesus. John gives the reader what most would agree is the profoundest of the gospels. John has long been regarded as the theologian of the gospel writers. His gospel is at once suitable for the beginner or the expert. The Gospel of John is the pool where, as one commentator points out, a child may wade and an elephant can swim. John’s gospel is inexhaustible. Sir Edwyn Hoskyns, a British scholar writing in the early part of this century concluded, he will not be true to the book he is studying if, at the end, the Gospel does not still remain strange, restless, and unfamiliar. What do we find in John? We find a superbly crafted gospel that compels the reader to make a decision about Jesus. John will not allow his readers to be middle-of-the-road with regard to Jesus. John begins with the bold affirmation, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The rest of his text is an attempt to get us, his readers, to agree. Again, John won’t allow his readers to sit on the fence. In this gospel we find presented a Jesus who leaves no room for indecision. We are confronted with life and death (cf. 3:16; 5:24; 8:51; 17:3), truth and falsehood (cf. 1:14; 5:33; 8:32; 8:44; 18:38), light and darkness (cf. 1:4-5, 7; 3:19; 8:12; 12:35-36), flesh and spirit (cf. 1:14; 3:5-6; 3:34; 4:23; 6:51). We are confronted with the claims of Jesus regarding himself: 6:35 I am the bread of life Will you eat? 8:12 I am the light of the world Will you see? 10:7 I am the door Will you come in? 10:14 I am the good shepherd Will you follow? 11:25 I am the resurrection and the life Do you want life? 14:6 I am the way Are you on it? 15:1 I am the vine Are you connected to me?1 Most biblical scholars think John was the last gospel to be written. John, it is surmised, is complementing Matthew, Mark and Luke2 filling in details where they made omissions. In John we have three (or possibly four if we count 5:1) Passover feasts mentioned while 1There are three more I am statements in John. In 6:30 Jesus simply says, I am. Don’t be afraid. In 18:5 Jesus says I am and the Roman soldiers fall down. In 8:58 Jesus says, Before Abraham was born, I am! 2These three gospels are called the synoptic gospels because they see the life of Jesus in much the same way, recording, for the most part the same miracles, events and sermons of Jesus. PAGE 2 STUDIES IN JOHN’S GOSPEL INTRODUCTION the synoptics mention only one.1 In John the temple is cleansed at the outset of Jesus’ ministry, while the other gospel writers place this event during the final days of Jesus’ activity. Was the temple cleansed of money changers, etc. twice? John’s Jesus ministers in the south of Israel. Four times Jesus goes to Jerusalem. Matthew, Mark and Luke concentrate on Jesus’ northern ministry in Galilee. But there is more at stake in John’s selection of material than simply filling in what the others left out. John, writing late, wants to evangelize the second generation of hearers. He seeks to persuade those who never saw or heard Jesus during his earthly ministry. The apostle wrestles with the questions: How can the second generation know and trust Jesus for salvation? How can I really be sure of the sufficiency of Jesus when I wasn’t there? To answer these questions John employs a double testimony throughout his 21 chapters. First, there is the testimony of those whom Jesus encountered. John the Baptist, perhaps the second most startling figure of the first century, is so impressed with Jesus that he points his sizable following toward the man from Nazareth proclaiming, Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (1:29 ff.). Later, when the Baptist’s disciples become jealous of Jesus’ growing popularity, John rebuffs them saying, [The] joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less. (3:29b- 30). John the apostle, the writer of this gospel, is witness to the worth of Jesus. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (1:14). Along the way Peter, Andrew, Philip, Nathanael, Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, and a host of others bear witness to Jesus. But man’s testimony is not enough for John. John claims in 1:1 that Jesus is God in the flesh. Only God can verify God so Jesus needs a divine testimony. This testimony is given dramatically in 12:27-30. But there is even more! Jesus was attested to in the Hebrew scriptures. He is the fulfillment of prophecy (5:37-47). Secondly, Jesus testifies for himself. He is the highest authority there is (8:17-18; 3:34). Thirdly, the works of Jesus bear witness to his authority and sufficiency (5:36, 10:38). John, written primarily to compel faith in unbelievers (20:31), is loaded with material that will deepen the discipleship of the most mature of believers. In 1:18 John tells us that Jesus has made the unseen God of the universe known to us. Jesus, we learn, is here called the exegesato (εξηγησατο) of God. This is the Greek word for exegesis which means to explain or to interpret. As we study Jesus in John’s gospel we will learn about God himself. Our lives in Christ should be deeply enhanced! 1This gives us an understanding of Jesus’ ministry which lasted three and one half years. STUDIES IN JOHN’S GOSPEL PAGE 3 INTRODUCTION SSeerrmmoonn NNootteess…… PAGE 4 STUDIES IN JOHN’S GOSPEL IN THE BEGINNING! Study One In the Beginning! John 1:1-18 As you begin this study, read these 18 verses from as many translations as you have available. What is going on in John’s mind? John seems to spill the beans in the very first sentence of his book.1 Why do you think he begins his gospel like this as opposed to, say, the way Matthew begins his gospel by not only presenting the birth of Christ but also his geneology? John seems to look back to Genesis 1:1 in his prologue. What parallels can you find with Genesis 1? Why did John draw these parallels? John Genesis 1This is so utterly different from Mark’s gospel.