the gospel of john PART ONE 1 the gospel of john PART ONE // WEEKS 1–6 “These are written so 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 20:31 For a great overview, watch the Bible Project video “John, Part 1 of 2” here: https://bibleproject.com/explore/john/#! © 2020 by Redemption Church Tempe All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. 2 Table of Contents 4 Introduction 5 How to Use this Study Guide 6 Conversational Prayer 7 Week One: The Word 10 Week Two: Among Us 13 Week Three: The Lamb of God 16 Week Four: Follow Me 19 Week Five: The Winemaker 22 Week Six: The Temple 25 Notes Table of Contents // 3 introduction The Gospel according to John is an eyewitness account of the Good News about Jesus. Early church tradition attributes the authorship of this gospel to the apostle John. Though John was in the small inner circle of Jesus’s friends, he preferred to identify simply as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 20:21,24). His firsthand, front-row seat to the life of Jesus gives credibility to his words. John’s heart in writing this book was to bear witness to what he saw and heard as he lived and walked with Jesus. He states his purpose near the end of the book: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so 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). First-century followers of Yahweh, like John and his friends, were not only familiar with the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament) that pointed to the coming Messiah but they were actively looking for the One whose life matched up with the signs they knew would identify the Christ.* Included in their daily prayers was the longing that “the seed of David would flourish speedily.”** Jesus met the criteria. He performed signs and wonders that only One sent from God could do. He connected the pieces of God’s story like he was the author (which, of course, he was). He healed the sick, walked on water, and raised the dead. Beyond that, he ushered in the next movement of God’s eternal story. He moved beyond familiar Old Covenant practices with the love of God and saw people through the lens of redemptive potential. He changed whole lives around, including John’s. John wrote these stories so that we could come to know, as he and his friends discovered, that Jesus really is the Christ, the Son of God. His goal was not just to fill our heads with convincing information but to invite us into God’s story. John’s day-to-day life with Jesus over a three-year friendship shaped the rest of his life. He wanted us to know the things Jesus said and did so that we too could be changed by him and experience life in his name. A quick note about the distinctive purpose and writing style of John’s gospel is helpful before we dig in. The first three gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—are called the synoptic gospels. They follow similar narrative patterns and describe the events of Jesus’s life in a sequential manner. Miracles convey Jesus’s compassion and love for those he encountered and his power over brokenness. John’s purpose was not so much to outline a timeline as it was to present Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s eternal story. He wanted his readers to know that Jesus truly is the Son of God. Miracles, while full of compassion and love, are also signs that confirm Jesus as the Messiah. Stories often connect to an “I am” statement about who Jesus is for the whole world. Israel was waiting for a Redeemer to usher in a new Kingdom, and John wrote to show us that Jesus is the One the world was waiting for. *Both Christ in Greek and Messiah in Hebrew are defined as “anointed.” When God appointed a king to rule over Israel, he was often anointed with oil as a symbol of God’s choosing. When Jesus is referred to as the Christ, he is identified as God’s promised Messiah, the Anointed One, the coming King. ** See https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Prayers/Daily_Prayers/Shemoneh_Esrei/David/david.html Introduction // 4 how to use this study guide This study guide aligns with our current Sunday teaching series on the Gospel of John. It is designed for personal study and as a resource for Redemption communities and Bible study groups. The consistent discipline of immersing ourselves in Scripture is the goal, so make sure to begin with the Bible reading each week. RC and study group leaders are free to choose the sections of the guide that best align with the focus of their group. study “THESE ARE WRITTEN. .” Read through the passage in a few translations of the Bible. Listen to an audio version if that works best for you. What questions do you have? Is there an image that is central to this passage? What does this story teach you about Jesus? Imagine the passage as it may have actually happened. Follow the prompts to consider the story from the perspective of someone who was there and experienced the story firsthand. signs of the messiah “THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD,. .” John’s purpose was to present Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s eternal story. Read through the Old Testament Scripture passages in this section. What signs were given that verified the authenticity of the Messiah? How did Jesus prove he was the One those first disciples were looking for? Focus on the imagery and story correlations between the Old Testament and the passage we are studying. How did John connect Jesus’s story to the story God had been telling all along? life in his name “AND THAT BY BELIEVING YOU MAY HAVE LIFE IN HIS NAME.” John’s purpose in our believing was that ultimately we would experience the life Jesus came to give. John spent three of the best years of his life living alongside Jesus. He was formed in those years as a lifelong disciple of Jesus. This section includes a formational practice and group discussion questions for each week. Conversations with Jesus: See Conversational Prayer guide on page 6. Conversations with your Community: Gathering with your community is a time to pull together the truths you’ve gleaned from individual study and Sunday sermons in order to learn from each other and be formed as apprentices of Jesus. What examples did he leave for us to follow? Questions are provided to guide your conversation. Make sure to carve out time to pray for each other when you are together. notes Printable note pages are provided at the end of the guide for use throughout the study. Use them for your study notes, journaling space, sermon notes, or a place to record prayer requests and praises with your study group. How to Use this Study Guide // 5 conversational prayer CONVERSATIONS WITH JESUS In their daily coming-and-going, fishing-and-eating, healing-and-serving life, Jesus and his disciples must have had the most amazing conversations. Can you imagine what it would have been like to have the ear of God, in the flesh, walking beside you, for every question, for everything you happened to notice and just wanted to talk about? First-century followers of Jesus got to do that. In John’s Gospel, God communicates to us through Jesus. He is the Word who put on flesh and made God known to the world. He interacted with people and had conversations with them. He listened to people and talked with them. One of the most reassuring things Jesus said to John and his friends before he went to heaven was that their conversations would not have to stop just because they could not see him. God would send his Spirit to keep the words of Jesus present and to give his followers access to him through prayer. John’s talking to and hearing from Jesus continued for the rest of his life. As followers of Jesus, we have that same access. We have been invited into daily, hourly, minute-by-minute conversations with God. what conversational prayer is Conversations are typically not rehearsed; they can be spontaneous and happen in the moment. They can be informal and can vary in length and depth. As we engage in conversational prayer, it simplifies the way we talk to God because there is not a specific formula to follow. This gives us the freedom to talk to God about anything at any time because he listens to us, and he desires to communicate with us. how to do it Choose something to talk to God about. This can be anything because there are no limitations on our conversations with God.