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Walking Thru The Bible
Gospel of John
Introduction:
The book of John is unique among the Gospels. There
is no mention of the birth and early years of Jesus. A
great amount of attention is focused on Jesus' final
instructions to the apostles.
Most of the events related in John are found nowhere
else in Scripture--the first miracle at Cana, the first
cleansing of the temple, Nicodemus' visit with the Lord,
Lazarus' resurrection, etc.
Author: The book refers to its author calling himself
"the disciple whom Jesus loved...who has written these
things," John 21:20, 24. The writer obviously was a
Palestinian Jew who was an eyewitness of the events of
Christ's life, for he displays knowledge of Jewish
customs (7:37-39; 18:28) and of the land of Palestine
(1:44, 46; 5:2) and he includes details of an eyewitness
(2:6; 13:26; 21:8, 11). Both internal and external
evidences point to the apostle John the son of Zebedee
and Salome as the author. It appears that John preached
in the area of Ephesus in the middle of the first century
and that the gospel was written about that time before
the destruction of the city in AD 70, ["Now there is at
Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in
the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches." John
5:2]
Purpose of the Book: The Gospel of John has clearly an
evangelistic purpose, presenting Jesus and calling upon
men to make a decision about him (John 20:31). The book
opens with an affirmation that eternal life is to be
found in Christ (John 1:4). While Matthew was written
primarily for the Jewish audience, and Mark and Luke for
the Roman and Greek, John appears to have been aimed at
a universal audience.
Major Themes:
1. One of the unique themes of John's Gospel is the
opening doctrine of the Word (Greek, ho logos), John 1:1-18.
The Jew understood that ho logos created the world
(Gen.1:3), gave life (Isa.55:3) and accomplished the
divine purpose in all things (Isa.55:11). The Greeks
perceived ho logos as giving the universe order and
harmony (e.g., Heraclitus) and serving to direct mankind
to ultimate realities.
John presents Jesus as the divine logos who has
come in the flesh. To the Jew, this meant that God's
power, plans, and promises were contained in Jesus. To
the Greek, it suggested that the one who created and gave
order to the universe, who sustained it in an orderly
fashion had come in the flesh to dwell among men.
2. In John's gospel the evidential nature of
miracles as signs is most prominent. A miracle is "an
extraordinary work of God in the world which serves as a
sign or attestation." We often hear the word used
loosely and incorrectly. A miracle (dunamis) is a mighty
work or exhibition of extraordinary power. John uses the
idea of Jesus' miracles being 'signs' (semeion) a
distinguishing mark or seal of genuineness, (John 2:23;
3:2; 4:54; 6:2, 14).
Miracles in the Bible served the purpose to
accredit a man as being from God (e.g, Moses before
Pharaoh, etc.) In Jesus' case his miracles confirmed
that he was from God (5:35; 3:1-2) and identified him as
the Messiah (7:31), and gained the attention of the
people and showed God's compassion for the plight of
mankind.
It is impossible to remove miracles from the
life and record of Jesus Christ. If one rejects the
miracles (including the virgin birth and Jesus'
resurrection) he has no grounds for accepting the
philosophy and truthfulness of Jesus.
On the other hand there are obvious contrasts
between Jesus' miracles and the alleged miracles of
today's "faith healers." Jesus worked miracles in the
absence of faith, he worked a variety of miracles,
including control over nature, multiplying food, raising
the dead, and were never done for selfish gain.
3. Jesus speaks of the "new birth" in John 3:1-21
and expresses that a man must be born again, or from
above, to enter into the kingdom of heaven. This new
birth involves water and the spirit. The association of
"water" with the process of man beginning life anew would
immediately be identified with baptism in the mind of
Nicodemus and those in that time. As seen in the context
of this passage John was baptizing multitudes and this
was for the forgiveness of sins (John 1:15-34; 3:22-28;
Mark 1:4).
Baptism is consistently paralleled with one
beginning a new life in Christ (cf. Romans 6:3-6; 1 Peter
3:21). It pictures the putting to death of the man of
sin and his burial, his cleansing by the blood of Christ
(Rev. 1:5), and his resurrection from the grave of water
to a new life (Rom. 6:4-6).
John's Plan in the Gospel: The thesis of John's record
is that Jesus was God in the flesh. The principle part
of the book provides supporting evidence of this thesis.
John presents seven great signs (or miracles) that serve
to credential Jesus as the Son of God. Nicodemus
said something about the power of these miracles when he
said in John 3:2 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
1st sign (2:1-11) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
2nd sign (4:46-54) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
3rd sign (5:1-18) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
4th sign (6:1-14) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
5th sign (6:15-21) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
6th sign (9:1-41) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
7th sign (11:1-57) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
John presents seven witness who give their testimony
to Jesus as the Son of God. Who were these witnesses
and what did they say, (1) John 1:34 (1:19-36); (2) John
1:49 (43-51); (3) John 6:69 (66-69); (4) John 11:27;
(5) John 20:28; (6) John 20:31; (7) John 10:36 (31-47).
John presents the seven great "I AM" statements of
the Lord himself and his own claims. (1) 6:35; (2)
8:12; (3) 8:58; (4) 10:11; (5) 11:25; (6) 14:6; (7)
15:1.
And John presents clearly his own purpose for
writing these things, "And many other signs truly did
Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not
written in this book: But these are written, that ye
might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;
and that believing ye might have life through his name."
(John 20:30-31).
Overview of John:
I. Incarnation of the Son of God, 1:1-18
II. Presentation of the Son of God, 1:19 - 4:54
III. Confrontations with the Son of God, 5:1-12:50
A. At a feast in Jerusalem, 5:1-47
B. At passover time in Galilee, 6:1-71
C. At f east of tabernacles, 7:1-10:21
D. At feast of dedication, 10:22-42
E. At Bethany, 11:1-12:11
F. At Jerusalem, 12:12-50
IV. Instructions by the Son of God, 13:1 - 16:33
V. Intercession of the Son of God, 17:1-26
VI. Crucifixion of the Son of God, 18:1 - 19:42
VII. Resurrection of the Son of God, 20:1 - 21:25
A. The empty tomb, 20:1-20
B. His appearances afterwards 20:11-21:25
SERMON - - - - - - -
A Service With Jesus
John 20:19-23 (Luke 24)
Introduction:
1. What first Lord's Day service do you remember?
Here is one that stands out in John's mind.
2. Notice the week the disciples had come through.
3. Look at the condition of their spirit when they met.
4. Jesus met with them on that great day, and let's
notice three things that happened in that assembly:
I. THEY WERE COMFORTED
A. By What Was Not Said.
Jesus did not shame and criticize them.
B. By What Was Said.
Jesus greeted them with 'Shalom' or "Peace,"
and really wanted them to have the peace He
could give them (v.19, v.21).
II. THEY WERE CONVINCED
When the Lord appears they were terrified and how
does He convince them? What evidence? (Luke 24:37, 38-39)
A. The Scars -- Luke 24:39
B. The Scriptures -- Lk.24:44-46; Isa. 53; Psa.22
III. THEY WERE CHALLENGED
John 19:21-23 is John's record of the commission.
They had been challenged before (Matt. 10) but now it is
broader and greater. How would they respond?
A. This Would Be An Exalted Privilege
1. They would be ambassadors. Credentials.
2. They would go in the name of Christ.
3. They had a message for every man -- that every
man needed to hear -- (2 Cor.4:4-5; 1Tim.1:11-12)
B. It Would Be Extremely Personal
Even as I send "you," that means Peter, James, etc.
1. Can we imagine the personal resolution on the
part of each one as he hears he is to be sent!
2. Think how each one has a chance to talk of
something like this.
Conclusion:
1 . Follow these apostles after this Sunday meeting, do
you think any said, "Well, I slept half way through it!"
or "I didn't get much out of it!"
2. What effect did this meeting have on those present?
How did it affect their conduct?
3. What can a "Sunday Service" do for you and me?
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