SERIES: THE MAIN THING SESSION SEVEN, WINTER 2018 JOHN: JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD We do not possess the original manuscripts of The New Testament books. What we have are copies of copies. This is not unique to the New Testament. Julius Caesar s Gallic Wars We have about good manuscripts. The oldest one was copied 900 years after Caesar lived. The Writings of the first-century/early-second century Roman historian Tacitus We have only two manuscripts of his writings. One was copied years and the other 1000 years after they were originally written. The New Testament We have over manuscripts, partial manuscripts and fragments, coming from as early as the 2 nd and 3 rd centuries. The runner up to the New Testament is Homer s Iliad. There are approximately 650 manuscripts of The Iliad known today, many fragmentary. The oldest manuscripts we have were copied a years after Homer lived. With over 5000 manuscripts, we can compare them and in every truly important case determine what was originally written with a very high degree of certainty. Bruce Metzger: We can have great confidence in the fidelity with which this material has come down to us, especially compared with any other ancient literary work. John 1.1-4, 14: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 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. The theme of John s Gospel is the of Christ. From beginning to end, John s Gospel drives home the point: Jesus is not one of many. Jesus is the. WHO WAS JOHN? One of the earliest disciples of Jesus. He and his brother James were. It appears that the brothers were fiery and impetuous Jesus nicknamed them the. As Jesus was dying he entrusted the care of his mother Mary to John.
2 It would be hard to argue that anyone knew Jesus better than John. And, yet, no one is more clear: Jesus was and is the Son of God. WHEN WAS JOHN S GOSPEL WRITTEN? Most scholars believe near AD when John would have been roughly 80 years old. WHO WAS JOHN S AUDIENCE? Most likely Jews living outside of Palestine. WHY WAS HE WRITING? John 20.30-31: 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. Aren t we all sons of God? John 3.16: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 1.14: We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father The phrase only begotten Son and the phrase the One and Only are two different ways of translating the same Greek word which is so rich and wondrous, that no single English phrase is sufficient as a translation. It s the Greek word µονογενής (monogenas). Mono means same or one. Genas is the Greek word from which we get our word. What John wants us to know is that Jesus is of the same stuff as the Father, he shares the same, and he possesses the same essence. You and I, are God s creatures, made in his image, and through faith can be graciously into his family as sons. But Jesus is not one of God s creatures; he is God s Son monogenas! John s goal in writing his Gospel is to present Jesus in such a way that his readers will recognize him for who he is, believe in him and have life. HOW DOES JOHN PRESENT JESUS AS THE UNIQUE SON OF GOD? He organizes his Gospel around seven miraculous signs and seven great, statements. The number seven in Jewish thought was a symbol of completeness and perfection.
3 John 2.11: This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. The other signs John uses to display the glory of Jesus are healing the official s son (4.43-54), healing a paralyzed man (5.1-15), feeding the five thousand (6.1-15), walking on water (6.16-24) healing a man born blind (9.1-12), and raising Lazarus from the dead (11.1-44). The seven I am statements John reports as the words of Jesus about himself: I am the bread of life (6.35), the light of the world (8.12), the gate of the sheep (10.7), the good shepherd (10.11), the resurrection and the life (11.25), the way, the truth, and the life (14.6), and the true vine (15.1). In each of these seven statements, Jesus in John s Gospel presents himself as uniquely able to provide for humankind what we desperately need for life and what can be found in else. John R. W. Stott: The most striking feature of the teaching of Jesus is that he was constantly talking about himself. This self-centeredness of the teaching of Jesus immediately sets him apart from the other great religious teachers of the world. They pointed men away from themselves, saying, That is the truth so far as I perceive it; follow that. Jesus said, I am the truth; follow me. Even more amazing: those who walked beside him for three years, rather than think his claims pretentious or absurd, came to believe that his claims were valid and true. John 14.6: Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 1. JESUS: I AM THE WAY. John 3.2: (Nicodemus:) Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God, for no one can do these signs you do unless God is with him. Something had happened that so rocked Nicodemus world that he had to question all he believed. John 3.3: (Jesus:) I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again. John 3.4: (Nicodemus:) How can a man be born when he is old? Surely, he cannot enter a second time into his mother s womb to be born. John 3.5-6: (Nicodemus:) I tell you the truth: no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of the water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. John 3.14-15: (Jesus:) Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. John 3.16: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
4 2. I AM THE TRUTH. John 1.18: No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. Jean Paul Kauffman: God is a mystery we cannot understand him or his ways. Isaiah 55.8-9: For my thoughts are not your thoughts; neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. The Scriptures teach that God is so far above us his being so transcends our categories that left to ourselves we could never determine the of the infinite God. Edwin Arlington Robinson: The world is a kind of spiritual kindergarten where millions of bewildered infants are trying to spell God with the wrong blocks. For us to know God, he must himself to us. John 14.9: Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. 3. I AM THE LIFE. John 1.4: In him was life, and that life was the light of men. John 6.35: I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. Men look for life in possessions, pleasure, positions of power and the of others. We think, If I can get enough of those, I ll have life. I won t be empty any more. I will be at peace. Christianity looks the world squarely in the face and says, You re. Life is found in the One who is Life Jesus. If you would like one or both of the following lectures, send me an email: rrenfroe@twumc.org 1. What Christians Should Think about Homosexuality 2. What about People Who Never Hear about Jesus?
5 OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH AND SERVICE 1. Spring Mission Trip to Honduras: April 18-21. You can register on the church website under Missions. Always a great trip. $1300. We ll build a house, put in concrete floors for families living in dirt and most likely build a church. 2. ReEngage - Every Tuesday Night, 6:30 pm in the Harvest. Marriages in any condition can benefit, whether you are struggling to get along, your marriage is broken, or you simply want to grow closer together as a couple. Show up any week, no need to register. For more info go to https://www.thewoodlandsumc.org/reengage 3. Family Promise a ministry for homeless families who stay in area churches and receive job training. Needs people to become involved as workers and in leadership positions. If interested, email Chris Havern at chris.havern@hotmail.com. The Woodlands United Methodist Church www.thewoodlandsumc.org