Intrductin t Jhn s Gspel Jhn 20:30-31 I am very excited tday because we are starting ur study f the furth gspel. I clearly remember reading thrugh the Gspel f Jhn sn after I was saved. Gd used the wrds f this bk t draw me t Himself and help me t grw as I believed in Jesus and fllwed Him. Perhaps many f yu have als either cme t believe in Jesus thrugh the Gspel f Jhn r yu have significantly grwn in yur faith thrugh its wrds. I dn t think we culd verstate the imprtance f the Gspel f Jhn fr ur faith and walk in Jesus Christ. Origen, the father f biblical exegesis, said, The Gspel [f Jhn] is the cnsummatin f the Gspels as the Gspels are f the Scriptures. Jerme said, Jhn excels in the depths f divine mysteries. Luther speaks f Jhn as being the unique, tender, genuine, leading Gspel. James Culrss said, I believe the writings f Jhn have been bltted by mre penitents tears and have wn mre hearts fr the Redeemer than all the rest put tgether. One has called it the heart f Christ; anther the gspel f the Spirit; and anther the chief f the Gspels. Dr. A. T. Piersn describes it as leading us int the Hly f Hlies. Calvin designated Jhn as the key that pens the way t a right understanding f the ther Gspels. The Gspel f Jhn is bth simple and prfund. Jhn uses a limited vcabulary and very simple wrds, but the ideas that he presents in these wrds are deep. Many have said this bk is like a pl in which bth a tddler can wade and an elephant can swim. It is n surprise that we ften tell seekers and new believers t read Jhn. A child can understand and respnd t Jhn 3:16, Fr Gd s lved the wrld that He gave His nly begtten Sn, that whever believes in Him shuld nt perish but have everlasting life. But it is als true that schlars have written vlumes trying t cmprehend sme f the themes f Jhn. S whether yu are just getting started in yur Christian life r yu have walked with Jesus fr decades, Jhn has smething fr yu. My prayer is that all f us will cme t believe in Jesus in fresh and life-giving ways as we study this bk. Mst f yu knw that in ur New Testament we have fur Gspels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and Jhn. Each f these presents the gd news abut Jesus f Nazareth wh being the Sn f Gd came t earth as a man, taught us abut Gd, perfrmed miracles prving He was the Christ, was crucified as a substitute fr ur sins and wh was raised frm the dead n the third day. Nne f the fur are what we wuld strictly call a bigraphies althugh they are histrical and accurate prtrayals f Jesus. Matthew, Mark, and Luke 1
are called the synptic gspels. The wrd synptic means seeing tgether r the same view. These three gspels are very similar in their view f Jesus, althugh each has its wn unique perspective and audience. Matthew, ne f the twelve, wrte primarily t Jews, emphasizing that Jesus Christ is the King f Israel. Mark wrte shrtest gspel, prbably frm Rme under Peter s influence. He emphasizes Jesus as the Sn f Man wh came t serve and give His life a ransm fr many (Mark 10:45). Luke was a physician and a c-wrker f the apstle Paul. He wrte his gspel having thrughly investigated the matter frm the beginning. His gspel is seems t be aimed at nn-jews like Samaritans r Gentiles and emphasizes Jesus Christ in His humanity as the Sn f Adam. Jhn writes after all f these. And althugh he tells the same basic histry abut Jesus, his gspel is very different frm the ther three. We dn t have t guess Jhn s purpse in writing his gspel because he tells us plainly. Listen t his purpse statement in Jhn 20:30-31, 30 And truly Jesus did many ther signs in the presence f His disciples, which are nt written in this bk; 31 but these are written that yu may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Sn f Gd, and that believing yu may have life in His name. Jhn wants his readers t believe specifically that Jesus is the Christ the Jewish Messiah f whm the Old Testament prphesied. And Jhn wants yu t believe that Jesus is the Sn f Gd, which means, He is Gd in human flesh (5:18-29). The ultimate testimny f faith in Jhn s gspel is when Thmas sees the risen Jesus and prclaims (20:28), My Lrd and my Gd! S Jhn wants us t knw wh Jesus is and t believe in Him. The result f believing in Jesus as the Christ, the Sn f Gd, is that yu may have life in His name. By life, Jhn means everlasting life. And that life is nly fund in Jesus wh said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. N ne cmes t the Father except thrugh Me, (14:6). There are many different ways t utline Jhn s gspel, but here is a brad utline that gives the flw f the text: I. Prlgue: The Incarnatin f the Sn f Gd (1:1 18) The Wrd became flesh (1:14). II. The Signs: That Yu May Believe in Jesus (1:19-12:50) The wrks that I d in My Father s name, they bear witness f Me (10:25). A. The Presentatin f the Sn f Gd (1:19 4:54) 2
We have fund the Messiah (1:14). B. The Oppsitin t the Sn f Gd (5:1 12:50) And if I tell the truth, why d yu nt believe Me? (8:46). III. The Preparatin f the Disciples by the Sn f Gd (13:1 17:26) These things I have spken t yu, that in Me yu may have peace (16:33). IV. The Trial and Death f the Sn f Gd (18:1 19:37) We have n king but Caesar! (19:15). V. The Resurrectin f the Sn f Gd (19:38 20:31) My Lrd and my Gd (20:28). VI. Epilgue (21:1-25) Feed My sheep (21:17). This mrning I want t use Jhn s purpse statement in 20:30-31 as a framewrk t give a preview f the bk. Here we find that The Gspel f Jhn is an eyewitness accunt f the persn and ministry f Jesus, written selectively and symblically s that yu may believe He is the Christ, the Sn f Gd, and by believing have life in His name. 1. The Gspel f Jhn is an eyewitness accunt f the persn and ministry f Jesus. Jhn (20:30) states, And truly Jesus did many ther signs in the presence f His disciples Jhn was ne f these disciples. He was an eyewitness t the wrds and wrks f Jesus. Hw d we knw? The authr identifies himself in the narrative in 21:24, This is the disciple wh testifies f these things, and wrte these things; and we knw that his testimny is true. Which disciple is it? Back up t verse 20, he refers t himself as the disciple whm Jesus lved, (21:20). One f the things yu will ntice abut the Gspel f Jhn is that there is nly ne persn named Jhn in this bk, and it is nt the authr f the bk but Jhn the Baptist. In reading thrugh the fur Gspels, yu will find that Matthew refers t the Apstle Jhn by name three times; Mark ten times; Luke seven times, and Jhn nt at all. Jhn des refer t the sns f Zebedee in 21:2 but whenever he writes abut himself he prefers t call himself the disciple whm Jesus lved (13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). I think it indicates Jhn s humility and that he never gt ver the wnder and awe f the fact that he was s lved by Christ. Jhn and James, his lder brther (Acts 12:2), were the sns f Zebedee (Matt. 10:2 4), and Jesus gave them the name Sns f Thunder (Mark 3:17). Jhn was an apstle (Luke 6:12 16) and ne f the 3 mst intimate assciates f Jesus (alng with Peter and James cf. Matt. 17:1; 26:37). 3
After Christ s ascensin, Jhn ministered with Peter (Acts 3:1; 4:13; 8:14) and became a pillar in the Jerusalem church (Gal. 2:9). Church traditin says befre the destructin f Jerusalem he went t Ephesus, frm where he wrte this gspel and frm where the Rmans exiled him t Patms (Rev. 1:9). Besides the gspel that bears his name, Jhn als authred 1 3 Jhn and the Bk f Revelatin (Rev. 1:1). In his first letter Jhn writes that he was an eyewitness t and a participant in Jesus earthly ministry (1 Jhn 1:1 4). S as he writes in 21:24, we knw that his testimny is true. 2. The Gspel f Jhn selectively tells f the persn and ministry f Jesus. Lk again at Jhn 20:30, And truly Jesus did many ther signs in the presence f His disciples, which are nt written in this bk. Jhn admits that there is much abut the life and ministry f Jesus that he left ut. When yu cmpare Jhn with the ther three (Synptic) Gspels, yu discver that Jhn des nt include many f the elements cntained in the ther Gspels. Mst schlars think that he wrte his gspel smetime in the 80 s r early 90 s A.D., and s he mst likely knew abut the ther gspels and did nt feel the need t duplicate what they had written. S Jhn is selective. He even writes in the last verse f the bk, And there are als many ther things that Jesus did, which if they were written ne by ne, I suppse that even the wrld itself culd nt cntain the bks that wuld be written. Amen, (21:25). Let just pint ut sme f the things that Jhn leaves ut. When cmpared with the Synptic Gspels, Jhn s Gspel des nt include Jesus genealgy an accunt f ur Lrd s birth any events in ur Lrd s childhd Jesus baptism His temptatin the Sermn n the Munt the accunt f Jhn the Baptist s dubts any casting ut f demns any healing f lepers any parables f ur Lrd an accunt f ur Lrd s transfiguratin the selectin and sending ut f the 12, r f the 70 any eschatlgical (prphetic) address 4
a prnuncement f wes n the religius leaders (e.g. Matthew 23) the Lrd s Supper an accunt f ur Lrd s agny in the Garden f Gethsemane the giving f the Great Cmmissin an accunt f ur Lrd s ascensin Lest we feel shrt-changed by a reading f Jhn s Gspel, I shuld als pint ut that there is much in Jhn which is nt fund in any f the ther Gspels. Allw me t identify sme f the unique cntributins f Jhn s Gspel. In Jhn s Gspel nly we find Jesus as the Creatr (Jhn 1) Jesus as the nly begtten f the Father (Jhn 1) Jesus as the prmised Lamb f Gd (Jhn 1) Jesus revealed as the I Am Jesus turning the water int wine (Jhn 2) Jesus cnversatins with Nicdemus and the Samaritan wman at the well (Jhn 3 & 4) The healing at the pl f Bethesda (Jhn 5) Jesus and the wman caught in adultery (Jhn 8) the healing f the man brn blind (Jhn 9) Jesus the Gd Shepherd (Jhn 10) the raising f Lazarus frm the dead (Jhn 11) Jesus washing the disciples feet (Jhn 13) the Upper Rm Discurse f ur Lrd (Jhn 14-17) Jesus teaching n the cming f the Hly Spirit (Jhn 14-16) Jesus high priestly prayer (Jhn 17) Thmas dubts and cnfessin (Jhn 20) Appearance f Jesus at the Sea f Galilee (Jhn 21) Mre than half f Jhn s gspel cncentrates n the last 24 hurs befre Jesus crucifixin and His ensuing resurrectin. In summatin, ver 90% f the material fund in the Gspel f Jhn is unique t his Gspel. Jhn avids repeating thse things the ther Gspel writers have already written, chsing t devte his attentin t that which we have nt yet been tld. In writing this way Jhn nt nly gives us additinal infrmatin abut Jesus, but he als helps us t better understand what the ther Gspels teach. 5
Jhn carefully chse all these events and much mre t give us this selective insider s prtrait f ur Savir. 3. The Gspel f Jhn symblically prtrays the meaning f Jesus. Again Jhn 20:30 says, And truly Jesus did many ther signs in the presence f His disciples, which are nt written in this bk. The key wrd here is signs. Jhn des nt call Jesus mighty wrks miracles r wnders, Jhn calls them signs. A sign pints t smething beynd itself. Jhn wants us t see that the miracles f Jesus have a deeper meaning. Out f hundreds f miracles that he culd have chsen, Jhn picked seven signs, nt cunting Jesus resurrectin and the miraculus pstresurrectin catch f fish (21:1-14): (1) Changing the water int wine (2:1-11); (2) Healing the nbleman s sn (4:46-54); (3) Healing the lame man by the Pl f Bethesda (5:1-9); (4) Feeding the 5,000 (6:1-14); (5) Walking n the water (6:16-21); (6) Healing the man brn blind (9:1-12); and, (7) Raising Lazarus frm the dead (11:1-46). In at least three f these miracles Jesus tells us their significance. After He feeds the 5,000, Jesus prclaims (6:35), I am the bread f life. He wh cmes t Me shall never hunger, and he wh believes in Me shall never thirst. Befre pening the eyes f the man brn blind, Jesus says (8:12), I am the light f the wrld. He wh fllws Me shall nt walk in darkness, but have the light f life. Befre He raised Lazarus frm the dead, Jesus tld Martha (11:25), I am the resurrectin and the life. He wh believes in Me, thugh he may die, he shall live. Thse are three f seven I am statements that Jesus makes in Jhn. The thers are, I am the dr f the sheep (10:7); I am the gd shepherd (10:11, 14); I am the way, and the truth, and the life (14:6); and, I am the true vine (15:1, 5). All f these use symbls t help us understand wh Jesus is. Althugh Jhn des nt qute the Old Testament as ften as Matthew des, he has frequent allusins t things in the Old Testament. One f the features f these symbls is the manner in which Jesus is assumed t replace Old Testament figures and institutins. He is the new temple, the ne f whm Mses wrte, the true bread frm heaven, the true Sn, the genuine vine, the tabernacle, the serpent in the wilderness, the Passver. 6
Jhn als uses several key wrds that have symblic significance. Jhn will cntrast life and death, light and darkness, flesh and spirit, lve and hate, belief and unbelief, truth and lies, frm abve and frm the earth. Listen t the wrds he repeats ften. He uses believe 98 times; wrld 78 times; lve 47 times; knw 131 times; wrd 45 times; truth true 49 times; judge r judgment 30 times; witness 47 times. Other key wrds will be glry, My Father, abide, and ask. Tw cncepts that have significance due t their repetitin are that Jesus was sent (33 times referring t Jesus missin frm Gd) t this earth by the Father t d His will at the appinted hur (12 times with reference t the crss). S Jhn is bth selective and symblic. 4. The Gspel f Jhn is written s that yu may believe and have life in Jesus name. Lk again at Jhn 20:31, but these are written that yu may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Sn f Gd, and that believing yu may have life in His name. Jhn wants yu t believe. Jhn uses the verb, believe, 98 times, but strangely he never uses the nun. Jhn knws that faith is mre than just knwing the right dctrine, it is receiving Jesus s that yu have a persnal lve relatinship with Him. Jhn 1:12 says, But as many as received Him, t them He gave the right t becme children f Gd, t thse wh believe in His name. T believe in Jesus is t trust Him as yur Savir and Lrd and walk in bedience t His cmmands. We will see as we g thrugh Jhn that it s pssible t have a superficial belief in Jesus that des nt result in eternal life (2:23-25; 8:31-59). Fr Jhn believing in Jesus is nt just smething we d nce and are dne with believing must be we must grw in ur believing. bth initial and cntinuing and grwing. In chapter 1 the disciples believed in Jesus when they first met Him, based n the testimny f Jhn the Baptist (1:7, 49-50). But they als believed when they saw Jesus perfrm His first miracle, turning the water int wine (2:11). Jhn reprts that when he went int the empty tmb and saw Jesus grave clthes, he believed (20:8). Thmas had believed in Jesus befre the resurrectin, but the risen Christ said t him D nt be unbelieving, but believing (20:27). Cnclusin Bb Deffinbaugh tells the stry f the first time he taught thrugh the Gspel f Jhn. An unsaved cuple began t attend the Bible study he held in his hme. Smewhere arund the third chapter f Jhn, the wife suddenly blurted ut, Well, if I didn t knw any better, I d think that Jesus was claiming t be Gd. A few weeks later, this 7
pastr was walking dwn the street with the husband. The man tld the pastr that smething had happened in his life smewhere in the last few weeks. He was basically saying that he had cme t believe in Jesus as his persnal Savir and Lrd. The pastr asked him when this change tk place. He said, Well, it was smewhere between Jhn chapter 3 and Jhn chapter 6. I invite yu t believe in Jesus as we study f the Gspel f Jhn. Make the message f this bk yur wn. It is my hpe that as we g thrugh this bk yu will nt nly increase in believing in Jesus Christ, but that yu will increase in lve fr Him. I believe that the greater yu knw and lve Jesus Christ the mre yu will live fr Him. Believe and have life in His name. 8