Bible 101 notes for Jan. 29, 2007—Introduction to the Gospel of John

Review: Isaiah, the first of the major prophets, pointed most directly and in the most detail of all the prophets to the coming of the Messiah, his work and his role as Redeemer. As we begin tonight to read the Gospel of John, we’ll see Isaiah’s words quoted and referred to more than once—the first instance in the first chapter.

Gospels: Of the four Gospel writers, John stands out both for his style and content; he’s unique. The first three, Matthew, Mark and Luke, all of which we’ve studied, are similar in approach. Each begins with Jesus’ birth and/or early years of ministry and proceeds chronologically to his death and resurrection. And each of these synoptic gospels (synoptic: seen with the same eye) includes preaching (e.g., Sermon on the Mount Matt. 5-7); teaching (e.g. what the parable of the sower means Mark 4:10-20); healing (e.g. Peter’s mother-in-law Lk. 4:38-39); miracles (e.g. walking on the water Mt. 14:24-33); confronations with religious leaders (e.g. fasting and Sabbath traditions Mark 2) and the Passion of Jesus from his entry into Jerusalem to his resurrection and ascension. John assumes his readers have a basic knowledge of the events of Jesus’ life, so while his gospel contains healings and miracles, he omits many of those in the other three and includes some found no where else. For example, consider that in John 2, Jesus’ first “sign” is changing water into wine at the wedding of Cana, and in John 11, we read of Lazarus being raised from the dead; neither of these “signs” is found in the other gospels. In addition, John shows Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday in ch. 12, and devotes the rest of the gospel (10 chapters) to his final week. One other difference is that Matthew, Mark and Luke repeatedly mention Jesus in crowds: he preached to them, he was surrounded by them, they made his movements nearly impossible at times. John emphasizes Jesus’ ministry with small groups, even one or two at a time. The Gospel contains at least two very long one-on-one conversations (John 3 and 4) in which we learn a great deal about Jesus and his concern for individuals. From these examples, we can see that John’s Gospel presents aspects of Jesus that we haven’t necessarily encountered in the other three accounts of his life.

Writing of gospels: the synoptic Gospels were written by the mid to late first century, within 30 or 40 years of Jesus’ death. Orally, the stories of Jesus’ life and ministry began to circulate even before his death. People who witnessed healings, heard his sermons, listened to his debates with the Pharisees talked about him; these stories were the stuff of “over the well” and marketplace conversations. But one by one, the eye witnesses got older and began to die. Jesus began his ministry at age 30; he died in about 32 or 33 A.D. If his disciples were his contemporaries in age, 30 to 40 years after his death, they were in their 60s and 70s. By then, they had an urgency to write down their memories before they were lost. Matthew and Mark did so; we know that Matthew, one of the 12 disciples, recorded his first-hand observations and experiences with Jesus. Mark’s mother Mary was a disciple and he, though not one of the 12, and probably much younger than the 12, is thought to have recorded his own eye-witness account as well as those of the Apostle Peter. Luke tells us he researched the events of Jesus’ life thoroughly; he wrote them down for one man, Theophilus, to whom he also directed the second volume of the work of Jesus, the book of Acts. Luke interviewed the disciples, Jesus’ mother, converts, hundreds of people, and spent 18 years with Paul traveling to spread the gospel; Paul and those converts they encountered added to Luke’s knowledge of Jesus. John, the writer of the fourth gospel, outlived all of his contemporaries. He was the only one of the original disciples to die of old age. The“beloved” disciple, he is the brother of James, one of the sons of Zebedee, also called “Sons of Thunder.” He with the other 11 spent three years with Jesus. And he outlives them all; the others were martyrs, crucified or beheaded for their faith. John had been an elder and leader in the early church, especially in Ephesus. He was outspoken and thus a target of the Roman government. Legend has it that he was tried by Emperor Domitian and told to renounce his faith, refused to do so, was put in boiling oil and survived. John was then exiled to the Isle of Patmos. As a lonely warrior for the faith, he began to reflect on all that he’d heard from Jesus, all that he’d seen in Jesus, what it meant not only to him but to those who were in the early church and to us, future believers. And before he died, wrote the gospel of John, three epistles, and the glorious vision of end times, the Revelation of Jesus. He’s thought to have died in the late 90s A.D.

John’s purpose: John had 60 years to ponder what Jesus said, did and taught. He had time to live out the gospel and to grow spiritually. Thus as an elderly apostle and friend of Jesus, he wrote his conclusions. In the gospel, instead of beginning with Jesus’ birth and/or genealogy, he begins at the beginning—with creation. And instead of many healings, he selects a few as “signs.” Significantly, there are no parables in John, but the longest prayer in the Bible is Jesus’ prayer in John 17. His purpose then is to encourage spiritual development, to answer the question, “What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?”

John 20:30-31: Here, near the end of the gospel, we read John’s own statement of purpose: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book. But these [signs] 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.” Matthew wrote his Gospel to a Jewish audience to convince them that Jesus was the promised Messiah; Mark wrote to the church in Rome, a church under persecution; Luke wrote for one man, Theophilus, “so that you may know the certainty of what you have been taught.” Each gospeler has a different focus, but all want readers to know who Jesus is; John wants us to know him deeply and personally.

John 1: The first 18 verses of the gospel are known as the prologue and are written in a beautifully poetic style. Listen to them and keep in mind that John has had 60 years to consider who Jesus is and what it means to follow him. His introduction establishes at least six things about Jesus: He is God; he is Creator; he is Eternal; he is life; he is light; and even though he was and is all those things, he was rejected by many. It’s no accident that John begins “In the beginning. . . “ echoing Gen. 1:1. He ties this gospel directly to the Torah, to God’s eternal being, to creation, and to the timelessness of the Godhead. Rearranging the first 18 verses helps to us to understand the main ideas John is communicating. I’ve used the Amplified version, and “sorted” the verses (the Amplified version adds definitions and synonymns in brackets and parentheses):

1 IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.

2 He was present originally with God.

3 All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.

4 In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.

5 And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it]. 9 There it was—the true Light [was then] coming into the world [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] that illumines every person.

10 He came into the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him [did not know Him].

11 He came to that which belonged to Him [to His own--His domain, creation, things, world], and they who were His own did not receive Him and did not welcome Him.

12 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—13 Who owe their birth neither to blood nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!]

14 And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth. 16 For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift. 17 For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18 No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known].

6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came to witness, that he might testify of the Light, that all men might believe in it [adhere to it, trust it, and rely upon it] through him. 8 He was not the Light himself, but came that he might bear witness regarding the Light.

15 John testified about Him and cried out, This was He of Whom I said, He Who comes after me has priority over me, for He was before me. [He takes rank above me, for He existed before I did. He has advanced before me, because He is my Chief.]

What the prologue says: In these 18 verses, we first read about Jesus as creator and thus as God, eternal, from before the beginning until forever more. He is the Word made flesh, the son of God, the one who shows us the Father, whom no one has ever seen except the Son. What does Jesus bring? Life, love, faithfulness, grace and truth. Moses gave the law; grace and truth are a new means of realizing who God is. Even so, in this new revelation of God, not everyone recognized him. Not everyone believed Jesus was the Son of God. But those who did believe in Jesus were made children of God through a spiritual rebirth. (This “rebirth” is explained in more detail in chapter 3.)

John the Baptist was Jesus’ forerunner. He testified about Jesus, telling the crowds who he was. John is a witness to the light. He is the human being who tells the people of Judah who Jesus is; John tells us that he was “not the light” himself. Instead, he points others to Christ; he understands his role is to prepare the way and then “get out of the way.” This distinction is one John the Baptist makes later in the chapter.

Purpose of prologue: As with any literary prologue, a preview of the work is presented to us. The major themes John will develop are here: (1) Jesus is God; he’s an eternal being; he created all that we see, touch, smell, hear, taste—and yet as human beings, we cannot recognize him as God unless the Holy Spirit enables us. John’s use of the title “The Word” links Jesus to the creation in a specific way: God spoke and the heavens were divided from the waters; God spoke and the stars, moon and sun appeared. Now we have another Word, this time made flesh. God didn’t speak mankind into existence; he formed Adam out of the dust and breathed into him the breath of life. What life will this Word bring? Eternal life. (2) Those who accept Christ, the Word, become children of God; those who reject him do not. Not everyone accepted Jesus in his own time; not everyone accepts him now. (3) Jesus is God in the flesh “he has revealed God to us.” We have seen God’s glory in Jesus; in OT times, God’s glory filled the Tabernacle and Temple with a cloud that was so intense, the priests couldn’t stand up. Now Jesus, a human being who is also God, wears God’s glory; John was one of the three disciples to see this on the Mt. of Transfiguration (and ironically, while Matthew, Mark and Luke inclue the Transfiguration in their gospels, John does not). (4) Jesus brings God to us in a new way (Moses gave the law; Jesus brings love and faithfulness, grace, truth and glory). (5) Those who “see” Jesus and recognize him are reborn spiritually. These themes will be developed in detail through the scenes of Jesus’ life, the conversations, the prayer, the teaching that John reports to us.

John 1:19: Following the prologue, John the Baptist is given more detail and a voice. John, as we know from the other gospels and from this gospel, too, was baptizing in the Jordan (near Bethany, v. 28), a baptism of repentance. No ritual was identified as baptism in the OT. There was, however a mikvah, or ritual bath, that was necessary for cleanliness associated with communal worship. In what is called “the holiness code” of Leviticus, a variety of human diseases and or conditions were described which prevented one from worship. For example, a woman’s monthly period made her “unclean” and following its completion, she was to be cleansed and to present an offering to the priests. Lepers who were healed went through a ritual cleansing; anyone who touched a dead body had to be cleansed. It is thought that Bathsheba was engaged in a ritual bath when David spotted her on the roof of her house. The ritual bath, through tradition, had evolved and mikvahs were built near synagogues. They still are in orthodox Jewish communities. But John was baptizing in the Jordan, preaching a judgment on sin and issuing a call for repentance; as such, he was the last of the OT prophets. Crowds came to hear him, and he was gaining disciples. In v. 19, we read that priests and Levites came to John to ask him who he was. He quotes Isaiah 40: “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. . .” He identifies himself as the Messiah’s herald.

John 1:26: John goes further: “I baptize with water,” implying that another baptism was coming. We know it is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. John tells the Jerusalem delegation that a great one is in the crowd, one greater than he, but they haven’t recognized him. Remember v. 10? “He was in the world and the world had its being through him, and the world knew him not.” Soon, John saw Jesus and proclaimed that he was “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29). In so saying, John linked Jesus directly with the great sacrifices in Leviticus. And further, John said “I knew him not but that he might be manifested to Israel, therefore have I come baptising with water,” and then later, he says that the Holy Spirit showed him who Jesus was when John baptized him. John was Jesus’ cousin, but notice that he, too, needed the Holy Spirit’s confirmation to identify Jesus as the Son of God, the Lamb of God, the one foretold.

John 1:35: Note the time markers: “the next day,” we’re told, John was baptizing and two of his disciples were with him; John introduced them to Jesus as the Lamb of God and John’s disciples followed Jesus. Jesus asks them what they want, and they reply “where are you staying?” What a curious thing. But I think they’re asking him where he teaches; they want to learn more about this Lamb of God. We learn that Andrew is one of the two disciples; it’s relatively easy to guess that John (the writer) was the other. Andrew finds his brother Simon (soon to be called Peter) and tells him “We have found the Messiah.” Simon meets Jesus; Jesus tells him “You will be called Cephas or Peter.” Philip and Nathanael join the group (notice how each of the first disciples brings another?) The next day, Jesus heads for Galilee. He, then, had been in Judea, since that’s where John the Baptist had been baptizing. In other Gospels, we read that after his baptism, Jesus goes into the wilderness for 40 days. He does that, but John doesn’t report it. Instead, he begins with Jesus gaining followers, and his conversations with them. And we know from the start that the Lamb of God, the Word made flesh, is the Messiah. What this will mean to his followers, to the Levites and priests, other religious leaders and the public is yet to be discovered.

Next time: we’ll get into Jesus’ ministry in depth, beginning with chapter 2.

Homework for those who want to go deeper:

1. What does it mean that Jesus is the “Lamb of God”? Of what significance is this in relation to the sin offerings of Leviticus 4? The Day of Atonement in Lev. 16? Review Isaiah 53, too, in connection with the Lamb of God title.

2. Put yourself in the crowd hearing John the Baptist. What would you want explained from his message?

3. Notice what Jesus says to each of his first followers. What might he say to you?

For a terrific message on John 1, given at Christmas by Bishop of Durham N. T. Wright, follow this link: http://www.ntwrightpage.com/sermons/Christmas06.htm