Lesson #01

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
Lesson #01
INTRODUCTION

• There are four gospels that begin the New Testament. Three of those gospels are synoptic gospels that give detailed accounts of the events of the first coming of Jesus Christ to this planet. The fourth gospel is the gospel of John which is completely different from the other three, in that it is not a synoptic gospel.
• What is a synopsis?
• The word synopsis means a brief statement that gives a general view of events; having a common overall view.
• If the gospel of John is not a brief statement that gives a general view of the life of Jesus Christ, then what is it?
• The focus of the gospel of John is on the words of Jesus and not so much on the events. Therefore, the gospel of John is a thematic gospel in that there is a definite theme which we will discover later in this lesson.
• What is a gospel?

• The term “gospel means = good news. But not just any “good news”.

• On a deeper, more accurate level, the word, gospel, more specifically refers to God’s words spelled out for us. (Rom 10:16-17 2Cor 4:2-3 2Tim 2:8-9)

• WHO

• Who wrote the book of John?
• This gospel was written by John, the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ. He was the disciple closest to Jesus. Therefore, he is the most qualified to tell us what Jesus said.
• What do we know about John?
• He was a fisherman with his brother, James, whom Jesus called “the sons of thunder” because of their explosive personalities. Their father was Zebedee and their mother was Salome, who may have been a sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus. John was the youngest of Jesus’ disciples, about 25 years old. John was either from Capernaum or Bethsaida in Galilee, but moved to Jerusalem later in life. His family was in the fishing business. They were upper middle class people with servants. They also had political connections with the Jewish high priest. That’s why we see John in the close vicinity of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. Still later in his life, he pastored the church in Ephesus. He is the only disciple who lived a long life and died a natural death.
• John began as a “son of thunder” but after walking with the Lord he became the apostle of Love.
• WHEN

• When was this gospel written?
• The gospel of John was written late in John’s life. He was a very busy pastor and did not have time for writing. However, he outlived the other well-known apostles like Peter and Paul. When the early church began to see the pillars of the faith die off, John was encouraged to write the books of Revelation, first, second and third John, and the gospel of John…all written late in his life.
• The date for the book is somewhere between 85-90 AD before John’s exile to the Island of Patmos.
• WHAT

• What was happening at the time John wrote the book?
• The Jewish temple in Jerusalem had already been destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD before John wrote this gospel.
• According to the book of Acts, the Christianity of the early church was growing and expanding to further areas within the Roman Empire. While there were many successes, there was also much opposition primarily from the Jews, then much later from the Roman government.
• However, the greatest threats to the early church came from within. False teachings began to spread through the churches. These were attacks from within which threatened the basic doctrine of Christianity as established by the first apostles. The two greatest threats to the early church doctrine were from the Judaizers (see Acts 15) and the false teaching of the Gnostics. Primarily Paul dealt with the Judaizers in the book of Galatians.
• What was this false teaching of the Gnostics that threatened the basic doctrines?
• Gnosticism was an extremely dangerous belief. It was a combination of eastern mysticism and Greek philosophy. It mixed in just enough Christianity to make it a deceptive counterfeit Christianity. This dangerous philosophy was prominent in the Roman Empire. It was invading the church and becoming a part of Christianity. The idea was not to destroy Christianity but to change it enough to make Christianity better.
• To understand the new testament, we must understand gnosticism. Why?
• There are a number of New Testament writers that were very concerned about this false doctrine and wrote specifically to correct it. Unless we know the problem, we cannot understand the answer.
• What is the false teaching of Gnosticism?
• The word “gnostic” or “gnosticism” does not appear in the Bible even though much was written against it and it was a great concern. Why is it not named in the Bible? It’s possible that it did not have one distinct name at the time John wrote his books..
• The following New Testament scriptures specifically relate to Gnosticism:
• 1Corinthians
• 1:17; 2:6; 6:13; 7:1-40; 8:1; 13:8; 15:12
• Colossians
• 1:19; 2:8-23
• 1Timothy
• 1:4; 4:3; 6:20
• 2Timothy
• 2:18; 3:5-7
• Titus
• 1:14
• 1John and 2John
• Much of these two books.
• Revelation
• 2:24
• Gnostic belief:
• =1=

The word “gnosticism” comes from a Geek word “gnosis” which means = knowledge.

• =2=

Secret knowledge was the one condition for salvation and the test of fellowship with God. The more knowledge you had, the closer you were to God. Therefore, the purpose of knowledge was to pursue it to its end which brought you salvation, purification, and immortality.

• =3=

Faith was inferior to knowledge because enlightenment was the way to salvation.

• =4=

Everything that was material or matter was evil. The only thing good was spirit imprisoned inside the human body. The human body was made of evil matter. The spirit was a tiny good seed living in dirty soil. If that tiny seed would grow, it would eventually get rid of the evil of the human body. There were two methods of causing this good seed to grow which resulted in 2 major sects of gnosticism:.

• =a=

Stoicism = keeping rigid rules and self discipline.

• =b=

Epicureanism = the pursuit of pleasure, like the Greek Olympic gods, was the purpose of life. Because the body and the spirit were separate, it did not matter what you did with your body because it would not affect your good spirit.

• =5=

Creation was an accident or a mistake because it caused the good spirit to be imprisoned in an evil body. Therefore, the Old Testament, especially Genesis, is downgraded or ignored.

• =6= T

his belief denied that Jesus was the Messiah. It denied that Jesus was God come in the flesh. God could not unite himself with anything evil like a human body. Some thought Jesus was not really human but only “appeared” to be human. He became the spirit of Christ at his baptism and that spirit left him just before he went to the cross.

• =7=

There was a special reverence to angels as enlightened mediaries.

• =8=

Incorporated within Gnosticism was mythology, astral powers, and astrology mixed with a little corrupted Judaism and, in early New Testament times, a little Christianity was added.

• =9=

Gnosticism operated under the basic idea that if you took the best knowledge from different cultures you would achieve the highest level of knowledge. Therefore, it attempts to accommodate all religions and philosophies. This is an ecumenical view.

• Despite the marvelous teaching by the Apostles in the New Testament, Gnosticism is alive and well even today as evidenced by the popularity of the book and movie, The Da Vinci Code, which is based on the Gnostic beliefs begun in the time of the early church.
• What prompted John to write this book?
• The other gospel writers wrote about events but no one had written with an emphasis on Jesus’ words.
• The growing spread of Gnosticism was instrumental in John’s decision to write this book. He wanted to prove that Jesus was God and not just the spirit of God for a short 3 year period. To prove that Jesus was equally God and equally man, was contrary to Gnosticism.
• What was John’s purpose for writing the book?
• Read Joh 20:30-31
• Since John’s purpose was that all would believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life, all need to know Christ’s true identity.
• What is the theme of the book?
• Jesus Christ, the Son of God
• The theme of this gospel is a powerful argument for the incarnation of Jesus Christ, that the powerful creator became flesh to limit himself to time and space simply to live among us.
• In dealing with the incarnation of Christ, he deals with the fact that Jesus is the only way to salvation and eternal life.
• WHERE

• Where was John when he wrote the book?
• John was probably in Ephesus in what is now Turkey. He spent some time there as a pastor.
• Where does this book fit into the scheme of the whole Bible?
• There are four gospels:
• Matthew presents Jesus Christ as the King of Kings, and it was written to the Jews.
• Mark presents Jesus Christ as the burden bearer of man’s burdens, a servant unto death. It was written to the Romans.
• Luke presents Jesus as the perfect and sinless man…the son of man. It was written to the Greeks.
• John presents Jesus in His deity as the perfect Son of God. It was written to all people.

• WHY

• Why is there a need for four gospels?
• People are different all over the world, with different cultures. However, all men fall into four basic categories to which the four gospels address.
• Matthew is directed to the religious person. This is the person who thinks he knows God.
• Mark is directed to strong people. This is the self-sufficient person.
• Luke is directed to the intellectual person. This is the person who thinks he knows it all.
• John is directed to the needy person, and that’s all of us in some aspect or another.
• WHOM

• To whom was this gospel written?
• Because this gospel was written to all men everywhere who have needs, it is the most universal of the gospels.
• However, the cults have done great damage to the understanding of the truths in this book, especially cults based on Gnostic beliefs. They re-interpret the meaning of words and passages to fit their doctrine. They “spiritualize” certain aspects which depreciate Jesus’ humanity as well as His divinity.
• While the book was written to counter Gnosticism, Christian Gnostics (a term they use for themselves which in reality is an oxymoron), must re-interpret the book in order to explain why it is in their Bible.
• KEY WORDS

• There are a number of key words or phrases associated with John’s theme of the deity of Christ in human flesh. Because John’s purpose is that all believe in this Christ, these words relate to that hope:
• Eternal life
• This phrase occurs 6 times in the book. (3:15; 5:39; 6:54; 6:68; 10:28; 17:2)
• Believe
• This phrase occurs 46 times in this book. (too many to list)
• The Holy Spirit
• This gospel presents and explains the work of the Holy Spirit in response to belief in Jesus Christ. (1:32-34; 3:5; 6:63; 7:39; 14; 15; 16)
• STYLE AND CONTENT

• This gospel of John was written in excellent classical Greek.
• Many believe that John is the easiest gospel to understand because the wording is so simple and straightforward. However, the concepts in this gospel make it the the most profound.
• Many use this gospel to try to reach non-believers. However, this gospel is more for believers than for non-believers. He writes to help believers grow in maturity.
• The gospel of Mark is the shortest gospel and moves quickly. It is a better choice for non-believers.
• The uniqueness of the content:
• There are no parables in the gospel of John.
• John tells us more about the resurrected Christ than all the other gospels put together.
• The organizational sequence of truths given in the gospel of John miraculously follow the path by which an Old Testament high priest would come into the Tabernacle.
• The order of truth in the books written by John
• Christ our substitute in John 1:29
• Christ our cleanser in John 3:5
• Christ our bread in John 6:35
• Christ our light and guide in John 8:12
• Christ our intercessor in John 14:13-14
• Christ our propitiation (mercy seat) in 1John 2:2
• The book of John divides according to the 3 major areas of the tabernacle:
• Chapter 1-12 = outer court
• Chapter 13-16 = the holy place (with disciples)
• Chapter 17-21 = holiest place (Jesus, the high priest, alone)
• John chose eight signs or miracles that increase in their awesome aspect as proof of who Jesus is.
• =1= Jesus turns water to wine (2:1-11)
• =2= Jesus heals an official’s son (4:46-54)
• =3= Jesus heals the invalid at the pool of Bethseda (5:1-15)
• =4= Jesus feeds the five thousand (6:5-14)
• =5= Jesus walks on water (6:16-21)
• =6= Jesus heals the man blind from birth (9:1-41)
• =7= Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (11:1-44)
• =8= Jesus himself is resurrected from the dead (20:1-29)
• John chose 7 statements of deity from Jesus’ own words that we call, “the 7 I AM’s”.
• =1= I am the bread (6:35)
• =2= I am the light (8:12 and 9:5)
• =3= I am the door (10:7)
• =4= I am the good shepherd (10:11, 14)
• =5= I am the resurrection and the life (11:25)
• =6= I am the way, the truth, and the life (14:6)
• =7= I am the true vine (15:1)

• OUTLINE

• Birth and preparation for the Son of God (1:1-51)
• The Word is God (1:1-3)
• The Word became flesh (1:14)
• The Word revealed God (1:18)
• The introduction of witnesses to the Word (1:19-51)
• The witness of the message and ministry of the Son of God (2:1-12:50)
• Belief and unbelief among the people
• Conflict with religious leaders
• Crucial events in Jerusalem
• The witness to the disciples of the Son of God (13:1-17:26)
• He teaches His disciples
• The witness to the world of the Son of God (18-21)
• Crucifixion
• Resurrection
• Appearances
• SOURCES

• Through the Bible Commentary

; by J. Vernon McGee

• John; Personal New Testament Commentary

; by C. S. Lovett

• Life Application Bible Commentary: John

, published by Tyndale

• The Layman’s Bible Study Notebook

: by Irving Jensen

• When Critics Ask

; by Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe

HOMEWORK
The Incarnation of the Word — John 1:1-14
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework lessons to the teacher for correction.

• Preparation for Joh 1
• Read Joh 1:1-14
• What does this passage tell you about:
• The Word
• Creation

Light

• Life
• How does this passage prove that Jesus is God and not just a god?

• Memory verse: Joh 1:14