The Gospel of Belief John 1-21

The Major Messages of Jesus… The Sermon on the Mount –preparation for kingdom living (…if accepted) The Olivet Discourse –anticipated judgment for rejection and preparation for the King and Kingdom The Upper Room Discourse –preparation for the Lord’s departure, absence and future return

The Major Emphases of the Gospels… The first two discourses are recorded in the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew presents Christ as King –His rule Mark presents Christ as Servant –His service Luke presents Christ as Man –His humanity John presents Christ as Divine –His deity -John’s Gospel is unique in many ways…

Summary of Gospel Introductions: Gospel: Matt Mark Luke John Date: 40s 60s 50s 90s Origin: Israel Rome Caesarea Ephes Audience: Jews Romans Greeks Gentile Emphasis: King Servant Man God

I. The Structure and Content of John’s Gospel A. John’s authorial validation The writer is understood to be the apostle John The place of writing is understood to be the city of Ephesus The date of writing has been a controversial matter

B. John’s structural format John is structured around seven signs of Christ’s divine power He selected seven signs or miracles that demonstrate the Jesus is the divine Messiah He recorded the discourses that followed He recorded Jesus’ seven unique “I am” statements: bread of life, light of the world, door, good shepherd, resurrection, way, vine

The seven signs communicate some truth about God... Ch 2 The miracle of changing water into wine Ch 4 The healing of the official’s son Ch 5 The healing of the paralytic Ch 6 The feeding of the five thousand Ch 6 The miracle of walking on water Ch 9 The healing of the man born blind Ch 11 The raising of Lazarus from the dead

The basic outline of the book: Prologue (1:1-18) -The Word became flesh Jesus public ministry (1:19-12:50) -authority Jesus private ministry (13-17) -preparation Jesus passion ministry (18-20) -sacrifice Epilogue (21) motivational –Feed my sheep!

C. John’s unique content John’s unique purpose accounted for his selection of material… About 93% of the material in John’s Gospel does not appear in the Synoptics... In one sense, the Gospel of John is more profound than the synoptics...

II. The Emphasis & Purpose of John’s Gospel A. There is a strong emphasis on the deity of Christ The emphasis on deity starts in the first verses -He is identified as creator and God (1:1-3) -His incarnation identifies Him with the Father & glory (1:14) -Recognized as Son of God & King (1:49)

Emphasis on Deity (cont.) -Identified as the necessary object of faith (3:18) -Indicated that He predated Abraham (8:58) -Identified Himself with the Father (10:29-30) -Recognized as Son of God & Messiah (11:27) -Identified as the only way to the Father (14:6) -Enemies noted identification as S of G (19:7) -Recognized as Lord and God (20:28)

John was providing a basis for belief -The purpose for unbelievers was to receive eternal life (20:31) -The purpose for believers was to receive abundant eternal life (10:10) This book may have been a polemic against Docetism -To combat an early false teaching -To provide a balanced Christology

B. There was a clear purpose of believing in Christ “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:30–31, NKJV) This explains why he stressed Jesus’ deity The key word in the book is “believe” [98x]

III. The Setting for the Upper Room Discourse A. The Upper Room Discourse was during the Passion Week The relation to Passion Week -TE Sun./OD Tues./ URD Thur./ Xion Fri. The relation to the Olivet Discourse -tribulation The relation to the Lord’s Supper -transition

B. The Upper Room Discourse was focused on the disciples This was to be an equipping session for them -Not about judgment, Jews or distant future -It was about what was going to begin soon It was to be a farewell presentation for them -Jesus’ death predictions were coming to reality -Jesus knew His plan but His disciples seemed oblivious

How much did the disciples understand? They had their own ideas of how things should go This is why they needed more specific instruction They did not know a new institution was being formed We must understand the differences of these texts The one lesson we must learn from John is to trust

John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”” (NKJV)