1 Introduction to the Gospel of John 7 March 2010

2 Author of the Gospel of John  Not named in the book  Church tradition says that the author was the Apostle John.  The Apostle John is also not mentioned by name in the book – probably due to humility and the desire to exalt Christ. “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).  When the Apostle John is referenced, he is simply called "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7; 21:20).

3 Date and Setting  According to tradition, John wrote it from Ephesus, probably around AD  Although John is said to have gone to Ephesus before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, it’s hard to say if his Gospel account was written before or afterwards.  The book was probably written prior to John’s three letters, which seemed to assume the readers were already familiar with John’s Gospel account and were confronted with newer issues, like gnosticism.

4 Synoptic Gospels  The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are called synoptic gospels and focus on Jesus’ Galilean ministry  The term synoptic comes from the Greek 'syn,' meaning "together," and 'optic,' meaning "seen".

5 The Gospel of John  Distinctives (compared to the Synoptics)  Spiritual supplement to the Synoptics  Simplest, yet most profound  Highly theological prologue  12 chapters focusing on Jesus’ Judean ministry  Upper Room Discourse (13-17) – very detailed account  Detailed account of the post-Resurrection appearances of the Lord

6 4 Gospel Accounts MatthewMarkLukeJohn Portrait of JesusKingServantTeacherSon of God Original readersJewsRomans?GreeksChurch Key phraseKingdom of heaven ImmediatelySon of manBelieve Prominent sectionsSermonsMiraclesParablesTeachings GenealogyTraced back to Abraham NoneTraced to Adam None

7 Gospel of John  Clearest purpose statement of all 4 Gospels: “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 20:21 NKJV  Perhaps the best single book of the Bible to recommend to an unbeliever  However, this Gospel is not only evangelistic but written to build the faith of believers too

8 Gospel of John Outline 1:11:1912:120:1 Written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God......and that believing you may have life in His name Pro- logue Period of 3 yearsPassion WeekEpilogue Focus upon the ministry and miracles of Jesus Focus upon Jesus teaching His disciples and the events of the death, burial & resurrection Public MinistryPrivate Ministry

9 7 Signs of Deity 1.2:1-11 Changed water to wine 2.4:46-54 Healed nobelman’s son 3.5:1-18 Healed a lame man at pool 4.6:1-14 Fed of 5, :16-21 Walked on water 6.9:1-41 Healed a blind man 7.11:1-44 Raised Lazarus from the dead Ultimate 8 th sign: Resurrection (passive)

10 7 “I am” Statements 1.“The bread of life” 6:35,48 2.“The light of the world” 8:12;9:5 3.“The door of the sheep” 10:7,9 4.“The good shepherd” 10:11,14 5.“The resurrection and the life” 11:25 6.“The way, the truth and the life” 14:6 7.“The true vine” 15:1-5

11 5 Witnesses of Jesus’ Deity 1.The Holy Spirit 5:32 2.John the Baptist 5:33,34 3.The works Jesus did 5:35 4.The Father Himself 5:37 5.The Old Testament Scriptures 5:39

12 Disciples’ Progressive Faith  "We have found the Messiah" (1:41).  "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote" (1:43).  His disciples believed in Him (2:11).  Jesus said therefore to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." (6:67-69).

13 Disciples’ Progressive Faith  "Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God" (16:33).  So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb entered then also, and he saw and believed (John 20:8).  Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing." Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" (20:27,28).

14 Possible Applications 1.Read the Gospel of John, meditating on who Jesus is and what He did, and then worship Him in response 2.As you read the Gospel of John, pray to God, asking for greater faith and for more of a desire to obey His commands 3.Memorize verses that speak most to your heart

15 Possible Applications 4.Encourage friends, relatives, employers to read the Gospel of John 5.Buy or print the Gospel of John to give to strangers 6.Invite a friend to meet regularly to read and discuss the Gospel of John during free hours

Bibliography Special thanks goes to the following:  Bruce Wilkinson & Kenneth Boa for their information in Talk Thru the Bible  Walt Henrichsen for his wisdom and insight shared during Bible studies he has led and in books, articles and s he has written  John Stevenson for insights on his web site,