1. The Gospel of Belief
John 1-21

2. 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

3. 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…

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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!

9. 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...

10. 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)

11. 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)

12. 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

13. 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]

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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)