Gospels Week 4 - John

Review:

Gospel Means – “Good News”

This begs the Question – Good News about what?

Remember – In the Old Testament the Jewish people are looking for a Messiah. Jesus is the answer to the hopes and longings of the Jewish people.

The Gospels Primarily answer the question, “Who is Jesus?”

There are Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The First 3 are very similar. They are referred to as “The synoptic gospels.”

"Synoptists," meaning "syn" = "together" and "opsis" = "a view" - therefore, Matthew, Mark and Luke are the Synoptists (giving a like view) while John relates the Divine aspects of Jesus' life.

The gospels are biographies about Jesus. Each of the four writers is trying to prove a point about who Jesus is.

ILLUSTRATION: If people were to write biographies about my life, one might write about my relationship with my wife. Another might write about my relationship with my parents. Another might focus more on what I do for a living. The writers would arrange their material in such a way that suits their purpose.

The writers all arranged their content in such a way that their points regarding Jesus would be apparent to their original audience.

Matthew portrays Jesus as King; Mark portrays Jesus as Servant, and Luke portrays Jesus as Son of man.

The Gospel of John - Jesus is God

John brings to a climax the full purpose of God in Christ.

In the other three Gospels we learned what Jesus said - what He did and what He felt. His supernatural birth - His baptism - His temptation - His transfiguration – His crucifixion - His resurrection - His ascension

John now gives us the completion of who He was.

The first three Gospel writers are a presentation of Jesus - John is the interpretation of Him.

The first three show Jesus outwardly and John shows Jesus inwardly

Key verses: John 1:12 and John 20:31

John 1:12 NLT

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

John 20:31 NLT

31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

Who Wrote John? Church Tradition tell us this was written by Jesus’ disciple, John. John is also the author of 1 - 3 John and the book of Revelation.

How to Read the Bible Book by Book Orienting Data for John

the beloved disciple who “wrote [these things] down” (21:24; cf. 13:23; 19:25–27; 20:2; 21:7) most likely refers to John the apostle, son of Zebedee (otherwise not named in this Gospel); the “we” of 21:24 suggests another person is responsible for the Gospel in its final form

John is the most unusual of the four gospels. It is different in structure and style.

John is the latest Gospel to be written. Written around AD 85-95

Who was John written to?

Traditionally thought to have been written to the same group that 1 John was written to. A group of Christians around Ephesus (Modern day Turkey) who are in danger of giving in to false teaching.

What did John Emphasize?

The book is primarily a theological defense demonstrating that Jesus was both divine and human.

John Teaches the Humanity of Christ.

Weary - John 4:1

Thirsty - John 4:7

Impatient - John 6:26

Sorrowful - John 11:35

Loving - John 13:1

John Teaches the deity of Christ, the Son of God - NO OTHER GOSPEL SO CLEARLY CLAIMS THAT JESUS IS DEITY

John 8:58 - Before Abraham, I am

John 10:30 - I and the Father are one

John 14:9 - He that has seen me has seen the father

John 1:1 - Logos

John 1:29 - The Lamb of God

John 2:25 - He knew what was in man

There are seven “I am” Statements in John that reveal the deity of Jesus and the nature of God

I Am the Bread of Life - John 6:35

I Am the Light of the World - John 8:12

Before Abraham was, I Am -John 8:58

I Am the Good Shepherd - John 10:11

I Am the Resurrection and Life - John 11:25

I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life - John 14:6

I Am the True Vine - John 15:1

Three key words in John - Signs, Believe, and Life

The book is structure around a selected number of miracles. Seven signs are given for the benefit of the people.

Water into Wine (John 2:1-11)

Healing of Nobleman’s Son (John 4:46-54)

Healing of impotent man (John 5:1-9)

Feeding of Five Thousand (John 6:1-14)

Walking on Water (John 6:16-21)

Healing the Blind Man (John 9:1-12)

Raising Lazarus (John 11:1-46)

An 8th miracle is done after his resurrection (Providing the Catch of Fish - John 21:6-11)

These “signs” are meant to move the reader towards “belief”

The word believe (trust/commit) occurs 98 times.

John defines belief in christ as receiving Him (1:12), making him part of one’s life.

The Signs move the reader towards belief which results in life.

John 17:3

John 17:3 ESV

3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

John shows that Jesus is God, come as a man. If we pay attention to the signs and believe, we find life!

What does this mean for us?

As we ask this question tonight, I want to move in a different direction. One of my goals in this series is to hopefully spark your interest in reading the gospels and learning to read the Bible well and noticing things perhaps you didn’t notice before.

John is an absolute Master at weaving in subtle things that, If you pay enough attention to, bring out some incredible insight.

I want us to read a few passages and notice what John is doing:

In John 4:1-26 we get the story of the woman at the well.

John 4:1–26 NLT

1 Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). 3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. 9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” 10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” 11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?” 13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” 15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” 16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. 17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?” 21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”

Notice what’s happening - This woman shows up at a well to draw water. Jesus turns the tables on her and basically says “You’re here for water that takes care of your thirsty temporarily, but I give you water that eternally quenches your thirst!”

Now, Let’s read another story in John 5:1-15

John 5:1–15 NLT

1 Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. 2 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. 3 Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” 7 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” 8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” 9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, 10 so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!” 11 But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” 12 “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded. 13 The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. 14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” 15 Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

Where is this man? He’s by a pool. He believes if he can just make it to the pool, he’ll be healed. Jesus says - “You don’t need this water, you need me.” Where have we heard this before?

Let’s look at another passage - John 6:1-14

John 6:1–14 NLT

After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. 3 Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. 4 (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) 5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money* to feed them!” 8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” 10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. 12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves. 14 When the people saw him* do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!”*

John 6:22–39 NLT

22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. 23 Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. 25 They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” 28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” 29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” 30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.” 35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. 37 However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.

Here Jesus feeds the 5,000 and they come back around the next day looking for a free meal. Jesus says “This bread doesn’t really satisfy..what you need is the bread of Life.” Sound Familiar?

Let’s look at one final passage: John 7:37-38

John 7:37–38 NLT

37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ ”*

John 4 - You’re after water to quench your thirst temporarily, but I can give you living water!

John 5 - You’re looking to that pool to heal you, but you don’t need that pool, I have what you need, get up and walk!

John 6 - You’re after bread that only temporally satisfies, but I am the bread of life! You need me!

John 7 - If you’re thirsty, I offer water!

By reading slowly we notice a message - We often go after temporary things, but Jesus is the only one who really fills us!

John is calling us to believe and put our trust in this Jesus who offers us real healing, real life, real water, real bread - Something that will truly meet our needs.

Conclusion

Here’s what I want us to pray for tonight - Lord forgive us, for the times we’ve put our belief and trust in anything or anyone but you! It’s left us empty, we trust in you!