Gospel of John Study Week 4

Week 4: Jesus' Expanding Ministry

The Place of the Passage

In this section of John, Jesus’ Jerusalem ministry begins with the clearing of the temple. Jesus then has three major encounters with three very different types of people: Nicodemus, a representative of the Jewish religious establish­ment; a Samaritan woman; and a Gentile official.

The main effect of these chap­ters is to reveal more of who Jesus is and to highlight the expansive extent of what Jesus came to do.

The Big Picture

John 2:12–4:54 shows that there is only one way to God and eternal life: through belief in Jesus.

Reflection and Discussion

Read through the complete passage for this study, John 2:12–4:54. Then review the four listed sections and write your own notes on the following questions. (For further background, see the ESV Study Bible, pages 2023–2030, available online at www.esvbible.org.)

Jesus Cleanses the Temple (John 2:12–25)

Jesus’ first major confrontation with the Jewish leaders in John’s Gospel occurs as Jesus clears the Jerusalem temple during the Jewish Passover. Why did Jesus clear the temple, in light of the true purpose of the temple? What does this scene teach us about Jesus?

After cleansing the temple, Jesus converses with the Jewish leaders and makes a statement about his approaching death and resurrection, as well as about his identity as the true and better temple for God’s people. Skim through Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple (2 Chron. 6:12–42). In what ways do you see Jesus as the ultimate answer to this prayer?

Jesus Teaches a Jew about Salvation (John 3:1–36)

Nicodemus is a Pharisee, a respected scholar among the Jews, who approaches Jesus “by night.” Why might Nicodemus have approached Jesus at night? How and why does Jesus steer the conversation in the direction that he does?

According to John 3:3, what must happen for someone to see the kingdom of God? According to John 3:4–8, what must happen for someone to be born again?

John 3:16 is probably the most well-known verse in the Bible. If this were the only verse we had, what would we know about God and salvation?

Jesus Teaches a Samaritan about Salvation (John 4:1–45)

In this scene, Jesus does something scandalous for a first-century Jewish rabbi: He enters into compassionate dialogue with a Samaritan woman with a questionable past.

Jesus is always doing things like this: crossing boundaries to show that God’s grace is not limited to a certain type of person. According to Jesus, salvation is for sinners. In other words, salvation is for everyone. What does this scene teach us about what Jesus is like, and what does it teach us about salvation?

What does the woman do after her encounter with Jesus? What do we learn from this?

Ministry by Deed (John 4:46–54)

John has shown Jesus bringing the gospel to a respected Jewish teacher (John 3:1–21), then to an outcast Samaritan woman (John 4:1–42), and now to an official working for the Roman government (John 4:46–54). This drives home the truth that the good news of God’s grace is available for all types of people, to everyone in the world. Reflecting on these three different people, consider how they each respond to Jesus. What do their responses to Jesus teach us about how we should respond to the Son of God?

How did Jesus heal the official’s son? What is John communicating to us about the power of Jesus’ words?

*Read through the following three sections on Gospel Glimpses, Whole-Bible Connections, and Theological Soundings. Then take time to reflect on the Personal Implications these sections may have for your walk with the Lord.

Gospel Glimpses

RESURRECTION POWER. Foreshadowing his own death and resurrection, Jesus told the religious leaders, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). This is what Jesus can do with death: undo it. There is no life so broken that Jesus cannot fix it. Jesus turns spiritually dead people into living people. His resurrection power works best in graveyards!

NEW BIRTH. According to John 3, salvation comes not fundamentally through a human decision or fresh resolve, but by being “born again.” This requirement Jesus issues—“You must be born again” (John 3:7)—cannot be performed by men or women themselves any more than was their first, physical birth. The Spirit of God must accomplish this. God himself must grant and perform the miracle of new birth. According to John 3, salvation is not at its core mental assent to a new doctrine or resolution to live differently. Salvation comes, most fundamentally, through the miracle of new birth, whereby our hearts are set free to put our trust in Jesus.

COSTLY LOVE. John 3:16 is surely the most famous verse in the Bible. It is famous for good reason—this sentence powerfully summarizes the gospel message. The heart of this message is costly love. God’s love for the world was so great that he endured the loss of his only Son in order to save us. The Son of God lost his life in order that we might gain life. God’s love is free for us, but it cost him dearly.

Whole-Bible Connections

THE TRUE TEMPLE. After clearing the temple, Jesus issues a bold claim: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). For centuries, the Jerusalem temple had stood as the meeting place between God and man—the physical place where heaven and earth met, atonement was made for sins, and God communed with his people. Here Jesus declares that he is the true temple, the true meeting place for God and man.

Jesus states that after being destroyed by death, he would come back from death. And this, indeed, is what Jesus did—proving that he is the true and better temple, the temple that cannot be destroyed.

MISSIONARY GOD. From Genesis 1:1 on through Revelation 22:21, God reveals himself as a missionary God. God is constantly engaged in missionary activity, making himself known to people who are far from him. God initiated his missionary plan with Abraham, stating that through his offspring “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). Jesus, the true and final offspring of Abraham (Gal. 3:16), demonstrates God’s missionary heart here in John 3 and John 4. He brings the message of salvation to three different kinds of people who desperately need to know God: a Jewish leader, an outcast Samaritan woman, and a Gentile official. Jesus brings to a climax God’s missionary activity, for in Jesus God became flesh in order to make himself known to a lost world.

Theological Soundings

GOD’S INITIATIVE. Our relationship with God starts with God, not with us. God always makes the first move in establishing a saving relationship with his people. John 3 states that for a person to know God, God must first take action as he grants “new birth.” In the Old Testament, we see that people entered into a relationship with God only because God initiated it, because God called them. And in the New Testament we see the same thing—a relationship with God starts with God. As John puts it in one of his letters, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

THE WORD OF GOD. God’s word is powerful. In Genesis 1, God creates the universe through his words: “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Gen. 1:3). Throughout the Old Testament, God saves people, destroys nations, and performs miracles, all through his word. And throughout the New Testament it is through the word of God that events of significance happen. Jesus, God in the flesh, heals an official’s son simply through speaking words: “Go; your son will live” (John 4:50). As Jesus said to Satan, quoting Deuteronomy, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Indeed, Jesus himself is the final “Word” of God (John 1:1)—Jesus and his saving work is what God has to say to the world.