John 1:1-19

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Lesson - John 1:1-19

Intro

Now that our summer calendar is over, youth group is going to be getting back into our regular schedule

Each week we are going to do Bible study and break into small groups to discuss some questions based on the study

We’ll do worship a lot of weeks (like tonight), and we’ll have a short game to play (again, like tonight)

We may do some special events throughout the year too

But during the school year, this is what youth group is going to look like

This school year, I felt led by the Lord to do a study through the Gospel of John

One thing it seems like I’ve been reminded of a lot lately in my own life and walk is that above anything else, what people need, what I need, the answer to my problems are to run to Jesus

A person or a thing can’t fix my problems. A person or a thing can’t fix my heart when I’m down. A person or a thing can’t carry me through difficult times, or correct the bad qualities in me that I want to change.

The only thing that can change that is Jesus

My prayer is that this year, we can show you Jesus through studying His life here on earth in the Gospel of John

More than anything else, as leaders, we want to see each one of you fully trust Jesus for your eternal salvation, and then to follow after Him and serve Him with your life

And by studying His life and His words, the goal is to show you how amazing and loving and gracious He is, and that would cause each one of you to want a personal relationship with Him.

What makes this book so awesome to study?

It allows us to get to know Jesus better!

We as people are relational! We want to get to know people better & have relationships

To do that, you have to spend time w/ a person, get to know them better

Most important relationship we have is w/ Jesus. Studying John will help us get to know our Savior better

If you haven’t trusted Jesus as your Savior and are skeptic, this gospel will show you who He really is (God!)

Background

Alright, a little background on this book before we get into it!

Written by John, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus

His brother’s name was James, and together they were considered the “Sons of Thunder” (great wrestling name) b/c they had a short temper

One of 4 gospels in the Bible

The other 3 are considered synoptic gospels, they go through Jesus’s life in more of a chronological order.

John instead focuses around 7 miracles and 7 “I am” statements

Focuses more on Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem, not in Galilee like other 3

First 3 all written in similar manner, describe what Jesus did & taught

John focuses more on who Jesus is

Gospel written for all audiences, to show us divinity of Jesus

Verses 1-5

“In the beginning”

What other verse in the Bible does this remind you of?

Gen 1:1 : “1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

So, in the beginning, before God had ever created anything, there was the Word

“the Word”

What is this, “the Word?”

Translated as Greek word “logos”

Rooted deep in Jewish & Greek understanding

Jewish rabbis thought of God many times in terms of His word

“The Word” meant God Himself

To Greeks, logos is the divine logic that gives order to the universe

An old Greek philosopher (they liked their philosophers, think Plato, Aristotle, etc.) named Heraclitus talked about this

Logos was the “Ultimate Reason” that controlled all things

John is saying that @ the beginning, before anything was ever made, was the Word, the Ultimate Reason for everything, the divine order of the universe, God Himself

And he will show us who this logos is: Jesus

“the Word was with God, and the Word was God”

John here sets up a super fundamental truth of Christianity: Trinity

You have this Being known as The Word

He is eternal, divine (is God), but separate person (w/ God)

This is the Father & the Son, who w/ the Holy Spirit, make up God

One God, 3 persons

We won’t go into the topic of the trinity tonight, but it’s important to understand fundamental truths like this.

So back in the beginning, before there were animals or fish or mountains or oceans or planets or stars or galaxies or a universe, there was God

The Word - who John is setting up as Jesus - was w/ God @ this point, “in the beginning”

All things that were made, were made through Him

Nothing was made w/o Him

I believe that this world did not happen by chance or by some big bang, but that God, in His wisdom, intentionally created the universe.

There’s too much order and complexity for it to come by chaos.

In Him, the Word, in the Son, is life and light

Greek word for “life” is “zoe” which speaks of spiritual life/the absolute fullness of life, not “bios” which speaks of biological life

Those are two distinct things. There is biological life, which is merely existing. You eat, drink water, find shelter, that’s it, you survive.

But then there is spiritual life, that speaks to our souls (who we really are)

That’s the part of life where we search for meaning/purpose, where we look for a sense of belonging or connection.

And this verse tells us that Jesus, the Word, doesn’t just contain life, He IS life

This light, Jesus, came to shine in the darkness, but the darkness couldn’t comprehend it

This world is dark

Since the fall of man (where man turned the world over to Satan’s control), this world is fallen & has been in darkness

Jesus, the light of men, came into the darkness to shine light in it

The darkness couldn’t comprehend it

“Comprehend” could be better translated “overcome”

The darkness did not overcome Jesus! He triumphed!

Where do we see that example the brightest? @ the cross & resurrection!

Verses 6-9

This is John the Baptist - different than author of this book

Was the cousin of Jesus

He was the crazy guy who went into the wilderness to preach about the coming Savior of the world, and he ate grasshoppers and wore itchy camel skins

Picture a pastor starting a church in the middle of nowhere, that’s what this guy did. And we’ll see next week that people came out to listen to him. Why?

John was a witness of the Light

He pointed people to the true source of life, and people wanted to hear that

When we started this study tonight and I told you one of the reasons we’re studying this book is to show you who Jesus is and show you that He is the answer to what we are searching for in life, here’s a great example of this already

Everybody is searching for meaning/purpose in life

We have this hole in our souls where we’re not complete until we find that missing something

We try to fill that hole in a lot of different ways

A career path.

Do good in high school, pick a good major and go to college, get your degree and become an X (doctor, teacher, mechanic, etc.)

Relationships

A good time

Some will try alcohol or drugs

Others will think a lot of $ or a certain identity will fill that hole

And while these pursuits can bring meaning and satisfaction for a time, or even a partial meaning, it never completely fills that hole.

The only thing that can fill that hole is Jesus

Verses 10-13

These verses tell us that God sent Him to His own but they rejected Him

God’s chosen people in the OT were the Jews.

Jesus was born Jewish, and they rejected Him

But, even though they rejected Him, Jesus didn’t come just for His own people, He came for all of us

And if we receive Him (accept Him as who He is, the Savior of the world, the one who brings true life, the only one that can fill the void in our souls), He gives us the right to be in God’s family

That’s pretty incredible!

How can you be in good standing with God?

Not by being good enough or holy enough. Not by being spiritual. It’s simply receiving Jesus into your life.

Verse 14

The Word (logos) that we talked about earlier (the ultimate idea of divine order in the universe), became flesh

Would have shocked both Jewish and Greek readers of time

Jews thought God was so holy & sovereign & powerful would never stoop this low

Greeks thought the gods never had anything to do with becoming men

Not only did he become flesh, become fully man, but He dwelt w/ us!

He could have chosen to live anywhere, do anything, live in the most luxurious palaces, but Jesus chose to dwell among man

Why? So we could “behold” His glory

Word “behold” better translated “carefully study”

We got to see exactly what God is like!

This is why studying our Bibles, especially the gospels, is so important. We get to see exactly what God is like!

Verses 15-19

John the Baptist testified of this divinity, he knew Jesus simply wasn’t a man, but God in human flesh!

He pointed out that Jesus is better than Moses

Blasphemy to the Jews! Below God, Moses is their most esteemed guy!

To say that this Jesus dude is better than Moses, and that His teachings are better than Moses’ is a shock

Such a shock that the religious leaders at the time that they sent some of their leaders to John to ask him, “Who do you think you are?”

We’ll study his response next week

But tonight I want to focus in on Jesus again (share gospel)

Sample Small Group Questions

What was a nickname you had growing up, or maybe one you have right now? How did you get that nickname?

Jesus was called “the Word” in our verses that we read. What did that name mean?

Answer: Translated as Greek word “logos”, the Ultimate Reason for everything, the divine order of the universe, God Himself

What kinds of things do you see other teenagers pursuing to try and bring purpose or meaning to their lives?

What kinds of things have you pursued to bring purpose or meaning to your own life?

Read 1 John 5:12. What does this verse say about pursuing things that aren’t Jesus to try and bring meaning to your life?

1 John 5:12 (NKJV)

12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Why did the Word (Jesus) become flesh and dwell among us? (vs. 14)

How does a person receive the Word? (vs. 12)

What happens when we receive or believe in the Word? (vs. 13)

How should being a child of God affect our lives? (vs. 13)

What do you need to do to be certain of your relationship with God?