John is very different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke in structure and style, and relates some significantly different content. It was most likely written afterward and some historical records indicate that John had read the other gospels and so was writing in a complementary manner.

His purpose (John 20: 30-31) – to relate the signs so you believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and have eternal life in His name.

Encounter Jesus – John Week 1

John’s Introduction to Jesus

John 1: 1-18

AUDIO

Lecture Handout

John Week 1 – Overview Handout

Lesson Notes

Structure of the Book

  • Jesus’ Identity (John 1-12)
    • We see John the Baptist identify Jesus as the Lamb of God
    • We see the first six signs (out of 7) – key miracles revealing Jesus’ power and identity
    • We see most of the I AM statements – key statements of Jesus’ nature and importance
  • Jesus’ Glory (John 13-21)
    • Christ’s farewell discourse
    • Christ’s glorification – Passion & Resurrection

Mega-themes

  • God the Father – He is called that more here than any other gospel.
  • Jesus the Son – Heavy emphasis on Jesus as God’s unique Son
  • The Holy Spirit – Although in Luke we see the Spirit act frequently, in John we learn much more about the sending and purpose of the Spirit
  • Eternal Life (~ salvation) – the purpose of the book
    • The critically important I AM statements are tightly tied to this theme
  • Signs & Witnesses
    • 7 Signs that Jesus is the Christ
    • 47 uses of words related to “witness” – strong emphasis on legal testimonies of Jesus Christ’s incarnation, life, death, and resurrection
    • 7 categories of witnesses – John the Baptist, Various Ordinary People, Jesus, Jesus’ works, the Father, the Scriptures, and the Spirit
  • Love & Obedience – intertwined – there is no love without obedience and obedience without love is just legalism

Verses 1-18 introduce Jesus, express an incredibly high view and understanding of Christ, introduce key themes and motifs, and provide an overview of the entire book.

The Word (John 1: 1-5)

  • Verse 1 – “In the beginning” – direct verbal link to Genesis and the Creation
    • Eternality of the logos – the Word – who or what is the Word? We’ll see later!
    • Word was with God – so pre-existent, eternal, and distinct from God the Father
    • Yet, the Word was God – radically new concept for monotheistic Jews
      • Key to understanding orthodox Christianity
      • Central in the dispute with heretical cults like Jehovah’s Witness, that regurgitate the Arian heresy from early Christianity
  • Verse 2 – He was in the beginning – predates Creation – He, the Word, is eternal
  • Verse 3 – The Word was integral to Creation – ALL things made through Him
    • He was not created!
  • Verse 4 – In Him was life -> the light of men (Isaiah 9: 1-2)
    • Life is a major theme of John’s gospel
    • So is light and darkness, which appear throughout John’s writings
  • The light shines in darkness – all that is around us is darkness, but it HAS NOT / NOT (lasting impact) overcome the light, and it never will!

The Witness (John 1: 6-8)

  • John the Baptist was sent by God, as a WITNESS, to bear witness about the light
  • Why? So all might believe!!! Also the purpose of John’s entire gospel
  • To be clear – John the Baptist wasn’t the light. He was??? A witness!

The Light (John 1: 9-13)

  • Verse 9 – the Word is the true light – for everyone
    • Why did he come into the world? To be the light!
    • Describes the incarnation – the word made flesh at Christmas!
  • Verse 10 – but the world – though He made it – didn’t recognize Him as the light. He controls the world, made the world, but the world rejects and kills Him
  • Verse 11 – He came to God’s own people (Israel), but they rejected Him, didn’t recognize that God was among them, killing Him instead
  • Verse 12 – The offer of adoption through faith in Jesus the Christ
    • All you must do is believe in the name (i.e. the essential nature of Jesus – as the Christ, as the Son of God – to become a child of God
    • Verse 13 – this birth (or properly, second birth) is not about human  will or behavior or action, but of God

The Incarnation (John 1: 14-18)

  • Verse 14 – the Word became flesh and dwelt among us -> literally tabernacled / pitched a tent
    • Hearkens to the language of the Old Testament and God’s dwelling among the Israelites. Hadn’t happened for centuries.
    • We have seen His glory – eyewitness testimony;
    • His glory in suffering, death, burial, and resurrection, in which He was glorified;
    • Also John’s eyewitness experience of the Transfiguration of Jesus
    • Glory of the unique Son of God – full of grace and truth
  • Verse 15 – An aside connecting to John the Baptist’s testimony coming in the next section
    • Really important, directly identifying Jesus of Nazareth with being the Word
  • Verse 16 – From Him we receive grace, not on our own
    • Remember, grace is unearned, unmerited – WE DON’T DESERVE IT!
    • And we get loads of it – grace upon grace!
    • In contrast – verse 17 – the Law (and condemnation) came through Moses, grace and truth through Jesus Christ
  • Verse 18 – Nobody has seen God the Father, but Jesus Christ makes the Father known
    • Jesus is the perfect revelation and image of God the Father, as we learn later on

Tonight’s prayer: Celebrating God’s coming in Christ and grace upon grace! That we would bear witness to the light and become the lighthouse for Christ!

Next session: John the Baptist & the Lamb of God (John 1: 19-34, 3: 22-36)