The Gospel of John Williamson County church Adult Class April –July 2012

John 20:30-31 The Gospel of John “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have eternal life.”

John 21:24-25 The Gospel of John “This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

John 3:16-17 The Gospel of John “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 Lesson 1 Introduction – If Only You Could Have Been There  Why John’s Gospel?  Review Study Plan  Learning Partners – That I/We Might Believe….  Expectations & Goals  Introduction info….Author, Date, How John’s Gospel is Unique

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 Our Study Plan Lesson 1:Introduction – If Only You Could Have Been There Lesson 2:When God Became Man 1:1-18 Lesson 3:A Wedding in Cana 2:1-11 Lesson 4:The Woman at the Well 4:5-30 Lesson 5:Healing the Sick 4:43-54; 5:1-15 Lesson 6:Jesus By the Sea 6:1-71 Lesson 7:Who Is He? 7:1-52; 8:12-59; 10:22-39 Lesson 8:A Guilty Woman 8:1-11 Lesson 9:A Man Born Blind 9:1-41 Lesson 10:Class – That I/We Might Believe… Lesson 11:The Good Shepherd 10:1-18 Lesson 12:The Loss of a Friend 11:1-44 Lesson 13:The Master Servant 12:1-11; 13:1-17 Lesson 14: Peter, Peter, Peter 13:31-38; 15:15-18, 25-27; 21:15-23 Lesson 15:The Son & the Spirit 14:1-31; 15:26-16:15 Lesson 16:Jesus’ Prayer 17:1-26 Lesson 17:Class – That I/We Might Believe… Lesson 18: Conclusion – If Only You Could Have Been There

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 Expectations Yours, Mine & Ours Goals Yours, Mine & Ours Blog… Facebook -- Prayerful, Open, Sharing -- That We Each Might Believe… and have Eternal Life

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 Author Never identifies himself as the apostle John, brother of James, one of Zebedee’s sons… has been considered to be since the earliest days of Christianity. Rather than lay claim to being part of Jesus’ inner circle, he refers to himself as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’…not meant to imply an exclusive relationship, but rather, it is an expression of the great love that John felt from Jesus. John lived and wrote from the perspective of one who knew Jesus well, and had experienced the depth of Christ’s love and forgiveness.

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 Author …a son of Zebedee (21:2) and Salome (Mt 27:56, Jn 19:25) Since Salome was a sister of Jesus’ mother Mary, Jesus and John were cousins. …a brother of James…Jesus surnamed both men, Boanerges, or “Sons of Thunder”….fiery personality? (Mk 3:17; Lk 9:52-56) …Zebedee, James and John were fishermen at the Sea of Galilee…Zebedee probably ‘business owner’ (Mk 1:19-20)

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 Author/Date Tradition holds that John took the gospel to Asia Minor (Turkey today) … instrumental in establishing 7 churches there … lived in Ephesus … imprisoned for several years on the island of Patmos, where he wrote Revelation … the letters of 1 Jn, 2 Jn, and 3 Jn were likely written before both the Gospel and the Revelation.

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 Date John was the last gospel writer….about A.D. 90. The other gospels seem to have been in circulation for some time. the last of the 4 gospels …likely between A.D around A.D. 85 while he was ministering at Ephesus…10 yrs later, exiled by Emporer Domitian to the Island of Patmos, where he wrote Revelation (Rev 1:9) the best solution seems to be that John was produced in Asia Minor, possibly in Ephesus, toward the close of the first century…

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 John’s Gospel is a thematic, theological presentation of Jesus’ life… not a chronological account Although it deals with the same broad sequence of events to be found …it is quite different in structure and style. It contains no parables and only seven miracles, five of which are not recorded elsewhere. The discourses of Jesus in it are concerned chiefly with His person rather than with the ethical teaching of the kingdom. Personal interviews are multiplied, and Jesus’ relationship to individuals is stressed more than His general contact with the public. The Gospel is strongly theological, and it deals particularly with the nature of His person and with the meaning of faith in Him. How John is Unique

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 How John is Unique John wrote about many incidents missing from the other Gospels. These include a number of miracles (water to wine, man born blind, Lazarus raised), a number of teachings (the “I am” sayings; the new birth discourse with Nicodemus; the upper room discourse); and other incidents (meeting with the Samaritan woman; washing the disciples feet). John tells nothing of Jesus’ birth, baptism, temptation, casting out demons, telling of parables, or institution of the Lord’s Supper. John 1) was selective 2) is evangelistic 3) his gospel focuses strongly on the identity of Jesus

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 Jesus is God The language and tone of John’s writing may be quite different from the other three Gospels, but the subject is clearly the same – Jesus Christ. The first three words of this book echo the first verse of the Bible, “In the beginning…”highlights Jesus’ divine nature. From the very first verse, John sets Jesus in the center of God’s eternal plan. …not a biography; it’s a theological argument. John wants to convince us that Jesus of Nazareth is God the Son….every event he records is designed to show us that Jesus is God…..the ‘sign’ miracles…in the first 12 chapters, he records 7 miracles.

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 Jesus is God John also focuses on seven specific signs that clearly reveal Jesus’ divinity….water to wine, healing a man’s son, healing a lame man, feeding 5,000 men, walking on water, healing a blind man and raising Lazarus. To the Jews, the number 7 was associated with perfection and completion….John presents Jesus as the perfection and completion of God’s nature and power. (Hebrews 12:1-3?) John focuses on seven of Jesus’ “I am” statements that describe his identity -- bread of life, light of the world, door of the sheep, good shepherd, resurrection and the life, way, truth and the life and the true vine.

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 Jesus is man “The Word Became Flesh It is surprising to some people that it was the humanity of Jesus that was first called into question rather than his deity. This trend is already evident in a first- century document like 1 John… Throughout the gospel…there is an emphasis on Jesus’ human nature. Jesus comes from Nazareth (1:45), travels with his mother and brothers (2:12), asks for a drink of water in Samaria (4:7), crosses the Sea of Galilee in a boat (6:1), spits on the ground to make mud for a blind man’s eyes (9:6), weeps over Lazarus’ death (11:35), died and was buried (19:30, 42), and even after the resurrection bore nail marks in his hands (20:20, 27)…”

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 Jesus is man “…Jesus’ incarnation was not a mere appearance on earth but a real entering into human life and flesh. The theological importance of this for John is that only one who was truly human could be the true redeemer of the human race. “ Encountering the New Testament, p.112

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 Lesson 2 When God Became Man Next….

The Gospel of John WCC Adult Class: April –July 2012 Lesson 3 A Wedding in Cana