Lesson 7 for the 16th of August, 2008

When was the first time John followed Jesus? He listened to John the Baptist talking about Jesus and followed him He followed him after the miraculous catch of fish His brother James told him about Jesus and he followed him John, 1: 35-42

When did he decide to leave everything behind and to follow Jesus at any time? When John the Baptist told him about Jesus After the miraculous catch of fish After the miracle at the wedding at Cana Mark, 1: 16-20

Make a full and complete commitment to Jesus

In which three occasions did “the sons of thunder” show their character faults? Mark, 10: They asked Jesus proudly to have honour positions at Jesus’ Kingdom Luke, 9: They asked Jesus to call fire down from heaven in order to destroy a Samaritan village, because they didn’t want to welcome him Mark, 9: They stopped a man who was driving out demons in Jesus’ name, because he wasn’t a disciple

“You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with” (Mark, 10: 39) What changes do you have to do in your life now, in order to save you from learning through trials and difficulties?

The 66% of the gospel of John is made of unique material that can’t be found in the other three gospels. Which of these stories can only be found in the Gospel of John? The wedding at Cana The paralytic at the pool of Bethesda Jesus walking on the seaThe resurrection of Lazarus Jesus meeting Nicodemus Feeding the 5,000 Matthew, 14: Mark, 6: Luke, 9: John, 6: 1-15 John, 5: 1-18John, 2: 1-12 John, 3: 1-15 Matthew, 14: Mark, 6: John, 6: John, 11: 1-44

Lógos = Word What did Lógos mean for a Jewish reader? God’s word, which created the world; the divine teachings and law What did Lógos mean for a Greek reader? A living force which joined everything together in the universe What did Lógos mean for John? A PERSON, the same God who became flesh in order to bring salvation to humanity

Get down on your knees with gratitude, faith and humble obedience, before your Creator and Saviour, Jesus (LÓGOS)

“In him [lógos] was life, and that life was the light of all people” (John, 1: 4) John, 6: 35 John, 6: 63 John, 10: 10 John, 10: 28 John, 14: 6 John, 17: 3 John, 3: 36 John, 5: 26 John, 8: 12 John, 11: 25 John, 20: 31 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal LIFE The Son has LIFE in himself I am the bread of LIFE The words I have spoken to you, they are full of the Spirit and LIFE Whoever follows me will have the light of LIFE I have come that they may have LIFE I give them eternal LIFE, and they shall never perish I am the resurrection and the LIFE I am the way and the truth and the LIFE Now this is eternal LIFE: that they know you These are written that you may have LIFE in his name Match each quotation with the idea of life expressed on it

The confiding love and unselfish devotion manifested in the life and character of John present lessons of untold valueto the Christian church. John did not naturally possess the loveliness of character that his later experience revealed. By nature he had serious defects. He was not only proud, self-assertive, and ambitious for honor, but impetuous, and resentful under injury. He and his brother were called "sons of thunder." Evil temper, the desire for revenge, the spirit of criticism, were all in the beloved disciple. But beneath all this the divine Teacher discerned the ardent, sincere, loving heart. Jesus rebuked this self- seeking, disappointed his ambitions, tested his faith. But He revealed to him that for which his soul longed--the beauty of holiness, the transforming power of love. (E.G.W. The acts of the Apostles, page 540)

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love (1 John, 4: 8) My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One (1 John, 2: 1) Those who claim to be in the light but hate a fellow believer are still in the darkness. Those who love their fellow believers live in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble (1 John, 2: 9-10) Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is (1 John, 3: 2) For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another (1 John, 3: 11) The transformation of character that Jesus made in John can be found in his three epistles

“One of them [John], the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him” (John, 13: 23) What was the secret of the transformation of character in John?