08 August 4, 2013, Introduction To The Gospel Of John

INTRODUCTION TO
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
AUGUST 4, 2013
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
USA

The theme of the Gospel
of John is stated in
John 20:31.
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31 But these are written,
that ye might believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of God; and that believing
ye might have life
through His name.”
John 20:31 KJV

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The two main points that
John wants to convey to
the reader are that:
1) Jesus is fully God and
2) Jesus is fully man.

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1 John 4:1-3 KJV
1 Beloved, believe not
every spirit, but try the
spirits whether they are of
God: because many false
prophets are gone out into
the world.

2 Hereby know ye the
Spirit of God:
Every spirit that
confesseth that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh
is of God:

3 And every spirit that
confesseth not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh
is not of God: and this is
that spirit of antichrist,
whereof ye have heard
that it should come; and

even now already is it in
the world.
1 John 4:1-3 KJV

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John wants to make
certain that the reader
“gets it” concerning the:
1) humanity of Jesus and
2) the deity of Christ.

The Humanity of Jesus
None of the other Gospels
so uncompromisingly
stress the real humanity of
Jesus as the Gospel of
John does.

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Jesus was angry with
those who bought and
sold in the Temple courts
(John 2:15);

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He was physically tired as
He sat by the well which
was in Samaria (John 4:6);

His disciples offered Him
food in the way in which
they would offer it to any
hungry man (John 4:31);
He had sympathy with
those who were hungry
and with those who were

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afraid (John 6:5, 20);
He knew grief and He
wept tears as any
mourner might do
(John 11:33, 35, 38);

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in the agony of the Cross
the cry of His parched lips
was: "I thirst" (John 19:28).

The Fourth Gospel shows
us One Who knew the
weariness of an exhausted
body and the wounds of a
distressed mind and
heart.

It is the truly human Jesus
Whom the Fourth Gospel
sets before us.

The Deity of Christ
Out of the many miracles
that Christ performed,
John selected seven to
prove His deity.

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However, John never
refers to them as miracles
but as signs.

These seven signs are
given in a specific order
(note John 4:54, "This is
again the second miracle")
and forms a picture of
salvation.

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The first three signs show
how salvation comes to
the sinner:
1. Water into
wine (John
2:1-11) –
salvation is by
the Word

2. Healing the nobleman's
son (John
4:46-54) –
salvation is by
faith

3. Healing the
paralytic
(John 5:1-9) –
salvation is by
grace.

The last four signs show
the results of salvation in
the believer:
4. Feeding the 5,000
(John 6:1-14) - salvation
brings satisfaction

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5. Stilling the storm
(John
6:16-21) –
salvation
brings peace

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6. Healing the blind man
(John 9:1-7) - salvation
brings light

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7. Raising of Lazarus
(John
11:38-45) –
salvation
brings life

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Each sign (miracle)
reveals the deity of Jesus
Christ (see John 5:20,36).

*The question on the lips of
men in John’s day was,
“Is Jesus the Christ, the
long awaited Messiah?”
“Is He the One?”
*That question divided the
Jews of the 1st century.

They knew there was a
deepening sense of
expectation running all
through the Old
Testament.

The Old Testament is
forever saying in one way
or another,
"Someone is coming!
Someone is coming!"

At the close of the book of
Malachi, you find that
question hanging in the
air,
"Who is this One Who is
to come?"

In John's day, people were
stirred by the fact that
John the Baptist had
appeared.

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They asked him, "Are you
the Christ?"

He said, "No, but He is
coming after me," and
when Jesus began to
preach up and down the
hills of Judea and Galilee,
men were saying
everywhere,

"Is this the One? Is this the
Messiah?"
The Lord Jesus declared
again and again that He
came with the authorized
credentials of the Messiah.

That is what He meant
when He said,
“Truly, truly, I say to you,
he who does not enter the
sheepfold by the door but
climbs in by another way,
that man is a thief and a

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robber; but He Who
enters by the
Door is the
Shepherd
of the sheep.”
(John 10: 1, 2)

The sheepfold was the
nation Israel.
He says there is One Who
was to come by an
authorized way, by the
Door.

If anyone comes in any
other way, he is a thief
and a liar, but He Who
enters by the door, the
authorized opening, will
be recognized as the Great
Shepherd.

He goes on (verse 3):
To him the gatekeeper
opens; the sheep hear his
voice...

He is referring there to the
ministry of John the
Baptist, who came as the
opener of the door, the
forerunner of the Messiah.

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Thus he came as the One
Who was authorized, with
the proper credentials.

Now, what were those
credentials?
He gives them to us
Himself in the synagogue
at Nazareth.

Luke tells us in chapter 4
that He stood in the
synagogue that day and
read the book of the
prophet Isaiah.

Jesus’ Public Ministry
Luke 4:14-21 NASB
14 And Jesus returned to
Galilee in the power of the
Spirit, and news about
Him spread through all
the surrounding district.

15 And He began teaching
in their synagogues and
was praised by all.
16 And He came
to Nazareth, where He
had been brought up; and
as was His custom, He

entered the synagogue on
the Sabbath, and stood up
to read.
17 And the book of the
prophet Isaiah was
handed to Him. And He
opened the book and

found the place where it
was written(Isaiah 61:1-2),
18 “The Spirit of the Lord
is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me
to preach the gospel to the
poor.

He has sent Me to
proclaim release to the
captives,
And recovery of sight to
the blind,
To set free those who are
oppressed,

19 To proclaim the
favorable year of the
Lord.”
20 And He closed the book,
gave it back to the
attendant and sat down;
and the eyes of all in the

synagogue were fixed on
Him.
21 And He began to say to
them, “Today this
Scripture has been
fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:14-21 NASB

*He deliberately found the place
in Isaiah and read these words to
those people.
*He stopped in the middle of a
sentence, closed the book and sat
down. Why?
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me, because he has anointed
me..."

Isaiah 61:2 NASB
2 To proclaim the
favorable year of the Lord
(1st coming)
And the day of vengeance
of our God; (2nd coming)

Then He said to everyone
there,
"Today this Scripture has
been fulfilled in your
hearing;" in other words:
"I am this One!"

Take those marks of the
Messiah and lay them
beside the seven signs that
John chooses from the
ministry of our Lord and
you will see that he selects
those particular ones

because they are the signs
that prove that Jesus is the
Christ, the Messiah.

These signs were chosen
with a great deal of
discrimination in order to
interpret certain great
truths.

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For example, the
discourse on the Bread of
Life follows the feeding of
the five thousand.
John gives us a
chronological order which
is well to note.

The fact of the matter is, if
you will follow John
along, he will give you a
ladder on which you can
fit the three-year ministry
of Christ.

For example, in John 1:29,
35 he says, "The next
day... the next day."
He's giving not only a
logical but also a
chronological sequence in
his Gospel.

Let’s look at each sign
(miracle) in the order in
which they appear in
John's Gospel.

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The first miracle of our
Lord is the changing of
water into wine.
(John 2:1-11)

Our Lord was performing
a symbolic act at the
wedding in Cana of
Galilee.
He took that which
belonged to the realm of
inanimate being, water,

and changed it into a
living substance, wine.
He took that which
belonged to the realm of
death and changed it into
that which is forever an
expression of joy and life.

By this He is declaring in
symbol what he came to
do:
to proclaim the acceptable
year of the Lord.

He did not come to
declare the day of
vengeance;
He stopped before that
passage in Isaiah.

But he came to declare the
day of grace, when God's
purpose would be to take
man in his brokenness, his
emptiness and his
lifelessness, and give to
him life---to proclaim the

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acceptable time of the
Lord (the age of grace).

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The next sign is the
healing of the nobleman's
son. (John 4:46-54)

The central figure in that
story is not the son, who
lies sick at the door of
death, but the nobleman,
who comes to the Lord
with a heart crushed with
grief.

In the agony of his heart
he cries out to Christ and
says, "Will You come
down and heal my son?"
The Lord not only heals
the son at a distance, with
a word, but He heals the

broken heart of a father.
As He said:
He was anointed to heal
the brokenhearted.

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The third sign is the
healing of the impotent
man who lay at the pool
of Bethesda.
(John 5:1-9)

*Remember, that man had
lain there for thirty-eight
years.
*He had been a captive of
this paralyzing disease, so
that he was unable to get
into the pool.

He had been brought to
that pool, hoping to be
healed, hoping to be set
free and our Lord singled
him out of the great
crowd of impotent folk
and healed him, saying to

him, "Rise, take up your
pallet, and walk."
Now, why?
Here he was
demonstrating his ability
to set at liberty those who
are oppressed.

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For thirty-eight years a
man had been bound, and
He set him free instantly.

The next miracle is the
feeding of the five
thousand. (John 6:1-14)
This miracle appears in all
four of the Gospels.

Linked with it is the
miracle of the walking on
the water.
What is the meaning of
these signs?

Well, you cannot read the
story of the feeding of the
five thousand without
seeing that it is a
marvelous demonstration
of the desire of the Lord to
meet the deepest need of

the human heart, the
hunger of man for God.
He uses the symbol of
bread.

He Himself had said,
"Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every
word that proceeds from
the mouth of God."
(Matthew 4:4)

Then He demonstrated
what kind of bread He
meant.
"I," He said, "am the bread
of life." (John 6:35)

Taking the bread, He
broke it, and with it fed
the five thousand,
symbolizing how fully He
can meet the need of
human life.

Then, sending His
disciples out into the
storm, He came walking
across the waves to them
in the midst of the
tempest.

The waves are high, and
the ship is about to be
overwhelmed, and their
hearts are anguished with
fear. He quiets them and
says, "It is I; do not be
afraid." (John 6:20)

In the double miracle of
the feeding of the five
thousand and the walking
on water, there is a
symbolic representation
of our Lord's ability to
satisfy the need of human

hearts and deliver them
from their greatest enemy,
fear.
This is good news, is it
not?

This is one of the signs of
the Messiah:
He came to proclaim good
news to the poor.

Can you think of any
greater news to tell
anyone than that there is a
way in which he can find
all the clamant cry of his
soul satisfied and all the
fear of his life removed?

That is to proclaim good
news to the poor.

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The next miracle is the
healing of the blind man.
(John 9:1-12)

Our Lord said He came "to
give recovery of sight to the
blind."
He chose a man who was
blind from birth, just as man
is spiritually blind from
birth, and He healed him.

The last miracle is the
raising of Lazarus from
the dead ( John 11:1-44),
symbolizing the
delivering of those who
all their lives had been
held under the bondage of

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Satan through fear of
death.

Hebrews 2:14-15 NIV
14 Since the children have
flesh and blood, He too
shared in their
humanity so that by His
death He might destroy

him who holds the power
of death—that is, the devil
— 15 and free those who
all their lives were held in
slavery by their fear of
death.
Hebrews 2:14-15 NIV

John carefully chose these
seven signs to illustrate
the truth that beyond
question, Jesus is the
Messiah.
He is the expected One!

While the first three
Gospels deal primarily
with the events in Christ's
life, John deals with the
spiritual meanings of
these events
(miracles/signs).

John goes deeper and
presents truths that are
not emphasized in the
other Gospels.

For example, all four
Gospels record the feeding
of the 5,000, but only John
gives the great sermon on
the Bread of Life (John 6)
that explains the meaning
of the miracle.

This is why John uses the
word "sign" instead of
"miracle," for a "sign" is a
miracle that carries a
message with it.

Christ in John's Gospel:
John emphasizes the
Person of Christ as well as
His work. He reports
several sermons in which
Christ talks about Himself
and explains His mission.

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Note the seven I AM
statements of Christ:
• I AM the Bread of life –
John 6:35, 41, 48, 51
• I AM the Light of the
world - John 8:12; 9:5

• I AM the Door of the
sheep – John 10:7, 9
• I AM the Good
Shepherd – John 10:11, 14
• I AM the Resurrection
and the Life - John 11:25

• I AM the way, the truth,
and the life - John 14:6
• I AM the true Vine –
John 15:1, 5

These names, of course,
speak of His deity; for
God's name is I AM
(see Exodus 3:14).

Exodus 3:14-15 NASB
14 God said to Moses,
“I AM WHO I AM”; and
He said, “Thus you shall
say to the sons of Israel, ‘I
AM has sent me to you.’”

15 God, furthermore, said
to Moses, “Thus you shall
say to the sons of Israel,
‘The Lord, the God of
your fathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of

Jacob, has sent me to you.’
This is My name forever,
and this is My memorial-
name to all generations.
Exodus 3:14-15 NASB

As you read this Gospel
(seven times Jesus says, “I
AM!”), you come to
realize that Christ is the
Son of God!

Listen to them:
"I am the bread of life."
(John 6:35)
That is, I am the sustainer
of life, the One Who
satisfies life.

"I am the light of the
world" (John 8:12), the
illuminator of life.
"I am One in Whom are
hid all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge,"
the explainer of things,

the One Who casts light
upon all mysteries and
enigmas and solves them.

"I am the door"
(John 10:7), Jesus said;
that is, the opportunity
into life, the open way.

Whenever you are
confronted with a sense of
lack, some hungering
after something more,
these are the words you
need to hear.

"I am the good shepherd"
(John 10:11); that is, the
guide of life, the only One
properly equipped to take
an individual and safely
steer him through all the
problems and chasms that

yawn on every side, to
lead him safely through
life.
("The Lord is my
shepherd, I shall not
want.")

Then, "I am the
resurrection and the life."
(John 11:25)
That is, the power of life.

Do you realize that
resurrection power is the
only kind that works
when nothing else will?
It works in the midst of
death.

*Resurrection power is the
only kind that needs no
outside props, no process
of learning.
*It does not need anything
to initiate it, shore it up or
bolster it in any way.

When nothing else can be
done, then it comes in and
begins to act.
"I am the resurrection and
the life," Jesus says.

"I am the way, the the
truth, and the life."
(John 14:6)
That is, I am ultimate
reality.
I am the real substance
behind all things.

“I am the vine...apart from
Me, you can do nothing.”
(John 15:5).
I am the producer of
fruitfulness, the source of
fellowship and of identity
and communion.

Thus our Lord takes the
great, revealing name of
God and, linking it with
these simple symbols,
enables us to understand
God.

*"The Word," John says,
"became flesh and dwelt
among us."
*He pitched His tent
among us, and we beheld
His glory, the glory of
God become man.

That is the tremendous
theme of this book.

There is not a greater
theme in all the universe
than the fact that when
we stand in the presence
of the humanity of Jesus
we suddenly discover
that, for the first time, we

also stand in the presence
of God.
This is what God is like.
This One Who heals,
loves, serves, waits,
blesses, dies and rises
again---this is God.

*The one word that he
leaves with us, then, is
that believing that He is
the Messiah and that He is
God, we may have life in
His name.
*He is the key to life.

Who does not want to
live?
Isn't that what we all
want, young and old
alike?
What we are really
seeking is the key to life.

We want to be fulfilled.
We want to see fulfilled
all the possibilities and
potential of our being
which we sense lie deep
inside.

*We want those deep
yearnings satisfied.
*We want to be able to
express ourselves.
*We want to be what we
were designed and
intended to be.

Then listen! John says,
"These things are written
that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of God, and that believing
you may have life in His
name."

This brings us inevitably
to two things:
first, to worship.

How can you stand in the
presence of this divine
mystery and not feel your
heart drawn out in
worship of this One?

As we sing,
“Can it be that I should
gain an interest in my
Saviour's blood?
Died He for me, who
caused His pain?

For me, who him to death
pursued?
Amazing love, how can it
be that Thou, my God,
shouldst die for me?”
Charles Wesley

*That is worship.
*Isaiah, who saw the Lord
lifted up and the temple
filled with the smoke of
His glory, bowed down
and cried out, "Woe is me!
For I am...a man of

unclean lips, and I dwell
in the midst of a people of
unclean lips." (Isaiah 6:5)
Then an angel flew down
from the altar, took a coal,
and put it upon his lips,
cleansing him.

That brought him to the
next thing, to which we,
too, must come, if we see
what John is after here:
not only worship, but
service.

"Love, so amazing, so
divine," says Isaac Watts,
"demands"--- what?---"my
soul, my life, my all."

How can we worship,
unless as we hear the
words of the Lord Jesus,
"As my Father has sent
me, even so, send I you,"
we say with Isaiah, "Lord,
here am I, send me." (Is. 6)

What could be greater
than to stand in union
with this life, around
Whom the whole universe
gathers, the image of the
invisible God?

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*John's theme is Jesus
Christ, the divine Son of
God.
*His book deals with the
signs Christ gave during
His ministry, signs that
prove His deity.

These signs were seen by
dependable witnesses
(His disciples and others)
and therefore are
trustworthy.

John wants men to believe
in Jesus Christ as Lord
and receive new life
through His name.

Comparison to the other
Gospels.
The first three Gospels are
called "The Synoptic
Gospels" from a Greek
word that means "to see
together."

Matthew, Mark, and Luke
all view the life of Christ
in a similar way, each
with his own emphasis.

• Matthew pictures Christ
as the King of the Jews.
• Mark shows Christ as
the Servant, and writes for
the Romans.

• Luke views Christ as
the Son of Man, writing
for the Greeks.
• John presents Christ as
the Son of God, and
writes for the whole
world.

Faith and Unbelief in
John's Gospel:
One major theme of John's
Gospel is the conflict
between faith and
unbelief.

John begins with rejection
on the part of Israel (John
1:11), finally culminating
in the crucifixion.

Throughout the book, you
see most of the Jews
refusing to accept the
evidence, growing harder
and harder in their
unbelief.

On the other hand, you
also see a small group of
people willing to believe
on Christ - the disciples, a
nobleman and his family,
the Samaritans, a
paralytic, a blind man, etc.

This same situation exists
today: the world at large
will not believe on Christ,
but here and there you
find people who see the
evidence and accept Him
as the Son of God.

You will note in the
outline that the Jews
begin their controversy
with Christ after the
miracle in chapter 5, since
Christ healed the man on
the Sabbath.

In chapters 7 through 12,
the conflict becomes more
severe, and several times
they try to arrest and
stone Him.

The climax comes in
chapters 18-19 when they
arrest and crucify Him.

There are three crisis
events in John's Gospel:
(1) John 6:66-71,
when the multitudes leave
Him after wanting to
make Him King;

(2) John 12:12-50,
when the people refuse to
believe on Him; and
(3) John 19:13-22,
when they crucify Him.

In the first crisis, they
want to make Him King,
yet they leave Him;
in the second, they hail
Him as King, yet reject
Him;

and in the third, they cry
out,
"We have no King but
Caesar" (John 19:15).

He is the way, but they
will not walk with Him;
the truth, but they will not
believe Him; the life, but
they kill Him.

JOHN 1
The theme of John's Gospel
is that Jesus is the Son of
God (John 20:30-31), and in
this first chapter he proves
his claim.

As you read this
wonderful chapter, you
cannot help but see that
Christ is God's Son
because of the names and
titles He bears, the works
He performs, and the

witnesses who knew Him
personally and declare
who He is.

John 20:30-31 KJV
30 “And many other
signs truly did Jesus in the
presence of his disciples,
which are not written in
this book:

31 But these are written,
that ye might believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God; and that
believing ye might have
life through his name.
John 20:30-31 KJV

Isaiah 61:1-2 KJV
1 The Spirit of the Lord
God is upon Me; because
the Lord hath anointed
Me to preach good tidings
unto the meek; He hath

sent Me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the
captives, and the opening
of the prison to them that
are bound;

2 To proclaim the
acceptable year of
the Lord, and the day of
vengeance of our God; to
comfort all that mourn;
Isaiah 61:1-2 KJV

08 August 4, 2013, Introduction To The Gospel Of John

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08 August 4, 2013, Introduction To The Gospel Of John