THE GOSPEL OF JOHN INTRODUCTION

The Gospel of John is God’s premiere evangelization book.  It is written by the disciple that Jesus loved using seven key signs that show that Jesus is God.  He uses seven witnesses and the seven I am statements that Jesus gave us while He was here on earth.  John does not give us any genealogy, no birth narrative, no manger scene, he just cuts to the heart of the matter when he introduces the book with the statement that in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God.  And if that is not enough in verse two he repeats the fact that He was there in the beginning with God.  Folks, this book is written that we know that Jesus performed these signs and that we might believe as it states in Chapter 20:30-31.  I don’t know about you, but I am excited about getting into this book and seeing all that God has in store for us as we learn about who Jesus really is and why He came to this earth for 33 years.

  It was written by the disciple that Jesus loved. He was the most intimate with the Lord Jesus.

 John 13:23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.

• He also wrote 1^st John, 2^nd John, 3^rd John and the Book of the Revelation.
• John was one of the “inner three” disciples of our Lord. Only Peter, James and John were allowed to accompany Jesus into the house of the synagogue official, whose daughter had already died before Jesus arrived (Mark 5:35-43; Luke 8:49-56). Here, apparently, John first witnessed our Lord’s power over death.
• John’s life is an illustration of the grace of God.. John had no status in life as a fisherman nor was he an educated man, even by the standards of that day (see Acts 4:13). He certainly did not possess any qualities or education that impressed the scribes and Pharisees. He was a volatile fellow, a “son of thunder.”
• It focuses on Who Jesus is and Where he came from
• Shows the central fact that Jesus is the whole reason of Christianity. More music has been written, more pictures painted and more drama written about him.
• It is a Spiritual Gospel because:

1. It Supplies unique material not included in the Matthew, Mark, or Luke. Over 90% of the material in John’s Gospel is unique to John, not to be found in the other three Gospels.

1. His Gospel helps with the understanding of the other three Gospels
2. Most thorough study of Jesus and it has the most material on the Holy Spirit.

John’s Gospel does not include …

• Jesus’ genealogy
• an account of our Lord’s birth
• any events in our Lord’s childhood
• It has two purposes:

1. It is evangelistic or written to bring people to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ

• The word believe is in this gospel 100 times
• John 20:30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these 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.

The simple word, belief, or to believe.  There’s no greater writer than John in understanding the nature and the essence of belief.  It’s equated to following God.  Belief is an action, followed by some type of command.  Belief is hearing, belief is worship, belief is obedience and belief is commitment in John’s language.  So John is trying to explain to us belief; unlike maybe the way some of us have accepted, belief is a point in time thing.  If you’re here today and you’ve trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior, you’ve put your faith in Him, you believed in Him for this gift called eternal life.  We typically talk about that as a point in time, right?  There was a point in time when you did that.   At a certain age, you heard a message, a retreat, a camp…you came to a point in time you believed.  John, however, uses the words every single time (100 times in his Gospel) as a verb, never a noun.   And I think the deliberate reason John does this:  Yes, there’s a point in time when we believe, but there’s a living, an on-going activity of faith, to have a life of faith in Jesus Christ.  To believe in Him means more than “Yeah, I believe in Jesus.”  It means more than an intellectual agreement.  It means more than quitting a cognitive place, “Yeah, I believe in Him.”

• It’s an active, vital relationship.

So what’s the Gospel of John about?  It’s a message of grace to the heart of man.  It’s the good news of Jesus Christ to hopeless people who are desperate for hope.  Do you know any hopeless people? 

1. It is apologetic: Written to convince the readers of Jesus true identity as the Incarnate God-Man. Or God in human form.

• He is God, the Creator of the Universe, who has no beginning—1:1-3
• He is God come in human flesh—1:14
• He is infinitely greater than John the Baptist, the greatest prophet—1:19-28
• He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world—1:29-36
• He is the Son of God, the Messiah, the King of Israel—1:40-51
• Shown by the 7 miracles in the book, 1 after He is raised from the dead
• John makes a great contribution by the use of “signs” which attest to our Lord’s deity and claims to be Israel’s Messiah.

The Seven Signs - John uses a Special Word for sign that means a miracle with a Message
Turns water into wine (John 2:1–12)	Jesus is the source of life.
Heals a nobleman’s son (John 4:46–54)	Jesus is master over distance.
Heals a lame man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1–17)	Jesus is master over time.
Feeds 5,000 (John 6:1–14)	Jesus is the bread of life.
Walks on water, stills a storm (John 6:15–21)	Jesus is master over nature.
Heals a man blind from birth (John 9:1–41)	Jesus is the light of the world.
Raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:17–45)	Jesus has power over death.[i]

• In addition, there are the “seven witnesses” of John …

1. John the Baptist “This is the Chosen One [literally, “Son”] of God” (1:34)
2. Nathaniel “You are the Son of God” (1:49)
3. Peter “You are the Holy One of God!” (6:69)
4. Martha “You are the Christ, the Son of God” (11:27)
5. Thomas “My Lord and my God!” (20:28)
6. John “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (20:31)
7. Jesus “I am the Son of God” (10:36; see also 4:26; 8:58)

• Finally, there are the seven “I AM’s” of John …

1. “I AM the bread of life” (6:35)
2. “I AM the light of the world” (8:12)
3. “I AM the door for the sheep” (10:7; cf. v. 9)
4. “I AM the good shepherd” (10:11, 14)
5. “I AM the resurrection and the life” (11:25)
6. “I AM the way, and the truth, and the life” (14:6)
7. “I AM the true vine” (15:1; cf. v. 5)

• Jesus was actually sacrificed at the same time the Passover Lambs were being sacrificed.
• Explain

Chapters 1-12 - Show Us Jesus is Lord - The signs of the Son of God – 3 Years time

Chapters 13-17 - How to Grow In Christ – The Secrets of the Savior – A few hours

Chapters 18-21 - The Supremacy of Christ – Victorious over Sin and Death  - A Few Weeks