Harbour Lake Baptist Church
“Through The Bible In One Year”
Introduction to “The Gospel of John”
1. Just as a coin has two sides, both valid, so Jesus Christ has two natures, both valid. Luke presents Christ in His humanity as the Son of Man; John portrays Him in His divinity as the Son of God. John’s purpose is crystal clear; to set forth Christ in His deity in order to spark believing faith in his readers. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all presented “what” Jesus was and “what” Jesus did. The gospel of John was written to present “who” Jesus was and “why” Jesus did what He did. John truly exposes Jesus as the “God Man”.
2. The ancient title for this gospel was Kata Ioannen, “According to John”. “Ioannes” is derived from the
Hebrew name “Johanan”, which means “Yahweh Has Been Gracious.”
3. The Central Message of The Gospel of John is: “But these are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through His name.” (John 20:31)
4. The three “Synoptic” gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) present a “similar” or “collective” view of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The gospel of John is a gospel presentation of Jesus Christ that is separated both in time and character. The Synoptic gospels present the outer, human and public, aspects of Jesus’ life. The gospel of John reveals the inner, Divine and private, aspects of His life.
5. The Gospel of John can be divided into five major sections:
a. The Incarnation of the Son of God (Chapters 1:1 – 18)
b. The Presentation of the Son of God (Chapters 1:19 – 4:54)
c. The Opposition to the Son of God (Chapters 5:1 – 12:50)
d. The Preparation of the Disciples by the Son of God (Chapters 13:1 – 17:26)
e. The Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Son of God (Chapters 18:1 – 21:25)
6. John, along with his brother James, were one of Jesus’ original disciples that was nicknamed by Him as “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17). John’s father was Zebedee and his mother was Salome (who was with the other ladies at the crucifixion of Christ; Mark 15:40). John was evidentily among the Galileans who followed John the Baptist until they were called to follow Jesus at the outset of His public ministry (1:19- 51). John identifies himself in his own gospel as the disciple “whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20) and he claims to be an eye witness of the events he described (John 1:14; 19:35; 21:24- 25). Based on the author’s knowledge of detailed Palestinian geography and Jewish customs makes it clear that the writer had to be a Palestinian Jew. This and many other internal and external evidences lead most experts to agree that John was the actual author of this gospel.
7. John’s gospel is topical, not primarily chronological, and it revolves around seven miracles and seven “I Am” statements to prove that Jesus was “the Christ” (John 20:31). The seven miracles of Jesus covered in the gospel of John are:
a) Turning water into wine (John 2:1-11)
b) Healing the nobleman’s son (John 4:46-54)
c) Healing the man at Bethesda (John 5:1-18)
d) Feeding the 5,000 (John 6:1-14)
e) Walking on the water (John 6:15-21)
f) Healing the blind man (John 9:1-41)
g) Raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-57)
The seven “I Am” statements revealed in the gospel of John are:
a) “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35)
b) “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12)
c) “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58)
d) “I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11)
e) “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25)
f) “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6)
g) “I am the true vine” (John 15:1)
8. Like all the gospels, John is not easy to date. Most conservative scholars believe that The Gospel of John was the last gospel written somewhere between 60-90 AD. According to tradition, John wrote this gospel in Ephesus.