(Good Day, Meetpastordan Readers: Last week’s 4th of July post interrupted this series that was started in June entitled, “Who Is This Jesus?” from the perspective of the four Gospel writters. Today and next week will end this series, but the Gospel of John has so much in it, it had to have two weeks. After this is complete, I will continue on with a blog entitled, “How Good is Good Enough, and How Bad is Too Bad? Thanks for being loyal supporters.)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (1:1) (Word = Truth=God=Jesus= Holy Spirit= Truth = God etc.) “He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (1:2-3) As He spoke, the power of his words brought galaxies into existence. Stars and a moon lit the sky at night; the sun lit his Creation during the day. Water and land were separated and were filled with plants and creatures, all growing, multiplying, swimming and running. But God’s creative display was not yet complete. Still to come would be his proudest creation that would have the ability to think, speak and love…Man!
God…eternal, infinite, unlimited was, is, and always will be the Creator and Lord of all that exists. But “at just the right time” (Romans 5:6), the most amazing event in the history of the universe occurred. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (1:16) Think about that! The Creator of the universe gave up his Majesty to become part of his creation, limited by time and space, and susceptible to aging, sickness, pain, suffering, and death. But because he IS Love, he was willing to face those limitations to save his proudest creation from his own sinfulness. He was therefore proclaimed by John the Baptist to be “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”(1:29) “In him is life, and that life is the light to all mankind. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.” (1:4-5) The Word – Jesus Christ the God-man – had arrived!
John wrote his Gospel (85-90 A.D.) after the destruction of Jerusalem and before his exile to the island of Patmos. He was writing to both new Christians and non-Christians, and his purpose was to prove conclusively that Jesus IS the Son of God, and that all who believe in him will have eternal life. John uses the “I Am” statements to underscore Jesus’ deity: I Am the bread of life (6:35); I Am the light of the world (8:12, 9:5); I Am the good shepherd (10:11); I Am the resurrection and the life (11:25); I Am the way, and the truth and the life (14:16); I Am the true vine. (15:1) Over 90 percent of John’s Gospel is unique and won’t be found in the other three Gospels. (As you read this, I would encourage you to follow along in your own Bible. This is only a structural outline, and is intended to peak your interest as I highlight the three sections by using selected Scriptures to accentuate each subsection. I plan to let the Scriptures speak for themselves, meaning my editorial comments will be minimal.) 🙂
This Gospel, like the other three, is divided into three parts. The first is Birth and Preparation of Jesus, the Son of God (1;1-2:12) 1A: “The true light that gives light to everyone has come into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (1:9-13) 1B: “The next day Jesus decided to leave Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, ‘Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.’ ‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel.” Jesus replied, “…You will see greater things than that. Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (1:43-51) (This was a reference to Jacob’s dream recorded in Genesis, but here Jesus is indicating that he would be the latter between heaven and earth.)
MESSAGE AND MINISTRY OF JESUS, THE SON OF GOD (2:13-12:50) 2A “After dark one evening, a Pharisee named Nicodemus came to speak with Jesus. ‘Teacher, we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you.’ Jesus replied, ‘I assure you, unless you are reborn again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.’ ‘What do you mean?’ exclaimed Nicodemus. ‘How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb to be born again?’ Jesus replied, ‘The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. For only I, the Son of Man, have come to earth and will return to heaven again. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save it. There is no judgement awaiting those who trust him” (3:1-6, 13-18) “The Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. But Jesus replied, ‘My Father never stops working, so why should I?’ I assure you, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. You will be astonished at what he does. He will even raise from the dead anyone he wants to, just as the Father does. And the Father leaves all judgment to his Son, so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. But if you refuse to honor the Son, then you are certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.’ The Jewish leaders plotted all the more to kill him. In addition to disobeying the Sabbath rules, he had spoken of God as his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.” (5:16, 19-23, 17-18)
2B “A crowd followed Jesus across the lake to Capernaum. When they found him, he told them: ‘The truth is, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you saw a miraculous sign. But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Son of Man, can give you. For God the Father has sent me for that very purpose.’ They replied, ‘What does God want us to do?’ Jesus told them, ‘This is what God wants you to do. Believe in the one he has sent.” (6:26-29) During Passover, Jesus was teaching in the Temple: “I’m not teaching my own ideas, but those of God who sent me. Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. Those who present their own ideas are looking for praise for themselves, but those who seek to honor the one who sent them are good and genuine. None of you obeys the Law of Moses! In fact, you are trying to kill me.” The crowd replied, ‘You’re demon possessed! Who’s trying to kill you?” The crowd was confused and divided: “Isn’t this the man they’re trying to kill. Yet here he is speaking in public, and they do nothing. Can it be that our leaders know he is the Messiah? But how can that be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.” (7:16-20, 25-27)
2C Trying to trick Jesus into saying something they could use against him, the Pharisees brought a woman before him and his crowd: “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. The Law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?’ Jesus replied, ‘All right, stone her. But let those who have never sinned throw the first stones!’ When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’ ‘No, Lord,’ the woman answered. Then Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” (8:3-11) “Jesus said to the people who believed in him, ‘You are truly my disciples if you obey my teachings; then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.’ ‘But we are descendants of Abraham’, they said. ‘We have never been slaves to anyone on earth. What do you mean, “set free?” Jesus replied, ‘I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave of sin. But if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free! (8:31-36) Jesus many times taught using parables: “I assure you, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber. For a shepherd enters through the gate and the sheep hear his voice and come to him. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t recognize his voice.’ Many who heard this illustration didn’t understand it, so Jesus explained: ‘I assure you, I Am the gate for the sheep. All others who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I Am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.” (10:1-9)
2D “A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Martha and Mary. The two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, ‘Lord, the one you love is very sick.’ But when Jesus heard about it, he said, ‘Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God. I, the Son of God, will receive glory from this. Let’s go to Judea again!’ But his disciples objected. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘only a few days ago the Jewish leaders were trying to kill you. Are you going there again?’ (Thomas said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let’s go too – and be killed with Jesus??) When Martha got word Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. Mary stayed at home. ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.’ Jesus told her, ‘Your brother will rise again. I Am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again. They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish. Do you believe that, Martha?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ she said. I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God who has come into the world from God.’ Lazarus had been in the grave for four days. Jesus looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so they will believe you sent me.’ Then he said, ‘LAZARUS, COME OUT!’ Lazarus came out, bound in grave-clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth. Jesus told them, ‘Unwrap him and let him go!” (11: 1-8, 20-27, 41-44)
Next week’s part 2 will begin with THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS, THE SON OF GOD (13:1-21-25) This final part will contain the profound mystery and essence of Christianity.
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May God Bless Ya…
Dan Presgrave, (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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