The Gospel of John - Introduction
The Gospel of John - Introduction
I am not quite sure how I am going to tackle journaling and writing about the Gospel of John, but here we go anyway. I am excited and a little intimidated by diving into John. In chapter 20 we read the purpose of John’s Gospel;
“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” - John 20:31 NIV
This entire book was written, so we will come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is fully God and fully man. I learned this morning that the word “believe” is used over 100 times, so it was apparently important we left this book believing.
The book of John is a little different than the other three gospels. This description in a commentary was the easiest way for me to process this:
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the three synoptic gospels. The word synoptic means “see-together” and the first three Gospels present the life of Jesus in pretty much the same format. The first three Gospels focus more on what Jesus taught and did; John focused more on who Jesus is.
So, who was John? Well, in the closing chapter of the book, we learned that John was the disciple who Jesus loved (20v7). We learn that John was the disciple who testifies to these things and wrote them down (20v24). But, we don’t hear much or know much about John from the Gospel he wrote. David Guzik tells us this;
We can put a few things together about him from the Gospel records.
John’s father was Zebedee
John’s mother was Salome, one of those to go to the tomb early on the morning the resurrection of Jesus was discovered
John’s brother was James
John was a partner in the fishing business with Peter
John and his brother James were given the nickname, “Sons of Thunder”
The layout and design of this Gospel is pretty cool. The Bible Project breaks it down this way:
Ch. 1 Introduction
Ch. 2-10 Miraculous Signs and Controversies
Ch. 11-12 Raising of Laurus
Ch. 13-17 Jesus Final Words
Ch. 18-20 Jesus Death & Resurrection
Ch. 21 Epilogue
There is also a really interesting and cool connection with John using the number seven. According to the NIV Introduction to John, the number seven represented completeness and wholeness, a finished work of God revealing his purpose for the world to the Jews. The book opens with words echoing the Bible’s creation story, which was completed in seven days. The story is told in two main parts. The first describes Jesus’ public ministry and has seven sections. The second part is devoted to the Passover weekend when Jesus gave his life for the world. John records seven instances in which Jesus revealed his identity by using the phrase I am, the name by which God had revealed himself earlier. So seven is a vital part of the book, again representing a finished work of God being Jesus.
As we dive into John, may we have the eyes to see and the ears to hear as you desire God.
“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” - John 20:31 NIV