Introduction to John

John is most likely the last of the Gospel writers to write.  More than likely he had been exposed to the previous three Gospels and endeavored to clarify certain details about Jesus as well as record additional events that were not included in Matthew, Mark or Luke.  Much of John’s content is unique.  His language is simple and clear while at the same time very theologically profound.  John’s simple language should never be equated to shallow theology.  He clearly states his purpose for recording these events as being to promote belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and eternal life through Him.  He presents Jesus as the Son of God and clearly defends the divinity of our Lord Jesus.  The book is structured around his rendition of miracles performed by Jesus as well as His clear statements using the phrase “I AM” there can be no doubt that Jesus is God.  John wants us to know who Jesus is and that we are required to believe in Him.  This call to believe is contrasted by the constant rejection of His teaching, especially at the hands of the religious leaders of Israel, as well as the constant attempts by the people to exploit Jesus for His powers for personal gain but failing to recognize Him as Messiah.  Jesus is clearly exclaimed to be the Son of God; but in spite of this fact He is exploited and ultimately executed by the very people to who He was most clearly revealed.  It is a very dangerous thing to reject the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

THE SON OF GOD IS EXCLAIMED: John does not give us a genealogy for the Son of God; rather He focuses on the fact that Jesus is God.  The deity of Christ is fundamental to the truths that John wants to communicate.  He doesn’t trace His human ancestry back to Abraham or Adam; but goes all the way to eternity past and simply states that the Word was in the beginning and He was not only with God the Father but was and is God.  He is presented as the Creator, Sustainer and the very purpose of the universe.  He came to reveal God to the world but was not understood by most.  However, to those who believed He gave the right to become sons of God.  He was preceded by John the Baptist and proclaimed to be the Messiah who would take away the sins of the world by John.  He presented Himself to the disciples as He called them to follow Him and join Him in the task of saving men from their sin.  He performed His first miracle in Galilee as He turned water into wine at a wedding ceremony.  He cleansed the temple in Jerusalem and taught Nicodemus about being born again through faith in Him in order to be cleansed from sin.  He went to Samaria and many believed in Him through the testimony of a sinful woman to whom Jesus revealed Himself.  He comes full circle back to Galilee where He is received by the multitude and heals the son of a nobleman.  John takes us through all the major regions in which Jesus ministered and shows us how He was exclaimed to the Son of God is each place.  His power was on clear display but His purpose of forgiving sin through belief in Him was also proclaimed in every place that He went.    

THE SON OF GOD IS EXPLOITED: John describes Jesus’s ministry in the different places that He went and how He was rejected by the people who were more interested in exploiting His power for their own good than believing He was the Son of God who had come to set them free from sin.  These manifestations of His power through miracles were rejected by the religious leaders as almost all of them were performed surrounding one of the Jewish holidays that fell on the Sabbath when the Jews were not allowed to work.  The paralytic man was healed during a feast in Jerusalem on the Sabbath.  Jesus makes it a point of emphasis in this healing to forgive him of his sins.  This claim outrages the religious leaders but the focus on the fact that the man who could never walk was carrying his bed on the Sabbath day.  The multitudes followed Jesus and He taught them about God’s ways and requirements of man.  He miraculously feeds 5,000 with a few pieces of bread and some fish.  He sends the disciples to the other side of the lake and then walks out on water to them.  The people follow Him in hopes of getting another free meal.  Instead, Jesus tells them that He is the Bread of eternal life and that they must believe in Him in order to be saved from sin.  The people are looking to exploit Jesus for food instead of believing in Him as the Son of God.  As Jesus goes from place to place and ministers teaching and healing He constantly faces opposition to His teaching as the people are only interested in exploiting His power to promote their own healing and personal comfort.  Jesus came so that that people might be free from sin by believing in Him as the Son of God.  Instead the people sought to use Him to fulfill their own lusts but refused to recognize Him for who He was.  They were more interested in being free from huger and sickness than being free from sin.  Unbelief is the most damaging sin man can commit because it makes forgiveness impossible.  It is easy to point our fingers at the Jews who failed to believe.  However, the truth is that our own hearts are constantly plagued by the sin of unbelief.  Whenever we face at trial or are called to suffer our first reaction is not to trust our sovereign Lord; rather, we doubt and question God’s goodness from a heart of unbelief.  We are often more interested in exploiting Him for our own personal desires than we are in worshiping and trusting Him.

THE SON OF GOD IS EXECUTED: Jesus knows very well that He will be executed, but despite His constantly telling His disciples about this reality, they still seem very unaccepting of this.  Jesus seeks to prepare them for this upcoming event by celebrating the Last Supper with them.  He washes their feet, celebrates the Passover, initiates the betrayal process by sending Judas away and then makes a discourse about His leaving and return.  The disciples are still confused by this teaching but it would be vital to them when the events described begin to unfold.  He then gave further instructions to them as they were walking to the Garden of Gethsemane were Jesus would then intercede with the Father about their being any other means.  These events clearly illustrate the humanity and deity of Christ.  As God He knew what would happen and was determined to pay sin’s price.  As Man, He felt the physical pain of suffering as well as the spiritual pain of separation from the Father that was imminent and wanted to avoid it if there was any way.  Then the process of His execution begins with the betrayal of Judas, the arrest in the garden and the various trials of Jesus.  It is obvious that these trials were much more about putting on a show of apparent justice than finding the truth.  The charge against Christ was that He claimed to be the Son of God.  John writes this book to promote belief in this exact truth.  The religious leaders claimed to be waiting for Messiah.  Jesus repeatedly performed miracles and clearly stated that He was the Messiah.  They simply rejected Him and insisted upon His crucifixion.  Pilate sought to release Him, finding not fault in Him, but feared the reaction of the people more than the responsibility of crucifying an innocent man who claimed to be God.  Every detail of the prophecies of the Old Testament was fulfilled during the process of His execution, but even these escaped the notice of those who claimed to know the Law.  It is a very dangerous thing to presume that we are right while ignoring the teachings of Scripture.  Pride easily blinds us to truth.  The words of Jesus from the cross demonstrate a care for others and a spirit of forgiveness and then He died to pay for our sin.  However, in the very next scene we see the glorious truth of the resurrection.  God accepted Jesus as a sacrifice for our sin and He is raised from the dead to illustrate that the mission has been accomplished the price for sin has been paid once and for all.  He appears repeatedly to His disciples and teaches them that their mission from this time forward is to proclaim the Gospel to all the nations.  He prepares them for the fact that He will return to the Father but send the Spirit so that they might accomplish the mission.  John makes it very clear that He writes so that we might know and believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that in so believing we might have eternal life.