Study of John - Week 9

b. Verses 19-28 “Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” Are you the Prophet?” He answered “No.” Finally they said “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied “I am the voice of the one crying in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.” Now some of the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” “I baptize with water,” John replied, but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Here is where the narrative of Jesus’ ministry begins. The first 18 verses deal with the larger concepts of Jesus and the author clearly intends to show that Jesus is the Word (logos) of God, which means that He is the creative power, reason, and Son of God. While the first part of the book is somewhat theological and philosophical in nature, the rest of the book is the narrative and story of Jesus’ life. The author is very careful to insert a timeline in the narrative in a way no other gospel does. The first week is actually detailed day by day (day six is omitted) in the first two chapters.

These passages are about John the Baptist, who is actually related to Jesus. I am not sure exactly how they are related, but Luke 1:36 clearly states that Mary and Elizabeth (mother of John the Baptist) are related. In fact, the angel that appeared to Mary told her that Elizabeth would have a child, even though she was said to be barren. I don’t know how important this fact is, but it is interesting to know.

The Daily Study Bible – The Gospel of John by William Barclay states that if we read John carefully from this point to verse 2:11, we get a clear picture of the first week of Jesus’ ministry. This was a big week. The Pharisees took notice and felt that they needed to go out to the desert and visit John the Baptist and see what everyone was buzzing about. The priests (John the Baptist was a priest, since he was a descendent of Aaron), the Pharisees, and the Sanhedrin all sent some folks to talk to John. This was partly due to the fact that he was something of a celebrity at the time and many people were going to see him. He actually had a large following that believed that he was the Christ. He clearly disputes this idea here.

The Daily Study Bible – The Gospel of John by William Barclay says that the Gospel of John is two things. First, it is the story of God in Jesus Christ and second it is about the rejection of Jesus. An interesting thing about this gospel is that the Greek word for Jews (loudaioi ) occurs over seventy times and each the context is in opposition to Jesus. This gospel is as much about the rejection of Jesus as anything. Another way to put it is that is a story about love pitted against rejection and warning.

John the Baptist was what we should all be. He pointed to the Lord and helped others get their houses in order to receive Him. Those that listened to John either rejected his message, took it on board, or thought that John was something more than he claimed to be. His humble clothes and his desire to be forgotten only brought attention to him. He was quick to direct attention to Jesus.

This is interesting about baptism. In the Jewish faith, the allowance for baptism was reserved for those coming into Judaism from other faiths and was not for Israelites at all. In other words, an Israelite already belonged to God and baptism was not needed. John was baptizing everyone – Jews and I am sure some Gentiles. This was different and had the Pharisees wondering why and by what authority he was doing it.

The statement about the location (Bethany on the other side of the Jordan) is important, since there were actually two cities or areas named Bethany. From an archeological and geographic standpoint, this is very important. The Bethany mentioned elsewhere in the Bible is actually located a few miles from Jerusalem. The actual location of this Bethany is not known, except that it is on the other side of the Jordan. I expect that it was a rather desolate location, since it is known that John the Baptist lived in the desert.

Question: Have you ever given your testimony to someone? Have you ever had your faith questioned by someone with an agenda? What about someone who was just curious? Also, how does your life point others to Jesus?

Study of John - Week 8

ix. Verses 15-17 “John testifies concerning him. He cries out saying “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me’. From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” John the Baptist placed himself below Jesus in importance. He is saying a couple of things here: first, in terms of eternity, Jesus has always existed; second, John is saying that his place in ministry has ended and Jesus’ has begun.

The next concept in these verses is the fullness of Christ. The Daily Study Bible – The Gospel of John by William Barclay says that we have all drawn on the fullness of Christ. The word fullness in Greek is pleroma and it means the “sum total” of all that is God. We can go to Jesus with any need and have that need met. If it is knowledge that you seek, He is the supreme revelation. If it is love, forgiveness, or courage, all of these can be found in their ultimate expression in Jesus.

The Law came through Moses, but grace comes through Jesus. It changed the way we are to live. Instead of obeying a set of laws, we are now free to seek Him in love as sons and daughters.

QUESTION: Where have you experienced the fullness of God? Do you feel free in Christ or do you feel like you are supposed to follow a set of rules in life?

x. Verse 18 “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” Jesus is unique in that what was previously unseen is now seen and declared to the world. Jesus brings God to us and made the invisible visible and the unreachable within reach. God is no longer a distant stranger, but is a loving Father. Notice how he uses God to refer to God the Father and Jesus in the same verse.

Question: Have you ever really thought of Jesus as being the same as God? How do you picture them being the same, yet distinct? Does this change your feeling about what Jesus did for you?

WOW! That is a LOT. For next week read: John 1:19-51. Lots of verses, but two main themes and it should go a lot faster.

Study of John - Week 7

viii. Verse 14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The reason for the Gospel of John is right here in this verse. The Word (logos or the creative force - Jesus) was flesh, just like you and me. This was an entirely new concept to everyone in the world at that time. The Daily Study Bible – The Gospel of John by William Barclay mentions that the author uses the word “theasthai” in regard to seeing Jesus in this verse. This word means actual physical sight. This is not some spiritual understanding or spiritual sight, but the author is claiming here that the Word actually came to earth and was seen by human eyes. This idea flew in the face of Gnosticism, which held the idea that pure deity could not be joined with flesh, which was considered entirely evil. This idea so upset some people that there was a group in the Church that held that Jesus must have been a phantom because the flesh could never actually co-mingle with God.

The Ryrie Study Bible points out that Jesus has all the attributes of God (Phil 2:6) and all of the attributes common to all humanity. He was tempted, he had all of the emotions we all experience, and had desires like we all have (see Matt 4:1-11). Jesus had to give up or not use some of His Godly abilities and only rely on His relationship with the Father (see John 8:28). It had to be that way for Him to be an adequate savior. He had to be all human to suffer and die and He had to be God to conquer sin and death and to atone for the sins of the world. He will also live forever as the God-man in His resurrected body (Acts 1:11).

The Ryrie Study Bible mentions the fact that the author uses the words the “One and Only” to refer to the Word. This is to draw a distinction between someone who believes and is born as a child of God. This same wording is used elsewhere in the Bible to describe someone’s only son (Luke 7:12, Luke 8:42, and Heb 11:17).

QUESTION: Since Jesus was entirely human, do you think that we can do what Jesus did and live without sin? What about for a period of time? What about performing miracles?

Study of John - Week 6

vi. Verses 10-11 “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 recognize him.” These verses address the fact that the Jews and the rest of the world did not accept him as the Christ. In Romans 1:19-20, Paul says that we are all without excuse since God has revealed Himself through his creation. The rock band Live has a song that says:

“I don't need no one to tell me about heaven
I look at my daughter, and I believe.
I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sunset and I perceive”

We should all have this type of faith that is based on what I think we all really know to be true in our hearts. If we truly seek truth and search our own hearts it will be revealed to us no matter our circumstances. It is revealed in ourselves and in our world. We each have an inner longing for the eternal and this is no mistake.

The author uses “the world” to refer to those that refuse to acknowledge or to seek God and instead pursue the “ways of the world” as you may have heard it said. I think another term that could be interchanged with this today is society.

The other concept in these two verses is about Jesus coming to earth in bodily form. He specifically came to His people (the Jews) and His land (the Holy Land). These are a people that have been set apart by God and a place that was special. It was in this setting that he was rejected. God’s people had been prepared for the task of receiving Jesus for centuries and they refused when the time came. It is the ultimate demonstration of love and humility that He demonstrates by allowing Himself to be rejected and killed by His own for their own good.

QUESTION: How has God prepared you to receive Him? Have you refused or dragged your feet?

vii. Verses 12-13 “Yet to all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural decent, not of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” Not everyone rejected him and for those that “receive him” there is a reward. The best model of this is adoption. Actually, in Jewish law someone can disown their naturally born children for certain things, but once a child was adopted, there is no such allowance. Once you are adopted, it is for good - there is no going back. That is the confidence we can have in our adoption as children of God. All of us are children of God in the sense that we owe our existence to Him. This fact does not allow us to approach God and establish a relationship with Him. In fact, the Jews did not even think that this was possible. Moses, Abraham, Noah, Adam and the prophets were approached by God first. This was the pattern of close relationship with God. The rest of us relied on the law to keep us in good with God. When Jesus came in the flesh, it allowed people to actually see and talk with God. Although not everyone understood this at the time, it was God approaching everyone and offering a way to bridge the abyss between us and God and establish a personal relationship. This was done at the will of God, not by any effort on the part of us. Another interesting thing is that it is referred to as a right, not a privilege. It is something that we can depend or even demand – a promise of God. It is ours as long as we receive Jesus.

QUESTION: How would you live differently if you had an adoption certificate showing that you had been adopted by God and He would be coming to get you soon?