The Gospel of John

The Gospel of John (Koine Greek: Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην) is an account of the life of Jesus written by the Apostle John. It is one of the four Gospels in the New Testament. It focuses on Jesus as The Son of God, Jesus as The Word Made Flesh, Jesus as God Incarnate, and the scriptures pointing to Jesus. It builds up to the resurrection of Jesus as being the ultimate statement about who the father is. In the tetramorph, the John's gospel is symbolized by an eagle since the focus is on the divinity of Jesus.

John's in depth understanding of Jesus can be traced back to John's understanding of the love of Jesus. In this gospel, John calls himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. This was because he understood the love of Jesus better than any other disciple. This deep understanding led John's heart to being more open to receive revelation from Jesus.

Due to the in depth understanding on who Jesus is, John's Gospel is often recommended as the first book of the Bible that new believers should know.

Stories in John's Gospel have a repeating structure. Jesus says or does something that stirs controversy. The conversation then turns to who Jesus is. It then ends with some people believing in Jesus and others rejecting Jesus.

There are four sets of seven in John's Gospel. The first one is the seven "I am" statements of Jesus. These build up to Jesus' statement, "I am." This is a declaration of His divinity and his perpetual existence. The second one are the seven signs, which are miracles that point to the resurrection of Jesus. The whole purpose of God working miracles today is to point to the resurrection of Jesus. The third set is seven theses, each story being Him expressing an idea. The fourth set is seven temporal markers. The seventh temporal marker is the indication that the resurrected Jesus appeared on the first day.

The seven I am statements are:

* "I am the bread of life." (John 6:35)
* "I am the light of the world." (John 8:12)
* "I am the door." (John 10:7)
* "I am the good shepherd." (John 10:11)
* "I am the resurrection and the life." (John 11:25)
* "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6)
* "I am the true vine." (John 15:1)

The seven signs are:

* Changing of the water into wine. (John 2:1-11)
* Healing a government official's son. (John 4:46-54)
* Jesus heals a lame man in the pool of Bethesda. (John 5:1-18)
* Jesus feeds the 5,000. (John 6:1-13)
* Jesus walks on water. (John 6:16-21)
* Jesus heals the man who was born blind. (John 9:1-34)
* Jesus raised Lazarus. (John 11:1-45)

The seven thesis in John's gospel are:

* The cleansing of the temple. (John 2:1-12)
* The conversation with Nicodemus. (John 2:23-3:36)
* The woman at the well. (John 4:1-45)
* Jesus feeds the 5,000. (John 6)
* Jesus teaches at the feast of tabernacles. (John 7)
* The woman caught in adultery. (John 8)
* Jesus is the shepherd. (John 10)

John's Gospel has six sections. The prologue is about Jesus as the Word that was there at creation. Then it transitions into the testimony of John the Baptist concerning Jesus, followed by a few other testimonies. Then it goes into the ministry of Jesus, which features the seven signs and seven theses. The first part of his ministry focuses on Jesus encountering Jewish institutions. Then it continues with Jesus and His activities on Jewish feast days. This section ends with the raising of Lazarus, the final sign. This final sign shows that these signs point to the resurrection of Jesus. After the resurrection of Lazarus, John's Gospel focuses on Jesus' final night with His disciples. Then comes the arrest, trial, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The final section is the epilogue.

## Outline

1. Introduction (John 1:1-18)
2. Testimonies (John 19-51)
1. Testimony of John the Baptist (John 1:19-36)
2. Testimonies of Andrew, Philip, and Nathaniel

4. Ministry of Jesus (John 2-12)
1. Jewish institutions (John 2-4)
2. Jewish Feasts (John 5-10)
3. The Raising of Lazarus (John 11-12)

6. Final Night with the Disciples
7. Death and Resurrection
8. Epilogue

## Courses

**John's Writings**

**New Christian Reading Plans**

**Through the Bible**