The Background of John

OK, here goes....



Last week I said that John is my favorite gospel and I have to say again, after looking over my notes, it really is my favorite gospel! And I'm not alone. John's gospel is considered the most loved gospel of the four gospels.



When I go to heaven, the two disciples I want to meet the most are Peter (I mean, really, how many of you can identify with his "foot in mouth" approach to life? I know I can!) and John. John's passion and love for Christ are seen throughout his book and I am so excited to share with you what I have learned. Please don't judge me too much in my writing or teaching. I really hope to just share with you everything that I have learned.



As we approach this gospel, please keep in mind that the gospel of John is completely unique. It is truly John's defense for who Christ is, starting with John 1 as his "thesis statement", the rest of John presenting his points/arguments, and ending with John 21 as his "closing statement," with John ending with "This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true." (John 21:24). I LOVE THAT STATEMENT!!!! It's like "Bam! Just prove me wrong!" Or, in the words of a favorite TV show, "Lawyered!"





So, take a big breath, because there is a lot to pack into "the background" of John, so this blog will be a long one. Before I try to dig into that, here are some fun facts about John.

*Although the deity of Christ (we will get into this more later) is the theme of John, the name Jesus is used more often than the name of Christ.

*The word "believe" is used more than 100 times in the book of John, while the other three gospels combined use it only forty times.

*The word "faith" does not occur once in the book of John.

*The idea of eternal life appears 35 times in John, but only 12 other times in the other three gospels.

*The other gospels are considered "historical" gospels, while John is considered to be a "spiritual" gospel.

DATE:



The date of writing for John has been much disputed over the years. We know that it was the last gospel to be written. There have been some who have suggested as late as 150 AD, some 90-94 AD, and others 85-90 AD. Most recent discoveries now suggest that John as probably written around 80-90 AD. In fact, the oldest surviving copy of any portion of Scripture comes from John's gospel!



AUTHOR:



Of course everyone assumes that John is the gospel writer, but here is how we definitely know that he was the writer. If you read John 21:20-24, it says that the author of the gospel is "the one whom Jesus loves." Luke 6:14-16 tells us the names of all of the disciples, and these names also appear in John, with the exception of John's name, so we deduce that this "is the one whom Jesus loved." We also know that John was Jesus' cousin, the son of Salome, Mary's sister. John was most likely very young when he followed Christ, probably in his teens.



ROLE:



Let's talk about John's gospel's place with the other three gospels. The word gospel means "good news". The concept of a gospel is defined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (go ahead and look that one up). A gospel, to be considered the good news of God, must contain three elements. What do you think they are? We will talk about this one this week.



Matthew, Mark, and Luke are all considered to be "synoptic gospels." The word synoptic comes from the Greek words "syn" (together or alike) and "optic" (to see). Basically, it means that they "see alike." Their goal in writing was to present the straight, historic facts. John, however, is an evangelistic gospel. His goal, rather than just presenting historic facts, was to cause men to trust Christ for salvation (remember the thesis paper idea?).



THE FOUR GOSPELS IN A NUTSHELL: Again, to get a good grip on John, we need to understand his purpose and it helps to see the purpose of each gospel writer. I love how they all fit together like a puzzle.

A Portrait of Christ:

Each Gospel writer had an "agenda" of sorts. He wanted to display Christ in a certain light, focusing on certain aspects of Christ's walk on earth.

Matthew: Christ as King

Mark: Christ as Servant

Luke: Christ as Man

John: Christ God

I love how each of these covers the opposite of the other, covering the full portrait of Christ when viewed all together.

Prominent Words:

These are the words that are found most often in each gospel. Do you see how each of these words line up with the portrait each gospel writer sought to display?

Matthew: Fulfilled

Mark: Straightway, or Right away

Luke: Son of Man

John: Believe

Audience:

Each gospel writer had a certain audience in mind when writing, which also explains why they sought to portray Christ in a certain role. After seeing who they wrote to, why do you think they sought to portray Christ in that specific role?

Matthew: The Jews

Mark: The Romans

Luke: The Greeks

John: All people

(we will look at in more detail this week why he wrote to all people)

Emphasis:

Each gospel writer focused on a certain action of Christ during his time on earth. Again, notice how each of these lines up with the portrait of Christ the gospel writer was presenting.

Matthew: Christ's Words

Mark: Christ's Works

Luke: Christ's Humanity

John: Christ's Deity

Outstanding Sections:

These are the specific actions that each gospel writer focused on, following from what was mentioned above. Why would these impact each people group?

Matthew: Christ's Sermons

Mark: Christ's Miracles

Luke: The Details of Christ's birth and crucifixion

John: Christ's claims to deity (both words and miracles)

UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS:

OK, as we wrap up the background of John, here are some characteristics that set John apart from the other gospels:

~John emphasized evangelism, not history.

~John only recorded seven miracles.

~John focused on Judea rather than on Galilee

~John used Christ's words about himself more than he used his own words.

I know, this is a lot to read and take in. So here are some questions to consider this week:


1. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4: What are the three elements of a gospel?
2. Why do you think John is the most loved gospel?
3. Why do you think each gospel writer focused on the above categories? What parallels can you see?
4. John presented through his gospel who Jesus Christ is to him. After presenting his thesis and argument, his question to us becomes "Who is Jesus Christ to you?"

We're One, but We're Not the Same

We are all in situations where we have to deal with other Christians and, sometimes, these situations can be difficult to navigate. Your boss is kind of a jerk, but he’s a Christian jerk, so you can’t just write him off—you have to work toward unity. A teenager says something offensive on Facebook, but you can’t unfriend him because you’re his youth leader—you have to gently confront him about it. I’m not saying we can or should be careless with our secular friends and co-workers, not at all! I’m just pointing out that it’s different. There are different expectations when everyone is a believer and, every now and then, it’s good to think about how we deal with each other.

Ephesians 4 is kind of like an Oreo cookie for Christian living. The cookies are practical words written to teach the early church (and us) how to have unity in the body of Christ. The creamy filling is a description of what our hearts need to be like in order for us to have this kind of unity in the body.

For this week, I’d like you to read all of chapter 4. It’s kind of long, so you might want to get a glass of milk. As you read, take note of the practical cookies Paul is throwing down from verses 1-16 and from 25-32 and jot down some of the things he tells Christ’s followers to do so that we can have unity in the body.

What makes this chapter in Ephesians different from the way James dispensed practical wisdom is Paul’s progression. Beginning in verse 17, he lays out what we were—Gentiles with hard hearts and darkened minds. Then we heard about Christ and we became new, righteous and holy. What made us new wasn’t that our behavior changed, it was a change in our hearts. What other descriptions of the Gentiles does Paul give? How does he describe the transition from Gentile to child of light?

Now that we are children of light, living with new hearts, we are to play nicely with the other children of light. As we work daily to preserve peace and unity within the body, we are growing and building the body, with the ultimate goal being verse 15, “…we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

Last Call...

If you have read the last two chapters in Isaiah you know that it concludes with a discussion of two groups:
1) Those who are humble will be saved
2) those who will not be saved because they rebelled the Lord.

Isaiah was talking to a remnant of God's people who had been faithful. Who understood that without him they were nothing. "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word."

He was also talking to a large group of people who thought they were covered. They "offered sacrifices in the gardens and burned incense on alters of brick" He says these people are, "a smoke in my nostrils" Basically they are annoying. They are not good for anything. " They have chosen their own way and their souls delight in their abominations; so I will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring upon them what they dread."

The important thing to note about these closing words are that Isaiah made it clear that the saving was going to be for everyone. This is what He is saying in 65:1. Paul used this argument in Romans chapter 10:19-20. God opened up the doors of salvation to all mankind. In a big way Romans ten is the best commentary on Isaiah 65. I will not try to write a better one.

Chapter 66 is about the birth of a new nation. The definition for those who God calls, "His People" is changed in the light of what Christ is going to do. It's not about sacrifices and following the law. It's about a contrite heart. This isn't new. David understood this a hundred years before Isaiah spoke to the people. He said, " You do not delight in sacrifices or I would bring it..the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, you do not despise."

There is more that I am chewing on about picture painted in 66 but I haven't finished chewing on it and I don't know yet how to put it into words. So before I make a bigger mess of things I will just leave it at that.

Check out the homework in Joy's post and we will see you Thursday night!

Season Finale--Homework

It’s our last week with Isaiah! Katie will be bringing you some commentary to go along with your reading of chapters 65 and 66. My job is to give you some homework.

As we’ve been working through Isaiah, we’ve run into certain themes over and over—for instance, God’s judgment. We’ve seen these themes apply to Israel as Isaiah is writing and to us in the present and to the future establishment of Christ’s kingdom.

So, for each of the themes below (and others if you think of any), try to find a verse from any part of Isaiah that represents the theme. To the best of your ability, determine how it applied to Israel, or applies to us or to both.

Creation
Redemption
Judgment
Justice
Messiah
God’s glory
Restoration
Comfort
Outsiders (other nations, non-Israelites)

If I were to continue with my example judgment, I would reference Isaiah 65:6-7 which says, “’See, it stands written before me: I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps—both your sins and the sins of your fathers,’ says the Lord.” He was talking to Israel, specifically to the people who had broken His law and promising them that their sins wouldn’t go unpunished. This verse can also apply to us because it shows us that God takes sin seriously and demands that sin be punished. It also speaks to a coming judgment. I could keep going, but hopefully you’ve got the idea.

Our vision for Thursday is a discussion of these themes, where and how we see them playing out and what they teach us about God’s character and His plan. We are also envisioning chart paper, maybe a chalkboard. So please come ready to discuss!

Also, one last piece of homework. Respond to this question in one sentence: What have you learned from Isaiah?

Isaiah 63 & 64--Finding Balance

Scripture has this amazing power to bring our lives back into balance. We swing from extreme to extreme, but God’s word is true, steadfast, unchanging. This is why we can trust it to ground us when we find ourselves drifting too far to either end of the emotional spectrum.

On one end is the dark place. In this place we pity ourselves, we can’t imagine anyone loving us or any reason why they ever might. Sometimes we stop by this place for a few hours in the middle of the week, sometimes we bring our tents and camp in this place of despair for a season. Unloved. Forgotten. Abandoned. Persecuted.

Isaiah’s audience was camped out in this place of despair as their nation crumbled around them. They believed God had turned His back on them and left them to be swept up by their enemies. The opening verses of Isaiah 63 paint a very different—and gruesome—picture. God has not abandoned His people and left their fate in Edom’s hand. Instead, He reveals a Messiah who will fight Israel’s enemies with His own hands, who will trample them and destroy them, soaking His own garments with the blood of His enemies.

When we are feeling downcast and defeated, that same Messiah will fight for us. He declares us worthy, precious, loved.

The other place we go is to the mountaintop of arrogant pride. From this vantage point we can see how badly others are screwing up. We can appreciate all the great things we do. We are successful. Competent. Independent. Of course God loves us, what’s not to love?

Israel was guilty of this too. They were unrepentant, proud. They went through the motions of worship and sacrifice, but their hearts were hardened. And so Isaiah 64:6 brings us the oft-quoted reality check:
“All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”

As impressive as Israel thought its worship was, as great as we think our actions are, God sees filthy rags. And that’s our good acts.

God’s word is the fulcrum that keeps us balanced between these sinful extremes. It tells us we are loved and worth fighting for. It reminds us that we haven’t arrived, that our ultimate redemption has yet to come and that it is completely out of our control.

1. The Holy Spirit is mentioned a couple times in these chapters. What do we learn about Him from them? How can His work keep us balanced?

2. Of these two extremes, which one are you more likely to camp in? Think about why and about what truths can pull you back.

Isaiah 61--Waiting for the World to Change

Isaiah 61 and Luke 4:14-28

A friend told me today that her brother and his wife are expecting a baby. A few years ago, this brother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After extensive chemotherapy, his life, and his MRIs, are back to normal. To top it all off, there is now an against-all-odds baby on the way.

When we hear stories like these, we sigh and we think of our God who gives us beauty for ashes; the God who softens painful memories by leading us to good ones. We think about our Redeemer.

And yet, some of our brothers don’t have miraculous baby stories. Sometimes our brothers lose three babies, only to lose four more the following year. Sometimes it seems like God gives us ashes for ashes. I hate to tell my sad story again, girls, but this is where I was when I fell in love with Isaiah 61. I was among the grieving, the mourning, the desperate. I wondered how God could leave us empty-handed and broken-hearted twice. I was waiting for my Redeemer to come.

On a much larger scale, Israel had to wonder the same things. During Isaiah’s ministry, the northern kingdom fell to Assyria and was sent into exile. The southern kingdom watched and waited for Assyria to keep on marching and take it as well. Judah would eventually fall to Babylon, and more of God’s people would be exiled. They would languish in a strange land, waiting for redemption. They would return, rebuild the temple, only to be taken over by the Romans—all the while reading this text in their assemblies, waiting, wondering when their Redeemer would come.

So imagine that day in Luke 4. The carpenter’s son goes into His hometown synagogue. He unrolls the scroll, finds the place He’s looking for and reads,
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then, He sits down and tells His audience, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Can you imagine? Just reading it makes my heart soar. I want to yell, “That’s my Jesus!!” The Sabbath crowd in Nazareth reacts differently. What they’ve been waiting for—for generations—is in their midst, but they don’t realize He is the One Isaiah proclaimed. They’re looking for something that matches their idea of redemption—a great political leader, an overthrow of the Romans—not the carpenter’s son.

I have my own plans for redemption too. I want the divine quid-pro-quo. If my suffering is loneliness, I want fellowship. If my suffering is loss, I want gain. If my suffering is injustice, I want cosmic lightning bolts to strike my enemy.

But God’s picture of redemption doesn’t match mine. God’s plan to redeem His people is much grander than the daily tit-for-tat I often long for. God’s plan came to its apex when Jesus died. It was by this act that He freed the captives and released the prisoners. When we are broken-hearted and desperate for redemption, we don’t have to wait for our Redeemer to come. We can point to the cross and know that redemption is done.

At the same time, we also hope and wait for the year of the Lord’s favor; for the ultimate redemption and restoration we will experience when Christ returns. Some stories will have happy endings in this life, some will not be resolved until His return.

Knowing this, how do we wait for the Lord’s favor? Where should we place our hope in the meantime?

What were the Israelites hoping for? Why did they miss Jesus when He was sitting in their synagogue? What can we learn from their example?

Walls of Salvation and Gates of Praise

Today I do not want a palace. I do not want golden rings, diamond earrings, or a new shirt from J. Crew. Today I crave peace, I yearn for righteousness, and I am dying to just be like Jesus. I feel keenly the need for gifts that are eternal.

Reading Isaiah 60 I start to question God's promises-- of herds of camel, silver and gold, the wealth of nations, captives, and people that bow before me. As valuable as these things are, I cannot help but think that I'd far rather have the house of wood and stone, with a peaceful chimney poking out of it, than all of the bronze doors and silver pillars to adorn a castle (ref. verse 17).

Then I read it again. "Although you have been forsaken and hated," and I realize I have not necessarily been forsaken by man but by my own wayward heart, hated not by man but by the ways of the world, "...with no one traveling through," and I realize that a desolate pride roars through the halls of my heart like a vagrant wind carring debris and dead leaves, "I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations," and here the Voice crescendos and tells me that my soul will be full of the wealth of my God.

Isaiah is not promising an earthly kingdom to all the generations to come, but rather a spiritual kingdom. Ladies, this is not a promise of what is to come but of what IS. This is Jesus speaking to my marrow and telling me that while I bask in the sunshine it could be taken away and still His holiness would fill me. "The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory."

Meditate on that, sistas.

Some further thought...
1. Read verse 20, "Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end." Is this a promise for the future, or is it a promise for now? Think about how Katie has encouraged us to consider Heaven being a present reality.