Bible Study: The Gospel of John

Introduction: The sequence of John’s Gospel is wholly different. In Matthew and Mark, the temptation by the Devil follows immediately after the Baptism of Jesus.

Introduction: The Baptism of Jesus – The testimony of Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” is unique to John (1:29; 1:36) and worth our detailed consideration. It is in the sacrifice of the Lamb that God comes into the world in order to take away sin, cleanse it from disobedience, and bestow the Holy Spirit that we live the life of righteousness.

Introduction: The transition from John the Baptist to Jesus is the transition from the old to the new, from promise to the fulfillment, from the shadow to the light, from the type to the reality, from the earthly to that which from all eternity was in the beginning. This is vividly expressed in the transition from John’s baptism by water only to Jesus’ baptism by water and the Spirit.

v.14b πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας “the full Gift of the Truth” – This section concludes the Prologue. The emphasis upon grace and truth summarizes and describes the character and work of Jesus.

Introduction: One of the chief themes of the Gospel is that of the new Israel. Who is a true Jew and thus belongs to the authentic, last times (eschatalogical) Israel?

Introduction: Is this section a break from the action, an interlude, or is a continuation and intentional contrast to v.1-5? Yes, they are less poetic and elegant.

Introduction: Chrysostom: “He effects everything by his speech alone, which is sweeter and produces a more beneficial sound than any harper or music.” Weinrich: “it functions like an overture to an opera… gathers together and introduces the themes that will structure and guide the musical narrative that follows… an overture weaves the themes together, recapitulates, and gives a unity to the story of the opera. The key to understanding the Prologue, as to the rest of the Gospel, is John 5:39: Y…

Examples of Uniqueness con’t.: Also, there are many episodes in common but told in a different way or with different purpose. For example, the Synoptic Gospels report the cleansing of the temples at the end, during their Passion accounts (Mt 21:12-12; Mk 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46).

The soaring, majestic Gospel – “Whether through the image of the lion or that of the eagle, commentators have noted the lowly and simple majesty of John’s language and its call to the reader/hearer to become a disciple of the Word become flesh and so to share in that which he himself is: eternal life. More—with Chrysostom preachers have noted that John the evangelist declares himself to be a voice, a voice in which the voice of the Word is heard.