INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF JOHN (Kent Smith Notes 1/14/24)
WALKING WITH JESUS THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
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Today we begin a journey. For the next several months we will walk through the majority of the Gospel of John.
Interestingly, John has recorded his purpose in writing this gospel. It is important that we understand the author’s intent in writing as we begin to consider his account.
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Therefore, many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20: 30-31)
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John makes a considerable effort to portray the many signs that indicated that Jesus was a unique prophet, and in fact that He was the prophesied Messiah, the Anointed one, the Christ.
Let’s talk about the signs that have impacted our lives and understanding.
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HERE’S YOUR SIGN!
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Each of us is shaped in many ways:
by the events of our lives.
by the situations and information we encounter in our life experiences.
by our family raising and genetics
by our community and education.
Ultimately our view of reality is based in some measure, to one degree or another, on faith.
There is simply insufficient evidence to prove all the scientific theories. (The Big Bang Theory, the Theory of Evolution, or the theory that there is no God.) Accepting those theories is an act of faith.
There is simply insufficient scientifically provable facts to prove that Jesus was the Son of God, that he lived a sinless life, and died a substitutional death on the cross to save those who believe from the punishment due to them for their sins, and instead reconcile them to God the Father, and give them eternal life. Belief in Jesus is an act of faith.
What we chose to believe is most often determined by
How we reconcile the reality in which we live, with the explanations to which we are exposed.
And how much authority (faith) we have in those who expose us to “their” understanding or truth.
Ultimately, we make a personal choice of “what makes the most sense.” We choose what we believe to be true.
However, as Christians we stand on the other side of faith. We believe that God has done a work in us even prior to our belief.
John 6:44 Jesus said, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.
That we look within ourselves and “believe” is already a sign that God is at work. John writes about this in his gospel, and we will check it out as we look at those sections of his gospel.
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JOHN’S GOSPEL IS A PARTIAL ACCOUNTING
THE SEVEN SIGNS OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN:
Turning water into wine (John 2:1-11)
Healing the nobleman's son (John 4:43-54)
Healing the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-11)
Feeding the 5,000 (John 6:1-15)
Walking on the water (John 6:16-21)
Healing the blind man on the Sabbath (John 9:1-12)
Resurrecting Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-46)
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Today we begin our journey through the gospel of John. On this journey we will look closely at the seven signs that John highlights as his evidence to believe in Jesus. We will also look at John’s accounts of key events and teachings of Jesus as he walked with Him for three years.
John wrote this account
so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may have life in his name.
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…..SO THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE!
John 2:23 Many believed in His name when they saw the signs
John 3:2 No one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.
John 4:48 Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.
John 6:2 A large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs.
John 6:14 When the people saw the sign that He had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
John 11:47 “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.”
John 12:18 The crowd went to meet Him because He had done this sign.
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When we see things that challenge our understanding, that are far outside our ordinary existence, we are each challenged and compelled to take the event and find a way to make sense of it within our own life experience.
So, when Jesus did these signs among the people, it compelled a response; a change in their understanding of reality.
Furthermore, when He showed the ability and power to do these things contrary to the laws of science, and shockingly rare in the experience of the vast history of humanity, then it gave credibility and authority to that which He also taught.
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THOUGH HE HAD DONE SO MANY SIGNS BEFORE THEM, THEY STILL DID NOT BELIEVE IN HIM.
JOHN 12:37
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The response of the crowd (John 12:34-37)
My prayer is that each of us would be confronted by the gospel of John to understand Jesus in new and powerful ways, and that in doing so we would adjust our understanding of reality to believe in even greater ways in the person and work of Jesus in a manner that our lives would be radically transformed, and that we would experience here and now what it means to have “Life in His Name.”
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