Happy Monday everyone!
I hope to take some time to give a brief introduction to the Gospel of John this week as I plan to go through this book, chapter by chapter, week by week in the weeks to come!
The gospel of John is classified by some to be the most relatable and applicable Gospel to the Christian life out of the four. The first three gospels; Matthew, Mark and Luke are referred to as the “synoptic gospels”, mainly because they have a lot of the same wording and the stories flow similarly. The majority of biblical scholars will agree that The Gospel of John was written toward the end of the first century around 80-100. AD. The reason I believe that the gospel of John is so relatable is that it describes how we as believers now have life because of Jesus’s both 100% deity and 100% humanity. The writer of the Gospel of John is John who is one of the twelve disciples and referred to as “the one whom Jesus loved” (John 13:21-30, John 18:15-18, John 19:26-27, John 21:7 with John 21:20). This is quite humorous to think about as John is referring to himself as “the one who Jesus loved”. With the gospel of John being written sometime between 80-100 A.D, we have to come to the conclusion that John had to have been an elderly man, probably in his 90’s when he wrote the Gospel of John, likely on the Island of Patmos when he was in exile. The beginning of the Gospel of John starts with creation and the pre-existence of Christ while the other synoptic gospels begin either with the baptism or birth of Christ making the Gospel of John more theological and incarnate focused. Another thing that makes the Gospel of John unique is the “I am” statements that Jesus makes. In John 6:35, “I am the bread of life”. In John 10:11 Jesus says “I am the good shepherd”. In John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth and life” and in John 15:1, Jesus says “I am the true vine”. In the previous gospels, we read of parables that Jesus tells in which paints a broader picture of a message that Jesus wants to communicate. These “I am” statements claim authority and truths of the nature of the incarnate Son of God.
Over the course of church history, reading the Gospel of John has transformed the lives and hearts of many individuals as Christ’s humility, forgiving heart and deity is exposed. This gospel is a true narrative that tells the greatest story ever told in which perfect love is magnified, God’s redemptive plan for mankind is seen and Messianic truths are told all from an eye witness. I look forward to diving into John 1 next week. Have a fantastic week.
-Pastor Troy