Stand by · pulling the latest frames
This quarter we will be studying another finely crafted masterpiece. This work is not the result of a brush on canvas, a precisely framed photograph, or a skillfully woven carpet. Rather, it is the Word of God as artfully expressed in the Gospel of John. Words have meaning within their contexts. For anyone to understand what Scripture intends to say, it must be studied in context—the immediate sentences, chapters, and sections, and the overall message of the Bible itself. Finally, because the entire Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit, each part should be studied in the context of the whole.
Scripture: John 20:30-31 Why did John write his Gospel? Did he wish to emphasize Jesus’ miracles? Or to emphasize some specific teachings of Jesus? What was the reason for writing what he did? This week we’re going to look in John at some of Jesus’ early miracles—from His turning water to wine at a wedding, to restoring to health someone’s very sick son, to the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda.
Scripture: John 11:25-26 This week’s lesson looks at three of Jesus’ greatest signs of His divinity. What is striking is that in every case some people did not believe the miracle or perceive its significance. For some it was a time of turning away from Jesus; for others, a time for deepening blindness; and for others, a time to plot Jesus’ death. And, for others—a time to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.
Scripture: John 1:1 This week’s lesson will begin with the Prologue (John 1:1–18) and summarize its major themes. These themes will then be looked at in other places in John’s Gospel, as well.
Scripture: John 3:3 Lesson: 4 This week begins with the powerful witness of John the Baptist. Other witnesses come on the stage as well: Andrew and Simon Peter, Philip and Nathaniel, and a most unexpected witness, the Pharisee Nicodemus. But another witness stands back in the shadows (that other disciple with Andrew, in John 1:35, 40)—John himself.
Scripture: John 4:42 Lesson: 5 At the time of Christ, this animosity continued. The Jews avoided Samaria as much as possible. Though commerce may have gone on, other interaction was taboo. The Jews would not borrow from Samaritans or even receive a favor from them. Within this context, John recounts the encounter between Jesus, the woman by the well, and the people of the Samaritan city of Sychar.
Scripture: John 12:32 This week’s lesson looks at some of those who witnessed and testified about Jesus. In each of these incidents, some aspects of who Jesus really is are revealed, and together they create a deeper vision of Jesus, the Messiah.
Scripture: John 20:29 Throughout his Gospel, John has a diversity of people—people with different backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences—all testifying to who Jesus was. Who were some of these people, and why did they testify as they did to the identity of Jesus?
Scripture: John 5:36 Lesson: 8 This week we will look at more ways John revealed Jesus as the Messiah, and also, we will look at why some people still continued to reject Him—despite all the powerful reasons affirming Him as the Christ. What can we learn from their mistakes?
Scripture: John 14:6 Lesson: 9 This week continues with the revelation of God as given us in John. We will also more fully explore the flip side of things, in which, despite the powerful evidence for Jesus as the Messiah, some rejected Him. We will study this idea for two reasons: to avoid the same mistake, but also to consider how we might be able to reach out to those in danger of making that mistake, as well.
Scripture: John 1:18 Lesson: 10 This week’s lesson will begin with the purpose of the farewell discourse and its introduction with the significant episode of Jesus’ washing His disciples’ feet. Then it will turn to the “I AM” statement in chapter 14 (“I am the way, the truth, and the life”).
Scripture: John 14:26 Lesson: 11 This week’s lesson looks at how the Gospel of John presents the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but now within the context of the farewell discourse (John 13–17).
Scripture: John 18:37 Lesson: 12 The four Gospels present the death of Jesus in different ways. But John presents the cross as the enthronement of Jesus, particularly tied to the idea of the hour, which is referred to numerous times throughout the book (John 7:30, John 8:20, John 12:27).
Scripture: John 5:39 Lesson: 13 In this, our last week in John, we will look at some of this Gospel’s key points, which can help us move beyond the mere head knowledge of Jesus to, instead, knowing Him better and more closely abiding in Him and in His Word.