clm home groups study guides 2015

The gospel of John: introduction

written so that you may continue to

believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son
of God, and that by believing in him you
will have life by the power of his name.

Who wrote It is generally accepted [even though it is not specifically stated] that the apostle John, whose
the gospel brother was James and whose father was Zebedee, was the author of the gospel bearing his name.
of John?
However, we believe that John was an old man when he dictated this book between A.D. 85 and 90,
and it was probably penned by one of John's disciples, also called John, who was an elder at the
church in Ephesus.

We do however, have a clue as to the author, as he calls himself, the disciple whom Jesus loved
and he tells us, this refers to the one who sat next to our Lord at the last supper held in the upper
room in Jerusalem, shortly before the crucifixion. [John 13 v 23, 19 v 26]

Who was it The gospel was written to the church at Ephesus, to all new Christians and all who were seeking
written for? faith in Christ.
Why was it
considered
necessary
to write it?

The church already had the gospels of Matthew [written for a Jewish readership around A.D. 60 to
65], Mark [written for the Christians in Rome about A.D. 55 to 65] and Luke [written with the Gentiles
particularly in mind, about A.D. 60]. These gospels cover the birth of Jesus and his ministry in his
home town of Nazareth, then his early work in Galilee, prior to ministering in Jerusalem, and his
death and resurrection.
John's gospel, was written in chronological order and is centred around Christs ministry in Judea, in
particular, his final teaching for the disciples, his trials, crucifixion, death and then resurrection, and
finally his post resurrection appearances.
The gospel covers the historical facts of Christs ministry, of which John was a close observer, being,
with his brother and Peter one of the inner circle of the disciples, who therefore shared many
intimate moments with Jesus.
But it is far more than just a dairy of events, for John was very close to the heart of his Saviour and
this is abundantly clear in the intimate details that he observed and shares in this gospel.
He no doubt called himself the disciple whom Jesus loved out of a sense of humility and wonder,
but the love of Jesus for him, and his love of the Saviour who gave his life for him, is clear on every
page of the gospel and maybe even more so in his first epistle. This gospel is, first and foremost, a
revelation of great spiritual and eternal significance the greatest this world has ever had the
privilege to share.
John writes with passion [Jesus called him, the son of thunder] and is caught up in the raw emotion
that [through the prompting of the Holy Spirit] he shares with us over fifty years after the events that
totally transformed his life as a simple fisherman.
The miracles that John shares in his gospel, are not simply matters of healing, or supernatural
events, but outpourings of the love of God, where the soul of the recipient is touched, as well as their
body and mind.
John was the obvious choice for Jesus to give the responsibility for caring for his own mother, even
as he left his own physical body at Calvary, and committed Himself into his heavenly Father's
keeping.
John gives us insight into what it means to have God the Holy Spirit living within us, and recalls deep
spiritual teaching that, it would seem, the other disciples were less able to comprehend.
John, as an old man, dealing with the birthing problems of the emerging body of Christ,
recognised that much more was required than was available at that time, and although his gospel
was in addition to those of Matthew, Mark and Luke, it was required, to fully understand what those
writers share with us.

Why did
John write
it?

John tells us this himself: Jesus disciples saw Him do many other miraculous signs beside the ones
recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the
Son of God, and that by believing in Him you will have life. [John 20:30-31]
The word believe is key in Johns writing and is repeated 98 times in his gospel.