Introduction

Author

The apostle John, the brother of James and son of Zebedee and Salome, Mark 1:19-20, is the author of this Gospel. Although John doesn’t specifically identify himself in the letter, the early Christians and most scholars associate him as the ‘beloved disciple,’ who was a close companion of Jesus, John 13:23 / John 18:15-16 / John 19:25-27 / John 21:20. The name John means, “the Lord is gracious.” He is also the author of 1,2,3 John and Revelation.

Date

There has been some speculation concerning the date of John’s Gospel, some suggest a date somewhere between A.D. 80 and 90. However, it could have been written earlier, possibly between A.D. 60 and 70.

The Book

Some suggest that the four faces mentioned in Ezekiel 1:10 and Revelation 4:7, represent Jesus in the four Gospels.

Matthew represents the face of the lion which implies Jesus’ kingship, Jesus is from the line of Judah.

Mark, represents the face of the ox, which implies the servant, service, the serving Jesus.

Luke, represents the face of the man, which implies humanity, Jesus is the Son of Man.

John represents the face of the eagle, which molies Jesus’ deity, Jesus is the Son of God.

Matthew was written for Jews and he uses the words ‘as it is written’ throughout his Gospel. Note the genealogy goes back to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, Matthew 1:1-17. His point is to remind the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah in fulfilment of the Jewish Law.

Mark is writing to Romans and he simply talks about what Jesus is doing and how busy He is, which is exactly what the Romans were doing building roads etc., they were busy people.

Luke is written for the Greeks and he uses the term, ‘Son of Man’ throughout his Gospel. Notice his genealogy goes back to Adam, his point is that Jesus is for the whole world, Luke 3:23-38.

John is writing to those in Asia and he uses the term ‘Son of God’ throughout his Gospel. His point is to demonstrate that Jesus is the Christ through signs, 8 miracles and 8 ‘I AM’ statements.

Theme

John’s Gospel is unique, in that John has a specific purpose. John wants his readers to know that Jesus is divine. He is the Messiah Who came down from Heaven. He is God in the flesh, John 1:1-3 / John 1:14. And everything in this book wraps itself around that grand theme.

Purpose

Like a lawyer presenting a case, John brings up the evidence to support the fact that Jesus is the Messiah, John 1:41 / John 1:49, God’s Son, John 3:16, and that by submitting to His will and believing only in Him, men and women can have eternal life. John presents the case by showing us Who Jesus is.

He shows us the claim that Jesus Himself made, that the Father made and that others made about Jesus. He shares with us 8 of Christ’s ‘I am’ statements, John 6:35 / John 8:12 / John 8:58 / John 10:9 / John 10:11 / John 11:25 / John 14:6 / John 15:1.

He also shares with us 8 signs of Jesus which proved who He was, John 2:1-11 / John 4:49-53 / John 5:1-18 / John 6:1-14 / John 6:16-21 / John 9 / John 11 / John 21:1-14, all which were done in an effort to bring people to faith in Christ and who He was, John 20:30-31.

It isn’t enough to say that He was ‘a good teacher,’ Luke 18:18-30. It is not enough to say that He is Lord, Matthew 7:21, until we submit to the fact that Jesus, who came to Earth, was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross, is God Himself.

Outline

Incarnation Of The Son Of God. John 1:1-18
Presentation Of The Son Of God. John 1:19-4:54
Confrontations With The Son Of God. John 5:1-12:50
Instruction Given By The Son Of God. John 13:1-16:33
Jesus’ final prayer. John 17:1-26
Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion and burial. John 18:1-19:42
Discovery of empty tomb and resurrection appearances in Jerusalem. John 20:1-31
Jesus’ appearance by Sea of Galilee to Peter and others. John 21:1-25

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