Gospel of John Sunday School Lesson

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Gospel of John Sunday School Lesson

Introduction

A. Rejection

I once arrived in a distant city very late for aconvention. After the usual hassle of departingthe airport, I finally arrived at my assigned hotelnear midnight. I had been up since before dawnand was dead tired. I gave the hotel clerk myname and waited as she clicked away on hercomputer. My heart sank, though, when shesaid, "I'ns sorry, sir. I have no record of yourreservation." This was not the reception I washoping for or expecting!

The Bible teaches that God had a plan for re-demption when the first human couple sinnedand was expelled from the garden. God plannedfor this by preparing the nation of Israel to be thepeople who would receive His redeemer, His SonJesus. Yet in one of the terrible ironies of humanhistory, this chosen people did not recognizetheir own promised Messiah. His reception wasinstead a rejection.

The apostle John begins his Gospel by puttingthe person and missions of Jesus into the perspec-tive of a panoramic review of human history.This week's lessons looks at the first 18 verses ofthis great book. There John introduces histhemes about Jesus from the broadest possiblehistorical viewpoint.

B.John's Titles for Jesus

The Gospel of John is a treasure trove forChristians who want to understand Jesus Christmore fully. One of the ways John's Gospel can beappreciated is to look at the many titles or de-scriptions that Johns uses in explaining Jesus. Abrief survey of some of these could start with thedesignations of Jesus as the Word. This emphasizesthe communication element in the nature of theChrist (John 1:1, 14; compare Revelation 19:13).Second, John often describes Jesus as the Son,emphasizing His relationship with God. Thistakes several forms. He may be the only begottenSon (John 3:16; compare 1 John 4:9), the Son ofGod (John 1:34, 49; compare 1 John 4:15), or theSon of man (John 1:51; 12:23; compare Revelation1:13). Third, Johns depicts Jesus as the JewishMessiah. This may be simply as the Christ (John1:41) or as the King of Israel (John 1:49; 12:13).Fourth, we find Jesus as the Lamb of God (John1:29, 36; compare Revelations 5:6), highlightingJesus' role as the sacrifice for human sins. Fifth,the most dramatic title of Jesus is Lord and .. .God (John 20:28; compare Revelation 19:16), em-phasizing His deity and sovereignty.

This is not an exhaustive list. You may wantto study John's titles further by reading throughthe Gospel of Johns, looking only for the variousways the author portrays Jesus.

C.Lesson Background

We have four Gospels in the New Testamentthat tell the story of Jesus. 'the first three Gospels(Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are very similar intheir general structure. The fourth Gospel, John.is quite different from the other three. John wrote30 or so years after those other three. and he waswell acquainted with their material. For this rea-son he seems to avoid repeating most of their zontent. Instead, he chooses to give new informa-,on from his wealth of eyewitness recollectionssee John 21:24, 25). About 90 percent of John'smaterial is not found in the other three Gospels.A significant difference among the four Gos-?els is the way the writers choose to begin theiraccounts. Mark begins with the ministry of John:he Baptist, without any reference to the birth orjaildhood of Jesus. Luke begins with the birth of--31us the Baptist and includes the nativity storyJesus. Matthew begins with Jesus' genealogy,pus pushing the story of Jesus hack into the OldTestament.

John, for his part, pushes the story back to thevery beginning of the Old Testament. ThusJohn's Gospel is an inclusive account of the en-tre sweep of human history, beginning beforecreation itself. Most of this is accomplished inWin 1:1-18, often referred to as the prologue of"ch.n. Today's lesson explores the issues of thewctrine of the incarnation. We will try to under-sand how God could assume a human form.

1. The Word Beginning the World

A. The Word from Eternity Past (vv. 1, 2)1, 2. In the beginning was the Word, and theWord was with God, and the Word was God.The same was in the beginning with God.John's opening statements are a retelling of theGenesis account of creation with an importantaddition: John includes the preexistent Christ.There are hints of the threefold nature of God ingenesis 1:26: "Let us make man in our image."Est the relationship between God the Father andGod the Son is not explored there.

In order to tell his story of Jesus more fully,this is where John most start. Genesis 1:1 begins,'In the beginning God." To this John adds threeclarifications: (1) the Word was at the beginning (2) this Word was in fellowship with God, and (3)the Word, in some way, was God. These three incombination give us enormous truths about Jesus.We may begin by asking what exactly it meansfor John to describe the preexisting Christ as theWord. The Greek term behind this is logos. Thiswas a well-known term in Greek philosophy,where it means something like "the orderingprinciple of the universe." The Greeks saw logosas that which caused the universe to hold to-gether and make sense. It is from logos that weget our term logic. quest im) 0 I. 1).1:, 152.]

While these ideas may touch some of John'sGreek readers, this is probably not what he hasin mind by using logos. For John logos is the cre-ative Word of God. In Genesis God speaks theuniverse into existence (compare Psalm 33:6).God's Word is powerful and creative.

Also, there is no beginning for the Word. Thepreexistent Christ is the beginning (see Revela-tion 22:13). Just as Genesis begins creation withGod already in place, so John starts his telling ofthe beginning with the Word already present.John can say further that the Word was Godwhile making a careful distinction between theWord and God. From a logical point of view, thisseems curious: How can the Word be distinctfrom God, yet be God at the same time? Perhapsthe best we can do is to say that there are threecenters of consciousness in the Godhead (Father,Son, and Holy Spirit) and that these three share asingle essence.

In any case, John expects us to believe that theWord was God. For John no other way of describ-ing this will do. We must accept the truth of thisrelationship, even if it seems to strain our under-standing. Remember: John walked side by sidewith Jesus. John knows what he is talking about!

IN THE BEGINNING

A friend once asked me, "Did you know thatbaseball is mentioned in the Bible?" I was ratherdubious, so I asked him where. He replied, "TheBible says, 'In the big inning.– Poor humoraside, the first phrase in bolls the Gospel of Johnand Genesis is significant: In the beginning. Thebeginning—what an appropriate place to start!It's far better than the fairy tale introduction,"Once upon a time." A story that begins "onceupon a time" actually means that it has no his-torical framework. There is no attempt to placeit in context with other events.

The ancient world normally dated things bythe year of the ruler (compare 1 Kings 6:1; Isaiah6:1: Luke 3:1: etc.). Yet how would one refer toevents before there were any rulers or when there was as yet no means of measuring time? In talk-ing about the absolute beginning of things, theBible writers do it very simply—in the beginning.This is ass acknowledgment that not only wasGod active in creation, He also preexisted beforethere was the concept of time, as did Christ. TheArian controversy in the fourth century sowanted to snake Christ less than God and so ar-gued "there was when He was not." The otherside responded with a double negative: "therewas not when He was not." John puts it verysimply—"In the beginning . . . the Word waswith God." This is truth. —J. B. N.

B. The Word at Creation (v. 3)

3. All things were made by hint; and withouthim was not any thing made that was made.John explicitly defines the Word's (Christ's)role in creation. The Word is uncreated and isfully involved in creation. There is no createdthing that exists apart from the Word's creativepower. 1See question #2, page 152.) Paul wrotethat creation is bolls a testimony to God (Romans1:20) and waits for God's redemption (Romans8:22). (See question #3, page 152.)

II The Word Bringing Light(john 1:4-13)

A. Shilling Light (vv. 4, 5)

4, 5. In him was life; and the life was the lightof men. And the light shineth in darkness; andthe darkness comprehended it not.

The Word does not become inactive whencreation is completed. So John moves to thefunction of the Word as communication andenlightenment for humanity.

God's initial act of creation was to make light(Genesis 1:3). In so doing God separated light ironsdarkness. Here light is the life-giving presence ofGod. Light is goodness, righteousness, and truth(see John 3:21). Darkness symbolizes evil, unrigh-teousness. and ungodliness (John 3:19).

The word comprehended is a good translation,but other possible translations are "conquered"or "overcame." Jesus' mission among men andwomen was to rescue them from spiritual dark-ness (John 12:411).

LIGHT IN DARKNESS

Thomas Kinkade has become known as ThePainter of Light. His paintings have become sopopular that his name has become virtually ahousehold wont. Other than prints of the picturesthemselves, his paintings adorn Christmas cards,greeting cards, book covers, and various other

items. His web site claims that he is "America'smost collected living artist."

Part of his attraction is his unabashedly Chris-tian and family orientation. He credits Christ forthe inspiration of many of his subjects as well asIsis talent to depict them. Nostalgic views of faith,hope, and familial warmth shine fortis from hiscanvases. He pays tribute to his wife, Nanette, byhiding the letter N in many of his scenes. Thenames of his four daughters also show up in hiswork. He has donated his efforts to numerouscharitable and religious organizations and hashelped raise millions of dollars for their projects.Central in all his paintings is some feature oflight—be it old-fashioned streetlights, lightedwindows, sunlight, or reflected light. One findsfew darkened windows, brooding clouds, stormylandscapes, or tempestuous waves of emotion.Instead, the central features are calm, serene,restful, and heartwarming. While Norman Rock-well painted humorous and inspiring personalitysketches, Kinkade specializes in idyllic scenes oftown and country living alldelivered throughon imaginative use of light. His works of art dis-play the point that the apostle John makes: lightwill overcome the darkness.

B.Witness to the Light (vv. 6-8)

6. There was a man sent from God, whosename was John.

This is John is John the Baptist, not John theapostle who writ. this Gospel. We are told thatJohn the Baptist was commissioned by God; hewas not self-appointed. This posts him in the tra-dition of the great prophets of Israel (see Mat-thew 11:7-15; Luke 7:28).

7, 8. The same came for a witness, to bearwitness of the Light, that all men through himmight believe. He was not that Light, but wassent to bear witness of that Light.

Elsewhere Jesus describes John the Baptist as"a burning and a shining light" (John 5:35). Buthe was not the Light, the ultimate manifestationof God that was Jesus. John had a specific func-tion: to bear witness. This means that he was totestify about Jesus, to be a reliable witness of Hisidentity. When John the Baptist pointed outJesus, some of John's own disciples followedHim (John 1:35-37).

C.Light in the World (vv. 9-11)

9. That was the true Light, which lightetitevery man that cometh into the world.

John combines two of his most important con-cepts in this verse: truths and light. This helps usunderstand what the light imagery is all about.

God is a God of light and truth, and He bringsthese into the created world to help men andwomen be "enlightened." This means He has notabandoned as to darkness. Instead He continues

m create light to banish our dark world of sin.God's enlightened truth is our way out, our guidela how we should live (see John 8:12).

10. 11. He was in the world, and the worldleas made by him, and the world knew him not.Ile came unto his own, and his own receivedhim not.

In terse words these verses depict the greatestirony of history: when visited by its creator, theavoid did not recognize Him. It rejected Him in-smad. The phrase his own refers to the nation ofkk--ael. the people chosen by God to be the receiv-gig nation for His Messiah.

Undoubtedly, Jesus did not meet many peo-ples expectation of Messiah. He was not born ina king's palace, but in a stable. His parents weregot rich and powerful, but young and poor. Hisearly education was not at the great centers ofkarning such as Alexandria, Athens, or Jeru---.ekm, but at the local synagogue. The real rea-son for the rejection, however, was not Jesus'bumble human origins but spiritual blindnessRomans 11:25).

D. Faithful Response to the Light (vv. 12, 13)

12.But as many as received him, to themgaffe he power to become the sons of God, evenle them that believe on his name.

Jesus' rejection was not universal, however.Even though the vast majority of Jews did not re-ceive their Messiah, there were believers. Theapposite of "received him not" in verse 11 is tobelieve on his name. In the ancient world thegame of a person is symbolic of the full identityat that person. To trust a person fully, one mighteven adopt that person's name. This is seenwhen the early believers in Antioch take up thegame Christians (Acts 11:26), meaning "one loyalto Christ." Other early believers were known as31azarenes (Acts 24:5), meaning "loyal to the one'from Nazareth."

The result of receiving and believing in Jesusis to be adopted by God. We become His chil-dren. We are reunited and reconciled with ourmator. We become joint heirs with Jesus (Ro-mans 8:17).

13.Which were born, not of blood, nor of thewill of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but ofGod.

John introduces the concept of new birth atthis point. Spiritually we become God's childrenbv a rebirth. This is not any type of physical

birth related to the conception of a child throughnormal means. This birth comes from God.

The idea of new birth comes up later in Jesus'conversation with Nicodemus. There Jesus saysthat without this new birth one "cannot see thekingdom of God" (John 3:3).

III. The Word Becoming Flesh(John 1:14-18)

A. Incarnation of the Word (v. 14)

14.And the Word was made flesh, and dweltamong us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory asof the only begotten of the Father,) full of graceand truth.

This verse is John's way of expressing what wecall "the incarnation." It is the divine putting onflesh, God taking human form. This is a very dif-ficult concept to understand, but it is vital for theChristian faith. It is only by becoming humanthat the Son of God could die for the sins of thesnorts (Hebrews 2:14).

John and companions were witnesses to theglory of God in this regard. Jesus, the Son, revealsthe Father in a way that allows Jesus to say thatseeing Him means seeing the Father (John 14:9).This is a vision of grace and truth, which is ex-plained in the next verses.

B. Revelation of Grace and Truth (vv. 15-17)

15.John bare witness of him, and cried, say-ing, This was he of whom I spake, He thatcometh after me is preferred before me; for hewas before me.

John the Baptist's testimony is recorded here.What is important for this passage is John the Baptist's knowledge of Jesus' true identity. Jesuswus before John the Baptist, meaning that He ex-isted before His incarnation. Therefore. John theBaptist knew well that Jesus deserved prece-dence over him in all things.

16.And of his fulness have all we received,and grace for grace.

John now expands upon one of the centralconcepts of the New Testament: grace (intro-duced in 1:14). Grace for grace could be trans-lated "grace upon grace," with the image of giftsbeing piled upon one another endlessly. Thegrace that came through Jesus was not somethingwe earned. It was given freely by the Father.

17.For the law was given by Moses, but graceand truth canto by Jesus Christ.

The Iow in mind here is the Jewish law, thevarious commandments given by Moses. Lawscan result in doing the right thing with no rela-tionship with the lawgiver. Thus, while the lawis not bad, it does not do what Jesus does. Jesusallows us to become true children of Godthrough faith, far beyond any attempts to earnGod's favor by keeping His rules. Jesus is the truelight of the world. (See question #5. page 152.1

C. Declaration of the Father (v. 18)

18. No man hath seen God at any time; theonly begotten Son, which is in the bosom of theFather, he bath declared him.

This final verse of John's prologue sums up above any possibility of human perception andexperience. There are a few Old Testament de-scriptions of people seeing a kind of manifesta-tion of God (Genesis 32:30; Exodus 24:11). Butno man hath seen God at any time because "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall noman see me, and live" (Exodus 33:20).

Even so. God has revealed himself in a waythat we can understand and believe. He has donethis by Jesus, God in flesh, God's only Son. Jesusreveals God in a way that no other human evercould. Through Jesus we have access to God.

Conclusion

A. Grace in John

What is the amazing thing we call grace?While that word is common in Paul's writings, itis used only a few times in the Gospel of John(1:14-17). This word gets tossed around in manyways in the church. Sonic people seem to equategrace with the Holy Spirit, as supernatural power("I was overcome by grace"). Others see it as thesame as God's presence ("God's grace is in thisplace"). Still others associate it with a mealtimeprayer ("Bow your heads while I say grace").An old acronym for grace is helpful: God'sRiches At Christ's Expense. But this only gives apartial sense of this rich concept. Them are twoessential components to a biblical concept ofgrace. First, it always denotes an element of"gift." It is never something we earn or deserve.Second, grace involves both attitude and action.God's grace means that God determined to dosomething beneficial; then He did it.

John tells us thateverything about God's .1f-revelation in Jesus isgracious. We didn't deserve Him. He is beautifulin ways we cannot even appreciate. The incarna-tion is a decisive act of enormous significance.How much did it really cost God to sacrificeHis Son? We cannot possibly know. But we canunderstand that this is not the way things nor-mally work. Fathers don't usually sacrifice theirsons for others. If anything, a father will sacrificefor his son. Yet God sent His Son to become aman and die on a cross to pay the price for sin.That is BUA grace!

B. Prayer

God of Heaven and earth, we thank You forseeing us lost in sin and sending Your only Son,Jesus Christ, to be our Savior. May we be blessedby Your grace and guided by Your truth in allthings. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

The gracious truth of God is the promise ofeternal life as revealed through Jesus Christ.

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