JOHN – 43rd BOOK

John (Letter 43, Larry Crabb’s 66 Love Letters)

In this world communion with God is not defined by an experience of God.

Nor does it depend on blessings from God.

To really live is to release Christ’s life through ours,

in any circumstance,

no matter what we feel;

to relate as he related,

giving when no one gives back,

loving when no one returns love,

forgiving when no one deserves forgiveness,

suffering in the place of those who should suffer.

Book Name: JOHN – From Ray Stedman

Click here for entire Bible Summary from Ray Stedman

The Gospel of John: WHO IS THIS MAN?

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. John 1:1

That is the theme of this Gospel of John.

In Matthew we see the Lord as the King.

In Mark we see him as the servant, always busy in ceaseless
activity, serving men.

In Luke we see his perfection of humanity, man as God intended man to be.
Now, in the Gospel of John, we see his entrance into the Holy of Holies. We learn the secret of his life.

John ended his Gospel with these words (Chapter 20, Verses 30, 31):
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these signs are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God you might have life in his name. {John 20:30-31 RSV}
That is the twofold purpose of this book:

  • First, John is setting out to give evidence why any man in any age or in any place can fully and wholeheartedly believe that Jesus is the Christ – or to use the Hebrew form, Messiah, the Anointed One, the promised one.
  • The second purpose is to show that he is the Son of God.

To the Hebrews, the use of this term the Son of God meant, “This one is God.”

The seven signs that John chooses from the ministry of our Lord:

  1. The first miracle of our Lord is the changing of water into wine, {John 2:1-11}. He came to declare the day of grace, when God’s purpose would be to take man in his brokenness, his emptiness and his lifelessness, and give to him life – to proclaim the acceptable time of the Lord.
  2. The next sign is the healing of the nobleman’s son {John 4:46-54}. The Lord not only heals the son at a distance, with a word, but he heals the broken heart of a father. As he said, he was anointed to heal the brokenhearted.
  3. The third sign is the healing of the impotent man who lay at the pool of Bethesda {John 5:19}. For thirty-eight years a man had been bound, and he set him free instantly.
  4. The next miracle is the feeding of the five thousand {John 6:1-14}. This miracle appears in all four of the Gospels. Taking the bread, he broke it, and with it fed the five thousand, symbolizing how fully he can meet the need of human life.
  5. Then, sending his disciples out into the storm, he came walking across the waves to them in the midst of the tempest. In the double miracle of the feeding of the five thousand and the walking on water, there is a symbolic representation of our Lord’s ability to satisfy the need of human hearts and deliver them from their greatest enemy, fear. This is good news, is it not?
  6. The next miracle is the healing of the blind man, {John 9:1-12}. This hardly needs comment. Our Lord said he came “to give recovery of sight to the blind,” {cf, Luke 4:19}. He chose a man who was blind from birth, just as man is spiritually blind from birth, and he healed him.
  7. The last miracle is the raising of Lazarus from the dead {see John 11:1-44}, symbolizing the delivering of those who all their lives had been held under the bondage of Satan through fear of death. Thus these seven signs prove beyond question that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the expected One.

When Moses saw the bush burning and turned aside to learn its secret, God spoke to him from the bush and said, “I AM WHO I AM” {Exodus 3:14 RSV}

Seven times in his Gospel John picks this word up and uses it about our Lord.

  1. “I am the bread of life,” {John 6:35b RSV}. That is, I am the sustainer of life, the One who satisfies life.
  2. “I am the light of the world,” {John 8:12b RSV}, the illuminator of life. I am one [to borrow a phrase from Paul] “in whom are hid all
    the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” {Col2:3 RSV}, the explainer of things, the one who casts light upon all mysteries and enigmas and solves them.
  3. “I am the door” {John 10:7b RSV}, Jesus said; that is, the opportunity into life, the open way. Whenever you are confronted with a sense of lack, some hungering after something more, these are the words you need to hear.
  4. “I am the good shepherd” {John 10:11a RSV}; that is, the guide of life, the only one properly equipped to take an individual and safely steer him through all the problems and chasms that yawn on every side, to lead him safely through life. (“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want,” {Psa 23:1}.)
  5. Then, “I am the resurrection and the life,” {John 11:25b RSV}; that is, the power of life. Do you realize that resurrection power is the only kind that works when nothing else will? It works in the midst of death. Resurrection power is the only kind that needs no outside props, no process of learning. It does not need anything to initiate it, shore it up, or bolster it in any way. When nothing else can be done, then it comes in and begins to act. “I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus says.
  6. “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” {John 14:6 RSV}; that is, I am ultimate reality. I am the real substance behind all things.
  7. “I am the vine” {John 15:5a RSV}, “apart from me, you can do nothing,” {John 15:5c RSV}. I am the producer of fruitfulness, the source of fellowship and of identity and communion.

JOHN – David Jeremiah (Understanding the 66 Books of the Bible)

Key thought: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the Word — God Himself — who became flesh, dwelled among us, and gave Himself for us, that all who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Key Verse: But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:31

Key Action: You must be born again (see John 3:7).

  1. The first miracle of our Lord is the changing of water into wine, {John 2:1-11}. He came to declare the day of grace, when God’s purpose would be to take man in his brokenness, his emptiness and his lifelessness, and give to him life – to proclaim the acceptable time of the Lord.