Grapevine Ministries
Messages from the bible to uplift and encourage those that need a word from the Lord, to strengthen their faith. Ps Phillip Barker is an itinerant pastor in Perth, Western Australia.
Grapevine Ministries
Insights of the Gospel of John
How does the unique perspective of the Gospel of John deepen our understanding of Jesus' divine nature? Join us on a journey that contrasts John with the Synoptic Gospels, highlighting its distinct approach and insights. We begin with a brief weather update from eastern and western Australia before diving into John's unique chronology and his connection to Ephesus. Explore the rich symbolism of the four Gospels, linked to the lion, ox, man, and eagle as described in Ezekiel and Revelation, and understand how John 1:1-17 underscores the importance of comprehending Jesus for salvation.
Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries.
Now we start off with a whole heap of things that are different today, and just so you know where we're at, first things first freezing cold, like it is in the eastern states of Australia. But for all of those that are overseas, I'm just letting you know that Western Australia is beautiful, sunny and nice and warm. So that's the weather report. Now we move on to the gospel of John. Now I don't know whether I mentioned this before, but gospel simply means good news, and we know that the author of this is basically it is John, the beloved disciple who belongs in the inner circle of Jesus follows. So you can see this in Matthew 17.1 and Mark 13.3. Now, according to Christian writers of the second century, john moved to Ephesus, probably during the Jewish war of AD 66 to 70, where he continued his ministry Now. So it's very clear that this is John, but John is one of the synopsis gospels, but the main difference is here that he chooses not to follow the same chronological sequence of events as they do much of the order, and so the outline is very, very similar and parallels with the other three Gospels, but the simple fact is that he writes this totally differently. So the title of this, even though it is the first section of the book of John. I'm talking about the identity and the deity of Jesus. Now, there's many opinions worldwide today about Jesus. Who is he? Some say he's just a prophet, some say he's a created being, some don't believe in him at all. But exactly who is Jesus? Now? The Apostle John goes into great detail in John 1 about the true identity and the deity of Jesus, but I'd like to point out five things that John explains about the deity of Jesus, and it's essential to have a proper understanding of Jesus in order to understand salvation that came through him, and I think that is a misconception by a lot of Christians and also by a lot of non-believers. Just excuse me for a sec. Just need a bit for a sec. Just need a bit of a drink.
Speaker 1:So, as we've been going through the Gospels, my main purpose is to show you how people, irrespective of their relationship or lack of their relationship, and how they perceive the Heavenly Father. A classic aspect of this is how we view the representation of each gospel, and the reason I'm saying this is, let me put it this way God assigned symbols to the four Gospels. So we know, in the book of Matthew, the symbol is of a lion because he represents one of the four cherubins. Right when you look at Mark, because of the emphasis on Jesus as a lowly servant, the father assigns an ox as a symbol to represent that kind of beast of burden, one who was a servant, who did the ploughing, he did all the hard work, and therefore Jesus is portrayed in Mark as the lowly servant. When you look at Luke, the Gospel of Luke is a man. It's because the symbol of Luke's Gospel is the emphasis on Jesus as the Son of man. And then, when you look at John, he's portrayed as an eagle because the picture is Jesus as the Son of God. You know the majesticness of the appearances of the Son in correlation to all the four scriptures.
Speaker 1:Now to show. Well, not really to show, but to explain, and this is what I like to do. I like to follow up with scripture, which helps me explain what I'm talking about or gives you a better understanding that it's not something that, oh, phil, you've made this up or you've copied it off of someone else's artwork or anything. No, ezekiel 1.10 and Revelation 4.7,. If you just jot down these versions in the margin of your Bible, and what I'm going to do is I'll leave them for you to read and for you to get your own understanding of the four Gospels and the fact that you have a lion, an ox, a figure of a man and an eagle as the representations of that. So, with all of that said and done, I hope and pray that you guys and girls out there that are listening to me do do your own research and do look at the scriptures that I highlight, because it brings into context what I'm talking about. You can only glean so much from what biblical scholars and theologians are actually speaking about, about because sometimes they have their own interpretation or their own understanding of the essence of the Gospels or any other of the other 66 books in the Bible.
Speaker 1:So, without any further ado, let's go to John 1, 1, 17. And it says in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him and without him, nothing was made. That was made In him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe, and was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of the light. That was the true light, which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was made in the world and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own and his own did not receive him, but as many as received him to them, he gave the right to become children of God, of those who believe in him, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten, of the Father, full of grace and truth. John will witness to him and cried out saying this was he of whom I said he who comes after me is preferred before me, for he was before me and of the fullness we have all received, and grace for grace, for the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:You'll notice straight away the great variation and the different way in which the gospel of John is, you know, commenced in relation to the other three. They weren't talking about the genealogy, they weren't talking about how it came to pass, talking about how it came to pass. Basically, it was saying this is who I am talking about Now, john being the oldest of the last surviving eyewitnesses to Jesus amongst the apostles. John only mentions eight miracles of Jesus, but six of the eight are unique to the Gospel of John. Now, like I said before, the purpose of this book. It says in John 20, 31, jesus is eternal.
Speaker 1:John 1.1 says In the beginning was the Word. John liked Jesus, as in Genesis 1.1. John liked Jesus, as in Genesis 1.1, in the beginning. Jesus pre-existed before coming to earth. You see, the Gospel of John is both simple and profound. John uses a limited vocabulary and very simple words, which works rather well for me because you know. And very simple words, which works rather well for me because it just shows that you don't have to be a biblical scholar, you don't have to have a master's in biblical theology. I mean, I know a lot of people like that and it sounds good. But when you look at something like this, the simplicity of the way that he writes and represents these words is quite deep and meaningful.
Speaker 1:Many have said that the book is like a pool in which a toddler can wade and an elephant can swim. It's no surprise that we often tell seekers and new believers to read John. A child can understand the response in John 3.16. And I don't honestly believe that Christian, non-christian believer or non-believer can actually say that they have not heard or heard someone say John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life in him should not perish but have everlasting life. But it's also true that scholars have written volumes trying to comprehend some of the themes of John. So whether you are just getting started as a Christian or you've been walking with God for decades, john has something for you.
Speaker 1:My prayer today is that all of us will come to believe Jesus in a fresh way and a life-giving way that we can actually study the book in greater depth. I want my listeners to really want to sink their teeth into the scriptures that I'm talking about or the books that I'm actually focusing on as I do this, because I believe that God has gifted me not only as a preacher but also a teacher. So once I finish this, hopefully you know all of you will have a real zest to go through all the four Gospels Matthew, mark, luke and John because each of these represents the good news about Jesus of Nazareth who, being the Son of God, came to earth as a man, taught us both God and man, performed miracles, providing and revealing that he was the Christ, and subsequently got crucified as a substitute for our sins, whether they be small or large, but he was raised from the dead on the third day. None of the four are what we would strictly call a biographical account of everything or being totally historically accurate. I said this once before. It's like if I got four people and I stood them at the side of a lake and they were watching the sunrise, and then I was in the house, you know, minding my own business, and then I actually asked each one of them to explain what they had just seen. Now, to the naked eye, all four of them saw exactly the same thing, but they described it differently. And not only described it differently, but they also put certain emphasis on certain aspects of the sunrise. Some may have been focusing on the sun itself and how it cut its beams of light through clouds or the treetops, some may have focused on the reflection of the rising sun on the lake and others may have been describing the stillness or the smell in the air. So I'm hoping you're getting the drift here, because it's the same with the Word of God. I mean, if you actually read any scripture, like, say, mark 10.45, the emphasis of Jesus as the Son of man who came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many, now, just that alone. If you read that scripture and there's the dogs, well, that just shows you how real this all is. Reporting life from my bedroom. From my bedroom, we are doggie sitting at the moment for my son and he's got two gorgeous little caboodles out there and one of them is the mouthiest thing I've ever come across. Lord, give me strength. It just goes on and on and on. But the good news is they go home to their parents on Monday morning. Now let's get back to this.
Speaker 1:John writes after all of these. So you've got to look at the fact that Matthew, mark and Luke have already spoken about the journey and the path of Jesus. Now it comes to John, and although he tells the same basic history about Jesus, his gospel is very different from the other three. And we don't have to guess John's purpose in writing his gospel, because he tells us plainly listen to his purpose statement. This is in John 20, 30-31. That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. John wants his readers to believe especially that Jesus is the Christ, the Jewish Messiah of whom the Old Testament prophesies. And John wants you to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, which means he is God in human flesh, 5.18-29.
Speaker 1:The ultimate testimony of faith in John's Gospel is when Thomas sees the risen Jesus and proclaims my Lord, my God, because doubting Thomas was the one that got there and he said I'm not going to believe he's risen unless I can put my finger in the hole in his side and the holes in his hand. And this is another thing for people to take very careful note of it. Jesus was beaten, he was battered, he was nailed to a cross and on the third day he rose again. But you notice that he was fully restored, except for the wounds that the soldiers had placed upon him when he was on the cross. Now it's like you're praying for a miracle and God gives you that miracle. He'll only give you that specific thing that you're asking for. It will only give you that specific thing that you're asking for.
Speaker 1:If you've watched the Chosen series that's out now, it's another depiction of the life of Jesus and his disciples, to give you an idea of just how human everybody was. They all had their little idiosyncrasies. They were all just showing their human nature. But when Lazarus was brought back to life, right when Jesus did that, all he did was resurrected his physical body and enabled him to come back to life. He wasn't any younger, he didn't have all of the ailments in his body fixed, he was just resurrected. And so even our Lord and Saviour, jesus Christ, he was resurrected. But the holes in his hands and his side were left there for a reason. Was it just for Thomas? So that he would know? I don't know that. I can't answer that. I don't know that. I can't answer that. But you know, just read through the scriptures and see for yourself.
Speaker 1:Because John's writing is done in such a way that he wants us to know who Jesus is and to believe in him. The result of believing in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, is that you may have life in his name. By life, john means everlasting life, and that life is only found in Jesus, who says in 14.6,. In 14.6, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Speaker 1:There are many different ways that we can outline John's gospel, but I just want to give you a little bit of a broad overview, otherwise I'm not going to get through my message right. Basically, the prelogue is the incarnation of the Son of God, where the Word become flesh, and that's John 10.25. The signs that you may believe in Jesus the works that I do in my Father's name. They bear witness to me. And then you've got the presentation of the Son of God. We have found the Messiah. 114, or 119 and 454, but also it clearly states that we have found the Messiah, the opposition to the Son of God. 5.1 and 12.50. And if I tell you the truth, why do you not believe me? 8.46.
Speaker 1:As we go through the book of John, you're going to see things that clearly stand out. He makes these real bold statements, like in 1630, he says these things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. And when he was on trial and his death was soon to come upon him, you know, it says in 1915, we have no king but Caesar. This is when he was talking about the trial and the death of the Son of God, and the resurrection is when he clearly states my Lord, my God. As you listen to this today, I want you to use John's purpose statement in 20, 30 to31 as a framework to give a preview of this book, where we find that the Gospel of John is an eyewitness account of the person, the ministry of Jesus, written exclusively and symbolically so that you may believe he is the Christ, the Son of God, and, by believing, have faith in his name. The Gospel of John is purely and simply an eyewitness account of the person and the ministry of Jesus.
Speaker 1:I just want to finish off with this. Well, maybe just one, two more things. Okay, we're going to have to leave the rest until next week. John 20, 30 states and truly, jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples. John was one of these disciples. He was an eyewitness to the words and the works of Jesus. How do we know this? The author identifies himself in the narrative in 21-24. This is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. Which disciple is it? If you go back to verse 20, he refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Right and finally.
Speaker 1:One more thing you'll notice about the Gospel of John is that there is only one person named John in this book, and it is not the author of the book but John the Baptist. In reading through the four Gospels, you will find that Matthew refers to the apostle John by name three times, mark ten times and Luke seven times, and John not at all. Luke seven times and John not at all. John does refer to the sons of Zebedee or the sons of thunder. They've been called in 21 too, but whenever he writes about himself, he prefers to call himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. I think it indicates John's humility and that he never, ever got over the wonder and the awe of the fact that he was loved by Christ. Loved by Christ. See John and James. You know his brothers in Acts 12.2, were the sons of Zebedee, and Jesus gave them the name Sons of Thunder. That's why I said that, so you can actually see it in the Scriptures John was an apostle and one of the three most intimate associated of Jesus, including Peter and James. So you notice that throughout the gospels there were several times when Peter, james and John were to go with Jesus and away from the other nine.
Speaker 1:So as we go through this, the Gospel of John selectively tells of the person and the ministry of Jesus. I just want you to highlight this in your Bibles and I'll mention it over and over again as we go through the book of John. John 20, 30, and truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book, disciples which are not written in this book. John admits that there is much about the life and ministry of Jesus that he left out. When you compare John with the other three, you discover that John does not include many of the elements contained in the other Gospels, many of the elements contained in the other Gospels.
Speaker 1:Most scholars think that he wrote his Gospel sometime in the 80s or early 90s AD, and so he most likely knew about the other Gospels and did not feel the need to duplicate what they had written. I mean so John was very, very selective. He even writes in the last verse of the book this is 21-25, and there are also many other things that Jesus did which, if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world's first could not contain the books that would be written Amen, wow. So let's just point out a few things and I'll summarise here. I won't go through them all because there's a lot. John's Gospel does not include Jesus' genealogy. It doesn't go through his birth, any of the events around his childhood. It doesn't cover baptism, his temptation, the Sermon on the Mount, the accounts of John the Baptist.
Speaker 1:There are so many different aspects we need to actually realise, if nothing else, actually realise, if nothing else, I want you, my listeners, to realise that this I believe personally, even though Matthew is probably my favourite book of the Gospels that I've actually listened to the most, I think the book of John is the one that really shows who Jesus is and, like I said at the start, there are many people that have different understandings or different things that they look at. When they hear about Jesus Christ or Jesus Christ of Nazareth, they think, oh yes, he was the greatest prophet to walk the face of the earth. Oh yeah, he's mentioned in the Quran as well as in the Bible. Even Mary gets a mention as well. But others will think, oh yeah, he was some mystical being that came here and did a few miracles and then disappeared. And then others think that it's just a very, very good story and it holds no weight whatsoever.
Speaker 1:Read along with me and go through the Gospels, but focus on the last 24 hours before Jesus' crucifixion and his ensuring resurrection. In summary, over 90% of the material found in the Gospel of John is unique to this Gospel, and I hope and pray that you'll get as much out of this as what I did, and I've been ministering for many, many years and I still learnt something about Jesus delving deep into the book of John. So let's hope and pray that you'll come on this journey with me. God bless you and bye for now.
