“A MAN CALLED JOHN” Lesson 176

The book of John was written around 85-96 A.D., some fifty years after the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This would make John an elderly man, most likely living in Ephesus. When John was in exile on Patmos, an island off the coast of Asia Minor, he wrote to seven Asian churches, the first being Ephesus (Rev. 1:9-11). This leaves a good probability that his book was first published at Ephesus. John was apparently the youngest of the twelve disciples. We assume he had a hot temper from the names Jesus gave he and his brother James; sons of thunder (Mark 3:17). He was first a follower of John the Baptist until he was called to follow Jesus at the beginning of our Lord’s ministry (John 1:19-51). He was one of the twelve main disciples (Luke 6:12-16) and became a member of the inner circle along with Peter and James. John was known as the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 13:23) and wrote the most memorized verse in the Bible; “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

John was with Jesus when He healed Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:29), at the Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1), when Jesus healed Jarisus’ daughter (Mark 25:22) and in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36). John, along with James and Cephas, was considered “pillars” of the gospel (Gal. 2:9). He helped prepare the Passover meal (Luke 22:8), was at the Crucifixion (John 19:25) and one of the first at the open tomb (John 20:3). According to John 21:7, this disciple KNEW the Lord.

Tradition tells us that the leaders knew the things Jesus said to the disciples. Such as; “some people standing here will see the Son of Man coming with His Kingdom before they die” (Matt. 16:28) and when Peter asked Jesus about John, Jesus’ answer was; “If I want him to live until I come back this is not your business” (John 21:23). Knowing Jesus was talking about John, they drew the conclusion that John could not die. Tradition further has it that this is why the rulers (Nero’s followers) ordered John cast into a pot of boiling oil. When John miraculously survived the ‘dunking’, the people were more convinced than ever that the Apostle John would never die.

When he grew too old and weak to preach, he was brought into the Assembly of the Faithful where he was constantly heard to say; “my dear children, love one another’. This quite possibly prompted his exile to the Isle of Patmos, where he was taken in the Spirit to Heaven and given the visions and words to the final book of God’s Scripture.

The book of John, often called the book of love, was 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). John wrote late in the first century when people were questioning whether Jesus was truly or fully God. John wrote a strong declaration of Christ’s deity, declaring that Jesus was who He claimed to be; the Son of God, and wanted people to experience eternal life that comes through belief. Belief and life are the two key words in the gospel of John.

John stresses the eternity and deity of Jesus, reminding us of the opening words of Genesis, referring to Jesus as God and Creator. John is very positive that Jesus was a personality existing from eternity and that He had a hand in the creation of the universe. In John 17:5 Jesus is quoted as referring to the glory He had with the Father before the world was. Jesus is here called the Word, that is, Jesus was God’s expression of Himself to mankind. Jesus was God! Jesus was like God! Jesus is God’s message to mankind! John tells us that Jesus in the light of the world, making clear the meaning and destiny of human existence. He makes clear the incarnation of God becoming a man in order to win man to Himself. God could have made man with an instinct to do His will but He chose rather to give man the power to decide for himself his attitude toward his Creator. But God is a spirit and man is hedged in by the limitations of a material body and has scant conception of what a spirit is, so the Creator came to His creatures in the form of one of them to give them an idea of the kind of being He is. Son of Man was Jesus’ favorite name for Himself and occurs about seventy times in the gospels. This name is thought to have been equivalent to a claim of Messiah and suggests that Jesus rejoiced in His experience as God in human form, sharing the life of mankind. He carried the title with Him to Heaven (Acts 7:56, Rev. 1:13, 14:14).

After brief statements about the deity of Jesus, His pre-existence and incarnation, John’s gospel, passing over Jesus’ birth, childhood, baptism and temptation, starts with this testimony of John the Baptist before the Committee from the Sanhedrin as to the deity of Jesus (John 1:19-24). Note that John the Baptist’s profound humility in his devotion to Christ, not worthy even to untie His shoe latch is recorded in all four gospels (Matt. 3:11, Mark 1:7, Luke 3:16, John 1:27). What a boon to the world if all preachers could exhibit the same humble adoration of the Lord of whom they preach! Jesus’ early Judean ministry lasting eight months, beginning at Passover time and ending before harvest, includes cleansing of the Temple, visit of Nicodemus and ministry by the Jordon, and is told only in John’s gospel. In chapter four, John tells us about Jesus’ return to Galilee through Samaria. Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman was only incidental but is one of the most beautiful, delightful and helpful things in the story of Jesus’ life. One of the ever-recurring contrasts of the gospels is the repudiation of Jesus by the religious custodians of His nation and His acceptance by the outcast, sinners and common people. This acceptance was the case of the Samaritan woman and laid the groundwork for the reception for the reception of the gospel by Samaritans a few years later (Acts 8:4-8).

John followed His Lord and Savior to Cana where He healed the son of a royal official and he was with Him when He healed the crippled man at the pool. He watched the persecutions of Jesus because of the miracles He performed on the Sabbath. He listened as Jesus explained who testified for Him (John 5:31-47) storing all of these facts in his mind that he might teach others about Christ for the remainder of his life. He witnessed Jesus feeding the five thousand with only five small barley loaves and two small fish, Jesus walking on the water to the boat the disciples were in and heard Him say; “the work of God is this; to believe in the One He has sent” (John 6:29). John believed that Jesus was the living Bread and that whoever believes in the name of Jesus would have everlasting life and set his mind to make believers of the world population though his gospel.

John records Jesus’ final farewell to the twelve (John 13:31-17:26) and then eleven after Judas makes his departure (John 13:30). These four chapters are the most tender words in the Bible. Chapter fourteen was uttered while yet at the Supper and fifteen, sixteen and seventeen while on the way to Gethsemane. Jesus knew the end had come and was ready for it. Instead of calling it crucified, He called it glorified (13:31) and although dreading the pain, kept His eye on the joy beyond the Crucifixion. He closes His tender farewell by commending them to God, praying both for Himself and for the disciples as he turns away to tread the winepress alone. Remembrance of His pre-human existence, and its glory, gave Him courage. He prayed for His own, not for the world. John records Jesus’ words that He had come to save the world, but His special interest was in those who believed on Him. He drew a definite line between those who were His and those who were not and this “warning message” runs all the way through John’s writings. The most important chapter in the entire Bible is considered to be John 20 because John tells of the most important event in human history, the Resurrection of Christ from the dead. John alone, of all the disciples, believed at the sight of the empty tomb (John 20:8) and he writes his book that you, too, might believe in the risen Son of God and His love for mankind that you might spend eternity in the home He has gone ahead to prepare for you (John 14:1-3).