John's Gospel:
is Jesus Messiah? Is Jesus the Son of God?

This Gospel was written by one of the twelve eye-witnesses of Jesus's lifework.  John wrote it in his old age, after a lifetime's reflections on Jesus's true identity.   He was yearning to convey Jesus's glory as God's Son, to a new generation, Having himself experienced deep joy in knowing Jesus, he wanted to share that with others.  His aim was to bring them to faith in Jesus as the Christ; and for them to experience knowing Christ and His Father.

His gospel is quite different from the other three (Matthew, Mark & Luke).  Whereas the others focus more on Jesus's ministry in Galilee, most of John's account is set in Jerusalem, and mainly during the Jewish feasts.  The dominant themes are Jesus' identity (as Messiah and Son of God), His incarnation, and His authority. He uses much more symbolic language, as he  tries to convey spiritual realities in human terms.  And he boils all Jesus's ethical teaching down to one word: love.  

To prove who Jesus was, John selects seven signs  - miracles which signpost who Jesus is;  seven dialogues in which Jesus presses His claim to be the Son of God; and seven 'I AM' statements, declarations of how His divine nature meets our spiritual need. Then he records Jesus's wonderful teaching about what it will mean for the disciples to know all three members of the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - after His death and resurrection.

These 'posts' represent my notes from our church's weekly bible study but they are available to anyone.  Our aim as a group, for 2023-24, is to work our way through John's gospel and then the 'First Letter of John'.  In the latter, John addresses issues the churches under his care faced, as they faced splits over differing views of Jesus's identity.  John applies his earlier teachings about love, purity, and the incarnation, to help them test whether they (and others) are on the right path.

Each week I add the notes after the study, gradually building a series of posts which will cover the whole gospel..  If you arrive via a link to a particular week's notes, and want to view previous posts, you will need to click on 'Notes and Themes' (in the heading on a computer) or the triple-bar symbol  (top right on a phone or tablet).  

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Lastly, please never read these notes without your bible open!  

And always ask the Holy Spirit to be your Teacher.  He is the One who will lead you into all truth.