John (2nd Edition) E-Book

Brian Simmons

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: The Passion Translation
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Seitenzahl: 230

Beschreibung

The Word is not just dead letters; it's the Living Expression of God—Jesus Christ. The Word came with skin on as the Perfect Man and the living manifestation of God's glory. The Gospel of John helps us meet this beautiful Christ. John is also the Gospel of believing. This book reveals that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, the Savior, the King, the true Anointed One, the Living Bread, and the Loving Shepherd. While Matthew, Mark, and Luke give us the history of Christ, John unveils the mystery of Christ. Through his gospel we experience Jesus as the Lamb of God, the Good Shepherd, the Kind Forgiver, the Tender Healer, the Compassionate Intercessor, and the Great I Am. Who can resist this Man when he tugs on hearts to come to him? The Passion Translation of John's gospel will help you encounter the heart of God through Jesus as the loving God in flesh and blood.

Leseprobe

The Passion Translation®

John: Eternal Love, Second Edition

Published by BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC

BroadStreetPublishing.com

ThePassionTranslation.com

The Passion Translation is a registered trademark of Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc.

Copyright © 2019 Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc.

978-1-4245-5908-4

eISBN: 978-1-4245-6006-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except as noted below, without permission in writing from the publisher.

The text from John: Eternal Love may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic, or audio), up to and inclusive of 30 verses or less, without written permission from the publisher, provided that the verses quoted do not account for 20 percent or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted, and the verses are not being quoted in a commentary or other biblical reference work. When quoted, one of the following credit lines must appear on the copyright page of the work:

Scripture quotations marked TPT are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com.

All Scripture quotations are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com.

When quotations from TPT are used in non-saleable media, such as church bulletins, sermons, newsletters, or projected in worship settings, a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials TPT must appear at the end of each quotation.

Quotations in excess of these guidelines or other permission requests must be approved in writing by BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC. Please send requests through the contact form at ThePassionTranslation.com/permissions.

For information about bulk sales or customized editions of The Passion Translation, please contact [email protected].

The publisher and TPT team have worked diligently and prayerfully to present this portion of The Passion Translation Bible with excellence and accuracy. However, all translations of the Bible are subject to human limitations and imperfections. If you find a mistake in the Bible text or footnotes, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About The Passion Translation

John: Introduction

John: Eternal Love

Your Personal Invitation to Follow Jesus

About the Translator

ABOUT THE PASSION TRANSLATION

The message of God’s story is timeless; the Word of God doesn’t change. But the methods by which that story is communicated should be timely; the vessels that steward God’s Word can and should change. One of those timely methods is Bible translation. Bible translations are both a gift and a problem. They give us the words God spoke through his servants, but words can be poor containers for revelation because they leak! The meanings of words change from one generation to the next. Meaning is influenced by culture, background, and many other details. Just imagine how differently the Hebrew authors of the Old Testament saw the world three thousand years ago from the way we see it today!

There is no such thing as a truly literal translation of the Bible, for there is not an equivalent language that perfectly conveys the meaning of the biblical text. It must be understood in its original cultural and linguistic settings. This problem is best addressed when we seek to transfer meaning, not merely words, from the original text to the receptor language.

The purpose of The Passion Translation is to reintroduce the passion and fire of the Bible to the English reader. It doesn’t merely convey the literal meaning of words. It expresses God’s passion for people and his world by translating the original, life-changing message of God’s Word for modern readers.

You will notice at times we’ve italicized certain words or phrases. These high-lighted portions are not in the original Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic manuscripts but are implied from the context. We’ve made these implications explicit for the sake of narrative clarity and to better convey the meaning of God’s Word. This is a common practice by mainstream translations.

We’ve also chosen to translate certain names in their original Hebrew or Greek form to better convey their cultural meaning and significance. For instance, some translations of the Bible have substituted Jacob with James and Judah with Jude. Both Greek and Aramaic leave these Hebrew names in their original form. Therefore, this translation uses those cultural names.

God longs to have his Word expressed in every language in a way that would unlock the passion of his heart. Our goal is to trigger inside every English-speaking reader an overwhelming response to the truth of the Bible. This is a heart-level translation, from the passion of God’s heart to the passion of your heart.

We pray this version of God’s Word will kindle in you a burning desire for him and his heart, while impacting the church for years to come.

Please visit ThePassionTranslation.com for more information about The Passion Translation.

JOHN

(return to table of contents)

Introduction • One • Two • Three • Four • Five • Six • Seven • Eight • Nine • Ten • Eleven • Twelve • Thirteen • Fourteen • Fifteen • Sixteen • Seventeen • Eighteen • Nineteen • Twenty • Twenty-One

JOHN

Introduction

AT A GLANCE

Author: The apostle John

Audience: Diaspora Jews and believers.

Date: AD 80–85, though possibly 50–55.

Type of Literature: Ancient historical biography

Major Themes: The person and work of Jesus, salvation, the Holy Spirit, and the end of the age

Outline:

Prologue — 1:1–18

The Testimony of John the Baptist — 1:19–51

The New Order in Jesus — 2:1–4:42

Jesus as the Mediator of Life and Judgment — 4:43–5:47

Jesus as the Bread of Life — 6:1–71

Jesus as the Water and Light of Life — 7:1–8:59

Jesus as the Light and Shepherd to Humanity — 9:1–10:42

Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life — 11:1–54

Jesus as the Triumphant King — 11:55–12:50

Jesus’ Ministry to His Disciples before Death — 13:1–17:26

Jesus’ Death and Resurrection — 18:1–20:31

Epilogue — 21:1–25

ABOUT JOHN

How God longs for us to know him! We discover him as we read and study his living Word. But the “Word” is not just dead letters; it’s the Living Expression of God, Jesus Christ. The Word came with skin on as the perfect Man—the One who is the divine self-expression and fullness of God’s glory; he was God in the flesh!

The New Testament, at its beginning, presents four biographies to portray the four main aspects of this all-glorious Christ. The Gospel of Matthew testifies that he is the King, the Christ of God according to the prophecies of the Old Testament, the One who brings the kingdom of the heavens to earth. The Gospel of Mark presents him as the Love-Slave of God, the perfect servant who labors faithfully for God. Mark’s account is the most simple, for a servant doesn’t need a detailed record. The Gospel of Luke presents a full picture of Christ as the true Man and the compassionate Savior of all who come to him. And the Gospel of John unveils him as the Son of God, the very God himself, to be life to God’s people.

Miracles are everywhere in the Gospel of John! Water became wine. Blind eyes were blessed with sight. Even the dead rose to walk again when Jesus lived among men. Every miracle was a sign that makes us wonder about who this man truly is. The book of John brings us a heavenly perspective filled with such wonderful revelations in every verse. Nothing in the Bible can be compared to the writings of John. He was a prophet, a seer, a lover, an evangelist, an author, an apostle, and a son of thunder.

The other three Gospels give us the history of Christ, but John writes to unveil the mystery of Christ. Jesus is seen as the Lamb of God, the Good Shepherd, the Kind Forgiver, the Tender Healer, the Compassionate Intercessor, and the great I AM. Who can resist this man when he tugs on your heart to come to him? To read John’s Gospel is to encounter Jesus. Make this your goal as you read.

There are three things that are important to remember about John, the author of this Gospel: First, he was a man who was a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. He had seen the miracles of Jesus firsthand and heard the anointed words he taught. He walked with Jesus and followed him wholeheartedly, becoming one of Christ’s apostolic servants.

Secondly, John describes himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:7, 20). This was not a term to indicate that Jesus loved John more than the others, but rather, John saw himself as one that Jesus loved. You could also say this about yourself, “I am the disciple whom Jesus loves!” Every single believer can echo John’s description of himself, as those words must become the true definition of our identity.

Love unlocks mysteries. As we love Jesus, our hearts are unlocked to see more of his beauty and glory. When we stop defining ourselves by our failures, but rather as the one whom Jesus loves, then our hearts begin to open to the breathtaking discovery of the wonder of Jesus Christ.

And thirdly, it’s important to keep in mind that John did not include everything that Jesus did and taught. In fact, if you put all the data of the Gospels together and condense it, we only have information covering merely a few months of Jesus’ life and ministry! We are only given snapshots, portions of what he taught, and a few of the miracles he performed. From his birth to the age of twelve, we know virtually nothing about his life; and from the age of twelve until he began his public ministry at thirty, we again have almost no information given to us about him in the Gospels. John summarizes his incomplete account in the last verse of his Gospel:

Jesus did countless things that I haven’t included here. And if every one of his works were written down and described one by one, I suppose that the world itself wouldn’t have enough room to contain the books that would have to be written! —John 21:25

John gives us the fourth Gospel, which corresponds to the fourth of the living creatures mentioned in the book of Revelation—the flying eagle. This brings before our hearts Christ as the One who came from heaven and reveals heaven’s reality to those who love him. In Dan. 3:25, it was the fourth man walking in the fire who was in the form of the Son of God. This fourth man revealed in the fourth Gospel is the One who on the fourth day put the sun into the sky (Gen. 1:7).

According to one of the church fathers, Tertullian, John was plunged in burning oil in front of a massive crowd that had filled the Roman Coliseum in order to silence his ministry. But God was not yet finished with his aged apostle. Tertullian reports that he came out of the burning caldron alive and unharmed! This miracle resulted in the mass conversion to Christ of nearly all who witnessed it. John was later banished to the island of Patmos where he wrote the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

This translation of John’s good news is dedicated to every faithful evangelist and preacher of the gospel. You are a gift to the world and through your ministry millions have been brought into the kingdom of God. We are forever grateful to God for your lives and your message.

You can trust every word you read from John, for he speaks the truth. His Gospel will take you into a higher glory where Jesus now sits exalted at the right hand of God. As John’s Gospel unveils Jesus before your eyes, enter into the great magnificence of his presence and sit enthroned with him. Your life will never be the same after absorbing the glory presented to you in the book of John.

PURPOSE

The Gospel of John is all about the beautiful Christ. John tells us why he wrote this amazing book:

Jesus went on to do many more miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not even included in this book. But all that is recorded here is so that you will fully believe that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Son of God, and that through your faith in him you will experience eternal life by the power of his name! —John 20:30–31

There is a twofold purpose here: he’s writing to nonbelievers, mostly Jews but also gentiles, to believe that Jesus is the One through whom they will find and experience eternal life; he’s also writing to believers that they would more fully believe the same, to experience the fullness of that life by Jesus’ powerful name.

The word believe is found one hundred times in John. It is the Gospel of believing! We believe that Jesus Christ is the Living Expression of God and the Light of the World. He is the Savior, the King, the true Anointed One, the living Bread, and the loving Shepherd. This is why we continue to teach and preach from this magisterial book: that people might have faith and grow in their faith. It is the Gospel of John that reveals these truths to us.

AUTHOR AND AUDIENCE

Many believe that John penned this Gospel about AD 80–85. However, the Dead Sea Scrolls hint at an earlier date as early as AD 50–55, since some of the verses found in the Dead Sea Scrolls are nearly identical to verses found in John’s Gospel. The earlier date, though contested by some, seems to be more likely. Why would John wait to write and share the good news of Jesus? It seems likely that John wrote his Gospel prior to AD 66 when the Roman war with Jews began, for he mentions the Temple as still standing and the pool, which “has” (not “had”) five porticos. All of this was destroyed during the Roman war of AD 67–70.

John was called to follow Jesus while he was mending a net, which seems to point to the focus of his ministry. John’s message “mends” the hearts of men and brings healing to the body of Christ through the revelation he brings us.

There is an interesting possibility that both Jacob (James) and John (sons of Zebedee) were actually cousins of Jesus. By comparing Matt. 27:56 to Mark 15:40, we learn that Zebedee’s wife was Salome. And Salome was believed to be the younger sister of Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus, which would make her sons, Jacob and John, cousins of Jesus.

MAJOR THEMES

The Person of Jesus as God. Of all the major themes in John’s Gospel, the question of “Who is Jesus?” lies at its heart, especially when it comes to distinguishing it from the other three Gospels. For John, Jesus is the Son of God. He does only the things that God the Father tells and shows him to say and do. Jesus is God’s unique Messenger, who claims to be God and yet submits to God. Through Jesus’ obedience and dependence upon him, he becomes the center for disclosing the very words and deeds of God himself. Which means the Gospel of John is as much about God as it is about Jesus!

The Work of Jesus in Salvation. John makes it clear that God the Father is the one who alone initiates human salvation. And the one who bears the Father’s salvation is the Son. Jesus is the Lamb of God, come to take away the sins of the world—which means we need to be saved from those sins. He is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. He is also the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Truth, and the Life—all names that point to the salvation found in Jesus.

It is true that faith features prominently in John’s Gospel, calling people to make a decision and confirm it doing the truth. But John also teaches that such a decision merely reveals what God himself is doing in those who will eventually become his children—saving them through Jesus!

The Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God fills the pages of John in the way he fills the other Gospels: the Spirit is given to Jesus at baptism; Jesus will baptize his people in this Spirit; Jesus is uniquely endowed with the Spirit; as the only one who has and gives the Spirit, Jesus shows us the characteristics of him. Above all, in this Gospel John connects the gift of the Holy Spirit to the people of God to the death and exaltation of the Son. We have come to know the precious doctrine of the Trinity in and through much of John!

The People of God. One of the major themes of John’s Gospel actually draws on the Old Testament: the formation of a people, a community that will embody and carry forth Jesus’ mission. This community of God’s people we call the disciples begins with a sort of commissioning, where Jesus breathes upon them, marking them as his new creation people. This act recalls the original creation of the first human when God blew his breath into Adam. And like Moses’ farewell address in Deuteronomy, Jesus addresses his followers (see chs. 13–17) to fulfill his redemptive purposes.

Eternal Life Now and Later. As with the other Gospels, John’s is oriented around the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus—the purpose of which is that humanity might have life—eternal life in the age to come, while experiencing a taste of it right now. Everlasting, unending life in this ultimate age is a gift given to people who believe in the redemption of Christ; the alternative is judgment. But this realty isn’t merely for later, it’s also for now; eternal life is both already and not yet. John emphasizes the present enjoyment of this eternal life and its blessings. But he also makes it plain Jesus will return to gather to himself his own to the dwelling he’s prepared for them.

JOHN

Eternal Love

The Living Expression

1In the very beginninga the Living Expressionb was already there.

And the Living Expression was with God, yet fully God.c

2They were together—face-to-face,d in the very beginning.e

3And through his creative inspiration

this Living Expression made all things,f

for nothing has existence apart from him!

4Life came into beingg because of him,

for his life is light for all humanity.h

5And this Living Expression is the Light that bursts through gloomi—

the Light that darkness could not diminish!j

6Then suddenly a man appeared who was sent from God,

a messenger named John.k

7For he came to be a witness, to point the way to the Light of Life,

and to help everyone believe.

8John was not that Light but he came to show who is.

For he was merely a messenger to speak the truth about the Light.

9For the Light of Truthl was about to come into the world

and shine upon everyone.m

10He entered into the very world he created,

yet the world was unaware.n

11He came to the very people he createdo—

to those who should have recognized him,

but they did not receive him.

12But those who embraced him and took hold of his namep

were given authority to become

the children of God!

13He was not born by the joining of human parentsq

or from natural means,r or by a man’s desire,

but he was born of God.s

14And so the Living Expression

became a mant and lived among us!u

And we gazed upon the splendor of his glory,v

the glory of the One and Onlyw

who came from the Father overflowing

with tender mercyx and truth!

15John taught the truth about him

when he announced to the people,

“He’s the One! Set your hearts on him!

I told you he would come after me,

even though he ranks far above me,

for he existed before I was even born.”y

16And now out of his fullness we are fulfilled!z

And from him we receive grace heaped upon more grace!aa

17Moses gave us the Law, but Jesus, the Anointed One,

unveils truth wrapped in tender mercy.

18No one has ever gazed upon the fullness of God’s splendor

except the uniquely beloved Son,

who is cherished by the Fatherab

and held close to his heart.

Now he has unfolded to usac

the full explanation of who God truly is!

The Ministry of John the Baptizer

19There were some of the Jewish leadersad who sent an entourage of priests and temple servantsae from Jerusalem to interrogate John. They asked him, “Who are you?”

20John answered them directly,af saying, “I am not the Messiah!”

21“Then who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”

“No,” John replied.

So they pressed him further, “Are you the prophet Moses said was coming, the one we’re expecting?”ag “No,” he replied.

22“Then who are you?” they demanded. “We need an answer for those who sent us. Tell us something about yourself—anything!”

23So, John answered them, “I am fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy: ‘I am an urgent, thundering voice shouting in the desert—clear the way and prepare your hearts for the coming of the Lord Yahweh!’ ”ah

24Then some members of the religious sect known as the Phariseesai questioned John, 25“Why do you baptize the people since you admit you’re not the Christ, Elijah, or the Prophet?”

26–27John answered them, “I baptize in this river, but the One who will take my place is to be more honored than I,aj but even when he stands among you, you will not recognize or embrace him! I am not worthy enough to stoop down in front of him and untie his sandals!” 28This all took place at Bethany,ak where John was baptizing at the place of the crossing of the Jordan River.al

The Lamb of God

29The very next day John saw Jesus coming to him to be baptized, and John cried out, “Look! There he is—God’s Lamb!am He will take awayan the sins of the world!ao30I told you that a Mighty Oneap would come who is far greater than I am, because he existed long before I was born! 31My baptism was for the preparation of his appearing to Israel, even though I’ve yet to experience him.”

32Then, as John baptized Jesus he spoke these words: “I see the Spirit of God appear like a dove descending from the heavenly realm and landing upon him—and it rested upon him from that moment forward!aq33And even though I’ve yet to experience him, when I was commissioned to baptize with water God spoke these words to me, ‘One day you will see the Spirit descend and remain upon a man. He will be the One I have sent to baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ar34And now I have seen with discernment. I can tell you for sure that this man is the Son of God.”as

Jesus’ First Followers

35–36The very next day John was there again with two of his disciples as Jesus was walking right past them. John, gazing upon him, pointed to Jesus and said, “Look! There’s God’s Lamb!” 37And as soon as John’s two disciples heard this, they immediately left John and began to follow a short distance behind Jesus.

38Then Jesus turned around and saw they were following him and asked, “What do you want?”at They responded, “Rabbi (which means, Master Teacherau), where are you staying?”av39Jesus answered, “Come and discover for yourselves.” So they went with him and saw where he was staying, and since it was late in the afternoon, they spent the rest of the day with Jesus.

40–41One of the two disciples who heard John’s words and began to follow Jesus was a man named Andrew.aw He went and found his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Anointed One!”ax (Which is translated, the Christ.) 42Then Andrew brought Simon to meet him. When Jesus gazed upon Andrew’s brother, he prophesied to him, “You are Simon and your father’s name is John.ay But from now on you will be called Cephas” (which means, Peter the Rock).az

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43The next day Jesus decided to go to the region of Galilee. There he found Philip and said to him, “Come and follow me.” 44(Now Philip, Andrew, and Peter were all from the same village of Bethsaida.)ba45Then Philip went to look for his friend, Nathanael,bb and told him, “We’ve found him! We’ve found the One we’ve been waiting for! It’s Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth, the Anointed One! He’s the One that Moses and the prophets prophesied would come!”

46Nathanael sneered, “Nazareth! What good thing could ever come from Nazareth?”bc Philip answered, “Come and let’s find out!”

47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said, “Now here comes a true son of Israel—an honest man with no hidden motive!”

48Nathanael was stunned and said, “But you’ve never met me—how do you know anything about me?”

Jesus answered, “Nathanael, right before Philip came to you I saw you sitting under the shade of a fig tree.”bd

49Nathanael blurted out, “Teacher, you are truly the Son of God and the King of Israel!”

50Jesus answered, “Do you believe simply because I told you I saw you sitting under a fig tree? You will experience even more impressive things than that! 51I prophesy to you eternal truth:be From now onbf you all will seebg an open heaven and gaze upon the Son of Manbh like a stairway reaching into the skybi with the messengers of God climbing up and down uponbj him!”

a1:1 The first eighteen verses of John are considered by most scholars to be the words of an ancient hymn or poem that was cherished by first-century believers in Christ.

b1:1 The Greek is logos, which has a rich and varied background in both Greek philosophy and Judaism. The Greeks equated logos with the highest principle of cosmic order. God’s logos in the Old Testament is his powerful self-expression in creation, revelation, and redemption. In the New Testament we have this new unique view of God given to us by John, which signifies the presence of God himself in the flesh. Some have translated this rich term as “Word.” It could also be translated “Message” or “Blueprint.” Jesus Christ is the eternal Word, the creative Word, and the Word made visible. He is the divine self-expression of all that God is, contains, and reveals in incarnated flesh. Just as we express ourselves in words, God has perfectly expressed himself in Christ.

c1:1 The Living Expression (Christ) had full participation in every attribute of deity held by God the Father. The Living Expression existed eternally as a separate individual but essentially the same, as one with the Father.

d