John E-Book

Brian Simmons

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: The Passion Translation
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Seitenzahl: 220

Beschreibung

Encounter the Heart of God! The Word is not just dead letters; it is the Living Expression of God, Jesus Christ. The Word came with skin on as the Perfect Man and the living manifestation of the glory of God. The Gospel of John is all about this beautiful Christ and 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. Matthew, Mark, and Luke give us the history of Christ, but John writes to unveil the mystery of Christ. Here, 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 hearts to come to Him? To read the gospel of John is to encounter Jesus.

Leseprobe

John: Eternal Love, The Passion Translation®

Translated from the original Greek and Aramaic texts by Dr. Brian Simmons

Published by BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC

Racine, Wisconsin, USA

www.broadstreetpublishing.com

© 2014 The Passion Translation®

ISBN-13: 9781424549580 (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781424549641 (e-book)

The text of John: Eternal Love, The Passion Translation®, may be quoted up to and including thirty (30) verses without written permission from the publisher. When John: Eternal Love, The Passion Translation®, is quoted, one of the following credit lines must appear on the copyright page of the work:

Scripture quotations marked TPT are taken from John: Eternal Love, The Passion Translation®, copyright © 2014. Used by permission of BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC, Racine, Wisconsin, USA. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from John: Eternal Love, The Passion Translation®, copyright © 2014. Used by permission of BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC, Racine, Wisconsin, USA. All rights reserved.

When Scripture quotations from TPT are used in nonsalable media, such as newsletters, transparencies, church bulletins, orders of service or similar media, it is not necessary to post a complete copyright notice, but the initials TPT must appear at the end of each quotation.

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Printed in the United States of America

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Contents

Translator’s Introduction

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Tweleve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-one

About the Translator

Translator᾿s Introduction

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 living manifestation of God’s glory!

The Gospel of John is all about this 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 written here is given to you so that you will fully believe that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Son of God, and through faith in him you will experience eternal life by the power of his name!—John 20:30–31

The word believe is found 100 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. It is the gospel of John that reveals these truths to us.

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 revelation 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.

Many believe that John penned this gospel about AD 85–90, 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 obvious 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 James and John (sons of Zebedee) were actually cousins of Jesus. By comparing Matthew 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, James and John, cousins of Jesus.

There are three things that are important to remember about John. 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.” 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 an untold number of other things than what I’ve included here. And if every one of his deeds were written down and described one by one, I suppose that the world itself wouldn’t have enough room for 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 Daniel 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 (Genesis 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 in to 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.

—Dr. Brian Simmons

One

The Living Expression

1In the very beginninga

God was already there.

And before his faceb

Was his Living Expression.c

And this “Living Expression”

Was with God, yet fully God.d

2They were together—face to face,

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 gloom—i

The Light that darkness could not diminish!j

6Then suddenly a man appeared

Who was sent out from God’s presence,

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

10The Creatorn entered into

The very world he created,

Yet the worldo was unaware.

11He came to the very people he created;p

To those who should have recognized him,

But they did not receive him.

12But those who embraced him,

And took hold of his nameq

Were given the authority

To become who they really are—r

The sons of God!

13He was not born

By the joining of human parentss

Or from natural means,t

Or by a man’s desire,

But he was born of God.u

14And so the Living Expression

Became a manv and lived among us!w

And we gazed upon the splendor of his glory,x

The glory of the One and Only,y

Who came from the Father overflowing

With tender mercyz and truth!

15John taught the truth about him,

When he announced to the people,

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

I told you he would come after me,

Even though he ranks far above me,

For he existed before I was even born.”ab

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

And from him we receive

Grace heaped upon more grace!ad

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 Fatherae

And held close to his heart.

Now he leads the wayaf to the place

Of honor at the Father’s side!

The Ministry of John the Baptist

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

20John answered them directly,ai 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?”aj “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 fulfillingak 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!’”al

24Then some members of the religious sect known as the Separated Onesam 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,an 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,ao where John was baptizing at the place of the crossing of the Jordan River.ap

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!aq He will take awayar the sins of the world!as30I told you that a Mighty Oneat 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 saw 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!au33And 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.’av34And now I have seen this revelationaw fulfilled with my own eyes! I can tell you for sure that this man is the Son of God.”ax

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?”ay They responded, “Rabbi (which means, Master Teacheraz), where are you staying?” 39Jesus 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.ba He went and found his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Anointed One!”bb (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.bc But from now on you will be called Cephas” (which means, Peter the Rock).bd

Jesus Calls Philip & 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.)be45Then Philip went to look for his friend, Nathanael,bf 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?”bg 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 stunnedbh 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.”bi

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:bj From now onbk you will seebl an open heaven and gaze upon the Son of Manbm like a Stairway reaching into the skybn with the messengers of God climbing up and down uponbo him!”

a  1:1 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.

b  1:1 The Greek word used here and the Hebraic concept conveyed is that of being before God’s face. There is no Hebrew word for presence (i.e. the presence of God), only the word face.

c  1:1 As translated from the Aramaic, which can also mean “Manifestation.” The Greek is Logos, or “Word,” or “Message,” or “Blueprint.” Jesus Christ is the eternal Word, the creative Word, and the Word made visible. He is the Living Expression of all that God is, contains, and reveals. Just as we express ourselves in words, God has perfectly expressed Himself in Christ.

d  1:1 Or, “The Word was divine.” 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.

e  1:2 Both Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1–2 speak of the beginning. In Genesis it is the beginning of time, but John speaks of eternity past, a beginning before time existed. The Living Expression is Christ who existed eternally as part of the Trinity. He had had no beginning being one with the Father.

f  1:3 Or, “all things happened because of him and nothing happened apart from him.” The Aramaic is, “Everything was in his hand (of power).” See Psalm 33:6 and Isaiah 44:24.

g  1:4 The Aramaic is “lives.” Not only multiple human lives, but also spiritual life, eternal life, and life in every form.

h  1:4 As translated from the Aramaic, which can also be translated, “the spark of human life.” Jesus Christ brings the light of eternal life and the full revelation of God. The gospel of John is easily divided into three sections: Life (chapters 1–7), Light (8–12), and Love (13–21).

i  1:5 Or, “keeps on shining through.”

j  1:5 The Greek has a double meaning here. Darkness could not diminish this Light, nor could it comprehend it. The darkness can also be a metaphor for the sons of darkness.

k  1:6 This is John, the Baptist.

l  1:9 As translated from the Aramaic. The Greek is, “the True Light.”

m  1:9 Or, “to enlighten everyone.”

n  1:10 Implied in the text. The Greek is, “he came to his own things.”

o  1:10 Or, “the world (of humanity) didn’t perceive it.”

p  1:11 Or, “to his own (things or people).”

q  1:12 Or, “those who are putting faith into his name.” To “lay hold of his name” means to believe all that he represents and put into practice what he taught in the power of his name.

r  1:12 Or, “become our true selves.”

s  1:13 Or, “not from streams of blood” (i.e. the blood of a father and mother).

t  1:13 Or, “from the natural realm.”

u  1:13 Or, “born out from God.” This verse could be considered John’s version of the virgin birth of Christ. The Word (message) has now “humanized” and become the messenger. However, the vast majority of translations and expositors see here not Christ’s virgin birth, but the new birth of those who became “sons of God” in verse 12. Both are clearly presented in the Scriptures.

v  1:14 Or, “became visible.”

w  1:14 This is the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14. The “God with us” is Jesus Christ our Immanuel. He is with us in that he is in human form, a man for all eternity. The Greek and Aramaic reads, “he pitched his tent among us.” This takes us back into the book of Exodus where God came down and lived in the tent (tabernacle) in the wilderness. See Exodus 25:8.

x  1:14 The Aramaic is, “We gazed upon his preciousness.”

y  1:14 The Aramaic is, “Unique and Beloved Son.” The Greek word, monogenes, means, “of a single (mono) kind (genes).” This word is also used for Isaac in Hebrews 11:17 as Abraham’s uniquely precious son, but not his only one.

z  1:14 The Aramaic word, taybootha, means, “loving kindness or goodness.” The Greek word is charis, which can also be translated, “grace, favor, sweetness, pleasure or delight.” The translator has combined all those concepts in the words tender mercy. Truly, Jesus Christ is full of everything that our hearts crave.

aa  1:15 Implied in the text.

ab  1:15 This reveals the eternal nature of Jesus Christ, for John was older than Jesus. The Aramaic can be translated, “He is preferred before me, for he has priority over me.”

ac  1:16 As translated from the Aramaic.

ad  1:16 Or, “one gift after another.”

ae  1:18 Or, “from the lap of the Father.” This is an idiom for the place of closest intimacy.

af  1:18 Or, “He has explained the Father.” The Greek word, hexegeomai, can mean either, “to lead the way” or, “to explain.”

ag  1:19 Or simply, “Jews.” This is a metonymy for “Jewish leaders.” Obviously, not all Jews opposed John’s ministry. Some estimate that John and his disciples baptized as many as one million people. It is possible that John was a part of the Essene community of devout Jews.

ah  1:19 Or, “Levites.”

ai  1:20 Or, “he did not deny it.”

aj  1:21 See Deuteronomy 18:15. Jesus is identified as that “Prophet” in Acts 3:22.

ak  1:23 Implied in the text.

al  1:23 As translated from the Aramaic. See Isaiah 40:3. The Aramaic is clear that the preparations are for the Lord Yahweh, signifying the deity of Jesus Christ. The Greek is, “Make straight the way for the Lord (kurios).”

am  1:24 Or, “Pharisees.” They were the religious leaders of the day who considered themselves separated from sin and closer to God than other people.

an  1:26–27 As translated from the Aramaic.

ao  1:28 This was a different Bethany than the one near Jerusalem, commonly referred to in the Gospels. Some Greek manuscripts have the location as “Bethabara,” however, the Aramaic is clearly Bethany.

ap  1:28 As translated from the Aramaic. This place of crossing is likely where the children of Israel crossed into the Promised Land when the Jordan River parted and they passed through on dry land. See Joshua 3. This place was a powerful reminder of crossing over into a new day, a new era for Israel. This was the place chosen by God for John to baptize.

aq  1:29 As the Lamb of God, Jesus was publicly washed and proven to be without flaw or blemish, ready to become the sacrifice for all the world. Although he will become the Lion of the Tribe of Judah in resurrection power, John points to him as the meek Lamb, a willing sacrifice for our sins.

ar  1:29 Or, “lift off (the burden).”

as  1:29 The Aramaic is, “the sins of the universe.” To take away our sins is a figure of speech that means “he will break sin’s grip from humanity, taking away both its guilt and power from those who believe.”

at  1:30 As translated from the Aramaic.

au  1:32 Jesus, the Lamb, took away our sins, and the Holy Spirit, the Dove, brings to man the life of God. Jesus didn’t come to start a movement, but to bring the fullness of life to us. This “Dove” points to the dove that Noah released from the ark. It found no place to rest in a fallen world. The last time Noah released the dove it flew and never returned. It flew throughout history over Abraham and the patriarchs, over the prophets and kings with no place to rest, until at last, there was a heavenly man who carried the life of heaven—upon him the Dove rested and remained. There was nothing that could offend heaven in the life of our Lord Jesus.

av  1:33 Or, “the Spirit of Holiness.”

aw  1:34 The Greek word John uses for “seen,” ophesthe, is always used in John’s gospel for spiritual vision, or seeing in the spiritual realm.

ax  1:34 Some Greek manuscripts have, “the Chosen One of God.” The Aramaic is clearly, “the Son of Elohim.”

ay