John E-Book

Justin Buzzard

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Knowing the Bible
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 112

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

The Knowing the Bible series is a new resource designed to help Bible readers better understand and apply God's Word. Each 12-week study leads participants through one book of the Bible and is made up of four basic components: (1) Reflection questions designed to help readers engage the text at a deeper level; (2) "Gospel Glimpses" highlighting the gospel of grace throughout the book; (3) "Whole-Bible Connections" showing how any given passage connects to the Bible's overarching story of redemption culminating in Christ; and (4) "Theological Soundings" identifying how historic orthodox doctrines are taught or reinforced throughout Scripture. With contributions from a wide array of influential pastors and church leaders, these gospel-centered studies will help Christians see and cherish the message of God's grace on each and every page of the Bible. In this study of John's Gospel, pastor and author Justin Buzzard helps readers understand the most theologically and philosophically profound account of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection in the New Testament. From revealing his cosmic identity as being with the Father "in the beginning," to recounting the many miraculous signs attesting to his divinity, Buzzard illuminates John's unmatched portrait of Jesus Christ, the unique Son of God, sent from heaven to save all who would turn to him. This insightful guide encourages Christians to worship Christ as Lord and follow him on mission to the world.

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“This series is a tremendous resource for those wanting to study and teach the Bible with an understanding of how the gospel is woven throughout Scripture. Here are gospel-minded pastors and scholars doing gospel business from all the Scriptures. This is a biblical and theological feast preparing God’s people to apply the entire Bible to all of life with heart and mind wholly committed to Christ’s priorities.”

BRYAN CHAPELL, Chancellor, Covenant Theological Seminary

“Mark Twain may have smiled when he wrote to a friend, ‘I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long letter.’ But the truth of Twain’s remark remains serious and universal, because well-reasoned, compact writing requires extra time and extra hard work. And this is what we have in the Crossway Bible study series Knowing the Bible. The skilled authors and notable editors provide the contours of each book of the Bible as well as the grand theological themes that bind them together as one Book. Here, in a 12-week format, are carefully wrought studies that will ignite the mind and the heart.”

R. KENT HUGHES, Senior Pastor Emeritus, College Church, Wheaton, Illinois

“Knowing the Bible brings together a gifted team of Bible teachers to produce a high-quality series of study guides. The coordinated focus of these materials is unique: biblical content, provocative questions, systematic theology, practical application, and the gospel story of God’s grace presented all the way through Scripture.”

PHILIP G. RYKEN, President, Wheaton College

“These Knowing the Bible volumes provide a significant and very welcome variation on the general run of inductive Bible studies. This series provides substantial instruction, as well as teaching through the very questions that are asked. Knowing the Bible then goes even further by showing how any given text links with the gospel, the whole Bible, and the formation of theology. I heartily endorse this orientation of individual books to the whole Bible and the gospel, and I applaud the demonstration that sound theology was not something invented later by Christians, but is right there in the pages of Scripture.”

GRAEME L. GOLDSWORTHY, former lecturer, Moore Theological College; author, According to Plan, Gospel and Kingdom, The Gospel in Revelation, and Gospel and Wisdom

“What a gift to earnest, Bible-loving, Bible-searching believers! The organization and structure of the Bible study format presented through the Knowing the Bible series is so well conceived. Students of the Word are led to understand the content of passages through perceptive, guided questions, and they are given rich insights and application all along the way in the brief but illuminating sections that conclude each study. What potential growth in depth and breadth of understanding these studies offer. One can only pray that vast numbers of believers will discover more of God and the beauty of his Word through these rich studies.”

BRUCE A. WARE, Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

K N O W I N G   T H E   B I B L E

J. I. Packer, Theological Editor

Dane C. Ortlund, Series Editor

Lane T. Dennis, Executive Editor

•    •    •    •    •    •

Genesis

Isaiah

Mark

John

Romans

James

•    •    •    •    •    •

J. I. PACKER is Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College (Vancouver, BC). Dr. Packer earned his DPhil at the University of Oxford. He is known and loved worldwide as the author of the bestselling book Knowing God, as well as many other titles on theology and the Christian life. He serves as the General Editor of the ESV Bible and as the Theological Editor for the ESV Study Bible.

LANE T. DENNIS is President of Crossway, a not-for-profit publishing ministry. Dr. Dennis earned his PhD from Northwestern University. He is Chair of the ESV Bible Translation Oversight Committee and Executive Editor of the ESV Study Bible.

DANE C. ORTLUND is Vice President for Bible Publishing at Crossway. He is a graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary (MDiv, ThM) and Wheaton College (BA, PhD). Dr. Ortlund has authored three books and numerous scholarly articles in the areas of Bible, theology, and Christian living.

Knowing the Bible: John, A 12-Week Study

Copyright © 2013 by Crossway

Published by Crossway

1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law.

Some content used in this study guide has been adapted from the ESV Study Bible (Crossway), copyright 2008 by Crossway, pages 2015–2072. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover design: Simplicated Studio

First printing 2013

Printed in the United States of America

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. 2011 Text Edition. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Emphasis in Scripture quotations has been added by the author.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-3452-2 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-3453-9 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-3454-6 EPub ISBN: 978-1-4335-3455-3

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Series Preface: J. I. Packer and Lane T. Dennis

Week 1: Overview

Week 2: Prologue: The Incarnate Word (John 1:1–18)

Week 3: John the Baptist and the Start of Jesus’ Ministry (John 1:19–2:11)

Week 4: Jesus’ Expanding Ministry (John 2:12–4:54)

Week 5: More Signs amid Mounting Jewish Opposition (John 5:1–10:42)

Week 6: The Final Passover: The Ultimate Sign (John 11:1–12:19)

Week 7: The Messiah’s Death at Hand (John 12:20–50)

Week 8: Jesus’ Final Teaching and Prayer (John 13:1–17:26)

Week 9: Jesus’ Arrest, Trial, Death, and Burial (John 18:1–19:42)

Week 10: Jesus’ Resurrection and Appearances (John 20:1–29)

Week 11: Purpose Statement and Epilogue (John 20:30–21:25)

Week 12: Summary and Conclusion

SERIES PREFACE

KNOWING THE BIBLE, as the series title indicates, was created to help readers know and understand the meaning, the message, and the God of the Bible. Each volume in the series consists of 12 units that progressively take the reader through a clear, concise study of that book of the Bible. In this way, any given volume can fruitfully be used in a 12-week format either in group study, such as in a church-based context, or in individual study. Of course, these 12 studies could be completed in fewer or more than 12 weeks, as convenient, depending on the context in which they are used.

Each study unit gives an overview of the text at hand before digging into it with a series of questions for reflection or discussion. The unit then concludes by highlighting the gospel of grace in each passage (“Gospel Glimpses”), identifying whole-Bible themes that occur in the passage (“Whole-Bible Connections”), and pinpointing Christian doctrines that are affirmed in the passage (“Theological Soundings”).

The final component to each unit is a section for reflecting on personal and practical implications from the passage at hand. The layout provides space for recording responses to the questions proposed, and we think readers need to do this to get the full benefit of the exercise. The series also includes definitions of key words. These definitions are indicated by a note number in the text and are found at the end of each chapter.

Lastly, to help understand the Bible in this deeper way, we urge readers to use the ESV Bible and the ESV Study Bible, which are available in various print and digital formats, including online editions at www.esvbible.org. The Knowing the Bible series is also available online. Additional 12-week studies covering each book of the Bible will be added as they become available.

May the Lord greatly bless your study as you seek to know him through knowing his Word.

J. I. Packer Lane T. Dennis

WEEK 1: OVERVIEW

   Getting Acquainted

The Gospel of John plays a unique and influential role in the Christian Bible. In this account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we learn that Jesus is the Son of God,1 sent2 by God the Father to give eternal life3 to all who believe in him. Jesus repeatedly shatters people’s assumptions, teaching that salvation is not earned but rather is a free gift received through a miracle of grace—being born again. John’s Gospel also sounds a constant theme of mission. Just as the Father sent Jesus to earth, Jesus sends his followers to continue his mission by testifying that Jesus is the Son of God so that “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (3:16).

Of the four Gospels, John was probably the last one written. It is the most theologically and philosophically profound Gospel account. John does not narrate Jesus’ birth. Instead, he begins his Gospel at the very beginning, stating in his opening sentence that Jesus has eternally existed and that “all things were made through him” (1:3). John roots Jesus’ identity in eternity past, providing a lofty vision of the Son of God sent to earth as fully God and now also fully man. Other than the feeding of the five thousand, the anointing at Bethany (12:1–8), and the passion narrative, John does not share any sizable blocks of teaching with the Synoptic Gospels. John is organized around carefully crafted narrative strands that highlight both the signs and teachings of Jesus. This gives John’s Gospel a sense of depth as the reader is presented with a rich, multi-layered, and cosmic display of the identity, works, words, and mission of Jesus.

John’s purpose is to present Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, sent to earth to fulfill all that the Old Testament anticipated: bringing new life—eternal life—to a dark world.

   Placing It in the Larger Story

While Matthew focuses on Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, Mark focuses on Jesus as the one who ushers in the kingdom of God, and Luke emphasizes Jesus as the one who welcomes the outsider, John emphasizes Jesus as the eternal Son of God. Through his signs and teaching, through his death and resurrection, and through the mission he entrusts to his disciples, Jesus fulfills all the Old Testament hopes and promises. He inaugurates the long-awaited new age.

   Key Passage

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30–31).

   Date and Historical Background

The Gospel of John was written by the apostle John, the son of Zebedee. He was a Palestinian Jew and a member of Jesus’ inner apostolic circle. John most likely wrote his account of Jesus between AD 70 (when Jerusalem was besieged by the Romans and the temple was destroyed) and AD 100 (the approximate end of John’s lifetime). Most likely he wrote his Gospel in Ephesus, one of the most important urban centers of the Roman empire. John’s Gospel was aimed at both Jews and Gentiles living throughout the Greco-Roman world. John frequently explains Jewish customs and Palestinian geography to non-Jewish readers. John also presents Jesus as the eternal Word that has now become flesh, utilizing the background of Greek thought familiar to his Gentile audience. Yet John clearly also has a Jewish audience in mind: he reveals Jesus to be the Jewish Messiah, the fulfillment of many Old Testament themes, and the eternal Son of God sent by God the Father to mediate a new relationship between God and man.

John thus wrote his Gospel about two generations after the death and resurrection of Jesus. At the time of writing, the other three Gospels had been written and the Greco-Roman world was in a state of change. Jerusalem had been sacked by Rome. Jews were increasingly dispersed throughout the Roman empire, causing Jews and Gentiles to come into even more frequent contact. It is to this mixed and dispersed Jewish and Gentile audience that John directed his Gospel.

   Outline

I. 

Prologue: The Incarnate Word (1:1–18)

II. 

The Signs of the Messiah (1:19–12:50)

A. 

John the Baptist and the start of Jesus’ ministry (1:19–2:11)

B. 

Jesus’ expanding ministry (2:12–4:54)

C. 

More signs amid mounting Jewish opposition (5:1–10:42)

D. 

The final Passover: the ultimate sign (11:1–12:19)

E. 

The Messiah’s death at hand (12:20–50)

III. 

The Farewell Discourse and the Passion Narrative (13:1–20:31)

A. 

Jesus’ final teaching and prayer (13:1–17:26)

B. 

Jesus’ arrest, trials, death, and burial (18:1–19:42)

C. 

Jesus’ resurrection and appearances (20:1–29)

D. 

Purpose statement and epilogue (20:30–21:25)

   As you get started . . .

What is your general understanding of the role of John’s Gospel related to the other three Gospels? Do you have any sense of what John uniquely contributes?

How do you understand John’s contribution to Christian theology? From your current knowledge of John, what does this account of the life of Jesus teach us about God, humanity, sin, redemption, and other doctrines?