Jesus Christ

Remember what was mentioned at the end of our last lesson?

“The synoptic gospels [Matthew, Mark, and Luke] link us to earth.“

John links us more to heaven because he presents Jesus as the Son of God and emphasizes His deity or divine nature. This makes it a very, very important book for us to study in light of the widespread departure from the absolute truth.

What John is saying is very different from our culture today.

Matthew presents Jesus as the coming of a promised Savior, Mark, the life of a powerful Savior, Luke, the grace of a perfect Savior. But John presents Jesus as our personal Savior with whom we can have a relationship and partnership if we believe.

And so John is a book written for people like you and me.

Now the gospels are not biographies; they are different portrayals of the same person as seen through the eyes of four different men. These books are complimentary, not contradictory. They record the words, the emotions, the works, and the deeds of Jesus.

John records some very sweet conversations of Jesus with Mary and Martha and with other individuals. There is some deep, deep Christian philosophy that will stretch our minds as we look into the book of John.

And I believe that God will use the study of this gospel of Jesus according to John to give us a clearer understanding of who He is, what He expects, and how to accomplish His desires in the world. I hope and pray that you are excited to read and study this portion of God’s Word.

God is greater than our minds can conceive and yet at the same time He is interested in each one of us. What an incredible person this Jesus of Nazareth is.

The Big Picture

Why is it important to have all this information about the four gospels and the Bible itself?

Well, having a big picture gives us a place to hang details, which is very important as we approach the understanding of this book. Understanding the Bible in its context keeps us from distorting truth.

So some questions we should ask ourselves are: What does the Bible have to say in its historical context? How does this help me understand the intention of the writer? What does it have to say to me today?

Christianity is a historic religion. It either stands or it falls on its historical claims. So we will be considering the history of the people at the time of Jesus and also those to whom this book was written.

But not only do we want to know what the Bible says, we want to know what the Bible teaches. So we will be looking to see what each passage teaches about God. We will also look at what it teaches us about people, about the relationship between people and God, and what is truth for all ages of people, for all times, and all cultures.

Principles to Look For

Those are what we call principles. Each week we will look for these principles, truths, or lessons that are communicated through the passages.

But not only do we want to know what the Bible says and what it teaches. We want to go beyond just head knowledge we want to apply the truths we are leaning to our lives for a heart transformation.

So as we consider the gospel of John in its context and as we look at the Bible as a whole, we have a very important principle to remember:

The Bible is the way to know Jesus Christ and have a personal relationship with Him.

Terri Hamman

Faith & Fitness Coach