Johns Gospel is written so that we believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Intro: Dear Friends and visitors, welcome to church. My name is Matt Johnson and from now until Easter we are going to be looking at the second half of Johns gospel – known among scholars as THE BOOK OF GLORY. So today, we will be doing a kind of introduction to this book, so you can see the overall shape and purpose of Johns gospel.
PRAYER: Well the last truly great Roman Catholic Pope (according to John Calvin) was GREGORY THE GREAT who lived 540-602AD. Gregory really appears to be a true follower of Jesus. He was a bible man and he was committed to evangelism and mission. Now hardly any Protestant knows about Bishop Gregory. But he is regularly quoted and misquoted by Protestant pastors in sermons for the last 1400 years. Let me show you what he said (Slide 2). Now just process this word picture for a moment…
The point is Scripture is SIMPLE enough for the newest, youngest Christians to wade into its pages and be able to understand the basic message. Such new Christians start by simply splashing in the shallows of Scripture – where there is much plain simple truth for life. In the shallows – you’ll also begin to grasp the basics of God. But at the same time Scripture is so DEEP and intellectually stretching that even when the greatest theologians (the elephants) start wading into the deeper parts about God’s GOODNESS, LOVE and POWER they find they can’t touch the bottom. Ideas about God in Scripture stretch into the realms of infinity, mystery and adoration. In the deeper parts of Scripture – sometimes you simply have to bow in wonder and worship. So while the little ones A) splash in the shallows, the great ones B)find that they can’t even touch the bottom. It’s a wonderful word picture about the Bible.
But like I said this is one of those great Christian sayings that has done the rounds in sermons for the last 800+ years. So it’s now a bit like the telephone game (sometimes called Chinese whispers).
You know the game where 10 people stand in a line and someone whispers a sentence to the first person. Then they have to whisper it to the second person. The second person to the third person etc etc. Then when you get to the tenth person in the line and you see what the original sentence has morphed into. It’s often very funny.
Well this is like a game of Chinese whispers. You’ll now often hear pastors attribute it to Augustine OR Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Sometimes instead of a lamb and elephant, it will be a baby and a horse. But a few years ago a Christian Professor in Bethlehem Bible College – named ANDY NASELLI – did the hard work to track down the original source for this common sermon illustration. (Much to everyone surprise it turned out to be Pope Gregory the Great). The moral of the story is always check your sources. Believe it or not – not everything you hear on the internet is true. What’s more, not everything you hear coming out of the mouth of great Christian preachers today – is true either…
But I tell you this story because one version of this quote is this (Slide 2). Now we know that is NOT what Pope Gregory originally said. But nonetheless it is probably TRUE. At one level – John’s gospel is simply a gospel about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. So like the other gospels it is shallow enough for the youngest of Christians to wade into it’s pages and meet Jesus. But at the same time – (of all the books in the Bible) John’s gospel is probably the deepest, theologically rich books in the entire Bible. If you really want to begin to plumb the deep things of God’s person and Gods Trinity – this is the book that helps you to see God face to face (even if that is still in a mirror dimly).
If the book of Romans is the magna carta of Paul’s letters; then John’s gospel is like the magna carta of the gospels. So let me begin by saying; Johns gospel is often divided by scholars into two halves. The first half is called A) the book of Signs and the second half is called B)the book of Glory.
Point 1: John 1-11 is the Book of Signs about Jesus Messiah
Show: John 20:30-31 (READ)
Explain: Now it might seem STRANGE to begin our study of Johns gospel, by looking at the end of the book. But in these final verses – John is telling us the purpose of his gospel. He wants us to believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Now in the first half of John’s gospel John records certain miraculous, supernatural SIGNS performed by Jesus. The word “SIGN” is significant in John. Jesus’ miraculous signs point to truth about his own person. This is A HUGE DIFFERENCE between John’s gospel and the other synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. In Matthew, Mark and Luke – Jesus’ miracles show that God’s Kingdom is drawing near. Jesus miracles show us that Gods Kingdom is swallowing up or destroying Satan’s Kingdom.
But in Johns gospel – JESUS’ MIRACLES are all signs pointing to ultimate truth about Jesus himself. The signs are forcing us to ask the question – who is Jesus? Who can perform signs like this? John 20:31 – tells us that looking at the signs he wants us to reach the conclusion that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. That is THE CONCLUSION John wants us to reach. He wants us to believe Jesus is A) the promised Jewish Messiah and B) he is Son of God. Its in believing this about Jesus – that we begin to find eternal life in his name. But believing these things is also costly – especially if you are an orthodox Jew.
LET ME EXPLAIN. A) It is generally accepted that Matthew’s gospel and John’s gospel have a more Jewish flavor (answering Jewish-type questions); B) while Luke’s gospel and Mark’s gospel have a more Gentile flavor (answering Gentile type questions). Now perhaps that is a little too simplistic. But there are definitely more Jewish concepts in Matthew and John AND there are more Gentile concepts in Mark and Luke. So I’m of the opinion that John is written primarily with orthodox Jews and new Messianic Jewish Christians in mind.
Now in this book – John is addressing one of the BIGGEST FEARS of every Jew on earth and it’s not racism or death. One of the biggest fears of every Jew on earth is being ostracized and rejected by their own community. One of the greatest fears of every Jew is to be treated and regarded as a non-Jew by the Jewish community. NOW THREE TIMES in John’s gospel – Jesus talks about his disciples being excommunicated from the Jewish synagogues.
Let me show you Jesus words (Slide 5 & 6). Now these words are only relevant to GENTILE CHRISTIANS in a secondary way – because very few of us have ever belonged to a Jewish synagogue. But for an average first century Jew – the local synagogue was your life, your family and community. That’s where you got circumcised as a baby, married as teenager, buried in your old age. YOU CELEBRATED every milestone of life in the synagogue. So to be shunned and excommunicated from your Jewish community and family was worse than death. But from about 50AD onwards this started to become a huge reality for Jewish Messianic Christians. If you confessed your belief in Jesus as your Messiah and the Son of God – the orthodox priests in the temple and the rabbis in the synagogue started saying your no longer a true Jew. There’s the door. Leave!
Now again, look at John 20:30. John wants such Jews to continue believing Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. Now which of these two beliefs about Jesus would the orthodox priests and rabbis have the biggest problem? (PAUSE). That’s right they couldn’t accept that Jesus was the Son of God. Messiah? Who cares? Lots of Messiah’s. But when Jesus also claimed to be the Son of God – the second person of the Trinity – that was a huge problem because this was now changing the Jewish Doctrine of God. You see, believing that Jesus really is the Messiah AND THE SON OF GOD – you have to start rethinking your whole Jewish doctrine of God. THE QUESTION of who Jesus is – begins to raise the FAR BIGGER QUESTION of who then, is God?
Like Muslims, the Jews are monotheists. That means they believe there is only one God – Yahweh and His inner person is singularity, not plurality or community. God is just one spiritual being all alone in time and space. In simple terms the Jews have no real comprehension of Gods triune nature or Trinity. (Now as Christians we often look at passages in the Old Testament and we see some evidence of God being Father, Son and Holy Spirit). But that’s because we are reading the Old Testament in light of what Jesus has revealed in the New Testament. But the Jews could not see that God was Trinity. In their opinion – God was one and God was singularity.
So when early Jewish Christians started talking about God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit – the orthodox Jews – thought the Christian Jews had become polytheists like the Greeks and Romans. The Greeks and Romans believed in many gods. The Christians believed in three supreme Gods – one called the Father, one called the Son and one called the Holy Spirit. So the orthodox Jews no longer considered Christian Jews – monotheists and started excommunicating them from the synagogues around 50AD. So Johns gospel really is written for Jews wrestling with Jesus identity (which leads to the doctrine of the Trinity) which leads to being excommunicated from your friends and family; which like I said is one of the greatest Jewish fears. Please remember this truth in your Jewish evangelism. Accepting trinity means excommunication for a Jew from their community. So no Jew is going to accept Jesus is Gods Son without really looking at the evidence?!
Now John believes “the signs” point to the fact that Jesus really is the Christ, but also more than Christ. He is the Son of God. Now as readers and studiers of Johns gospel we are meant to carefully consider each one of the signs he records – because they point beyond him being the Messiah.
Now remembering that John also wrote the book of Revelation, how many miraculous signs do you think John wants us to consider? (PAUSE). C’mon! Engage the brains. How many signs do you think John give us to consider. That’s right. Seven. In the first half of Johns Gospel (often called the Book of Signs) we have seven signs to consider. Let me show you (Slide 8; READ). Now as we look at these miraculous signs we see the first 4 or 5 of the signs are kind of linked or similar to what great prophets did in the Old Testament. They certainly were extraordinary. But other great men had done similar things. But the last three – walking on water, opening the eyes of the blind and raising a dead man after three days – were extra extraordinary. No prophet had ever performed miracles of this kind. They’re pointing to the fact that Jesus is more than a prophet.
But if Jesus is more than a prophet – who is He? Opening the eyes of the blind and raising the dead – were truly expectations associated with the coming of the Messiah. The Jews believed that only when the Messiah actually came would such miraculous signs be possible. So when John the Baptist sends messengers to Jesus asking if he is truly the Messiah – Jesus responds the blind see (Dot, Dot, Dot) and he finishes his statement – the dead are brought to life.” In other words – what other conclusion could you reach. Jesus is saying yes, I am the Messiah. But he is also more than just the Jewish Messiah. In John 11-12 – we kind of finish what is called the book of signs and we begin what is called the book of glory. In the second half of Johns gospel he really wants us to see and understand Jesus’ true glory?
Point 2: John 13-21 is the Book of Glory about Jesus the Son of God
Show: John 20:30-31 (READ)
Explain: Well as you can see John wants us to look at the signs and conclude more than Jesus is the Messiah. John wants us to see and really understand what it means for Jesus to be the Son of God. We can’t really interpret Jesus’ life, death and resurrection properly until we understand that Jesus is God coming to earth to reveal Gods love for us (as sinners).
Martin Luther, the famous protestant reformer, called Johns Gospel – “Gods love letter to the world.” The Old Covenant may have truly revealed Gods righteousness, anger at sin and the penalty man deserves for wrongdoing. But the New Covenant reveals what God is willing to do to save His wayward children from the penalty of sin. God is willing to accept upon Himself His own righteous anger and the penalty for sin upon – so that His children can be spared.
(GOSPEL) God is the righteous judge who has to punish sinners. He can’t just ignore sin and leave it unpunished because that would make Him an unjust judge. To ignore sin would make God not good. There would be no justice. But one day God’s own children have to come before him for judgment because we have killed, raped and stolen other people’s goods. Now because God is just He must hand down a just penalty. So, God decrees the punishment we deserve is 13 points off our license. So were about lose all the points on our license for life. But then in love God comes down out of the judges seat, comes to earth and pays for His own children’s sins – so that they can be spared. That way God is still just. But that way God can also save His children from losing their license to live.
Now I know many parents do that today. If our children get busted by a speed camera on their P’s for speeding and are about to lose their license – you can’t stop the justice. Someone has to lose the points off their license.
But how many parents today now put up their hand, tell RTA they were the nominated driver and take the hit for their children. So many people have told me this story its not funny. Now I’m not making a comment on the rightness or wrongness of such mercy. That’s between you and God. But we know justice has to be upheld, but we want to show our children mercy, so we take the hit for them. We do this because we love them.
Well, its no different for God. God loves us like a parent. Only it cost him more than 3 months no driving. It cost him death and three days in the grave. God came to earth and did this for you because He loves you. But you can only grasp this truth and respond properly (with real gratitude and a serious promise to repent and stop speeding) if you see what God has done for you and what it cost him. At the cross – God was paying for all your speeding fines and He was losing His license to live – so that you can keep living. But is Jesus really God?
Well apart from seven signs, John also gives us seven “I am” statements in John’s gospel. Let me show you (Slide 10). Now the other Bible reading we had for today was Exodus 3 and in Exodus 3 – God told Moses his name is; “I am who I am.” It is a kind of a play on the name Yahweh or an interpretation of the name Yahweh. God is the great “I am.” So when Jesus says seven times “I am the bread of life, I am the light of the world etc etc”, He is saying – I am God. I am Yahweh in the same way Yahweh is Yahweh. The point is every “I am statement” of Jesus could have been attributed to God in the Old Testament. God was the bread of life. He gave the Jews manna in the desert. God was the light of the world. His shekinah glory filled the temple. God was the good shepherd who led His people through the wilderness. But Jesus is taking the name and attributes that only apply to God and he is applying them to himself.
Apply: So in the second half of John’s gospel – called the book of glory; John is kind of asking us; can you see Jesus’ true glory? Can you see that He is God in the same way that God is God? Can you see that God himself is not singularity, but plurality. God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit in one perfect God. Christology is the path to true theology and to deny the Son’s glory is to deny yourself a true knowledge of God’s glory.
Apply: Friends, I want you remember the first half of Johns gospel is the book of signs. The second half of Johns gospel is the book of glory. But the true glory of God is not as we might imagine. Gods glory is that He is a servant who is willing to wash feet. Gods glory is that He is a shepherd who is willing to die to protect His sheep. Gods glory is that of a gardener who lovingly and tenderly cares for his plants – so that they grow and bear fruit. As we study John’s gospel, my prayer for our church is the same as Jesus prayer for you. Jesus prays (Slide 11). Do you see Jesus’ glory? To see Jesus’ glory is to know God truly and knowing God truly (and responding to Him rightly) is to have eternal life.
