CHAPTER 3

Pointing to the Son of God

The Gospel of John

As we saw briefly in the last chapter, the Gospel of John presents Christ as GOD (the divine Son), the One who came down from heaven to be the Saviour of the world!

John, the human writer, was one of the twelve disciples; he was also the brother of J____________ (Matthew 10:2). He is called the disciple "W_________  J_____________  L_____________" (John 13:23; 21:20). John personally witnessed most of the things he wrote about in this gospel and he was actually there when these events took place. Should we accept those things that John has written in this Book (see John 19:35 and 21:24)? ______ Were there other things that John could have written about the Lord (John 21:25)? ______ What are the other four New Testament books which John wrote? 1) ______________ 2) ________________ 3) _______________ 4) _________________________  (Hint:  They are the last books found in the New Testament, not counting Jude).

Why did John write this Gospel? Why did He carefully record some of the things that Jesus said and did in this Book? In John 20:31 John tells us exactly why he wrote this Gospel:

"But these (things) are written, that ye might _______________ that Jesus is the ___________________ (the Messiah, the promised Saviour King), the _________ of God; and that ____________________  ye might have  __________  through His Name."

God wants men and women, boys and girls to believe on His Son, and those who do believe will have LIFE.   Compare also John 6:47.

Is Jesus really the Son of God?  Many people would say He was only a mere man, a good teacher, a fine example, or a famous prophet. Who was He? The Gospel of John answers this question very clearly. Please MATCH the verses given below with the sentences that follow (put the proper letter next to each verse or verses):

1. ______ John 1:1 9. ______ John 9:35-38
2. ______ John 1:3 10. ______ John 10:11,14
3. ______ John 5:17-18 11. ______ John 10:30-33
4. ______ John 5:22,27 12. ______ John 17:5,24
5. ______ John 5:28-29 13. ______ John 18:4-6
6. ______ John 5:23 14. ______ John 19:7
7. ______ John 6:41-42,51 15. ______ John 20:28-29
8. ______ John 8:58-59
  1. Jesus is the One who came down from heaven.

  2. Jesus told the Jews that He existed even before Abraham (who lived 2000 years earlier). Because of this claim the Jews wanted to kill Jesus.

  3. Jesus was with God the Father even before the world was created.

  4. The Jews thought that Jesus should die and be crucified because He claimed to be the Son of God (and such a claim they considered to be blasphemy according to their law).

  5. Jesus gave sight to a blind man, and then He told this blind man that He was the Son of God.

  6. Jesus said that God was His Father (this means He claimed to be the Son of God) and thus He made Himself equal with God.

  7. Jesus Christ made all things (this means He is the Creator--see Genesis 1:1).

  8. Jesus Christ is the final Judge of all men.

  9. Jesus claimed to be the GOOD SHEPHERD, and every Jew knew who the GOOD SHEPHERD was (see Psalm 23:1).

  10. Jesus said that He and the Father were ONE. The Jews wanted to kill Him for this statement because they knew that He was claiming to be (or making Himself) God.
     
  11. Jesus will someday raise all men from the dead.

  12. People should honor Jesus Christ just as they honor God.

  13. Jesus said, "I AM HE" and all the people who were trying to arrest Him fell down to the ground.

  14. Thomas once cried out, "My Lord and my God."    Jesus did not say, "Thomas, you have made a terrible mistake. You have called me "GOD" and I want you to know that I am not really God."

  15. The Bible says that Jesus Christ (the WORD–see John 1:14) is GOD!

The works or the miracles that Jesus performed proved that He was really the Son of God (see John 5:36 and John 10:25,38). Please put the correct verses (listed below) with each of the seven great miracles that John has recorded in this Gospel:

John 2:1-11 John 4:46-54 John 5:1-18
John 6:6-13 John 6:16-21 John 9:1-7
John 11:1-45

Please supply the correct Bible passage, from the list given above, that goes with each of the following miracles::

____________________ The raising of Lazarus from the dead
____________________ The feeding of the 5000
____________________ The healing of the impotent man
____________________ The turning of water into wine
____________________ The giving sight to the blind
____________________ The walking on the water
____________________ The healing of the nobleman's son

Even though this Book presents Jesus as GOD, the divine Son, the Gospel of John also makes it very clear that Jesus was a man. How do the following verses show that Jesus was really a man?

John 2:3 ____________________________________________________
John 4:6 ____________________________________________________
John 4:7 and 19:28 ____________________________________________
John 11:35 __________________________________________________
John 19:30,33 ________________________________________________

Jesus was a man, but He was more than a man. He was the GOD-MAN, the One who is described in the Old Testament as the great I AM (see Exodus 3:14 and John 8:58). Again and again in John's Gospel Jesus said, "I AM." Complete the following:

I AM _________________________________________________________
                       (John 6:35)

I AM _________________________________________________________
                       (John 8:12)

I AM _________________________________________________________
                       (John 10:9)

I AM _________________________________________________________
                        (John 10:11)

I AM _________________________________________________________
                        (John 11:25)

I AM _________________________________________________________
                         (John 14:6)

I AM __________________________________________________________
                         (John 15:1)

What do each of these seven "I AM" statements mean to you personally? Is He really all of these things to you? Is it important for us to believe that Jesus is exactly who He said He is (John 8:24)? ______

One of the key words in the Gospel of John is the word "believe." Again and again the Gospel of John points to the Lord Jesus Christ as the One we are to believe on, to trust in, to commit ourselves to, and to depend on for our eternal salvation. WHAT MUST A PERSON DO IN ORDER TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE? Let us see how the Gospel of John answers this question.  Look up each verse and complete.  The first two are done for you.

1) John 1:12
a) The sinner must receive Christ and believe on His Name.
b) God promises the sinner that he will become a child (son) of God.
 
2) John 3:16
a) The sinner must believe in Christ.
b) God promises the sinner that he will not perish but have everlasting life.
 
3) John 3:18
a) The sinner must ___________________________________________
b) God promises the sinner _____________________________________
 
4) John 3:36
a) The sinner must ___________________________________________
b) God promises the sinner _____________________________________
 
5) John 5:24
a) The sinner must ____________________________________________
b) God promises the sinner ______________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
 
6) John 6:35
a) The sinner must _____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
b) God promises the sinner ______________________________________
___________________________________________________________
 
7) John 6:47
a) The sinner must _________________________________________
b) God promises the sinner ___________________________________
 
8) John 11:25
a) The sinner must __________________________________________
b) God promises the sinner ____________________________________

Do these verses teach the same thing as Acts 16:31? ________

Because of the many salvation verses that are found in this Gospel and because John wrote this Book so that people might believe (John 20:31), this is an excellent book to recommend to our unsaved friends and loved ones. If someone seems interested in reading the Bible, tell him to start with the Gospel of John.  If he does not have a Bible, you can give him a copy of the Gospel of John (which you can probably get from your Pastor or from your Christian Book Store).   If a person has a desire to read the Bible, the Gospel of John is the best place to start.   John uses simple words that are easy to understand (see John 1:1-12–"word, life, light, darkness, God, witness, believe, world, receive, etc."). You could even tell your friend that you would be willing to meet with him (or her) to read John's gospel together. Perhaps you could read one chapter each time you meet together.

People can identify with the events described in the Gospel of John, and they can find people in this Book that are just like them.  For example, Thomas was an unbeliever--one who refused to believe unless he could see proof before his very eyes (John 20:24-29). The Samaritan woman whom Jesus met at the well was a sinner and a reject from society because the Jews hated the Samaritans (John 4:7-18). Nicodemus was a religious person who needed to be born again (John 3:1-16). The blind man whom Jesus healed was one who wanted to believe but who was not sure whom to believe in (John 9:35-38). Philip wanted to know God and he wanted to find out what God was really like (John 14:7-12). So also there are people today who have these same needs and who can find much help by reading this Gospel.

Finally, John's Gospel contains one of the most beloved verses in the entire Bible, namely John 3:16. This verse has been called "the Gospel in a Nutshell"! This is the first verse many people memorize. Have you allowed the truth of John 3:16 to speak to your heart?

GOD--the greatest Lover
SO LOVED--the greatest degree
THE WORLD–the greatest number
THAT HE GAVE–the greatest act
HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON–the greatest Gift
THAT WHOSOEVER–the greatest invitation
BELIEVETH–the greatest simplicity
IN HIM–the greatest Person
SHOULD NOT PERISH–the greatest deliverance
BUT–the greatest difference
HAVE–the greatest certainty
EVERLASTING LIFE–the greatest possession

Can you put your own name in this verse?  Try it:  "For God so loved  ______________________  that He gave His only begotten Son for ______________________________, that (if) _________________________ believeth in Him, (then) _____________________________ will not perish, but _____________________________ (will) have everlasting life" (John 3:16).  Can you put your name in John 5:24 and John 6:35,37,47 also?

John's Gospel contains a wonderful message of hope and good news. But it also contains a message of bad news for those who do not receive the Saviour. On which side of the chart do you find yourself?

GOOD NEWS

Verse

  

BAD NEWS

Verse
A CHILD OF GOD 1:12   8:44 A CHILD OF THE DEVIL
ONE WHO HAS EVERLASTING LIFE 3:15-16   3:15-16 ONE WHO WILL PERISH
NOT CONDEMNED 3:18   3:18 CONDEMNED
RECEIVES EVERLASTING LIFE 3:36   3:36 RECEIVES GOD'S WRATH
SINS ARE REMITTED (forgiven) 20:23   20:23
8:21-24		 SINS ARE RETAINED
(held onto, the opposite of having one's sins forgiven)
FREE INDEED 8:36   8:34 SLAVE OF SIN
LIFE 5:29   5:29 DAMNATION
LIGHT 8:12   8:12 DARKNESS

BELIEVER

  

UNBELIEVER

 

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