John
An Overview
Background
• a.k.a John The Beloved (John 21:20)
• Son of Zebedee brother of James the apostle (Mark
1:19-20) or the Sons of Thunder (Mark 3:17)
• He is in the inner circle with Peter and James (Matthew
17:1-2)
• John was intensely loyal to Christ (John 18:15, 19:25-27)
• He was a witness of the Christ (1 John 1:1-3)
• Often accompanied Peter (Acts 3:1; 4:19; 8:14)
• Pillar in the church (Galatians 2:9)
• Exiled in the isle of Patmos and wrote Revelation there
(Revelation 1:9)
• Earlier, John had a carnal vision of the kingdom of God
(Matthew 20:20-24; Mark 10:35-41)
Background
• Written around 90 – 95 AD
• The book of John has a General Audience unlike the other three Gospels
• It is very Theological in its approach (John 1)
• Because of its theological nature, it makes it requires much care when
reading.
• He presents Jesus as God (John 1).
• It is in John that salvation through Christ is heavily documented
– The bread of Life (John 6:35, John 6:51)
– The life giver (John 11:25)
– The only way (John 17:3, John 14:6, John 10:9 )
– The sacrificial Lamb (John 1:29)
– The living water (John 4:10,26)
– Being born again John 3
– By faith in Christ (John 3:14-18)
• John Documents the dual nature of Christ (John 3:14-18)
– Humanity (John 3:14)
– Divinity (John 3:17,18; John 10:30, John 9:35,37; John 6:51; John 8:58)
Purpose
• Stated in (John 20:31)
– To Prove the Jesus is the Son of God
• John wasn’t writing to present a narrative of
Jesus’ life (John 20:30)
• John only presents 7 miracles
– 1---The miracle of water into wine (John 2:1-11)
2---Healing the noble man's son (John 4:46-53)
3---Healing the man at the pool (John 5:1-9)
4---Feeding the 5,000 (John 6:4-13)
5---Jesus walks on water (John 6:16-21)
6---Healing the blind man (John 9:1-12)
7---Raises the dead (John 11:30-44)