The Book of John?

[GoldenEagle]

The Book of John

Feel free to answer one, a few, or all questions.

1. What do you know about the book of John?

2. What do you believe was the purpose of this Gospel account (which was very different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke)? What do you believe was the emphasis?

3. In your opinion around what date was it written, to whom was it written, and by whom was it written?

4. What passage in this book speaks to you the most about our Savior - Jesus Christ?

Looking forward to a good discussion.

God bless,

GE

[lance.dunlop]

There's so much to say, and I don't feel I have the attention span to do it right now. But easily my favorite verse is John 6:37 "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will no wise cast out." This verse made the Gospel more real to me than ever before.

[nebula]

1. What do you know about the book of John?

Written by the Apostle John.

Addressed/callenged the Gnosticism doctrine that had been infecting the Body of Christ.

2. What do you believe was the purpose of this Gospel account (which was very different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke)? What do you believe was the emphasis?

There is a constant theme of Jesus proving His authority and His deity.

There is also a theme of His love.

3. In your opinion around what date was it written, to whom was it written, and by whom was it written?

Written sometime in the latter portion of the 1st century.

Don't know the rest

4. What passage in this book speaks to you the most about our Savior - Jesus Christ?

Hard to say which is "the most".

[Mcgyver]

The Book of John

Feel free to answer one, a few, or all questions.

1. What do you know about the book of John?

2. What do you believe was the purpose of this Gospel account (which was very different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke)? What do you believe was the emphasis?

3. In your opinion around what date was it written, to whom was it written, and by whom was it written?

4. What passage in this book speaks to you the most about our Savior - Jesus Christ?

Looking forward to a good discussion.

God bless,

GE

Well, starting with questions #2 & 3 is that what really strikes me is the manner in which it is written. Unlike the other (synoptic) Gospels, this book is not written from a Jewish perspective, but uses a (for lack of a better term) Greek presentation...

In other words, I believe this to be a "universal Gospel" written in such a way that the "Greek" or "gentile" world would be able to understand the presentation of Jesus as Savior and Lord to people who had no messianic expectation, no Old Testament background, and to whom Jewish thought and theology was probably incomprehensible.

For example, in John 1:1, The Apostle uses a universally recognized term ho logos (ο λογος...The Word) to establish the deity of Christ. This ο λογος (although understood by the Jews of the time) was not of Jewish origin or background...but rather carried the meaning of "the mind" or "reason" (i.e. substance) of God...and had done so for about the 550-600 years prior to Christ...stemming from the Stoic Philosophers...and a well known concept to the gentile.

When John writes in Vs 14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The gentile would immediately understand that God had come to dwell with men and was seen as a real flesh-and-blood being, and not an "emanation" or "offspring" of some other minor god.

Again, when John writes: And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John is referring to the stoic concept of nemesis, and the word translated as either "comprehend" or "overcome" carried with it the common meaning of "to extinguish" in stoic philosophy...

Once again an example (of many) Greek thought and philosophical patterns that are not found in any other Gospel.

It's for that reason that I view John's Gospel as "The Universal Gospel" with the Greek (gentile) audience as the target of the Gospel. I don't view it as an apologetic in the manner of 1 John (which directly refutes the gnostic heresy promoted by Cerinthus), but rather as a presentation of the good news to the gentile world.

I believe that this Gospel was written by the Apostle John prior to his death circa AD 100...although there is still some contention, the Rylands fragment (P 52) has been dated to (if I remember correctly) around AD 65...though as I mentioned there is some contention as to the date...

The verse that most speaks to me personally is one that I already quoted...1:14...That the Creator would become the creature He created to live with us, die for us, offer Heaven to us...speaks to me of a love that I can not begin to describe.

Edited March 1, 2013 by Mcgyver

[Leonard]

The Book of John

Feel free to answer one, a few, or all questions.

1. What do you know about the book of John?

2. What do you believe was the purpose of this Gospel account (which was very different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke)? What do you believe was the emphasis?

3. In your opinion around what date was it written, to whom was it written, and by whom was it written?

4. What passage in this book speaks to you the most about our Savior - Jesus Christ?

Looking forward to a good discussion.

God bless,

GE

1. A good deal.

2. It is the only Gospel which was written in chronological order, and John tells us the purpose of his writing is that the reader might come to salvation through Christ.

3. I have no reason to doubt Johannine authorship, written most likely ca. A.D.75-85, and it was written for religious seekers.

4. Chapter 6

[enoob57]

1. What do you know about the book of John?

The saturated theme of John -The Infinite God became as we in flesh YET without ever sinning... He made a way to give us His righteousness and He took our sins...

2. What do you believe was the purpose of this Gospel account (which was very different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke)? What do you believe was the emphasis?

To teach us to love Jesus- The very Who of Him!

3. In your opinion around what date was it written, to whom was it written, and by whom was it written?

It was John who wrote it because of the intimate up close filled with love writing that is consistent with the witness of the others 'John was always close as he could

get to Jesus... the admiration for Christ's Person as Love is reiterated in His epistles "God 'IS' Love"....

4. What passage in this book speaks to you the most about our Savior - Jesus Christ?

John 17 is the most revealing aspect of God's nature as Love... the setting 'IS' The suffering of God for sin- our sin and as the Holy Son speaks to The Holy Father

immersed in The Holy Spirit The very council of God 'IS' revealed to us through John's great revelation of this event given Him by God. Because of what we see in

this most precious gift of God's Word - I believe- 'IS' the very center piece of God's communication to us for all eternity and leaves zero doubt of God's great love for

us even while we being sinners Christ arose from His garden prayer and went to the cross!

[Guest ninhao]

The Book of John

1. What do you know about the book of John?

Not enough

2. What do you believe was the purpose of this Gospel account (which was very different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke)? What do you believe was the emphasis?

The emphasis was showing the miraculous events surrounding Jesus mission and that Jesus was indeed the Son of God who had come to save the world.

3. In your opinion around what date was it written, to whom was it written, and by whom was it written?

I have always thought it was written by John to the world while on Patmos around 80 CE.

4. What passage in this book speaks to you the most about our Savior - Jesus Christ?

Joh 12:44-50 KJV Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. (45) And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. (46) I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. (47) And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. (48) He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. (49) For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. (50) And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

This passage shows me that Jesus is God and His desire is to save people while judgement is the necessary thing He must do when He returns. Jesus' words hold the message of eternal life.

[gdemoss]

Jon is asking about the book of John...

[enoob57]

would that make it a Jon John thread...?...

[gdemoss]

Well probably not a Jimmy John's thread

The book of John, as with ever book of the bible, has multiple reasons for its writing. One of which cannot be overlooked is it's prophetic utterances of what the future holds, as God declares the end from the beginning and uses types and shadows to reveal unto his chosen what he is doing at any given time in human history so that they might know what to expect to happen in the world around them. Using these truths Christian men and women throughout history have been able to navigate the waters of the world and stay safe through turbulent times.

John 4 is full of truth about what God would do during the 2000 years that he would spend with the Samaritans that would come to Jacobs well and learn of him as we all have been doing. Each and every one of us who know and love the Lord first heard about him from someone who had heard from him and then we ourselves eventually heard him and believed because of it as did they. The wedding feast in Cana declares what Jesus would be doing in his ministry as he took the baptism of repentance and turned it to the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Jewish purifying pots! There is so much to learn from these books that one will spend a life time mining out the truth in them without making a full end.