Notes on John's Gospel

John 4 vs1-26 Jesus Will Talk to Anyone

2010-04-10T09:41:00.003-04:00

Israel is divided into three areas (think of them as provinces or states).
The southernmost is Judea. This is where Jerusalem is located. This is the where the Pharisees held the most power.

The middle region is Samaria. This is where the Samaritans lived (imagine that!). More on them shortly.

The northernmost area is Galilee. This area was most free of the Pharisees' influence, because it is distant from Judea, and to get to it you had to cross Samaria, and good Jews stayed out of Samaria.

Back when God was upset with Israel for her unfaithfulness to Him, he saw to it that they were overrun by the Assyrians (and Babylonians) and carried away in exile. The Assyrian king then gave the land called Samaria to some non-Jews to settle. These people intermarried with some of the Jews who escaped exile. This was not Kosher. These people asked the king to provide them with some Jewish priests to help them appease the "gods" of that area. Well, the priests at that time weren't all that in tune with God. That was part of the problem. That did not stop them from taking the job and going to Samaria to set up a religious system similar to Judaism. They even built their own temple. This put them at odds with the real Jews south of them, when they came back (under Nehemiah and others) to re-establish Israel and the real temple worship.

Jesus had a mission to accomplish. What is a mission? It's an assignment to be accomplished. Soldiers are sent on missions into enemy territory. They normally have a goal and a timetable of activity to achieve that goal. Often that goal must be realized at a specific time (like blow up the bridge when the train is crossing, not before or after, for the most effect).

Jesus' goal was the cross. He had a timetable of things he had to do to achieve that goal at exactly the right moment. This is why He would say things like, "My time is not yet come". The Father was guiding Him in that mission. If He was captured by the enemy before His time, is mission would be compromised and the goal not achieved. So there were times that Jesus was led by the Father to evade the enemy. Going to Galilee through Samaria was a way of shaking them off His tail.

So Jesus is pulling way from the Pharisees for awhile to let things calm down a bit. He's going back to Galilee, through Samaria, after the house cleaning He did in Jerusalem, where He claimed authority from His Father, and performed miracles. We only know about these miracles from Nicodemus referring to them.

He stops at a well and the guys go looking for a deli to buy something to eat.

So this woman comes to get water. She's not with other women. Jesus asks for a drink and she's shocked. He's a Jew and talking to a Samaritan and a woman at that!

Now he tells her that she should ask Him for Living Water that would never run out. She of course, doesn't get it. Previously he talked to one of the religious rulers of the Jews (about the new birth) and he didn't get it, either. Nobody gets it.

Jesus had Nicodemus' attention because of the miracles he did. Now Jesus is going to get this woman's attention by something miraculous. He's going to tell her about her personal situation.

In reply, she says He's a prophet.

So the burning question in her mind is: Is she in the right denomination? Who's correct about worshiping God, the Samaritans or the Jews?

It happens often enough. You start to talk to somebody about Jesus and they want to talk about religion. I knew a guy that always wanted to talk about some special he saw on the Discovery Channel about "God vs Satan", or the book of Revelation, or some such nonsense. Never wanted to talk about the core problem (his relationship with God) but some extraneous religious matter (who's the anti-christ?).

Jesus says that the day is coming (not yet for her, but at His resurrection) when these religious constraints on where to worship won't matter, but for now the Jews are right about where to worship.

She says, "Whatever." Actually she says, "Well... someday Messiah will come and settle it."

That's when He tells her He's the Messiah.

John 3 vs22-36 John Sets His Disciples Straight

2010-04-10T07:28:00.001-04:00

(John 3:22-36, New King James Version)

Jesus comes back to Judea and his disciples are baptizing. The next chapter points out that Jesus Himself wasn't.
So Jesus sets up shop baptizing and people start flocking to Him and not John the Baptist. John practically tells his disciples that they weren't paying attention earlier when he said he wasn't the Christ, but Jesus was: "He must increase, but I must decrease." He then goes on to repeat Jesus' message of salvation through belief on the Son. John is not confused about who Jesus is at this point.

John 3 vs1-12 A Secret Admirer

2010-04-08T17:32:00.003-04:00

(John 3:1-21, New King James Version)

Nicodemus was one of the "rulers" of the Jews. Herod was the king, but the poeple who called the shots were the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of religious leaders.
Nicodemus comes to Jesus in secret for a reason. Public discussions with Jesus are contentious for the Pharisees. If Nicodemus wants a non-confrontational discussion with Jesus, it has to be in private.

Nic (can I call you Nic?) says to Jesus: 'We (others also?) know you're from God because of the signs." This implies that Jesus had been performing more miracles after the wedding. But they wanted a sign that He was more than a teacher.

Once again, Jesus seems to ignore what He was just told and gets to the point."You must be born again."

Jesus is speaking one language and Nic is speaking another. Jesus points out that He is speaking on a level above Nic's understanding. Nic's gotta play catch-up.

"I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?"

Does this imply that Jesus thinks that Nicodemus thought Jesus could impart something to Him, that Nic had a yearning for more?

He's going to get more. He's going to hear God's plan: That the Son of Man must be lifted up as a sacrifice (like the snake in the wilderness was a type of) and that belief on this sacrifice was the "great escape" from condemnation.

This is the crown jewel of Scripture:

"¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

But we are condemned by our unbelief. And saved by our belief.

Some people believe that Nicodemus was approaching Jesus at night, in secret, because he feared being seen with Him by his buddies on the council. When Jesus died Nicodemus was so bold as to ask to bury the body, forever associating himself with Jesus (and endangering himself in the process).

Nic may have been trying to get Jesus to "come on board" with the council, give the 'new guy" a few tips, but Jesus would only have association with men on His terms, not theirs.

John 2 vs13-12 Cleaning House

2010-04-08T16:30:00.000-04:00

(John 2:13-22, New King James Version)

It's Passover, and people are coming to Jerusalem to sacrifice for their sin. They have to use Temple shekels for their sacrifice. Money changers are set up for that. Making merchandise of (taking a profit on) peoples sinful condition. They should have set up shop outside not inside the Temple. Jesus chases them out.

This Gospel shows this happening at the start of His ministry. The other Gospels show it happening at the end. Maybe it happened at both. We are the Temple of God now and the persecution of the Church at the start of the church age cleansed it. Are we going to see that happen again before Jesus returns?

Jesus calls it His Father's house, giving Him authority to clean it. The rulers want to see a sign of this authority. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” He gives them this sign at His Crucifixion. Of course they don't understand and think He's talking about the building.

They are going to be continually asking for a sign. If you don't want to see something, maybe you won't see it even when it's in your face.

John 2 vs1-12 Water to Wine

2010-04-08T16:09:00.001-04:00

(John 2:1-12,New King James Version)

When we left Jesus, He was talking to Nathanael about the things he would see.

Now we are told "On the third day..." Jesus and the guys went to a wedding in Cana.

Never gave it much thought til now: third day? What does that mean?

One thing that comes to mind is that His first miracle came on the third day, and His last miracle (His resurrection) came on the third day. Probably just a coincidence.

The wedding was probably of relative, and Mary felt bad for the cousin or whatever when the wine ran out.

We can't assume Jesus and the guys drank it all so that Mary was upset and asked Jesus to replace it. It was more likely that the newlyweds couldn't afford much to begin with.

All through this Gospel, Jesus gives replies to people that seem unkind, or uncaring, or irrelevant. "Woman, what have I to do with thee?" seems that way, but it was probably done in a laughing manner, maybe like: "What am I gonna do with you?".
What might be happening is that Mary now expects her Son to start acting like The King and supplying peoples needs, and Jesus replies kiddingly (like I said) and then tells her it is not time for Him to be That King, yet.
But mom knows He'll comply, and He does. Of course, if Jesus make wine, it's gonna be GREAT WINE.
Then He and His mom, brothers and disciples go down to Capernaum. Later, His brothers are not going to be so accepting of His calling like Joseph's brothers didn't believe Joseph.
But Joseph was his brothers' deliverer. Same with Jesus.

John 1 vs41-51 Building the Church by Revelation and Word of Mouth

2010-03-27T13:40:00.003-04:00

(John 1:41-51, New King James Version)

So Andrew has a brother, Simon whom we know as Peter, and he runs to tell him what he's found. Family members are not always so eager to hear that you've found Jesus. Thankfully Peter was.

Jesus looks at Peter and calls him by his and his father's name.

Then he changes Peter's name. The name Simon comes from Simeon or Shimon which means "hearing".

Now think about this. "Hearing" usually means receptive. Jesus changes his name to Stone. We usually refer to someone who doesn't hear as dense, like a stone.

In Matthew, Jesus says, " you are Peter (stone), and on this rock (bigger than stone) I will build My church". On what did He build His church? Not on Peter, but on what Peter said just before this (in Matthew), the revelation that Jesus is the Christ. It's on that revelation that the church is built.

Next He calls Phillip to follow Him, who then goes to get Nathanael, telling him they've found the Messiah. Nathanael says, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”. This could be a slam on Nazareth, but I believe that he's really saying, "Dude! The prophecies don't point to the Messiah coming from Nazareth". Let's remember that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the city of David. But Nazareth is a derivation of the word "Root". Jesus is "the Branch" in prophecy. Branches come from roots.

If Nathanael was making a joke of Nazareth (not in Jesus' hearing), what are we to make of Jesus remark to Nathanael: “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”? Is this a joke also? It may be, but it may have special implications to Nathanael. The Israelites are descended from Jacob (renamed Israel) who was known to be deceitful. Some say Jacob means "trickster". He certainly acted that way before his name change.

Jesus then says that He saw Nathanael under the fig tree and Nathanael acknowledges Him as the Messiah. This indicates that something in this sequence rang Nathanael's bell. Perhaps he was praying to see the Messiah or reflecting on his attempts to be truthful in his dealings with others.

We can ask him later.

Jesus referred to Nathanael's Israeliness in a reference to deceit, bringing to mind Jacob, his deceitful forerunner. He then tells Nathanael that like Jacob, he shall see angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man. This indicates that the ladder that Jacob saw, the bridge between heaven and earth, is the son of Man, Jesus!
Cool, huh?

The Witnesses to Christ (Hey! Is that a new denomination?)

2010-03-27T12:43:00.003-04:00

There are many witnesses to Who Jesus is.

Moses: Jesus is that Prophet that he spoke of.
John the Baptist: He testified that "This is the Son of God"
The prophets: They all spoke of a deliverer to come and described His character in spiritual and historic terms, such as His birthplace.
God: "This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased."
Jesus Himself: He says however that His testimony is not valid, legally.
The angels who spoke of Him to Mary, Joseph, and later, the shepherds at Bethlehem. These shepherds may have been the shepherds required to inspect the Temple Sacrificial Lambs and thus the Lamb of God.
The miracles He performed (signs). Raising the dead is tricky if you're not God.

This is going to be a thread through this gospel. Jesus is going to be asked repeatedly to prove Who He says He is.
If anyone ever tells you that the Bible or Jesus doesn't claim that Jesus is God, not just a "son of God", ask them if they can read English and if they can: send them here.

Let's address something here.
Jesus is God. He is also the Son of God. How does that work?
As God, when He came to earth and was born of Mary, He became Someone's Son.
Mary is an obvious choice for mom. Joseph is obviously not the dad. So He is the Son of God, The human expression of God, sinless and perfect. God. But also a Son.
The only begotten Son of God. Not the only Son of God. But the begotten Son is the heir, and if the only begotten Son, then the sole heir of all that God has and is.
Accept no substitutes.

John 1 vs29-40 What do You Seek??

2010-03-27T11:53:00.001-04:00

(John 1:29-40, New King James Version)
John elaborates on why he was baptizing: to point out Jesus.
John says that God told him he'd see the Holy Spirit descend on the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
John then testifies that Jesus is the Son of God.
The next day he calls Him the "Lamb of God". In other words, the sacrifice for sin that God supplies and the one He accepts, that the Passover points to.
Actually, when John points out Jesus, his entire life's work is complete! Everything is downhill for him now.
As he says later, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
He doesn't quit, in fact he still preaches against sin, and it gets him beheaded by Herod.
So two of John's disciples leave John and follow Jesus. One of them is Andrew (Peter's brother).
Who's the other one? Probably the guy writing this gospel, John.

John 1 vs19-28 Who is John? Pt 2

2010-03-27T11:06:00.002-04:00

(John 1:19-28, New King James Version)

John the Baptist's ministry caused quite a ruckus. Probably with the more rural folk. They were more likely to remember the events surrounding his birth.
Now the Religious Leaders want to see what's going on (before it get's out of their control?)
He's not the Christ, he's not Elijah, he's not "that Prophet".
(By the way: what "Prophet"? The one that Moses said was to come:
“The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, Deuteronomy 18:15,
This is important!)
John does say that there is a prophecy regarding himself: Isaiah 40:3, "one crying..."
Why cry? To witness to Jesus, "standing among them, whom they do not know", raised among them, from their midst like Moses said.

John 1 vs14-18 Who is Jesus? Pt 2

2010-03-26T14:42:00.049-04:00

(John 1:14-18, New King James Version)

So the Word became flesh: Jesus. No doubt that if the "Word was God", Jesus is God.
There's a math trick: If "A"="B" and "B"="C", then: "A"="C".
If the Word is God, and Jesus is the Word, then Jesus is God.

"and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father".
This is probably at what we call the Mount of Transfiguration where John, Peter and James saw Jesus glorified.
Later on Jesus says that if you have seen Him you have seen the Father. Family resemblance.

"John bore witness of Him".
There are six witnesses to Who Jesus Is: John is one.
"For the law was given through Moses," Moses is another witness, as we'll see in the next section.

John 1 vs9-13: Who Knew?

2010-03-16T10:43:00.007-04:00

(John 1:9-13, New King James Version)

"the world did not know Him". The "world" here is not the planet, but the system, the people, the culture. "He came to His own..." His "own" could have two meanings. "His own" would be all men, or Israel. In this context, it makes more sense to think of Israel, the people he came to first. Of course He came for all men (people) but Israel was given first crack. When they rejected Him (as a nation, obviously not all Jews rejected Him) the Gentiles (non-Jews) got their chance to "not know Him".

"...to those who believe in His name..." So much meaning, so little time:

Jesus came as the fulfillment of a promise God made to man:

Gen 3:15 NKJV And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

This promise was a response to the sin of Adam and Eve. Their sin was to disobey God. But it was based on believing that God had lied to them. Satan called God a liar (“You will not surely die") and Eve believed him, not God. So if you "believe in His name" you believe God. You stop calling Him a liar. And you accept His gift. If you reject His gift, you insult him. Not a good move.

What does it mean to "believe in His name"? His name is Jesus. It means "He who saves". The word "name" also has implications in the Bible. Your "name" reflects your character and authority. Jesus claimed to be the savior of mankind. If He is not, then He is a liar and has no authority. A LIAR. Are you willing to call Him a liar?

I used to. Now I believe in His name and He has given me the "right to become(a child) of God".

I don't have a blood right to this, I can't work my way to it (the will of man), it is a gift of God.

John 1 vs6-8: Who is John?

2010-03-16T09:59:00.005-04:00

(John 1:6-8, New King James Version)

This is not the John that is writing this Gospel. This man is referred to as John the Baptist. For an in depth Bible passage on John the Baptist, read Luke 1:5-25 and Luke 1:57-80, pleeeeez.
John was a big deal in Israel at this time. His birth was miraculous and his ministry was prophesied by his father, a priest of the Temple. His birth was associated with the birth of Jesus and Jesus' birth was announced by angels and witnessed by foreign rich and wise men (that get's peoples attention).
People remembered these things about John and Jesus, and expected something to come of it. We often lose sight of that. They had "street cred". There was anticipation of their ministries.

John 1 vs2-5: Who is Jesus?

2010-03-13T11:50:00.007-05:00

(John 1:2-5, New King James Version)

It's interesting that it doesn't say in the beginning was God.

But remember that vs 1 says: the Word was God.
All things made through Him. Only God has that power.

In Him was life:hold that thought. This is an important concept that will later be shown to be intrinsic to (can't be separated from) His later claim to be Judge.

Light vs. darkness: got that.

"Darkness did not comprehend it". Double meaning. We think of "comprehend" as "understand". That works. But to comprehend something means to get around something (get your head around it) or to surround it as to overwhelm it. Light always dispels darkness, except for black holes. If you're near a black hole, you've got bigger problems than whether your flashlight works.

John 1 vs1: "In the Beginning"

2010-03-13T08:30:00.006-05:00

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

I love this passage.

There's a play on the word "Word".

Notice that Bibles (other than the Jehovah Witness translation) have capitalized the "W".

I believe that there are three simultaneous meanings to this "Word".

In Genesis, a promise is made to Adam and Eve that there will come a deliverer. God gives them His "Word" on this. God's "Word" is His promise.

Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. That makes Him the Word.

The Bible is God's word. The Bible describes Jesus relentlessly, figuratively (prophecy) and literally.

Another more modern usage in our culture is "Word!". When this is said it indicates that the speaker recognizes the truth of the statement just uttered.

So the Word in question can be simultaneously: God's Promise, Jesus (the promise fulfilled) and the Bible (Jesus described).

We do not have a physical description of Jesus. We have a "word" picture of Jesus. This appears to be intentional. A thousand words are worth one picture.

And the Bible is an elaboration on the original promise made.