A Summary of the Book of John | GotQuestions.org

In today's video we're going to survey and briefly summarize the book of John.

Then afterward, as always, I'll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end.

As for the author, John 21 -24 describes the author of the Gospel of

John as the disciple whom Jesus loved, and for both historical and internal reasons,

this is understood to be John the Apostle, one of the sons of Zebedee, Luke 5, verse 10.

As for the date of writing, discovery of certain papyrus fragments dated around A .D. 135 require

the Gospel of John to have been written, copied, and circulated before then.

And while some think it was written before Jerusalem was destroyed in A .D. 70, A .D. 85 -90 is

a more acceptable time for the writing of the Gospel of John.

Now, for the purpose of writing, the author cites the purpose of the Gospel of John as follows,.

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing

you may have life in his name.

John 20, verse 31.

Unlike the three synoptic Gospels, John's purpose is not to present a chronological narrative of the

life of Christ but to display His deity.

John sought to strengthen the faith of second -generation believers and bring about faith in others, but he

also sought to correct a false teaching that was spreading in the first century.

John emphasized Jesus Christ as the Son of God, fully God, and fully man,

contrary to a false doctrine that taught the Christ Spirit came upon the human Jesus at His

baptism and left Him at the crucifixion.

Here are a few key verses.

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

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.

John 1, verse 1 and 14.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the

sin of the world.

John 1, verse 29.

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.

John 3, verse 16.

Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.

John 6, verse 29.

The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy.

I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.

John 10, verse 10.

And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

John 10, verse 28.

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life.

He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.

Do you believe this?

John 11, verses 25 and 26.

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

John 13, verse 35.

Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 14, verse 6.

Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?

He who has seen Me has seen the Father.

So how can you say, Show us the Father?

John 14, verse 9.

Sanctify them by your truth.

Your word is truth.

John 17, verse 17.

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished.

And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

John 19, verse 30.

Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

John 20, verse 29.

Now for a brief summary.

The Gospel of John includes only seven miracles.

John calls them signs to demonstrate the deity of Christ and illustrate His ministry.

Some of these miracles and stories, such as the raising of Lazarus, are only found in John.

His is the most theological of the four Gospels, and he often gives the reason behind events mentioned in the

other Gospels.

The Gospel of John shares much about the approaching ministry of the Holy Spirit after Jesus' ascension.

There are certain words or phrases that create a reoccurring theme in the Gospel of John—believe,

witness, comforter, life, death, light, darkness, I am, and love.

The Gospel of John introduces Jesus Christ not from His birth but from the beginning,

before creation.

John calls Jesus the Word, the Logos, who as God Himself was involved in every aspect

of creation and who later became flesh in order that He might take away our sins as the spotless Lamb of

God.

The Gospel of John includes several spiritual conversations, such as Jesus' talk with the Samaritan woman that

shows Him as the Messiah and Jesus' meeting with Nicodemus that explains salvation through His vicarious

death on the cross.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly angers the Jewish leaders by correcting them, healing on the Sabbath, and

claiming traits belonging only to God.

The last nine chapters of the Gospel of John deal with the final week of Jesus' life.

Jesus prepares His disciples for His coming death and for their ministry after His resurrection and ascension.

He then willingly dies on the cross in our place, paying our sin debt in full so that whoever trusts

in Him will be saved.

Jesus then rises from the dead, convincing even the most doubting of His disciples that He is God and

Master.

As for connections, the Gospel of John's portrayal of Jesus as the God of the Old Testament is seen most

emphatically in the seven I Am statements of Jesus.

He is the bread of life, provided by God to feed the souls of His people, just as He provided manna

from heaven to feed the Israelites in the wilderness.

Jesus is the light of the world, the same light that God promised to His people in the Old Testament and which

will find its culmination in the New Jerusalem, when Christ the Lamb will be its light.

Two of the I Am statements refer to Jesus as both the Good Shepherd and the Door of the Sheep.

Here are clear references to Jesus as the God of the Old Testament, the Shepherd of Israel, and as

the only door into the sheepfold, the only way of salvation.

The Jews believed in the resurrection and, in fact, used the doctrine to try to trick Jesus into making statements

they could use against Him.

But His statement at the tomb of Lazarus, I am the resurrection and the life, John 11, verse 25,

must have astounded them.

He was claiming to be the cause of resurrection and in possession of the power of life and death.

None other than God Himself could claim such a thing.

Similarly, Jesus' claim to be the way, the truth, and the life, John 14, verse 6, linked Him

unmistakably to the Old Testament.

His is the way of holiness, prophesied in Isaiah 35, verse 8.

He established the city of truth of Zechariah 8, verse 3, when He was in Jerusalem and preached the truths

of the gospel.

As the life, Jesus affirms His deity, the Creator of life, God incarnate.

Finally, as the true vine, Jesus identifies Himself with the nation of Israel, who are called the

vineyard of the Lord in many Old Testament passages.

As the true vine of the vineyard of Israel, He portrays Himself as the Lord of the true Israel, all

those who would come to Him in faith.

Here's some practical application.

The gospel of John continues to fulfill its purpose of evangelizing the lost.

John 3, verse 16, is likely the best -known Bible verse and is often used in evangelistic Bible

studies.

In the recorded encounters between Jesus and Nicodemus and the woman at the well in chapters 3 and 4, we

learn much from Jesus' model of personal evangelism.

His comforting words to His disciples before His death are still of great comfort in sorrowful times.

Jesus' high priestly prayer for believers in chapter 17 is also a wonderful source of encouragement for

believers.

John's teachings concerning the deity of Christ are helpful in apologetics and provide a clear revelation of who

Jesus is, fully God and fully man.

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