Through the Bible - John

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. (John 20:30–31)

The fourth Gospel was written for one purpose: that you might believe Jesus is the Son of God, and believing, have life through His name.

A Different Kind of Gospel

The Gospel of John is different from the other three, the synoptic Gospels. As we went through Matthew, Mark, and Luke, you saw they are relatively the same. But John contains almost 90% new material. That doesn't mean it's a different Jesus—it's Jesus revealed from a different point of view.

In the other Gospels we follow a somewhat chronological account of Jesus' life and ministry. In John, we get to see Jesus one-on-one with individuals: with Nathaniel, with Nicodemus, with the woman at the well, with the woman caught in adultery, with the man at the pool of Bethesda, with the man born blind. These accounts are not found in the other Gospels, and they let us see Jesus in a different light.

The Theme: Believe and Life

Each Gospel has its emphasis. Matthew reveals Jesus as the Christ who fulfills Old Testament prophecy. Mark reveals Him as the great servant who came not to be served but to serve and give His life a ransom for many. Luke reveals Him as the Son of Man who came to seek and to save that which is lost. John reveals Jesus as the Son of God.

The theme verse of the whole book is John 20:31. Two words stand out there and appear over and over throughout the Gospel. The first is believe—the Greek verb pisteuō is seen 98 times in these 21 chapters. That is the focus, because "by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of works." John zeroes in on placing our faith in Jesus Christ as the Christ, the anointed One of God, the very Son of God.

The other word is life: "that believing you might have life through his name." Jesus says the thief has come to steal, kill, and destroy, "but I have come that you might have life, and that more abundantly." He says, "I am the resurrection and the life." The whole purpose of this 21-chapter discourse is that you might read it, believe that Jesus is the Christ, and have life through His name. The key to eternal life is faith—believing.

The Light Shining in Darkness

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not... But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. (John 1:1–12)

In these first verses we see life and believing—that the life is the light of men. Imagine being in a dark room, seeking for something. You must have light. That is all of mankind. Men are seeking, though they don't realize it. Yet John 3 tells us men don't like the light, because they love darkness, because their deeds are evil.

Verse 6 says, "There was a man sent from God whose name was John." That is not the author—it's John the Baptist. And notice why he was sent. Not to baptize; he came to bear witness. We should probably call him John the Witness, for his purpose was to prepare the way of the Lord, "that all men through him might believe."

That is the same reason you and I are sent into the world. Peter tells us we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, God's own special people, "that we may proclaim the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light." The whole purpose of preaching the gospel is that people might believe, and believing, have eternal life. Man is dead—through one man's sin entered the world, and death through sin—but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.

The Seven "I Am" Statements

This book is built upon seven statements Jesus made—seven "I am" statements. Remember Exodus 3, where Moses saw the bush that burned but was not consumed. God called him to go down to Egypt and bring the people out of bondage. We too were slaves, dead in trespasses and sins, and Jesus came to set the captives free, as Isaiah 61 proclaims.

When Moses asked who had sent him, God said, "Tell them I AM has sent you." In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, those words are egō eimi. Every time Jesus refers to Himself in John, He uses those same words.

The seven statements are: "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35); "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12, spoken after the woman caught in adultery); "I am the door" for the sheep (John 10:7, 9); "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11, 14); "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25); "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me" (John 14:6); and "I am the true vine" (John 15:1, 5).

There are other places too. Once, speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am." They understood exactly what He meant—several times they took up stones to kill Him for blasphemy, because He was calling Himself God. These "I am" statements focus on Jesus being God.

The Seven Miracles That Substantiate the Message

There are not only seven statements but seven miracles. As we've gone through the Gospels, I keep saying the miracles are always to substantiate the message. The message of John's Gospel is, "I am God; these things are written that you might believe He is the Christ, the Son of God." So Jesus performs miracles to prove who He is.

In John 15 He says, "I am the true vine." He substantiates that in His very first miracle in John 2, at the wedding in Cana. His mother says they've run out of wine, and tells the servants, "Whatever he tells you to do, do it"—good advice for all of us. Jesus has them fill water pots used for the purification of the Jews, then carry the water to the governor of the feast. By the time it arrived, it was no longer water but the best wine. He turned ordinary, unclean water from unclean pots into wine.

His second miracle (John 4:46–54) is healing the official's son from Capernaum, who was sick to the point of death—because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. His third (John 5) is the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda. A man had been lame for 38 years—sick longer than Jesus had been alive. The pool was filled with sick people waiting for the moving of the water. Jesus asked, "Would you like to be made well?" The man complained he had no one to help him in. Jesus simply told him to rise, take up his bed, and walk. And he did.

In John 6, having said "I am the bread of life," Jesus performs the fourth miracle—the feeding of the 5,000, bringing bread from heaven. Then, having sent His disciples onto the Sea of Galilee while He tarried to pray alone (every time He was with the multitudes He preached; every time He was alone He prayed), He performs the fifth miracle, walking on the water to them in the storm.

In John 9, Jesus heals the man born blind—the sixth miracle—after declaring, "I am the light of the world." This man had always lived in darkness. At the end of the chapter the Pharisees ask, "Are we blind also?" Jesus reveals that, yes, though this man was physically blind, the Pharisees were spiritually blinded—exactly what Isaiah was sent to do, to preach until their eyes were shut and their hearts hardened.

Bringing Life and Immortality to Light

The last miracle written in John is the raising of Lazarus (John 11), after Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life." Coming into Bethany, He is met by Martha, distraught: "If you had only been here, my brother would not have died." Jesus says, "Your brother shall rise again." She answers, "I know he'll rise in the resurrection."

But the resurrection, until Christ came, was a mystery—not fully understood by the Jews. They had a hope of it and looked forward with faith, but it was cloudy to them. By Jesus' day there were even two groups: the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection (which is why they were so sad), and the Pharisees, who held strongly to it as the popular view.

Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling... but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. (2 Timothy 1:9–10)

The Old Testament saints looked forward in faith. Hebrews 11 tells us Abraham, when told to offer Isaac on Mount Moriah, believed God was able to raise Isaac from the dead—faith in the coming resurrection. David, too, after his infant son died (2 Samuel 12), rose from his fasting, washed, and worshiped. When his servants were puzzled, he said, "The child will not return to me, but I will go to where he is." David had faith in the resurrection.

So when Martha says she knows her brother will rise at the last day, Jesus declares, "I am the resurrection and the life," and proves it by calling, "Lazarus, come forth." They worried because Lazarus had been dead and "stinketh," but he came forth fully alive. Jesus was attested by miracles; His message is proven true.

The Heathen: The Woman at the Well

This is a powerful Gospel, often given to new believers. I'll be honest—when I was younger, in junior high and high school, I always had a hard time with John. It's not easy unless you take time to go through it verse by verse. But we point new believers here because it reveals Jesus as the Son of God who gives life. He alone can give life, while man seeks it from so many other sources.

There are really two kinds of people in this world: the heathen and the religious. In John 4 we meet the heathen. Jesus went out of His way through Samaria to find this lost woman, because He is the missionary God who seeks and saves the lost.

There came a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink... The woman of Samaria saith unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. (John 4:7–9)

Custom tells us much here. Women drew water early or late, in groups, helping one another. This woman comes alone at noon—an outcast. Jesus reveals to her two things she was ignorant of: "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give me a drink." She didn't understand the gift, and she didn't understand the Giver. He systematically reveals both.

First she focuses on His limitations: "You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep... Are you greater than our father Jacob?" He was, and she would find out. Then Jesus reveals the gift: "Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst." The water she seeks for satisfaction never satisfies; His water becomes a well springing up to everlasting life.

She asks, "Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw." But notice—she asks amiss, to spend it on her own pleasure. There are people who want the gift of God but won't come into relationship with the Giver. So Jesus turns to reveal who He is: "Go, call your husband." She answers, "I have no husband." Jesus graciously commends her truthfulness, then exposes her: "You have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband." If He were like us, He might have called her a liar; instead He says, "You have spoken truly."

She perceives He is a prophet and raises the Jew-Samaritan dispute over the right place to worship—Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem. The Samaritans believed a Messiah would come and set worship right. Jesus answers, "The hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth... God is a Spirit." When she says, "I know that Messiah cometh... he will tell us all things," Jesus replies, "I that speak unto you am he"—egō eimi.

And what does she do? "The woman then left her water pot." Why had she come? For water. But she found the water that quenches thirst. Jesus revealed the gift and the Giver, and she received it—the heathen saved by the One who came to seek and save the lost.

The Religious: Nicodemus

The other kind of person is the religious. In John 3, Jesus meets Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews, who probably thought he had done everything needed to inherit eternal life.

Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God... Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:2–3)

Nicodemus thought heaven was a foregone conclusion. He was the master in Israel—the PhD of Jerusalem—which is why the Pharisees sent him to examine Jesus. But Jesus wipes away all the pomp and religion: "Unless you're born again, you won't even see the kingdom of God." Moses saw the promised land from Mount Nebo, but you won't even glimpse it unless you're born again. You're lacking the one thing you need.

Nicodemus, stunned, asks, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb?" He wants to understand how it really happens.

This reminds me of a conversation this past week. The church staff went to lunch on Wednesday, and as we came out, two young elders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—David and Tyler—walked up behind us and started talking. They had no idea they'd just tapped three pastors on the shoulder. We talked for an hour. I asked David, the bold one, "How is a person saved?" He said, "Faith in Jesus, repentance, and baptism." I asked, "So if I've believed, repented, and been baptized, I'm going to heaven?" He said, "No, you must be baptized by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." I said the Bible doesn't say that. He claimed it did—John 3:5.

Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)

But you have to read the next verses. Remember Nicodemus's question—entering the mother's womb a second time. He understood that the water birth was a physical birth. Jesus explains in verse 6: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." You must be born again by the Spirit—which was not new. In Ezekiel 36:26 God promised to give a new spirit and a new heart.

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes; so is everyone born of the Spirit." You can't see the wind, but you see its effects on the trees and the dust. Likewise, you can't see the Spirit with physical eyes, but you can see His effects in the believer's life—the fruit of the Spirit.

As Moses Lifted Up the Serpent

Nicodemus still asks, "How can these things be?" Jesus, full of grace and truth, answers:

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son... (John 3:14–16)

Remember Numbers 21. Israel murmured in the wilderness, and God sent serpents; whoever was bitten died. The snake is a symbol of sin. God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it on a pole; whoever was bitten and looked at it would live. Bronze is a picture of judgment—so sin was judged there on the pole. Nicodemus had surely read that passage without understanding its significance. Now Jesus explains: just as Moses lifted up the serpent, so the Son of Man would be lifted up. On the cross, sin was judged for you and me, and whosoever believes shall be saved.

It defies logic—how does looking at a serpent save you? But it did. Surely some were too proud to look, and they died. And there are always religious people too proud, too arrogant, too haughty to look to Christ on the cross. Yet Jesus has come to save both the heathen and the religious.

Harder to Reach the Religious

Usually the religious are harder to reach than the heathen. David and Tyler walked away without repenting—very religious, knowing their stuff, hard-hearted. Please pray for them. At one point I realized I wasn't getting through to David; he was like a piece of quartz crystal. So I turned to Tyler, 19 years old, and asked how a person is saved. He started to say exactly what we believe, and David interrupted, "No, that's not what he means." I said, "David, stay out of it. Tyler, how are we saved?"

I asked Tyler, "Is Jesus Christ the propitiation for our sins?" He didn't know the word. I asked, "Is Jesus the only atonement for our sins?" He said yes. "Then He must be perfect, mustn't He?" "Yeah, I guess." "Only God is perfect, Tyler. Jesus must be God." David piped up, "He's a god." No—He's the God, the very God of gods. Pray for Tyler, because I think he's just like Nicodemus. He wants to know the truth, and Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free" (John 8:32).

It is often easier to reach the heathen than the religious, because religion makes people haughty and joyless. Religion is built on standards, rules, and regulations you must keep—and we all know we can't keep them, so you never have personal joy. Yet you must appear to keep them before everyone else, so you never have humility either. Religion breeds arrogant, unhappy people. Most Christians have gone through a legalistic period and remember having little joy and little humility. If tonight you find yourself joyless and a bit arrogant, it may mean you're trying to live a religious, legalistic life—and Jesus has come to set you free.

The Gospel of John reveals the Son of God who came to give His life a ransom for us. All these things were written that we might believe, and believing, receive life. It has nothing to do with baptism or works—it has everything to do with placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And faith involves trust, not mere mental assent. It means laying yourself upon Him as the only way of salvation. Many say they believe in Jesus, yet still try to work it out by good works, and it will never work—because He is the way, the truth, and the life.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You that You sent Your Son for us. We thank You that we can have life through His name, for there is no other name under heaven whereby men must be saved. Jesus, we thank You that You came and laid down Your life for us, and that You seek the heathen and the religious alike. We thank You that You saved us, whether we were once heathens or the most religious Pharisees to be found.

Lord, I know that in the lives of each one here are family members and friends who are lost, dead in trespasses and sins. Use us, as You did John the witness, to bear witness of the light—the only true light that lights every man coming into the world. Give us boldness to speak the truth in season and out of season, to convince, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine, that we would preach the gospel and not be ashamed, for the gospel is Your power to bring salvation to everyone who believes. Thank You for saving us, and give us a burning passion to take this truth to those in darkness. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.