Introduction to the Gospel of John
Lecture outline: September 19 and 21, 2007

I. Last weekend I was in Nashville at the invitation of a Presbyterian Church educator and we attended a Celtic Worship service in one of the downtown cathedrals. I had told her that I was preparing a lecture for the Bible Study at St.Andrews and was considering different ways to present the introduction.

As the service began, the ministers processed down the aisle with a candle. And as it was lit, we recited the verse from the Psalms:

Your word is a lantern unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Immediately I knew I was in the right place for worship and for inspiration. Let me share the first prayer and use it for our opening prayer.

At this evening hour may the understanding of all our hearts be opened to that LIGHT which enlightens everyone who comes into the world. For this is the LIGHT which gives us true knowledge of the Name over all
by which God is known.

AMEN.

II. POETRY -- a hymn of power and hope

As we begin studying the Gospel of John, we realize immediately that this fourth Gospel is very different from the first three. It begins with poetry: not a genealogy, or a prophecy, or a story of a baby. This witness to the life of Jesus begins at the beginning and equates this unique person named Jesus, to the God of creation. This writer is not simply a biographer, but someone who has a thesis to prove. He wants his readers to know Jesus on a deeper level and he's more concerned about the significance of the events in Jesus' life
and the signs and meanings which often are only understood after his resurrection.


III. The reason for writing this testimony

This Hebrew person wrote his witness to the events of Jesus' life at the request of believers of the First Century. Just as we learned in our study of Exodus last year, the events in the lives of the people of God were told by word of mouth to each succeeding generation. The oral tradition was vitally important in this culture. In fact, the earliest church was much more interested in word-of-mouth preaching than in the composition of written texts. (John Romer, "Testament: the Bible and History," c.1988. p.188)  Therefore, as the years increased following Jesus' death (30 A.D.), believers in a number of places such as Antioch, Ephesus, and Alexandria, wanted these recollections to be written so they could share them as an original
written document. Exactly where and when this Gospel was written is under discussion by scholars, but one they agree on is that it was written generations later than the events themselves. As one writer put it, these
sacred biographies were not written by someone following Jesus around as a scribe and recorning his every word and action. (163) Rather, they were written for the church at the time of the death of the Apostles for a particular audience in the Hellenistic world--whether it was in Antioch, or Rome, or Athens, or Alexandria--major cities which were part of the extraordinary explosion of Christianity that had burst out around the
Mediterranean in the first and second centuries. (189)

IV. The culture in Palestine

In considering the Gospel of John in particular, it's important to be aware of the culture in Palestine at this time. It was a time of rising passions and repression in Judaea, a doom-laden age when people braced themselves for the coming apocalypse. The Romans were widely referred to as the "Sons of Darkness". (173) In 70 A.D. the temple had been destroyed and parts of Jerusalem were still in ruins. When John wrote his Gospel in 85-90 A.D., it was a dire situation for Jews and Christians.

So when John opens his Gospel with references to LIGHT, which God created in the very beginning, it is very reassuring that this Jesus, who is also God, is the one in whom they believe. "The LIGHT shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it." In fact, this TRUE LIGHT, which enlightens everyone, is available to ALL who receive him, who believe in his name, and to whom he gives POWER to become Children of God."

What an encouraging message for the multitude of international believers--ranging from high society matrons to slaves--living throughout the then-known world! This world was similar to the world to whom Paul wrote letter--a variety of people-- most likely an erudite, middle class Hellenistic audience. These people were educated, literate in the international languages of the day: Greek and Latin, and were surrounded by many alternative religious ideas, gods, and spirits. Yet, the message of an itinerant rabbi inside the highly conservative society of Judaism became known in congregations in Asia Minor, Greece, Egypt, and Rome. As John states: this man Jesus was the WORD, the very expression of God, who lived among us full of grace and truth.

V. This past week our Jewish friends celebrated Rosh Hashanah--their New Year. I found that part of their liturgy encourages us for our study this year: Today, today, today. Bless us...and help us grow.

May this study of the testimony of John help deepen your faith and love so that the Word Made Flesh can dwell in you richly.