John Chapter 1

“These are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” –John 20:31

This week’s reading: John 1:1-28

Overview:

-This book is written so that people might know  Jesus, believe in him and have real life. This is what happened for John. Jesus met him and told him to follow him.  He followed Jesus. Over time he became convinced that this Jesus was the Messiah of Israel,  the world’s true King and that He was also the Son of God. This book shares how all of this unfolds. He is a witness who shares the good news about this man Jesus.

-John begins with a prologue (verses 1-18) that contains important topics that will be covered throughout the gospel. This is John’s attempt to tell the story of Jesus Christ in a few short compact sentences.  He gets it all out on that table right away. Here is Jesus! Look at all that he is!  Jesus is with God, but he also is God. Jesus is at the dawn of Creation. All things are made by Jesus. Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus becomes flesh. Many people reject Him, but some become his children. It is all beautiful and leads us to praise this magnificent God, but it can also be overwhelming. Don’t get too overwhelmed. If Jesus is God then he should be a bit overwhelming.  As we read through John these ideas will be further developed and should be much less overwhelming.

-Verses 19-28 begin telling the story of Jesus by way of sharing about another John (we know him as John the Baptist). John is first mentioned in verse 6. John is a messenger that goes ahead of Jesus to witness to him and point to Jesus as the true light of the world.

Key Terms and People:

-John: John is the author of the book of John. He is one of Jesus’ 12 disciples which include his brother James as well as a man named Peter who will show up quite often in the gospel.

-John the Baptist: John is the cousin of Jesus. He is sent by God to be a witness that points to Jesus. He is a herald of King Jesus who declares to Israel that the King is coming and it is time to prepare for him. John is pictured as an Old Testament prophet who calls Israel to repentance. He will  be killed by King Herod for speaking against the Herod’s sinful activity.

-The Word:  The Word is Jesus.

-Messiah :  Literally, the anointed one. The Jews believed that God would anoint a new king  like their great King David to come and set the people of Israel free from foreign oppressors. In the time of Jesus and John the Jews were under Roman rule and were eagerly hoping for a Messiah to come and set them free from Rome.

-Elijah: A powerful prophet from the Old Testament who is rumored to one day return to announce the coming of the Messiah.

-Priest, Levites, Sadducees, and Pharisees: These are various priests and teachers in Israel. They are the keepers  of the law and they teach the people how to follow God. Jesus and John are also teaching the people so priests, Levites, and Pharisees often show up in this gospel to see what Jesus is doing. As we will see  later Jesus gets in many debates, discussion and sometimes huge arguments with these groups. We will talk about each specific group more in depth as we see them in later chapters.

Discussion Questions

Introduction:
-Pray.

-What’s difference between a bride and her bridesmaids or a groom and groomsmen? (Parents if you have been in the role of bridesmaids and/or bride perhaps you could explain what it was like and how different the roles are).

 In the story  we will learn about two men. Jesus and John. Jesus is the main event. He is the bride and groom on a huge scale. John is like a groomsman or a bridesmaid. He looks a lot like the people getting married, but his job is to help and point to the real main event.

 John 1:1-28 

Read verses 1-18:

-Why do you think John describes Jesus as The Word?

-In the first 18 verses there is a lot said about Jesus (The Word) . How is he described?  And what are the things that he does?

-How does this world and the people in this world respond to Jesus (verses 10-13)?

-Some people respond with Joy when they hear about Jesus. Other people do not believe at all. Why do you think that is? It is easy or difficult for you to believe in Jesus? Or is it both?

Read verses 19-28:

-John is asked who he is. How does he describe himself (verse 23)?

-Look at verses 15 and verses 24-28. What is John’s relationship to Jesus?

Challenge

-John has one main goal – to point people to Jesus. He does little things to point others to the big things that Jesus will do. We can do this too. Christians have the same goal. We seek to help other people see Jesus. Are the ways that you can help others see Jesus?  Think of a few ways and then try to point others to Jesus this week.

Final Thoughts

-Are there any questions you have after talking about this story? Write them down and bring them to our meeting on Sunday, or post them up on the blog so others can consider them during the week.

-Select a favorite verse from this story. Read that verse and then close in prayer.