Jesus, the Living Word
The Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 4 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Have a friend designing an invisible airplane… Cant see that taking off.
Hopefully at 11:59:59 on Friday Night you all lifted your left leg. That way you’d start off the year on the right foot.
Lets get this started
Who: This was written six times in only this book… who Jesus loved
23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side,
24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking.
25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?”
and then in John 21:24
24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
So its John… we know he’s fast, or maybe Peter’s slow… we know hes a man’s man… because he wrote himself up… John 20 1-10
1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb.
4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.
6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there,
7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.
8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;
9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.
He will also tell us later that the writing was divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit in John 14:26
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Audience: Believers and non-believers… Mostly Jews, but some Greeks as well.
Purpose: John tells us his purpose… right in the book… look at what it says…and this is where the subtitle of this series comes from....
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
This does not mean that its only for non-believers… we point this to new christians but its so theologically deep, and its not just for those who do not believe…so that you may believe… da. John 15:4
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
So the book isn’t for just the non-believers to believe but it has a sense that it is for us to KEEP believing to keep us in him we need this kind of learning, so we have to
Alright, now we are done with a little background information and we can jump into it, are you ready....
Here is what he says in verse 1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And in the beginning was the word.... so lets stop right there… you may see where this is going and how fast we are going to get through this...
Gentiles: They saw this idea of the Word more philosophically, They looked at the world and didn’t see it as chaotic, but orderly. Everything had it’s place and moved or grew in an orderly fashion, the stars above and the vegetation below. The Greeks had the idea that behind the world was a mind, a reason, a power that made and kept things in place… This unlimited power was said to be the WORD. It was also what they thought gave them the ability to think and reason. It was the power that brought light and understanding into the world. Not only that it was the power that allowed me to come into contact with God… and expressed their feelings to God
So this is an idea that they would have understood....
Jews: The Jews saw the word as something more than a sound… It was something active and existing… it was something that had the power to express something to do something… You can see this in the OT where the Word of God was seen as the creative power of God… the power that created the world and gave light and life to every man.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.
15 He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.
And these are just a few examples, but immediately they would have understood it...
But not only that… this whole structure goes so much deeper for the Jews...
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
And in essence what John is telling us is that Jesus was there… thats the word… Thats what we learn from that quotation in Psalms… the Word of the Lord created it… the trinity right from the very beginning of the gospel is being declared.... and what John is trying to tell us here is that Jesus is that word… and he is calling on all of these people to see Jesus as the answer to the question.... he is showing the Jews… that beginning you were talking about.... it was Him… the one you are waiting on… and I am about to tell you all about him… to the gentiles he is saying… the word… the thing that you are hoping for… it is Jesus he will tell us in verse 14… its not just a word… it became FLESH.... thats good stuff… that should get you excited...
So what he is saying from the very beginning of this Gospel is Jesus always was..He is the son of the Living God. It took John a few years to really understand the deity of Jesus and who he was and he doesn’t want it to take that long for us to understand what is going on… he wants us to get it from the very beginning.
So John 1:1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
This idea, that the word WAS god… that Jesus was God… is going to be central to the theme of John, and what gets Jesus killed...That first with has this idea of not only being with but acting toward… so Jesus was with and acting with him… its participatory… its got the idea that you’re doing the thing together in the greek. So it shows the father and son had this relationship from the beginning working and acting and being with one another… which is what he says in verse 2
2 He was in the beginning with God.
This is really important to those people you have to remember he is trying to prove to them that Jesus is God, that he’s the messiah so what he is saying is look… to the greeks that thing you believe… that there is this higher word… that it was what you needed and gave a higher view… listen its Jesus… he’s God… he was with God from the very beginning.... don’t you see the thing you thought about it was him! and hes about to go and tell us more about it… in fact look at what it says in 1 John about the same thing
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—
And this is deep theology today… we are learning about the trilogy.. John is saying Jesus is of the very nature and character of God the father… but he is not God the father…he’s a distinct character… but is the same… and we cannot even wrap our minds around how this is possible. and he is telling us when we see Jesus we are seeing a person that is God....
So he is wanting us to see that Jesus was eternal, and if you think about this it is not that hard to understand… just follow me here… what is time? A measurement… No? Yes… a day is a measurement of the time that we are moving around the sun etc… so before the world Jesus, the trinity existed so it isnt really difficult to understand when you think about it that way… and he is wanting us to know that so we can understand how powerful and majestic he is… s
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
He is trying to show them, look he was not like you and I… he is not just a mere man or one of your Greek gods that you think of but he comes from nothing…
Look at these amazing statements… all things were made through him.... and as if that isnt enough he follows it with NOTHING was made without him.
He is trying to let you know that everything came through him.... that mountain over there… he did it… that body of water… thats him… you…EVERYTHING… remember where this is going… he wants you to believe … and hes getting there… hes showing you how powerful he is… hes letting you know that he created it… He is an active participant in it all...
Hes not some far off God....because he created it… it means he cares about every person in the world… and while the problems of the world aren’t his problem but the problem of sin, he is the answer to all of those problems… he is the one that can fix it all
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
He is showing us that Jesus is life… and that life was supposed to be the light for men to follow… to illuminate what our life was supposed to look like… and all of this goes so clearly with what John will say later...
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
Lets look one last time at John 1:5
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
THIS is a promise of goodness to you… The light shines in the darkness… in the darkness of your life… while your family member passed away too soon… while your kids are running off the deep end… HE is the light in that situation… what does that mean… that means he is the way you go for answers… when you dont know what to do you follow him… you dont just walk aimlessly around like we tend to do… you just push into him…
We cant just stop this study without Jumping to verse 14,
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
He came and dwelt among us, and i seent him… This my friends is what made it all different… he came and became one of us… and becasue of him we know how to live...