Gospel of John overview
"Loved, Believe and Love"
What is the Gospel of John about?
The words “believe” (100 times) and “love”
(44 times) are often used in John.
Synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke)
tell us to “repent” but John tells us to “believe”.
The most familiar verse from John probably
is:
John 3:16
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
1. Believe
Believe who?
John 6:28-29
28 Then they asked him, “What does God want from us? What works does he want us to do?”
29 Jesus answered, “God’s work is to believe in the one he has sent.”
Believe what?
John 12:44-46
44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only. They also believe in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me sees the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world to be its light. So no one who believes in me will stay in darkness.
John 13:19
“I am telling you now, before it happens. When it does happen, you will believe that I am who I am.
Discussion 1:
Do you believe in Jesus? If yes, why? If
not, why not?
2. Love
Love who?
John 13:1
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world. It was time for him to go to the Father. Jesus loved his disciples who were in the world. So he now loved them to the very end.
A new command for the believers:
John 13:34-35
34 “I give you a new command. Love one another. You must love one another, just as I have loved you. 35 If you love one another, everyone will know you are my disciples.”
John 14:15, 21
15 “If you love me, obey my commands.
21 Anyone who has my commands and obeys them loves me. My Father will love the one who loves me. I too will love them. And I will show myself to them.”
John 15:9-10
9 “Just as the Father has loved me, I have loved you. Now remain in my love.
10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. In the same way, I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
John 15:12-13, 17
12 Here is my command. Love one another, just as I have loved you.
13 No one has greater love than the one who gives their life for their friends.
17 Here is my command. Love one another.
Jesus loves you and you love Jesus. Then
serve His people (in love).
John 21:15-17
15 When Jesus and the disciples had finished eating, Jesus spoke to Simon Peter. He asked, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these others do?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. “You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus asked, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 Jesus spoke to him a third time. He asked, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt bad because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He answered, “Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep."
Do you love Jesus? How do you know if you
really love someone?
Prayer
Dear Father, because You love me, I want to
love others better. It can be so hard to love others the way You love me. I can
feel jealous, angry, hurt. In these moments, help me to remember that You are with me and Your love strengthens me.
Regardless of how I feel, help me to love others well. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
3. The disciple Jesus loved
John 19:26
Jesus saw his mother there. He also saw the disciple he loved standing nearby. Jesus said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son.”
Boiled in oil and survived?
“How happy is its church, on which apostles poured forth all their doctrine along with their blood; where Peter endures a passion like his Lord's; where Paul wins his crown in a death like John [the Baptist]'s; where the Apostle John was first plunged, unhurt, into boiling oil, and thence remitted to his island-exile.”
The Prescription Against Heretics by
Tertullian (155–240 AD) , Ch. 36
You are loved just as John
John 3:16
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
