John 1

Study Guide 110: John 1:19-4:42 THE NEW HAS COME Overview We meet four people in these opening chapters of John’ s Gospel. They are John the Baptist, Nathanael, Nicodemus, and the unnamed “ woman at the well.” John was Jesus’ forerunner, sent to prepare Israel for His coming. Nathanael represented the godly Israelite who responded at the very first evidence that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Nicodemus represented the religious leaders who realized from Christ’ s miracles that Jesus is “ a Teacher . . . come from God,” but whose spiritual blindness kept them from understanding the true message of the Old Testament, and whose spiritual deadness made them antagonistic to the Son of God. The woman at the well represents the myriad of human beings outside the chosen people who, when they meet Jesus, put their confidence in Israel’ s Saviour. The theme of these chapters is salvation — and the way three individuals who typify all humanity respond to the One who alone can bring life to a lost humankind. BORN AGAIN. John often used the imagery of being “ born of God” (see John 1:13; 1 John 2:29; 1 John 3:9; 1 John 4:7; 1 John 5:1, 1 John 5:4, 1 John 5:18). Spiritual rebirth is supernatural, not natural, and God Himself is the One who acts to give the believer new life (see John 1:12-13). New birth makes us God’ s children (John 1:13), and leads to our moral transformation. One born of God will do what is right (1 John 2:29).

Commentary Kurt had an uncomfortable feeling about God. As a boy he seldom went to church or Sunday School, but when he did, he was aware that he was with people who had moral standards much higher than his own. When Kurt learned the Ten Commandments and heard the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount, he was more uncomfortable than ever. The more he learned, the more aware he became of the gap in his own life between what he knew was right, and what he desired and did. Kurt had all the “ light” he wanted! Talk of God only produced flashes of guilt and shame. More light? A brighter light? No thanks! It was much easier to turn away from talk of God and from his own sense of sin. So John the Baptist’ s first words about Jesus would surprise people like Kurt if they could understand them. Twice John said that the light of Jesus helps us see that God is “ full of grace and truth.” What is unveiled in the Son of God is not some higher, more burdensome standard of morality. Instead, Jesus revealed that God wants to relate to us as a Father relates to his children; through grace, not law. For everyone who has ever felt like Kurt — that contact with God is painful or condemning — John now had a surprising message.

The Openhearted: John 1:19-2:11 Not everyone is fearful or unable to believe God loves him, as Kurt was. Some have always sensed God’ s love. It was the same in Jesus’ day; some people were very close to God, and immediately responded to Jesus. We are introduced to two of these open hearted men in John 1:1-51. We also discover in this chapter a pattern which the writer followed in the rest of his Gospel. The pattern. Jesus’ unveiling of God typically took place in miracle followed by discourse. In the other Gospels, miracles are generally treated as authenticating or teaching signs. For instance, Matthew concentrated reports of miracles in Matthew 8:1-34 and Matthew 9:1-38. This section immediately followed the Sermon on the Mount and demonstrated the authority of the King over nature, evil spirits, disease, and even death. But John presented the miracles of Jesus as first steps in each fresh unveiling of the Father and His grace. In general, each reported miracle or group of miracles leads to a teaching discourse. The miracle thus does more than serve as the divine seal of approval on Jesus; it usually illustrates what He is about to teach as well. So in studying the Gospel of John, we’ ll find this pattern over and over. New units of thought are introduced by miracles, and concluded with extended explanations by Jesus of some new aspect of God’ s grace. John the Baptist (John 1:19-34). John was probably Jesus’ cousin, and certainly a childhood friend. John had been sent by God to announce that the promised Saviour of Israel was about to appear. John was called to “ testify concerning that Light,” a Light much different from Jewish expectations. Even though John had known Jesus from childhood, he never recognized his Cousin as the Son of God. John too was looking for a different revelation than one of grace and goodness. But when Jesus came to be baptized by John, John, in a private miracle, saw “ the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him.” John immediately believed. Nathanael (John 1:35-51). John gave witness to Jesus and pointed Him out as the Son of God. Soon some of John’ s followers began to trail after Jesus, and Christ began to select men who would join His most intimate circle of followers. One of these, Philip, hurried to Nathanael and told him that they had found the Christ, and that He was Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael was skeptical. The prophets said nothing of anyone great coming from the Galilean town, Nazareth. But Nathanael went with Philip to see for himself. And he was stunned by Jesus’ greeting: “ Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” When Jesus went on to describe the place where Philip had found Nathanael, far out of Jesus’ sight, Nathanael was convinced: “ Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel” (John 1:49). What do we learn from these two incidents? First, we note that each of these men had a preconceived idea of what God was like and how He would act. John described the stern judgments the coming Messiah would execute. Nathanael knew that the Deliverer would come from someplace other than Nazareth. Second, we note that Jesus did not completely fit the preconceived ideas of either. John never dreamed that his gentle, godly Cousin could be the mighty Deliverer that his preaching described (John 1:33). Nathanael would find out only later that the Man from Nazareth was actually born in Bethlehem, the place the prophets foretold the coming King would be born. While both John and Nathanael believed deeply in God, both had concepts about His Son that were not fully correct. Third, each received and responded to a small, personal miracle. Later Jesus would perform many public miracles, and some of these would be absolutely spectacular. It might seem insignificant to us for Jesus to describe the place where Nathanael was when Philip found him (John 1:48). But each of these men, John and Nathanael, immediately recognized the hand of God. And each immediately set aside his preconceived notions, to submit to the authority of Jesus. Each accepted the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father, the revealer of truth as well as of grace (John 1:34, John 1:49). These insights are important to us at the beginning of our study of John’ s Gospel. As we explore the written Word, you can expect God to be at work in your own and your group members’ lives. God will perform private miracles for you. These probably will not be spectacular, nor will they be public. But, in little ways, God lets us know that He is speaking personally to us. And, like John and Nathanael, we each have our own ideas about what God is like and how He will act. But it is vital that you and I, like John and Nathanael, be willing to put aside our incomplete understandings of God and His grace when we discover, in Jesus the Son of God, some fresh unveiling of truth or fresh evidence of grace. The disciples (John 2:1-11). At a wedding in Cana, Jesus sustained the joy of the occasion by turning water into wine when the supply of drink ran out. Few besides the disciples saw the miracle, but, actually, the miracle was for them. In that miracle Jesus began to unveil His glory, and “ His disciples put their faith in Him” (John 2:11). LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Ask your group members to form pairs to do a “ before and after” analysis of the ideas of John the Baptist and Nathanael about the Son of God. What did each look for before he discovered that Jesus was the One? How was Jesus different from what he had expected? Discuss these questions in the group. Then share: “ What ideas about God did you have before you became a Christian? How did these ideas later change? What would you be like today if you refused to change your views when you learned more of God’ s truth and of His grace?”

Light in the Darkness: John 2:12-25In the next verses we sense the beginning of Jesus’ public, and controversial, action. He and His disciples left Galilee and came up to Jerusalem. There they visited the temple and saw the money changers at work. These were businessmen who exchanged other currencies for coins minted at the temple, because the religious leaders had decreed that only temple money was acceptable to God. Smiling, the money changers inflated the rate of exchange — and probably gave the leading priests their cut. Other temple businessmen sold livestock for the sacrifices. A lamb brought by a worshiper might be rejected because of some blemish when inspected by a priest: it had to be traded then for an animal that was “ acceptable.” Jesus angrily drove the traders from His Father’ s house. LINK TO LIFE: CHILDREN What Jesus did in condemning the wrong is hard for boys and girls, and for adults! How can we help them protest what is wrongdoing today, and choose personal obedience to Jesus? Set up typical case history situations, identify some options, and get your boys and girls talking about what to do in each case. Let them suggest wrongdoing situations, or supply cases that reflect problems in your area. For instance: a child in class is cheating on a test; friends want you to throw hard snowballs at passing cars; you know where older children are selling or buying drugs; someone asks you to help take things from a store; etc. List possible responses: just say no; tell an adult; tell your parents; threaten to tell if the children don’ t stop; etc. Don’ t expect your boys and girls to come up with quick and easy answers. The point of this activity is to help them realize that it is hard to protest others’ wrongdoing, and keep on doing right. How good to remember that Jesus made the hard choices, and that He can help us do what is right today too. Suddenly Jesus was a public figure. He was popular with the crowds, because He challenged the corrupt leaders. In the spotlight more, Jesus began to perform a number of miracles. These signs were so spectacular and compelling that “ many . . . believed in His name” (John 2:23). But the belief of the people was shallow; so shallow that “ Jesus would not entrust [or commit] Himself” to the crowds as He had to the Twelve. What is a shallow faith? Perhaps it is best to think of it as a faith that exists only as long as its object fits our expectations. These people, who “ believed” in Jesus superficially, turned away from Him when He did not speak and act as they expected (see John 6:60-66). They “ believed,” but not enough to abandon their own notions and submit themselves fully to Jesus’ fresh revelation of God. May God protect you and me and those we teach from shallow faith as we study John’ s Gospel. May He help us be willing to abandon our old ideas when He calls us to submit fully to His Son, Jesus, so that we might find life now. John now turns from a description of the reaction of the crowds to describe in detail the reaction of two individuals. Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, and a Samaritan woman, an outcast of the outcasts.

Nicodemus: John 3:1-21Nicodemus was identified by John as a “ member of the Jewish ruling council” (John 3:1). It’ s important to realize that He was a religious as well as a political leader. In Israel, civil and religious law were the same: the code of the Old Testament, as interpreted by the rabbis over the generations, guided the life of the Jew in the Holy Land, and anywhere a Jewish community existed. Nicodemus was one of the men who interpreted and applied God’ s instructions to Israelite life. These rulers represented divine authority to the Jews: they “ sat in Moses’ seat” as interpreters of his Law. Yet the land of Palestine was under Roman rule as well. Rome was the final authority; only the Roman procurator (governor) could pronounce the death penalty. Still, aside from the taxes Rome collected and the army garrison Rome maintained, day-to-day affairs were administered by the Jewish rulers rather than the Roman overlords. It was much simpler, and some “ self-government” did help make subject people less troublesome. Thus Nicodemus was a significant man: he held a civil power that would be backed by Rome, and he was a recognized interpreter of the Law of God as that Law was expressed in the written Word. Nicodemus’ first words revealed a growing conviction shared among the rulers that Jesus must be “ a Teacher . . . come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs You are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2). Yet in spite of this belief, the rulers did not make their conclusion public. It’ s possible that Nicodemus’ night visit was made in secret to avoid any impression of public support, and possibly to find out what this new Prophet was going to proclaim. Jesus immediately jolted Nicodemus with the announcement that to even catch a glimpse of God’ s kingdom, a person must be born again. Nicodemus struggled with this strange idea, and then blurted out: “ You can’ t mean ‘ reenter the womb and be born’ ! What do You mean by ‘ born again’ ?” (see John 3:4) Even Jesus’ explanation of the new birth as a work of God the Holy Spirit, and not a physical experience (John 3:5-8) brought the same response: “ How can this be?” (John 3:9) Jesus’ answer helps us see that His revelation of grace and truth is not foreign to the Old Testament! Grace and truth are imbedded in the very foundations of the Old: they simply had not been recognized. Thus Jesus exclaimed, “ You are Israel’ s teacher, and do you not understand these things?” To what was Jesus referring? Simply this: God’ s plan to give men and women a life and a relationship with Him not based on Law is clearly taught in the Old Testament! For instance, Jeremiah promised a time when “ I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel.” This new way of relating to God is specifically said to be unlike the older, Mosaic way. Under the New Covenant, God promised, “ I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:31, Jeremiah 31:33). When the new heart is created, new life comes; and one who is “ born again” comes to know God in a totally different, deeply personal, family relationship. (See also Ezekiel 11:19; Ezekiel 18:31; Ezekiel 36:26). Through such passages as these, which Nicodemus as a recognized Bible authority should have known and understood, the “ new birth” had long been taught. But Nicodemus did not know. And he did not understand. His concept of God was faulty. He knew about the Law, but he missed the promise of grace, which tells us that God loves us in spite of our failures and our sins. Quietly Jesus went on to explain the grace of God and reveal underlying principles by which grace operates. God’ s grace (John 3:16-21). *God loves the world (John 3:16). It’ s easy to see in the Law a dispassionate, impersonal demand for justice and goodness. But God’ s involvement with us is not impersonal. To understand anything about His ways, we must realize that He is consumed with a passionate love for the world. The world may refuse to receive Him (John 1:12), but God continues to love. *God gave His Son (John 3:16). God’ s love found ultimate expression in His gift of His Son, Jesus, who died in order to redeem the world that hated Him (see John 3:14-15). *God gives eternal life (John 3:16). Through the death of His Son, God chose to give eternal life to His enemies. This life is called eternal not only because it will extend into eternity, but also because it is God’ s own life. He gives us His life; we become His children and have a new heredity (see 1 Peter 1:23). *Apart from this life, all are perishing (John 3:18-21). God had to act on mankind’ s behalf; apart from Him there was no hope. There is no use going through life thinking that our good and bad deeds are stacked on the weighing pans of some cosmic balance, and then hoping the good will outweigh the bad and earn salvation. There is no use in struggling to keep the Law in hopes that God might accept our righteousness (or at least our efforts). There is no hope for man in goodness, for we are already condemned: “ All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). To be born again is the only hope for mankind. *Human response to light reveals our lost condition (John 3:19-21). Man’ s response to moral light, in conscience or in God’ s Law, has been to choose darkness. This does not mean that every time we are faced with a moral choice each of us always chooses evil. It simply means that no one chooses the good every time. Often, even when we do the right thing, we do it from wrong motives or still feel an attraction to evil (John 3:19). How, then, will we respond to Jesus, the true Light who has come into the world? And what response is appropriate to this One who reveals God’ s ultimate morality of grace? There is only one appropriate response: to believe. To trust the God who offers us life as a free gift. To fully and thankfully commit ourselves to Jesus Christ. The challenge. Jesus put quite a challenge to this man who had established his identity and his reputation as a religious leader. For all of Nicodemus’ knowledge, Jesus told him, he had never even glimpsed the foundation of grace on which God’ s kingdom is built! How would Nicodemus respond? Would he, like John the Baptist, abandon his preconceived ideas and gladly submit to Jesus, whom he knew was “ a Teacher who has come from God” ? How Nicodemus responded that night we do not know. Instead, we return to the Baptist (John 3:22-26). When Jesus began to teach, John’ s importance and popularity began to wane. John’ s followers became upset. But John told them, “ He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). Jesus, not a human leader, must be given central place. John stood aside and welcomed Jesus to center stage. We do know that Nicodemus continued as a ruling Pharisee, and at one point defended Jesus against hearsay accusations (John 7:50-51). And after Jesus’ crucifixion, Nicodemus bought spices and helped to prepare the body of our Lord for burial (John 19:38-42). LINK TO LIFE: CHILDREN How can we help boys and girls understand being born again? Try a simple three-section pie-shaped chart on which you draw two circles and label them as illustrated. The inner circle tells the story of being born once. It takes two people; your mom and dad. They fall in love and marry. You are born as a baby with physical life. The outer circle tells the story of being born again. It takes two people; you and Jesus. Jesus loves you and died for you, and you trust Him to forgive your sins. You are born again and given spiritual life so you will live forever. Everyone who wants to go to heaven and live forever needs to get together with Jesus, to trust Him and accept forgiveness for all his sins. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Do your group members know that the new birth is taught in the Old Testament? Look up the Jeremiah and Ezekiel verses with them, to show that Nicodemus really should have understood Jesus’ reference to being born again. Then examine John 3:5-8 and John 3:16-21 and as a group make a list of “ statements about the new birth.”

The Samaritan Woman: John 4:1-42No one could have stood in greater contrast to Nicodemus than this woman. She was a Samaritan, a race that the Jews looked down on as having no claim on their God. Apparently the woman was an outcast in her own community as well; she came by herself to draw water from the community well. In biblical lands drawing water and chatting at the well was the social highpoint of a woman’ s day. In this woman’ s own village she was ostracized and marked off as immoral; an unmarried woman living openly with the fifth in a series of men. As Jesus and this Samaritan woman talked, she tried to turn the conversation to theology (John 4:19-26). But Jesus focused on several other issues. Gift (John 4:7-10). Jesus quickly established the fact, as He had with Nicodemus, that God’ s dealings with humanity are on the basis of grace. What we do is not the foundation of our relationship with God. Rather we must depend on what God is willing to do for us. Jesus pointed out that her sins made self-reliance foolish. How striking then to discover that the Son of God was willing to “ give” what she could not earn. Eternal life (John 4:11-15). In both conversations the gift Jesus promised was life; eternal life, welling up and supplying every need by its freshening springs. Belief (John 4:39-42). Again Jesus looked for a specific response of trust, of faith, in Him. In this case that response came both from the woman at the well and from the Samaritan community. At first many believed because the woman rushed back into her village with word that this Man, the Christ, “ Told me everything I ever did.” The villagers came out, heard Jesus, and even more responded because they heard Him for themselves. Differences. In spite of the similarities we’ ve seen in the two confrontations, there are differences in the way Jesus unveiled grace to these two people. To Nicodemus, Jesus stressed the fact that all stand condemned before God. Nicodemus, a religious man, took pride in his keeping of the Law and did not recognize his need for God’ s grace. But the woman at the well knew she was a sinner. Jesus did not mention man’ s lost condition to her; she knew! And she learned that Jesus knew too, and still was ready to offer her life as a gift. To this woman Jesus spoke of worshipers. He told her the good news that the Father seeks persons to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). Why? Because while Nicodemus needed to see himself as a sinner in order to understand grace, the woman who knew she was a sinner needed to see herself as a person of worth and value. God finds us worthy of His concern in spite of our ruin. God values us enough to actively seek us, to welcome us to intimacy, and to rejoice in our worship. Only a person like the Samaritan prostitute, an outcast from her own, could understand what this means. To be wanted, to be cared for when no one, not even herself, could see anything of value in her! This is grace indeed.

Summary In these chapters, we’ ve begun to see Jesus unveiling God, and we’ ve begun to learn how to respond to that revelation of God. John the Baptist and Nathanael were like people to whom faith comes easily. They needed little evidence to believe. They joyfully opened their hearts to learn from Jesus, even when what He showed them was different from what they had thought. Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman were like those of us to whom faith comes hard. It was hard for Nicodemus, because his piety had earned him a reputation in the community. His image of himself as a good man was deeply ingrained. How hard it is for a person who has honestly tried to be good to realize that all those efforts provide no standing with God, that in spite of everything he stands already condemned and in desperate need of a new life, which can come only as a gift. For the Samaritan woman, faith came hard because she knew she was a great sinner. Her sense of worth was worn away. How hard it was for her to realize that God valued her and wanted her to become a worshiper. How hard to believe that He was offering her eternal life as His love gift. Yet this is the twin revelation of Light, the ultimate morality of God, which comes to us in John’ s Gospel. Grace says to each of us, “ You count.” God knows you as you are, and God still cares. He cares enough to send the Son, that you might have eternal life, become His child, and worship Him.

Teaching Guide Prepare Read and mark any verses or phrases that may seem hard to understand. Check them in a good verse-by-verse commentary.

Explore

1. Put on the chalkboard the following quote from this text: “ Shallow faith is a faith that exists only as long as its object fits our expectations.” Ask: “ When have you experienced or observed shallow faith?”
2. Do an analysis of the ideas of John and Nathanael about God, and their willingness to submit to Jesus even when He did not fit their expectations. See “ link-to-life” above for how to use this study to stimulate sharing about notions of God your group members held before their conversions.

Expand

1. Study the “ new birth,” looking into the Old Testament roots of this Christian teaching, and then developing a series of statements about it from John 3:1-36. See “ link-to-life” above.
2. Divide into teams of four or five to work together completing a comparisons/contrast chart on the message of John 3:1-36 and John 4:1-54, and the lessons to be drawn from Jesus’ talks with first Nicodemus and then the Samaritan woman. When each team has finished its studies, come together to compare results.

NicodemusWoman at the Well THE LESSONS Feelings about self

Feelings about God

Idea of God’ s attitude toward him/her

Idea of what God wants from people

THE MESSAGE God’ s goal

God’ s gift

God’ s attitude toward people

Man’ s response to God

What grace is

Apply Have each share in a sentence or two: “ What have you learned about the grace that came by Jesus from this study of John 1-4, and how is this important to you personally?”