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Lesson 1: What We Believe
Opening questions: That belief is the major theme of John’s gospel is beyond doubt. The Greek term pisteuō is found 98 times in the book, translated as “believe” 97 times and once as “entrust” (John 2.24) in the ESV. Furthermore, the importance of believing is stressed throughout: Given the essential nature of believing in Jesus,…
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Lesson 2: The Evidence of John’s Testimony
Opening Questions: John the Baptist was introduced in the prologue, being referred to as a “a man sent from God” who came “to bear witness about the Light” (vss. 6-8). A portion of his testimony was given in vs. 15, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me,…
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Lesson 3: The Evidence of Jesus’ Early Signs
Opening Questions: When we refer to Jesus’ mighty works on the earth, whether healing the sick, calming the stormy sea or raising the dead, we typically call them “miracles”. It’s a good term, one which denotes His power to control all that He created. Yet, when John refers to these mighty works he always calls…
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Lesson 4: What It Means To Believe
Opening Questions: When we think of John 3 our minds often turn to Jesus’ well known words in vs. 16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Sadly, a verse full of so much grace has become…
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Lesson 5: Helping Others Believe
Opening Questions: Spirit & Truth (vss. 1-26) Scrutiny from the Jews (vs. 1, see 3.25) prompted Jesus to leave Judea and return to Galilee. However, rather than taking the circuitous route that most Jews would take, Jesus “had to pass through Samaria” (vs. 4). As we will see, this was the Father’s will because there…
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Lesson 6: The Father’s Testimony
Opening Questions: John 1.10-11 spoke of how the world did not know Jesus, even His own did not received Him. Thus far in our study of John we haven’t seen much rejection of Jesus, aside from the Jews questioning Jesus about His actions in the Temple (see John 2.18-20). This changes with John 5-7. We…
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Lesson 7: Feeding 5000
Opening Questions: Setting of the Miracle (vs. 1-4) It is significant that this is the only one of Jesus’ miracles (aside from the resurrection) recorded in all four gospel accounts (John 6.1-14; Mark 6.30-44; Matt. 14.13-21; Luke 9.10-17). Taken together, the gospel accounts provide a detailed picture of what had been going on in Jesus’…
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Lesson 8: Why Many Do Not Believe (1)
Opening Questions: The Work of God (vss. 25-34) One might assume that the people’s search for Jesus demonstrated a sincere desire to know and follow Him. But Jesus, knowing the hearts of man (2.24), knew that the people had not looked past the “signs” to discover the deeper truths about Himself. They had come to…
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Lesson 9: Why Many Do Not Believe (2)
Opening Questions: Jesus’ Brothers Do Not Believe (vss. 1-13) The Feast of Booths was approximately six months after the Passover (see John 6.4), thus at the start of chapter 7 it was only about six months until Jesus’ crucifixion. During that time Jesus stayed in Galilee, knowing that the Jews were seeking to kill Him…
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Lesson 10: The Light Of The World (John 8.1-30)
Opening Questions: Jesus Came To Save, Not Condemn (vss. 1-11) Because vss. 1-11 are not found in many of the ancient manuscripts, several translations do not include them or place them in brackets. While there is some uncertainty on whether they should be included or not, we will treat them as canonical. As we will…
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Lesson 11: The Truth Shall Set You Free (John 8.31-59)
Opening Questions: The Truth Will Set You Free (vss. 31-38) Jesus’s words in vss. 31-32 need to be understood in context. Vs. 30 stated that “many believed in him”, but by the time we get to vs. 38 Jesus was already stating that these “believers” had a different father than He. So, vs. 31 was…
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Lesson 12: The Seeing & The Blind
Opening Questions: Several times in chapter 8 Jesus promised freedom to those who would truly believe in Him: Chapter 9 provides a narrative demonstrating the promises He made in chapter 8. Those who believe in Him would find freedom, while those who refused would remain in darkness and death. Truly He would say, “As long…
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Lesson 13: The Good Shepherd
Opening Questions: The Good Shepherd (vss. 1-21) Psalm 23 is one of the best known and loved passages in the entire Bible. The depiction of God as a loving and caring shepherd has comforted His people throughout the generations. And while God was the true shepherd of His people, the leaders of Israel also bore…
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Lesson 14: The Resurrection & The Life
Opening Questions: One of the opening claims about Jesus was “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men” (John 1.4). Throughout the gospel, Jesus amplified this claim in a variety of ways: He has/is the water of life (4.14; 7.37-38); He is the bread of life (6.48-51); He gives life abundantly…
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Lesson 15: Blind Eyes & Hard Hearts
Opening Questions: The raising of Lazarus from the dead was a truly notable sign, but as we noticed this great work did not result in all people putting their faith in Jesus. The leaders of the Jews continued in their opposition (John 11.47-53) and while many of the people were looking for Jesus (John 11.55-56),…
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Lesson 16: Jesus Prepares His Disciples For His Departure
Opening Questions: All four gospel accounts record Jesus’ celebrating the Passover with His closest disciples. However, while the synoptic accounts focus on Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper (see Matthew 26.17-30; Mark 14.12-26; Luke 22.7-39), John’s focus is on the various ways the Lord sought to prepare the disciples for His departure: “Little children, yet a…
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Lesson 17: Comfort For Disciples
Opening Questions: As Jesus’ hour approached, John recorded on two occasions that the Lord’s spirit was troubled. The first was after Greeks requested to see Jesus, the signal that “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12.20-23). But His glorification would come via means of the cross, thus Jesus…
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Lesson 18: Overcoming The World
Opening questions: As Jesus continued His discourse with the apostles, the tone shifted slightly. Whereas the first part of the discourse focused on how the disciples would abide with both Jesus and the Father, the second part focused on how they would be received by the world. “If the world hates you, know that it…
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Lesson 19: The Lord’s Prayer
Opening Questions: The gospels attest that Jesus was a man of prayer (see Luke 3.21; 5.16; 6.12; 9.18,28; 11.1; 22.42; 23.34,46). However, we rarely see the contents of His prayers (Matthew 6.9f is an example of how to pray), and when we do see the contents of Jesus’ prayers they are very short (see John…
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Lesson 20: The Hour Arrives
Opening questions: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13.1). Our last few lessons have focused on Jesus’ final discourse with His…
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Lesson 21: It Is Finished
Opening questions: Shortly after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus asked the Father to “glorify your name.” The Father immediately responded, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again” (John 12.28). Later, as Jesus was beginning His prayer for His current and future disciples, He proclaimed “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished…
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Lesson 22: That You May Believe
Opening Questions: As Jesus was revealing to His disciples that He would be leaving them and returning to the Father, He told them, “I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe” (John 14.29). The events of the crucifixion and resurrection would provide not only the…
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Lesson 23: “You Follow Me!”
Opening questions: Shortly before His arrest, Jesus made this statement to His apostles: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15.5). Just a few hours after Jesus uttered those words…