Bible Study: The Gospel of John

Grab your Bible and join me in this study of John's Gospel, which I have been leading on Saturday nights, in conjunction with the 2003 film, "The Gospel of John."

The Gospel of John
Session One
Prologue: Establishing the Identity of Jesus Christ

What deliberate connection is John making in 1:1? (Genesis 1:1)

What does it mean to call Jesus “the Word”? (How did God create? (Gen. 1: 3))

Word: Greek logos; root of English words such as “logic” and “-ology” (the study of…)

What event and action does John want us to know Jesus participated in?

Take a look at what the Old Testament says about the connection between the Word and light in Psalm 119: 105, 130;

“John” in verse 6 is not John the author, but John the Baptist, whom we will meet in verse 19. How does verse 7 describe John the Baptist’s task?

What is the tragic irony of the arrival of the true light in the world? (vv.10—11) At the same time, what does John say also happened? (vv. 12—13)

Right: Greek exousia; meaning “freedom” or “authority.”

“Dwelled among us” in the Greek is eskanosen, which means “tabernacled.” Why would John describe Jesus taking on human flesh as “tabernacling”? (Exodus 40: 34—35)

According to verse 15, what did John the Baptist proclaim about Jesus?

Fullness: Greek plaromatos; meaning “plenty of,” “abounding in,” “complete”

What basic interpretive principle is described in verse 17?

Verse 18 sets up a major theme of John’s Gospel. What is it?