Gospel of John: Woman at the Well

Woman at the Well

text: John chapter 4

Outline:

A. 4:1-6, Geography remark on the reasons to go through Samaria to Galilee

  B. 4:7-26, Conversation with Samaritan woman at the well about Christ

    C. 4:27-38, Food discussion with the disciples

  B'. 4:39-45, Samaritans believe “for themselves”

A'. 4:46-54, Jesus comes to Galilee, healing of a boy.

Comments: This is one of the most complicated chapters in the Gospel of John. There are few pairs of tensions: Jews vs. Samaritans; man vs woman; wells vs mountains; faith of Samaritans vs Ministry in Cana. Let us walk through the chapter to see the beauty of the Gospel.

Woman at the well. There is a symbolic level of this story. We have at least three stories in the Books of Genesis and Exodus when a man meets with a bride at a well. Abraham sent a servant to find a wife for Isaac, and he meets Rebekah by the well (Genesis 24:11-15). Jacob meets Rachel by the well (Genesis 29:9-10). Moses meets his wife by the well (Exodus 2:17-17).

Add to this – Jesus became the seventh man in the life of the woman. She was married five times, now there is another (sixth) man, then comes Jesus – the man of Sabbath. He gives her rest. To understand it we should note that she comes to fetch the water at noon – she preferred the heat of the sun vs. heat of the remarks of the local women. But at the end of the story she runs to the city and – what is very important – people believe her and take words respectfully.

Wells turned into mountains. What began at the well under the blazing sun turned into a conversation about the mountains. From one of the lowest places they shift the attention of their dialog to the highest. And Jesus leads her to the ultimate understanding – the point is not for US to climb a mountain, the point is to meet with the Father, who is actively seeking the worshipers in the Spirit and the truth through Jesus the Messiah (John 4:23-26, cp. John 14:6).

Evangelism “questions” of Jesus. To bring her to this realization Jesus leads the woman through the maze of question. He starts with a simple proposition – asking for the water. John explains it in the most obvious way – disciples are gone and He wanted her to help Him. She could've simple give Him a drink – and that would be the end of the story. Yet, she is a smart and a curious woman. She engages in a conversation. Every request, question, or statement Jesus makes has an open-ended character. She could stop Him at any given point – being upset, or offended, or... fill the blank... But she doesn't end until Jesus reveals Himself as the Messiah. This news frees her to rush to her hometown, sharing this Good News or the Gospel (John 4:29-30).

After two days the people of Samaria, Jesus leaves (on the third day). Two things worthy to be noted here: first, their personal encounter of Jesus (John 4:42); second, the faith of Samaritans vs the rejection of the Pharisees (cp. John 4:1).

Food as doing God's will. While she is gone and the people of Samaria didn't come yet, the disciples got an important lesson, a lesson on the food from God. When we think about the food – it is something that we eat. We eat to get “fuel,” for pleasure, for the joy of fellowship. All of this three aspects of food are given in Jesus' statement about doing the will of the Father (John 4:34). Then the Father prescribes the actions to do – they feed us, as the sacrament of the Altar.

Son of Capernaum official is healed at Cana. The distance between Cana and Capernaum is about 20 miles – a day of travel. The official came to Cana to meet Jesus, as the healer. There is a short conversation between them, where Jesus tries to point him toward faith, believing in the Son of God (John 4:48). But it doesn't look like the man is interested in Jesus as the savior – he simply wants his son to be healed. And what is interesting, is Jesus grants him his request. Son will be healed, but nothing else.

This shows Jesus as a compassionate Savior of the world – He responds to people's requests (not always grants all of them), but He never forces people to relate to Him. He man was looking for son's wellness, and nothing else. Jesus grants his request, which leads to man's realization that Jesus didn't requires anything in return, healing his son immediately by His mighty Word. This resulted in faith of the man and his [whole] household (John 4:53).

This sign-faith connection is going to be expanded when Jesus will address Thomas – blessed are those who didn't see but believed (John 20:29), speaking about us. We believe because of the Word reviled in the Bible and the Sacraments (AC V:2). This faith gives us the reason to ask and pray to the LORD for the health, help, and support of our loved ones and ourselves.

Gospel of John: Night meeting with Nicodemus

 Night meeting with Nicodemus

Text: chapter 3

Outline: First of all, it is a good time to state that chapter three is a part of a larger unit – chapters 2 to 4 – seven parts, again.

A. 2:1-12, Jesus at Cana of Galilee

  B. 2:13-25, Jesus at Jerusalem

    C. 3:1-21, Nicodemus (man, night meeting)

      D. 3:22-36, St. John glorifies Jesus

    C'. 4:1-42, Woman of Samaria

  B'. 4:43-45, Jesus goes to Jerusalem

A'. 4:46-54, Jesus comes to Cana in Galilee

Chapter three itself can be outlined as following:

A. 3:1-2, Nicodemus: You are the teacher from God

  B. 3:3-8, Born of the Water and the Spirit

    C. 3:9-15, Bearing witness on whoever believes has eternal life

    C'. 3:16-21, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.

  B'. 3:22-24, The disciples of Jesus and St. John baptize people (in different places).

A'. 3:25-30, John the Baptizer: He must increase, and I must decrease.

D – Conclusion, 3:31-36, repetition of the main themes: born from above, witness, Father loves the Son, eternal life.

Comments: Meeting of Jesus and Nicodemus gives a foundation for many dogmatic decision made by the Church – understanding of the Holy Baptism, the ministry of the Spirit and the Son. There are also a few misunderstandings – why night, etc. I'll try to address the main ones.

Let's start with the time of the meeting. There are propositions that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night because he was afraid. He was afraid for his position as a ruler of the Jews (John 3:1) or he was afraid for his life, like disciples after the crucifixion of Jesus (cp. John 20:19). I don't agree with this interpretation. The reason being – John has no problem to say that disciples were afraid, the parents of the blind man feared the Jews (John 9:22) etc. But he doesn't say anything like this about Nicodemus. So, why did he come by night? I think he came by night because he and Jesus were busy doing the ministry – in their own respected areas. The only possible time for them to meet was when every one else went to sleep.

The language of Jesus. The phrase “born from above” vs “born again” is a reason for misunderstanding. The Greek word “anothen” has two meanings – again and from above. Nicodemus obviously understands it as being born again – literally, from his mother – can a man second time come to his mother's womb? (John 3:4). Then Jesus explained to him the true meaning of the beginning of the spiritual life – being born from the water and the Spirit (John 3:5). This one of the foundational text for baptismal theology in the Book of Concord (AC II:2).

Wilderness imagery. Unlike other Gospels the Gospel of John does not have a wilderness story. At the same time there no lack of wilderness imagery – here is one of the examples. Jesus reminds Nicodemus of the Bronze serpent that Moses used to heal the wounds of the people of Israel (Numbers 21:4-9). Building on this example, Jesus foretells that He – the Son of Man – will be lifted up (John 3:14). What is He talking about? Crucifixion or Ascension? The way to solve it is to allow the Scriptures interpret the Scriptures – later, Jesus again will talk about Him being “lifted up” (John 12:32). There John will clearly point out that it was a reference to His death (John 12:33). That's why we use crucifixes in the Church – the Crucified Savior draws people to Himself.

The golden verse. Who doesn't know John 3:16? The extend of God's love in Jesus has no boundaries. Love for the [whole] world led Father to send His only begotten Son to be the source of eternal life. Yet, there are churches who misunderstand even this verse. The Presbyterian and Reformed churches believe that the World means a collection of the elect – only those who would receive Jesus by faith, for them and only for them Jesus died on the cross. We reject this notion – the world did not accepted Jesus (cp. 1:10). He died to bridge the gap between the rebellious world and the Creator (2 Corinthians 5:19). Some people would accept and have a life of faith, and some people would keep on fighting to the end (no pun intended...).

Ministry of John. The second title for John the Baptizer is John the Forerunner. He began the ministry prior to Jesus – to prepare the way (cp. Like 3:1-6). Also, his martyrdom would point to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. In between he would minister to people, but his ministry was unique in a sense that he would always point to Jesus. It can be summarized in the phrase from this chapter - “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Given vs reception. We already touched a little bit on the topic of election. There is another extreme – teaching of free will of reception. One of the most obvious implication of that is “we don't teach our children, they need to receive Jesus on their own.” But St. John the Baptizer explained it very plain – a person can not receive even one thing unless it is given to him from heaven (John 3:27). We teach our children, because it is given to them – since they are born in the family of the believers. The world without the knowledge of Christ is under the wrath of God (John 3:36). We don't want our children to be under the wrath, but to believe and to be obedient to the Son.                            

Gospel of Mark: Jesus foretells His death and resurrection

Jesus foretells His death and resurrection

Text: 8:22 – 10:52

Outline:

A. 8:22-26, Jesus heals a blind man @ Bethsaida

 B. 8:27-30, Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ

  C. 8:31 – 9: 13, 1^st Foretelling of Jesus' death and resurrection + Transfiguration

   D. 9:14-29, Father with demon possessed son

    E. 9:30-50, 2^nd Foretelling of Jesus' death and resurrection + Who is greater?

   D'. 10:1-31, Family issues: divorce, little children, and rich YOUNG man

  C'. 10:32-34, 3^rd Foretelling of Jesus' death and resurrection

 B'. 10:35-45, James and John ask for positions at the throne of resurrected Christ

A'. 10:46-52, Healing of blind man – Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) @ Jericho

Comments: Since we have this long passage, I will divide it into three blocks. First we are going to talk about healing of the blind men. Then I will show the progression of Jesus' foretelling of His fate and the response He got from His disciples. Third, we will address some family issues. Transfiguration we will save for the next time – it is too important...

Sermon: Best Wine Ever

Best Wine Ever

 

Text: John 2:1-11, 

Date: January 19, 2025

I. Intro

Do you like wine?

Do you go to wine tastings?

Are you a member of a winery?

What is your best wine ever?

 

II. Wedding at Cana

 

Important “events”	Important symbols
Mother of Jesus was invited, and Jesus also… Mary talks to Jesus MC is clueless Bridegroom is clueless too	3 days – Sabbath 6 stone water jars Water – beginning Wine – conclusion

 

III. Take away

He uses       Elements of creation

                    Time

Our gifts

To create Best Wine Ever 

Advent Readings: Luke 22

Luke 22

This is a famous chapter for the institution of the Lord’s Supper. Jesus sits with His disciples; He knows it is the last night they can spend together before His “hour.” Most likely, they prepared a Passover seder and within the ceremony He takes the bread and redirects the attention from the past into the future. Exodus is still important for Him, apostles, and all believers, but Jesus builds up on the past and commands them to do it in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19).

The volumes and countless papers were written on the Holy Communion: the Words of Institution, the historical setting, Passover roots etc. What I want to point out is the fact that taking part in the Last Supper did not magically preserve the disciples from the fall. First, they begin to argue who is the greatest (Luke 22:24-27). Just think about it – Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave to them, everyone of them (Judas included, cp. John 13:12-30). Yet, devil trod the path into their hearts… I don’t know, did they compare the pieces or what… Somehow, they did not accept Godly equality, they wanted to build the structural pyramid.

It gets even better – Jesus warns Peter, whom He calls Simon, like in the very beginning of their relationships. And one would hope that Simon would be cautious and thankful. No way: “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33). And we know how it ends for him (Luke 22:54-62).

That’s why we do not believe in magic of Holy Communion – we confess the mystery of His presence in our life in, with, and under the Bread and the Wine. It’s not our acceptance makes it great, His forgiving presence leads to transformation. Being forgiven and restored after the Resurrection (John 21:15-19), St. Peter did endure both the prison and the death. Focusing on Jesus, and not on himself, the apostle was able to make great miracles, preach great sermons, and turn many to the Lord. 

Advent Readings: Luke 9. Transfiguration

Luke 9

The center of the chapter tells us a story of Transfiguration. Jesus goes to the top of the mountain taking along three of His disciples: Peter, James, and John. They see Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah about His exodus [ESV – departure] (Lk. 9:31). This is a unique feature of the Gospel of Luke, none of the Gospel writer pointed out this fact. There is an interesting thing – Moses is a leader of Exodus; Elijah had his own exodus experience (1 Kg. 19). Moses and Elijah had something to share with Jesus, Who was about to embark on His Exodus path toward Jerusalem.

Yet, the main point of the story of Transfiguration is an attack on the Sovereignty of the LORD. Peter’ suggestion, however good intentions guided him, presupposes that the glory of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus – the incarnate Word of God – is equal. Heavenly Father immediately intervenes, saying “This is my [beloved] Son, my Chosen One; listen to Him!” (Lk. 9:35). To visualize this intervention, the disciples saw no one when the voice from heaven had spoken.

Jesus only, Jesus of the cradle, Jesus of Transfiguration, Jesus of the Cross and Tomb, and Jesus of Resurrection and Ascension. 

Advent Readings: Luke 5

Luke 5

Well-structured chapter. Think about it. First Jesus calls Peter, James, and John as his first disciples. The story is structures by the usage of the word “boat(s)” – total usage 6 times! Fulness of manly impact on the world, as man was created on the sixth day.

Then Jesus heals two people – a leper (5:12-16) and a paralytic (5:17-26). Both of them re-gained access to the Temple. The first one was forbidden access for purity/cleanness reasons, while the paralytic simply couldn’t come on his own.

The third block is call of Levi – a tax collector. It is a unique call by itself – the Messiah invites as a disciple a person who collected money for the occupational forces of Rome. So scandalous! Especially taking into account the fact that he was from the tribe of Levi. He should’ve served as a local pastor of a synagogue, but the challenges of life made a correction of his path of life.

Then comes the conclusion – a parable about the Old and the New. Usually, the parable is interpreted as a strife for new things. Yet, the careful reading suggests that Jesus argues for the proper use of both. It is something new for Biblical history to call the fisherman (prior to Jesus, God more than often called shepherds: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David etc.), while calling a Levi “back” to ministry is an example of Old/good patterns (cp. Lk. 5:39). Change for a sake of change is not what Jesus is rooting for. What He introduced is an invitation of a new type of people as disciples, while maintaining the old flock close to Him. 

VISIT with NICODEMUS - John 3

VISIT with NICODEMUS – John 3

I was getting ready for the Trinity Sunday sermon (2024). Interesting choice of the Gospel reading – John 3:1-17. For starters, the passage should have been extended to v. 21 of chapter 3. But this is not my main point for this post. As prep I consulted William C. Weinrich, John 1:1 – 7:1(Concordia Commentary, CPH: 2015). On page 382… Let me pause here: just think about it, almost 900 pages for the first 6 chapters (!), and, obviously, by the middle – 380s – he approaches chapter 3…  

Revelation

 The Revelation of John

Title: The title of the book has its own interesting story. Most of the older books has something like The Revelation of St. John the Theologian. The last years there is a tendency to abrogate and adjust the title into either The Revelation TO John or simply Revelation. In reality, it is the revelation of Jesus Christ (1:1) for transmission to His servants. The first level of transmission was completed by the angelic intervention to St. John.        

Date of writing: As of right now there are three main theories on the date of writing: around 300 AD, 96-98AD, and 64-65AD [or 68AD]. The first one is based on the idea that it was not an apostolic writing but was written based on the celestial events being presented symbolically to the Roman Imperial Community. The second view was held by many godly people – Martin Franzmann being one of them and the editorial board of TLSB (p. 2195 – 95AD). It is based on the notion that John should be old (cp. 2 and 3 John) and the life of the Church was mostly disturbed by Romans. The last [the correct one :)] is based on the understanding that the great tribulation is not a persecution of Roman on Christian, but a persecution Christian Jews endured by non-Messianic Jewish community during The Jewish War (66 – 70AD).   

Structure: (for a possible structure see the insert on Leviticus).

a. ch. 1, Introduction in the Revelation

 b. ch. 2 – 3, 7 Churches 

  c. ch. 4 – 5, Ascension of Jesus

   d. ch. 6 – 8:5, 7 Seals

   d’. ch. 8:6 – 12, 7 Trumpets

  c’. ch. 13 – 15, Ascension of the Church

 b’. ch. 16 – 17, 7 Bowls

a’. ch. 18 – 22, Conclusion of the ministry

Main themes: Most often Revelation is taken as a scary and depressing book full of tragic or traumatic description. For sure, there are pages and pages of martyrdom stories. At the same time, Revelation is the book of hope and comfort. As usual, one needs to read it to the End. The Church – represented by the seven churches – is enduring the troublesome time of great tribulation. To a point everything looks bad, devastating, and even ruined. Yet, at the very end the wave of repentances begins (ch. 18) which leads to the everlasting marriage feast of the Lamb.      

Main Characters: Jesus, John, representatives of the 7 churches, 24 elders, 4 living creatures, beast of the sea, beast of land etc.

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: To fully comprehend the content of Revelation the listener/reader need to have a deep understanding of the previous 65 books of the Bible. Apart from seeing Jesus as the King of kings and the LORD of lords, one needs to see the mese of creation (1:17 – Gen. 2:21); sacrificial system with its ministers, calendar, and sacred spaces; role of angels; symbolism of land and sea etc.    

Lutheran teaching: The Book of Concord uses 12:9 – Satan, ancient serpent – as a description of rebellion against the ministry of the Word of God [SA III, VIII:5; LC III:65; 111].

The usage of Sunday as the Day of the Lord – worship day – is based on Rev. 1:10 [AC XXVIII:60].

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 676 – Behold a Host, Arrayed in White.

LSB 395 – O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright

Relevancy of the Book: Reading the Book of Revelation has many benefits for a believer. First, we always need to remember that the Judgement will begin from the Church – Jesus addresses 7 churches and only after that His judgement goes into the world. Second, this judgement/evaluation process is eminent. Regardless of our level of symbolic readings into the meaning of the Book, He is coming, He is coming for sure. Third, however troublesome, scary, and dangerous the great tribulation looks like, the faithful ones will be delivered. Sometimes they will be delivered from troubles, sometimes God will stay with the believers through persecutions and will greet us at the entrance to the Marriage Feast of the Lamb.   

Memory verses: 1:17b-18: When I saw him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying, “fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forever more, and I have the keys of Death and Hades”. 

3 John

3^rd Letter of St. John   

Title:  This time [unlike the unidentified 1 John] St. John identifies himself as “the elder” (cp. 2 John). Looks like he sent a general “sermonic” epistle to establish the theological frame of refence, then he sent to letters: this one, to one of the members of the congregation, and another one (2 John) addressed to the church. 

Date of writing: If these two epistles (2 and 3 John) are written at the same time, then we can assume that later date of writing (still prior to 70 AD). The reasoning is based on the usage of names: Gaius and Demetrius (3 John 1, 12). Gaius was a prominent member of the congregation in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:14; cp. Rom. 16:23). Demetrius was a silversmith in Ephesus who rioted against St. Paul (Acts 19:23-27, Gaius was present at the riots together with Sp. Paul, Acts 19:29).   

Structure:

a. 1, Greetings

 b. 2-4, testimony of truth

  c. 5-8, receiving and sending out brothers

   d. 9, I wrote to the church, resistance of Diotrephes

  c’. 10, I’ll bring up his rejection of brothers  

 b’. 11-12, Good testimony of Demetrius

a’. 13-15, Final greetings

 

Main themes: Testimony. Sending. Beloved.

Testimony. It is a two-folded theme. First the testimony should be true. At times it is expressed directly in the letter connecting both parts together (v. 3). But the very next verse brings up a similar idea using other words – great joy to hear [testimony] that my children walk in the truth. The second part is that the testimony is done by other people. Similar to 2 John and the final greetings of this epistle the idea of face to face comes to mind. There is someone who you know or do not know is ready to testify for you…       

Sending out brothers. It is very important to notice that from the very beginning the Church had a component of outward orientation. As it should be – there is brotherly love among the members (see more on beloved), at the same time this love should “spill out” (cp. Ps. 23:5c) into the relationship with the outsiders. It is not either or, it is BOTH.      

Beloved. John calls Gaius beloved at least three times (v. 2,5, 11). Again, we can see a cross-shaped meaning of the word. He is loved by God and by John.   

Main Characters: three groups:

a. John/the elder and Brothers (who testified about Gaius)

b. Gaius, friends (should be greeted each by name), brothers/strangers, Demetrious

c. Diotrephes 

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: Putting together the description of the Garden (Gen. 1 and 2) and typology of the righteous man as a fruitful tree, we can see that John (the elder) presents himself as the tree of Life, Gaius and many others in the letter are fruit trees, while Diotrephes is the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This is a great example of God using “difficult” people in our lives to help us grow in godliness.  

Lutheran teaching: BoC does not have references to 3 John. Though, it has the valuable implications in theology of the church and mission work. 

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 835 – On Galilee’s High Mountain

LSB 760 – What God ordains is Always Good

Relevancy of the Book: The letter shows John as a very persistent teacher, shepherd, and brother. He wants to make sure that leaders of (and everyone in) the Church know the truth. At the same time, he cares for the emotional and spiritual being of his “children”; his reoccurring phrase “beloved” attests to a caring pastoral heart. His brotherly qualities are displayed through the desire of maintain peace in the family of God. It is a great example of the current social and political environment the Church finds herself in. Same qualities are still valuable for the advancement of the Gospel from heart to heart.        

Memory verses:  

11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever imitate good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 

2 John

 2^nd Letter of St. John   

Title:  This time [unlike the unidentified 1 John] St. John identifies himself as “the elder” (cp. 3 John). Looks like he sent a general “sermonic” epistle to establish the theological frame of refence, then he sent to letters: this one, addressed to the church, and another one (3 John) to one of the members of the congregation. 

Date of writing: If these two epistles (2 and 3 John) are written at the same time, then we can assume that later date of writing (still prior to 70 AD). The reasoning is based on the usage of names: Gaius and Demetrius (3 John 1, 9, 12).

Structure:

a. 1-3, Greetings

 b. 4-6, walking in the truth

  c. 7-8, deceivers/watch yourselves

 b’. 9-11, abide in the teaching

a’. 12-13, Final greetings

Main themes:

Truth – used 5 times in the letter. Twice he connects love and truth (v. 1 and 3). Also, he personifies the truth [v. 2] which “will be with us forever” making an allusion to John 14:6.

The deception – the rejection of Jesus Christ in the flesh (beginning of gnostic theology). This rejection had both historical and eschatological application.  

The Elect Lady has children (Cyprian, d. 258: No one can have God for his Father, who does not have the Church for his mother).

Priority of a meeting-in-person over a correspondence or a “meeting on-line”.

This small letter also testifies to the concept of a house as a micro-church – the need to notice who comes in and who does a Christian should “greet”.

Main Characters:

The elder, elect lady (or Donna), her children, and the children of her elect sister. That needs an identification: if the epistle is addressed to the congregation in Corinth (community of Jewish and Gentile’s believers in a pagan environment), then the elect sister can/should be the messianic congregation in Jerusalem.     

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: The concept of “from the beginning” is a hallmark of St. John’s appropriation of Genesis and Creation theology.

It is very important notice the close relationship between 2 John and Song of Songs. In both cases we have a female figure as a representation of the Church.

The idea of meeting face-to-face corelated with Pauline concept one-another (cp. Col. 3:16 etc.).  

Lutheran teaching: The Book of Concord quotes 2 John only once – during the discussion of the Power of Jurisdiction of Bishops (Tr. 60-62). The fact that St. John identifies as the Elder, shows that St. Peter did not have a superiority of ruling over the Church – both St. John and St. Peter are called the elders in their respective epistles. Also St. Paul charges Titus to set the Elders in every town of Crete (Tit. 1:5-6).   

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 571 – For All the Saint in Warfare (v. 8 – St. John, Apostle and Evangelist).

LSB 878 – Abide with Me.

Relevancy of the Book:

There are (at least) three points which make the 2nd letter of John carry a relevant message for today. First, it is very important for a believer to understand himself/herself as a part of the Church: both Universal church and a local congregation (see the quote for Cyprian above). Second, the basis for the unity within the church is the acceptance of the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and the ministry of the incarnate Son Jesus Christ for redemption of the world. Third, this unity of believes (communion of saint) is not a couple of hours a week entertainment, it is reflected in our daily (24/7) walk with God. The way we deal both with follow believers and non-churched people should be an example for all around us to give thanks to the Father for His love given in Jesus Christ.               

Memory verses:

4: I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.  

 

1 John

The First Letter of John  

Title: St. John (unlike St. Paul, St. James, or St. Peter) does not name himself (cp. 2  & 3 John, where he uses “elder” as an authorship title). The author identification come from three “source”: (1) language similarities to the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation; (2) themes of the letter are similar (if not identical) to the Gospel of John; (3) testimony of the Church.          

Date of writing: The honest answer is we don’t know. TLSB follows the older tradition putting AD 85 – 95. I agree with those who believe that the NT was completed before the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD. IMHO – it was written rather early for the Jerusalem messianic (Christian) community right after the Pentecost (cp. 2:20) and before the initial trials fell upon the Church.            

Structure: (by William Ramey )

A. 1:1-4, Manifestation of Messianic Age Life

 B. 1:5 – 2:2, Three Witnesses to a Believer’s Life

  C. 2:3-11 Believer’s Love for One Another

   D. 2:12-17, Believer’s Victory over the World

    E. 2:18-27, AntiChrist

     F. 2:28-29, Believer’s Confidence before the Son

      G. 3:1-3, Believer’s true Nature Revealed in the Future

       H. 3:4-10, The Source of Righteousness and Sin

      G’. 3:11-18, Believer’s true Nature revealed in the Present

     F’. 3:19-24, Believer’s Confidence before the Father

    E’. 4:1-3, The False Prophets

   D’. 4:4-6, Believer’s Victory over the World

  C’.4:7 – 5:5, Believer’s Love for One Another

 B’. 5:6-12, Three Witnesses to Jesus’ Life

A’. 5:13-21, Acquisition of Messianic Age Life

Main themes:

True testimony about the Word of Life.

Confidence in the love of God.

Love as the basis for relationship with One Another.

Spiritual discernment – recognition of the antichrist and false prophets.

Main Characters: I or We,

Then, “You”:

  Little children (used 8 or 9 times). 

  Beloved

Also “them”:

  Of the World, led by the spirit of error.

  Children of the devil.

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: It is very interesting that St. John does not come up with a quote from the OT. The single reference to the previous stories is naming of Cain (3:12). At the same time his letter is full of allusion to the writings of both Old and New Testament (to name a few):

  The beginning

  Being “children of God”

  Commandments          

Lutheran teaching: Just one example: 1 John 1:7 is a very important verse for the discussions that preoccupy the Formula of Concord: the relationship of a person in respect to the original sin (FC SD I:45); how faith relies on God (FC SD III:57); discussing the person of Christ (FC SD VIII:59); the universal promise of the Gospel (FC SD XI:28).    

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 573 – Lord, ‘Tis Not that I did Choose Thee (1 John 4:10, 19)

LSB 948 – All Glory be to God Alone (1 John 2:2)

Relevancy of the Book: Sometimes with the flow of time we tend to believe that the world has changed (for better or worse). We can observe the technological advancement of our society and the changes in the types of government. On the other hand, the rule of Love which strives to obey God holds the same authority. We still need to recognize the false prophets and resist “the children of devil” walking in light. Also, the foundation for our forgiveness – the propitiation by the blood of Jesus – never can be replaced. We confess our sins and we are forgiven for the sake of His sacrifice.        

Memory verses: 1:8-9 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

John

 Gospel of John   

Title: Gospel of John. John is disciple of Jesus (1:6-8; 21:20, 24-25). He is raised in Priestly tradition (John 18:15; 20:4-5).   

Date of writing: Before 70 AD. 

Structure: The Gospel of John can be structured around the three Passovers:

Introduction and gathering of the disciples: 1:1 – 2:12

  The first Passover: 2:13-25

Narrative of Nicodemus and Samaritan Woman: ch. 3 – 4

  The second Passover and the Bread of Life: ch. 5 – 6

Narrative that leads to rejection: ch. 7 – 11  

  The third Passover: ch. 12 – 20

Conclusion and commissioning of the disciples: ch. 21

Alternative structure is adopted (and “improved”) from James B. Jordan “Through New Eyes”, p. 267-68. John 1:14 establishes the connection between the story of Jesus and the Tabernacle:

Gospel of John	Tabernacle
Lamb of God – 1:29, 36	Altar
Stories with Water, Ch. 2 – 5                      2: 13:1-20	Laver of cleansing
Bread of Life, Ch. 6 – 7                                 2: 13:21-30	Table of Showbread
Light of the world, Ch. 8 – 10                      2: 14 – 16	Lampstand
Prayers of Jesus, Ch. 11 – 12                       2: 17	Altar of Incense
Darkness and tomb, Ch. 18 – 20	Holy of Holies
Going outside the court, Ch. 21	Beyond the Tabernacle

 

Main themes:

Believing that Jesus is the Christ – 20:30-31, cp. Mt. 23:34-36.

Jesus is the embodiment of the sacred presence of the Temple, cp. Structure

Jesus as the Word/New Torah, the New Way of Life, Deut. 30:15-16 vs. Jh. 14:6

Main Characters: Jesus, John the Baptizer, Andrew and Peter, Philip and Nathanael, the Disciple whom Jesus loved, Nicodemus, Samaritan Woman, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, the High Priests, Pilate, Mary Magdalene.   

Reflection in other parts of the Bible:

12:27-28 is a background for the Gethsemane account (Mt. 26:36-56; Mk. 14:32-50; Lk. 22:39-54a, cp. Jn 18:1-12 [no Prayer about the Cup]).

Exodus 25 – 31 is important to understand the structure of the Gospel.

Lev. 23 provides the calendar which help to understand what feasts Jesus goes to. 

Jesus as the Temple in John helps understand the symbolism of 1 Cor. 3:10-17. 

Lutheran teaching:

Lutheran Confession draw heavily on 1:14; 3:35 etc. What interesting is that ch. 6 is one of the main scriptural foundations in discussion of election – FC, SD XI: 28, 67, 68, 76.

Also 15:5 (I am the vine…) is used at least 11 times, from AC XX:31, 39 to FC, Epitome II:6.   

Lutheran hymnody:

20:30-31 is a basis for the liturgical canticle preceding the reading of the Holy Gospel.

LSB 849 – many points of the Gospel are picked up in the hymn – turning blindness into sight (9:1-12), well of living water (4:1-26; 7:37-39), the Word incarnate (1:14), the One who makes us one (17:20-23). 

LSB 855:10 – the Woman at the Well.  

Relevancy of the Book:

This beautiful Gospel tells us that the great I AM (used independently 7 times throughout the narrative) is powerful to forgive, accept, and commission His followers into the world, yet sparing them from mingling with the world. The sacred union of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the ultimate union His disciples are invited to join by the new birth through the waters of baptism.    

Memory verses:  

5:24 – Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life. 

The Gospel of John - an Overview

 

The Gospel of John—An Overview

 

Author: Apostle John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20, 24).

Date: More recently, 50’s to A.D. 70 at latest.

“Who is Jesus?”

Ø Word of God (1:14)

Ø Lamb of God (1:29, 36)

Ø Messiah (1:41)

Ø Son of God (1:49)

Ø King of Israel (1:49)

Ø Savior of the World (4:42)

Ø My Lord and My God (20:28)

Ø [No one asked—they knew it was "the Lord" (21:12)]

 

Seven “Signs” of Jesus …

Ø 1. Water into Wine (2:1-11)

Ø 2. Cure of Nobleman’s Son (4:46-54)

Ø 3. Cure of Paralytic (5:1-18)

Ø 4. Feeding of Multitude (6:6-13)

Ø 5. Walking on Water (6:16-21)

Ø 6. Sight to Blind (9:1-7)

Ø 7. Raising of Lazarus (11:1-45)

    

    Seven “I AM” Predicate Statements

Ø 1. I AM the Bread of Life (6:35, 41, 48)

Ø 2. I AM the Light of the World (8:12)

Ø 3. I AM the Door of the Sheep (10:7, 9)

Ø 4. I AM the Good Shepherd (10:11, 14)

Ø 5. I AM the Resurrection and the Life (11:25)

Ø 6. I AM the Way, and the Truth, and the Life (14:6)

Ø 7. I AM the True Vine (15:1)

 

The Ministry of Jesus is controlled by “the hour” – the decisive moment when God’s purpose will be accomplished …

Ø 2:4

Ø 4:21

Ø 4:23

Ø 5:25

Ø 5:28

Ø 7:30

Ø 8:20

Ø 12:23

Ø 12:27

Ø 13:1

Ø 17:1

“It is finished!” – 19:30

 

Purpose of the Book:  20:30-31

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.