Buzzard / Ortlund John

A 12-Week Study
1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4335-3455-3
Verlag: Crossway
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 96 Seiten

Reihe: Knowing the Bible

The Knowing the Bible series is a new resource designed to help Bible readers better understand and apply God's Word. Each 12-week study leads participants through one book of the Bible and is made up of four basic components: (1) Reflection questions designed to help readers engage the text at a deeper level; (2) 'Gospel Glimpses' highlighting the gospel of grace throughout the book; (3) 'Whole-Bible Connections' showing how any given passage connects to the Bible's overarching story of redemption culminating in Christ; and (4) 'Theological Soundings' identifying how historic orthodox doctrines are taught or reinforced throughout Scripture. With contributions from a wide array of influential pastors and church leaders, these gospel-centered studies will help Christians see and cherish the message of God's grace on each and every page of the Bible. In this study of John's Gospel, pastor and author Justin Buzzard helps readers understand the most theologically and philosophically profound account of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection in the New Testament. From revealing his cosmic identity as being with the Father 'in the beginning,' to recounting the many miraculous signs attesting to his divinity, Buzzard illuminates John's unmatched portrait of Jesus Christ, the unique Son of God, sent from heaven to save all who would turn to him. This insightful guide encourages Christians to worship Christ as Lord and follow him on mission to the world.

Justin Buzzard (MDiv, Fuller Theological Seminary) is the founder and lead pastor of Garden City Church in Silicon Valley. Justin writes regularly at JustinBuzzard.net, speaks widely at conferences nationwide, and is part of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network. He is the author of many books, including Why Cities Matter. He lives in Silicon Valley with his wife, Taylor, and their three sons.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Buzzard, Justin

Ortlund, Dane

Leseproben

WEEK 2: PROLOGUE: THE INCARNATE WORD

John 1:1–18

The Place of the Passage

This opening passage of John sets the stage for the rest of the Gospel. John opens with the words “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1:1). From his very first sentence John proclaims that Jesus is the eternal, preexistent Word1—the one-of-a-kind Son of the Father, the Son who is himself God. Yet this eternal Word has now become incarnate2 in history (1:11–18). In this prologue John introduces many of the major themes developed later in the Gospel, such as Jesus as the life, the light, and the truth; believers as God’s children; and the world’s rejection of Jesus. These first eighteen verses are the grand entryway into John’s breathtaking account of Jesus Christ.

The Big Picture

John 1:1–18 shows us the good news that Jesus is God and that he has taken on flesh and come to earth as the fulfillment of all the promises of the Old Testament.

Reflection and Discussion

Read through the complete passage for this study, John 1:1–18. Then think through and write your own notes on the following questions. (For further background, see the , pages 2019–2020; also available online at www.esvbible.org.)

John roots the opening verses of his Gospel in the opening verses of Genesis. Compare John 1:1–5 with Genesis 1:1–5. What parallels do you see, and what do these parallels teach us about the message John wants his readers to hear?

The Gospel of John has a different starting place than the other Gospels. Look briefly at the opening verses of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. What is unique about the opening of John’s Gospel?

John 1:14 makes clear that when John speaks of “the Word,” he is speaking of Jesus. Thus, John begins his Gospel by providing a lofty portrait of Jesus: revealing that Jesus is God, giving glimpses of the Trinitarian3 nature of God, and teaching that Jesus was crucially involved in the very creation of the universe. List everything we learn about Jesus in these opening verses (1:1–5).

Continuing to draw upon Genesis motifs, John speaks about Jesus as the “life” and “light” who has come to shine in a dark world. What do John 8:12 and 10:10 teach us about the life and light we receive in Jesus?

In verse 6 we read that “there was a man sent from God, whose name was John” (this is John the Baptist—not to be confused with the author of this Gospel). According to verses 6–8 and 15, what was John’s role and ambition?

According to verse 11, Jesus came “to his own, and his own people” (the Jews) “did not receive him.” From what you know from the rest of Scripture, both Old Testament and New Testament, what are a few other instances where God’s people reject God?

What do verses 9–13 teach about how to become a child of God? Where do you see God’s grace4 in these verses?

Verse 14 announces the greatest event in human history: the eternal, omnipotent Son of God took on human nature and lived among humanity as one who was both fully God and fully man at the same time, in one person. Before Jesus, who were some others who were sent from God to bring deliverance to God’s people? In his mission to bring light and life to a dark and dying world, why is it critical that Jesus be both fully God and fully man?

Verse 14 speaks of the “glory” of Jesus. Read Exodus 33:18–23 and Deuteronomy 5:22–27. What do these passages teach us about what glory is, and about what John is communicating with his words, “we have seen his glory”?

Note verse 17. This verse is not drawing a contrast between law and grace in the sense that the Mosaic law was bad and Jesus is good. Rather, John is stating that both the giving of the law and the arrival of Jesus mark decisive events in the history of salvation. Through the law, God revealed his righteous character and requirements. Through Jesus, however, God reveals himself most fully, displaying his grace-soaked mission to meet the demands of the law for a dark world that has broken his law. What is superior about Jesus’ ministry over Moses’ ministry? What did Jesus accomplish that Moses did not—could not—accomplish?

Read through the following three sections on , , and . Then take time to reflect on the these sections may have for your walk with the Lord.

Gospel Glimpses

GOOD NEWS. These opening paragraphs of John’s Gospel announce good news. Note that these first eighteen verses contain not a single command to obey, but simply news to believe. Consistent with the overarching story line of the Bible, this Gospel begins with gospel—with the good news that God has taken on flesh to rescue sinners living in a dark world. This is the resounding theme of John: good news. Jesus has come so that we, the undeserving, might receive “grace upon grace” (1:16).

PROMISES KEPT. John shows that Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament promises. We see the grace of God in his commitment to keep his promises to his people, despite their rebellion. “I will be your God, and you shall be my people” was a constant refrain throughout the Old Testament (e.g., Ex. 6:7; Lev. 26:12; Jer. 7:23). Yet God’s people were consistently faithless, giving God every reason to cancel his promises. Nevertheless, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (1:14). Despite our wickedness, God became flesh—he set up residence in a first-century Middle Eastern neighborhood—in order to be our God and save us. God keeps his promises.

CHILDREN OF GOD. These opening verses proclaim the best news in the world: estranged sinners can become God’s children. How does one become a child of God? Not through turning in a resume or an application, or through some process of proving yourself worthy. John tells us we become God’s children simply through believing in Jesus as God works in us the miracle of new birth: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (1:12–13). Anyone can become a child of God. All it takes is trusting in Christ.

Whole-Bible Connections

IN THE BEGINNING. John begins where the Bible begins. Genesis begins with these words: “In the beginning, God.” John is saying the same thing with his introductory sentence: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John makes it clear that the eternal Son of God was vitally involved in the creation of the world. John 1 echoes Genesis 1, showing that Jesus is God and showing that the Son of God’s incarnation is as significant an event as the Father, Son, and Spirit’s initial creation of the universe.

LIGHT AND DARKNESS. The first thing God creates is light (Gen. 1:3). Thus, human sin and all that is broken in the world is often described as “darkness.” One of the plagues God brought upon Egypt was the plague of darkness: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt’” (Ex. 10:21). John announces that, finally, with the arrival of Jesus, there is a true answer to the darkness in the world: “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (1:9).

A BETTER MOSES. Long before sending Jesus to earth, God had been sending his people leaders such as prophets, judges, and kings to deliver them from their troubles. One of the greatest prophets God sent was Moses. God used Moses to deliver and shepherd the Israelites. Through Moses God gave his people the law. Yet Moses was an imperfect leader, a sinful man just like the men and women he was leading, who couldn’t provide the deeper deliverance God’s people needed. Moses couldn’t accomplish the great act of grace that Jesus came to accomplish. “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (1:17–18). John 1 taps into this whole-Bible theme of men sent from God, showing us that Jesus is the ultimate man sent from God. Indeed, he is God himself.

Theological Soundings

DEITY...