The Gospel of John

1
The Gospel of John

• Eusebius quotes his teacher and mentor, Clement
  of Alexandria.
• He says that the Gospels containing the
  genealogies were written first and that the
  Gospel according to Mark was composed in the
  following circumstances
• Peter having preached the word publicly at Rome,
  and by the Spirit proclaimed the Gospel, those
  who were present, who were numerous, entreated
  Mark, in as much as he had attended him from an
  early period, and remembered what had been said,
  to write down what had been spoken.

2
The Gospel of John

• On his composing the Gospel, he handed it to
  those who had made the request to him which
  coming to Peter's knowledge, he neither hindered
  nor encouraged. But John, the last of all, seeing
  that what was corporeal was set forth in the
  Gospels, on the entreaty of his intimate friends,
  and inspired by the Spirit, composed a spiritual
  Gospel.

3
A famous Catholic mystic claimed this house to be
Marys in EphesusCharred coal dates to the time
of John
                                                
                                                  
                      
4
The Gospel of John

• The Apostle John moved to Ephesus with Mary, the
  Mother of the Lord.
• This city eventually became his hub and where he
  returned from his exile on Patmos.
• The Gospel of John was very likely written in
  Ephesus as the Apostle received support from the
  congregation.

5
Introduction

• The Date
• The Early Date.
• In support of an early date of authorship prior
  to the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem is the
  fact that Jerusalem and its Pool of Bethesda are
  described in the present tense Now there is in
  Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is
  called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes.
  (John 52).
• The problem with this is that the Pool of
  Bethesda can still be seen in Jerusalem today,
  nearly 2000 years after the fall of Jerusalem and
  this same statement could be accurately made
  today.

6
The Gospel of John

• The Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.
• John writes a tremendous amount of detail about
  Jerusalem and the Temple that someone would know
  first hand.
• Why?
• John is probably pointing out that the faith did
  not end with the destruction of earthly Zion.
  There is a heavenly and spiritual one the
  prophecy in Ezekiels vision.

7
The Gospel of John

• Jesus was the prophet who announced its
  desolation.
• Prophets had announced its desolation some six
  hundred years earlier by the Babylonians.
• Many may have asked who the prophet was that
  announced it present desolation.

8
Date Around 7592 A.D.

• Needs to be after Temple destruction.
• Needs to be while in established Ephesus
  congregation.
• Needs to be after the first Three Gospels are
  widely known and distributed.
• A defense against a newly conceived heresy
  Gnosticism.
• Needs to be before exile to Patmos and writing of
  Revelation (96 A.D.).

9
Seven Signs

• We are meant to see these signs through the eyes
  of the disciples. They are said to be growing in
  their belief as they see the signs and we (The
  Church) are meant to grow with them.

10
The Ultimate Message of John

• John 2030-31 Jesus did many other miraculous
  signs in the presence of his disciples, which are
  not recorded in this book. But these are written
  that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
  the Son of God, and that by believing you may
  have life in his name.
• We often misinterpret this line to mean, That
  you may come to faith
• ina pisteusate, meaning in order that you may
  definitely believe, not in order that you may
  come to believe.
• John is not thinking that his readers are just
  unbelievers this Gospel is meant to affirm and
  shore up what believers have already read in the
  other three Gospels.
• His message is meant to shore YOU and ME up in
  OUR Faith today!!
• This is why in our Liturgy today, The Church
  sings, These things are written

11
Does John address early Gnositicism?

• GNOSTICISM.
• Material is bad.
• Enlightened knowledge saves.
• GOSPEL
• Divine knowledge without indebtedness or
  dependence upon the Messiah / Christ is useless.

12
Things to Look For

• John shows Jesus saying He is GOD
• John quotes Jesus teaching with the words, I
  SAY. This is huge because if a Rabbi wanted to
  prove his teaching, he would usually say, Rabbi
  so-and-so says from Rabbi-so-and-soJesus quotes
  HIMSELF as the authority!
• Jesus clarifies and even OVERRULES OT Law only
  God can do that!
• Jesus presents Himself as the self-revelation
  of God (He who has seen me HAS SEEN THE FATHER)
• Jesus says I AM a direct reference to Daniel
  7 and Psalm 110 the Son of Man and a play on
  Yahweh
• John parallels Jesus with fulfilling the Biblical
  Feasts
• Jesus healings juxtaposed to the OT plagues of
  the Exodus (Water to Blood / Water to Wine Death
  of First Born / Raising of First Born, Lazarus)
• John omits the Last Supper, where the other three
  include it. This tells us that John had nothing
  more to add the Gospels stood on their own.

13
Chapter One Recap

• Johns introduction is unique. He does not begin
  with the ministry of Jesus or with His birth or
  even with His genealogy. He takes us instead all
  the way back to the creation.
• These first 18 verses of Chapter One form a
  prologue. This prologue is possibly the most
  important part of Johns book, for it reveals
  Johns purpose in writing the Gospel.
• Attacks Gnosticism head on. Wed heard the birth
  narratives now John hones in on the big
  picture what does it all mean that God came to
  earth? What are the implications?

14
Chapter One Recap

• The Gnostic Gospels were all written much later
  than the Four Gospels and can be easily
  disproven. They attempt to show Jesus as an
  esoteric philosopher.
• This stuff is really popular today, because our
  world wants us to discover who we REALLY are
  (i.e. Oprah), and the Gnostic Jesus talks that
  way.
• But Jesus didnt come to earth to help me
  discover who I really am. He came to TELL me
  who He knew I ALREADY was and came to do
  something about it!!
• Thats what John is getting at in his Gospel.

15
Chapter One Recap

• Heres what the Prologue looks like
• John 11-5 - The Word in Eternity and among Men
• John 16-13 - The Word in History and among the
  Jews
• John 114-18 - The Word in History and among
  Believers
• Out of creation, man is chosen. Out of mankind,
  the Jews are chosen. Out of the Jews, believers
  are chosen.

16
Gnostic warning???

• NIV 1 John 43 but every spirit that does not
  acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the
  spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is
  coming and even now is already in the world.
• Acnowledge OMOLOGEO
• Indebted acknowledgement.
• Head knowledge alone doesnt save.

17
Apostolic Rule on Bearing the Name of Christ in
Vain

• NIV 1 Corinthians 510 not at all meaning the
  people of this world who are immoral, or the
  greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case
  you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I
  am writing you that you must not associate with
  anyone who calls himself a brother but is
  sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a
  slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a
  man do not even eat.

18
John, chapter 1

• NIV John 11 In the beginning was the Word, and
  the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He
  was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all
  things were made without him nothing was made
  that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that
  life was the light of men.

19
John, chapter 1

• NIV Hebrews 13 The Son is the radiance of God's
  glory and the exact representation of his being,
  sustaining all things by his powerful word. After
  he had provided purification for sins, he sat
  down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

20
John, chapter 1

• The Word reveals God mighty working for us.
• Jesus is the Word.
• Jesus reveals Gods mighty working for us to give
  us true life.

21
John, chapter 1

• The Word.
• The greater spiritual reality of Gods revelation
  is Jesus.
• Christ created all things material (against
  Gnosticism).

22
John, chapter 1

• Life.
• All life came and comes from Christ.
• We are living but not living.
• In Christ is true living.
• NIV Genesis 217 but you must not eat from the
  tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when
  you eat of it you will surely die."

23
John, chapter 1

• 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the
  darkness has not understood it.

24
John, chapter 1

• Light.
• NIV Genesis 13 And God said, "Let there be
  light," and there was light.
• Christ is light. He allows us to PERCEIVE and
  ACKNOWLEGE the true Lord.

25
John, chapter 1

• 6 There came a man who was sent from God his
  name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify
  concerning that light, so that through him all
  men might believe.

26
John, chapter 1

• Johns ministry was to prepare people to be able
  to PERCEIVE and ACKNOWLEDGE the Lord in their own
  personal lives.

27
John, chapter 1

• 8 He himself was not the light he came only as
  a witness to the light. 9 The true light that
  gives light to every man was coming into the
  world.

28
John, chapter 1

• 10 He was in the world, and though the world was
  made through him, the world did not recognize him.

29
John, chapter 1

• The WORD.
• Present reality faithful preaching.
• Greater reality Jesus.
• In fact, both realities are one and the same.

30
John, chapter 1

• The LORD
• Earthly reality Humble Galilean.
• Spiritual reality The GREAT I AM

31
John, chapter 1

• 11 He came to that which was his own, but his
  own did not receive him.

32
John, chapter 1

• NIV Isaiah 532 He grew up before him like a
  tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
  He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
  nothing in his appearance that we should desire
  him.

33
John, chapter 1

• 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who
  believed in his name, he gave the right to become
  children of God-- 13 children born not of natural
  descent, nor of human decision or a husband's
  will, but born of God.

34
John, chapter 1

• Children.
• A heartfelt relationship both ways.
• Not just knowing of God but familiar
• with as ones Father.

35
John, chapter 1

• Against Gnosticism.
• Ones own enlightenment does not save
  (syncretism).
• Revelation is the work of God alone.
• A heartfelt relationship exists.

36
John, chapter 1

• 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling
  among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of
  the One and Only, who came from the Father, full
  of grace and truth.

37
John 114 is packed with detail

• Flesh Not just a body (soma), but fallen flesh
  (sarks). Again, this is against Gnosticism.
• Dwelt Tabernacled (skae-as-en). A temporary
  dwelling looking forward to a more permanent one.
• The Mono-ge(n)-nous. This is a unique word
  devised solely for this Gospel. The only one
  coming forth from the substance of the Father.

38
John, chapter 1

• Grace. A special revelation of Gods love.
• Truth. Honest with pure motives.
• Jesus inspires us with joy for the Lords
  presence and will.
• Again, we see an attack against Gnosticism.

39
John, chapter 1

• NIV 2 Corinthians 105 We demolish arguments and
  every pretension that sets itself up against the
  knowledge of God, and we take captive every
  thought to make it obedient to Christ.

40
John, chapter 1

• 15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out,
  saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who
  comes after me has surpassed me because he was
  before me.'"

41
John, chapter 1

• The present reality of Jesus is humble.
• The eternal reality of Jesus is the He is the
  Lord.

42
John, chapter 1

• 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all
  received one blessing after another. 17 For the
  law was given through Moses grace and truth came
  through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen
  God, but God the One and Only, who is at the
  Father's side, has made him known.

43
John, chapter 1

• The LAW reveals sin and would lead us to dread
  it.
• The GOSPEL reveals the work of restoration and
  delight to be in the Lords presence again.

44
John, chapter 1

• NIV John 119 Now this was John's testimony when
  the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to
  ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to
  confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the
  Christ."

45
John, chapter 1

• The Christ The Anointed One
• John is not the fulfillment to all the prophecies
  of the divine Messiah who would save His people.
• The Jerusalem Jews may not have considered John
  to be the Christ, but may have been trying to
  ascertain who John thought he was.

46
John, chapter 1

• 21 They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you
  Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the
  Prophet?" He answered, "No."

47
John, chapter 1

• ELIJAH?
• NIV Matthew 1114 Jesus said And if you are
  willing to accept it, John is the Elijah who
  was to come.

48
John, chapter 1

• NIV Malachi 45 "See, I will send you the prophet
  Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the
  LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the
  fathers to their children, and the hearts of the
  children to their fathers or else I will come
  and strike the land with a curse.

49
John, chapter 1

• The last verses of the Old Covenant speak of
  return to the zealous faith of the renown
  patriarchs of old.
• We are not talking about the physical return of
  Elijah but the nature of his ministry.

50
The Spirit of Elijah

• NIV 2 Kings 29 When they had crossed, Elijah
  said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you
  before I am taken from you?" "Let me inherit a
  double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.
• NIV 2 Kings 215 The company of the prophets from
  Jericho, who were watching, said, "The spirit of
  Elijah is resting on Elisha." And they went to
  meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

51
John, chapter 1

• What is the spirit of Elijah?
• Preaching faithfully for a great revival and
  reformation.

52
John, chapter 1

• The other prophecy
• NIV Deuteronomy 1815 The LORD your God will
  raise up for you a prophet like me from among
  your own brothers. You must listen to him.
• NIV Acts 322 For Moses said, 'The Lord your God
  will raise up for you a prophet like me from
  among your own people you must listen to
  everything he tells you.

53
John, chapter 1

• Who is THE PROPHET that Moses is speaking about?
  What prophet was like Moses to deliver a whole
  nation with such great signs?
• Jesus changes waters form, reveals Gods glory,
  feeds the masses, gives living water, etc. etc.
  etc.
• NIV John 145 Philip found Nathanael and told
  him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in
  the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--
  Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

54
Jesus is the Promised Prophet of Moses

• NIV John 614 After the people saw the miraculous
  sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely
  this is the Prophet who is to come into the
  world."
• NIV John 740 On hearing his words, some of the
  people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet."

55
John, chapter 1

• 22 Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an
  answer to take back to those who sent us. What do
  you say about yourself?"

56
John, chapter 1

• 23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the
  prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the
  desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'"

57
Place not ready to receive a king should be made
ready

• NIV Isaiah 403 A voice of one calling "In the
  desert prepare the way for the LORD make
  straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
  4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain
  and hill made low the rough ground shall become
  level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory
  of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind
  together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD
  has spoken."

58
John, chapter 1

• 24 Now some Pharisees who had been sent 25
  questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you
  are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"

59
John, chapter 1

• To the Pharisees, Johns baptism seemed to be a
  new addition to the laws of ceremonial washing.
  He would need divine authority and revelation to
  do so. They recognized that the Christ, the new
  Elijah, or the promised Prophet might have
  authority and revelation to do so.

60
John, chapter 1

• 26 "I baptize with water," John replied, "but
  among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is
  the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose
  sandals I am not worthy to untie."
• John states his work is preparatory for the
  Christ.

61
John, chapter 1

• 28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side
  of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

62
Bethany beyond Jordan

• The Baptism Site (Arabic el-Maghtas) on the
  Jordan side of the Jordan River is one of the
  most important recent discoveries in biblical
  archaeology. Excavations only began here in 1996,
  following Jordan's peace treaty with Israel in
  1994, but have already uncovered more than 20
  churches, caves and baptismal pools dating from
  the Roman and Byzantine periods.

63
Bethany beyond Jordan

• Although the identification is not absolutely
  certain, archaeology has shown that the area
  known as Wadi Kharrar has long been believed to
  be the biblical Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan, where
  John the Baptist lived and Jesus was baptized.

64
Bethany beyond Jordan

• This area is also associated with the ascension
  of the Prophet Elijah into heaven, which is
  commemorated at a hill called Tell Mar Elias.

65
Bethany beyond Jordan

• Note This Bethany should not be confused with
  Bethany in Jerusalem, where Mary Magdalene lived
  and Lazarus was raised from the dead.

66
Bethany beyond Jordan

• Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here the Lord
  has sent me to the Jordan." ... Fifty men of the
  company of the prophets went and stood at a
  distance, facing the place where Elijah and
  Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his
  cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it.
  The water divided to the right and to the left,
  and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
  ... As they were walking along and talking
  together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses
  of fire appeared and separated the two of them,
  and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.
  Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My
  father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And
  Elisha saw him no more. (2 Kings 26-12)

67
Bethany beyond Jordan

• The first historical mention of this site is in
  the writings of the anonymous Pilgrim of Bordeaux
  in 333 AD, which say Jesus was baptized five
  Roman miles (7400m) north of the Dead Sea, which
  is where Wadi Kharrar enters the Jordan River.

68
Bethany beyond Jordan

• The pilgrim Theodosius was the first to mention a
  church at the Jordan River, which was built at
  the end of the 5th century by the Emperor
  Anastasius (491-518) to commemorate St John the
  Baptist. Built on arcades and square in shape,
  the church had a marble column with an iron cross
  marking the spot where the people then thought
  that Jesus had been baptized.

69
Bethany beyond Jordan

• The 7th-century pilgrim Arculf mentioned seeing
  the ruins of the church at this spot on the east
  bank, a wooden cross in the river, and steps
  leading into the water from the west bank.
  Another nearby chapel was said to have marked the
  spot where Jesus' clothes were kept while he was
  being baptized.

70
Bethany beyond Jordan

• Using some pre-1948 studies and the early pilgrim
  accounts as their guide, archaeologists quickly
  uncovered an astonishing 21 ancient sites. These
  include five baptismal pools (shallow pools lined
  with plaster) from the Roman and Byzantine
  periods a Byzantine monastery 11 Byzantine
  churches (many with mosaics and Greek
  inscriptions) caves of monks and hermits and
  lodgings for pilgrims.

71
(No Transcript)
72
Jungle of the Jordan
73
(No Transcript)
74
View from Elijahs Hill
75
(No Transcript)
76
John, chapter 1

• NIV John 129 The next day John saw Jesus coming
  toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who
  takes away the sin of the world!

77
John, chapter 1

• This would have sounded so amazingly strange to
  Johns hearers.
• Would this man be a sacrifice for the sins of the
  people???
• NIV Isaiah 535 But he was pierced for our
  transgressions, he was crushed for our
  iniquities the punishment that brought us peace
  was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

78
John, chapter 1

• 30 This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man
  who comes after me has surpassed me because he
  was before me.
• John is claiming the Lord is Jesus.

79
John, chapter 1

• 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I
  came baptizing with water was that he might be
  revealed to Israel."

80
John, chapter 1

• 32 Then John gave this testimony "I saw the
  Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain
  on him.

81
John, chapter 1

• 33 I would not have known him, except that the
  one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
  'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and
  remain is he who will baptize with the Holy
  Spirit.'

82
John, chapter 1

• In Lukes Gospel, John is conceived and born to
  prepare people for his younger, distant cousin
  Jesus. His parents knew this. Did they share
  this with John?
• If they did, John never took this for granted
  when
• an angel, if not the Lord, told him that the
  Messiah and Lamb of Isaiah ch.s 52 and 53 is the
  One whom a dove would descend upon.
• The sign clearly affirms that Jesus is the
  Messiah.

83
John, chapter 1

• Why a dove?
• Noah had to release a bird that would not land on
  death and return to him until life appeared.
• The form of dove testifies that Jesus is life in
  this world.

84
John, chapter 1

• 34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son
  of God.
• The title THE Son of God shows that Jesus
  reveals the Godhead and Father.

85
John, chapter 1

• NIV John 135 The next day John was there again
  with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus
  passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"

86
John, chapter 1

• 37 When the two disciples heard him say this,
  they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw
  them following and asked, "What do you want?"
  They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where
  are you staying?"

87
John, chapter 1

• 39 "Come," he replied, "and you will see." So
  they went and saw where he was staying, and spent
  that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.
• It was 400 PM. They left their comfort and
  shelter for a place unknown.

88
John, chapter 1

• 40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the
  two who heard what John had said and who had
  followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was
  to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have
  found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ).

89
John, chapter 1

• 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at
  him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You
  will be called Cephas" (which, when translated,
  is Peter).

90
John, chapter 1

• Reflect on those who received name changes in the
  Bible.
• Abram. Sarai. Jacob. Saul.

91
John, chapter 1

• NIV John 143 The next day Jesus decided to leave
  for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him,
  "Follow me." 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter,
  was from the town of Bethsaida.

92
Bethsaida (the House of Fishing) of Galilee

• Philip, Andrew, and Peter came from this town
  (John 144 John 1221). The warm water from
  copious springs runs into a little bay of the sea
  in which fishes congregate in great numbers. This
  has therefore always been a favorite haunt of
  fishermen. If Capernaum were at Khan Minyeh, then
  the two lay close together. The names of many
  ancient places have been lost, and others have
  strayed from their original localities. The
  absence of any name resembling Bethsaida need not
  concern us. Bethsaida was the birth place of
  Saint Peter.

93
OR Bethsaida is where Peter and Andrew were born
and grew up, later moving to Capernaum. The text
supports the fact that Jesus crossed into a new
region where Bethsaida was.
94
Capernaum - Peters House
95
Capernaum House
96
John, chapter 1

• 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have
  found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and
  about whom the prophets also wrote-- Jesus of
  Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

97
John, chapter 1

• 46 "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?"
  Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip.

98
John, chapter 1

• 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said
  of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there
  is nothing false." 48 "How do you know me?"
  Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while
  you were still under the fig tree before Philip
  called you."

99
John, chapter 1

• NIV Psalm 1392 You know when I sit and when I
  rise you perceive my thoughts from afar.

100
John, chapter 1

• 49 Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the
  Son of God you are the King of Israel."

101
Fig Tree Reference

• This is the equivalent of sitting on ones porch
  after a long days labor.
• NIV 1 Kings 425 During Solomon's lifetime Judah
  and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in
  safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree.
  NIV 2 Kings 1831 "Do not listen to Hezekiah.
  This is what the king of Assyria says Make peace
  with me and come out to me. Then every one of you
  will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink
  water from his own cistern,

102
Fig Tree Reference

• NIV Isaiah 3616 "Do not listen to Hezekiah. This
  is what the king of Assyria says Make peace with
  me and come out to me. Then every one of you will
  eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink
  water from his own cistern,
• NIV Micah 44 Every man will sit under his own
  vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will
  make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has
  spoken.

103
Fig Tree Reference

• NIV Zechariah 310 "'In that day each of you will
  invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig
  tree,' declares the LORD Almighty.
• Nathanael included the Lord in his own
  reflections (prayer). Jesus is the Lord whom
  Nathanel included.

104
How does mention of Nathanael battle Gnosticism?

• Gnosticism believed in mystical enlightenment and
  knowledge that made one spiritual without
  devotion to God.
• Mere enlightenment is not enough.
• Knowledge of God delights to include him with
  oneself in thought and life.

105
John, chapter 1

• 50 Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I
  saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater
  things than that." 51 He then added, "I tell you
  the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the
  angels of God ascending and descending on the Son
  of Man.
• A greater revelation awaits than the present one.

106
(No Transcript)
107
Jesus Calls Phillip and Nathanael

• "Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see the
  heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending
  and descending on the Son of Man." (John
  150-51).

108
John, chapter 1

• The reference is two-fold.
• NIV Daniel 713 "In my vision at night I looked,
  and there before me was one like a son of man,
  coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached
  the Ancient of Days and was led into his
  presence.
• Jesus is the Lord in the flesh.

109
The second meaning

• NIV Genesis 2812 He had a dream in which he saw
  a stairway resting on the earth, with its top
  reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were
  ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it
  stood the LORD, and he said "I am the LORD, the
  God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.
  I will give you and your descendants the land on
  which you are lying.

110
Is Jesus the Lord or the ladder to heaven?

• The answer Yes.

111
After Jacobs vision

• God did great things for Jacob in the promises
  given him.
• There is writing. And there is great writing.
• The Gospel of John is complex, inter-woven
  writing.

112
Jacob and Nathanael
Jacob has glorious vision of Ladder.
Nathanael wrestles with the Lord for blessing in
prayer?
Nathanael will have glorious vision.
Jacob wrestles with the Lord for blessing.
113
Prologue Chiasm
114
Jesus and The Chiasm Call