The gospel of John

1. The gospel of John An Eyewitness Account

2. “Christianity, if false is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” C.S. Lewis

4. “A belief which leaves no place for doubt is not a belief; it is a superstition” – Jose Bergamin

5. “God never asks us to believe, without giving sufficient evidence upon which to base our faith. His existence, His character, the truthfulness of His Word, are all established by testimony that appeals to our reason; and this testimony is abundant. Yet God has never removed the possibility of doubt. Our faith must rest upon evidence, not demonstration. Those who wish to doubt will have opportunity; while those who really desire to know the truth, will find plenty of evidence on which to rest their faith.” (Steps to Christ pg. 105)

6. Challenges • The Gospels are inaccurate, inconsistent, and unreliable • The Gospels were written long after the fact and had meaning primarily for the local Christian communities. • Who was Jesus? • A good moral teacher? • A failed preacher?

7. “I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.” - H.G. Wells, British author (1866-1946)

8. Lord, liar or lunatic • “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” • C.S. Lewis, (1898-1963)

9. Legend? • “This is a false trilemma. It overlooks a fourth option - lord, liar, lunatic, or legend. How do we know that the gospels are an accurate record of events? What if Jesus’ words and deeds were greatly exaggerated or even outright invented by later writers?” – Earl Doherty

10. Challenges • The Gospels are inaccurate, inconsistent, and unreliable • The Gospels were written long after the fact and had meaning primarily for the local Christian communities. • Who was Jesus? • A good moral teacher? • A failed preacher?

11. Inaccurate, Inconsistent, Unreliable? • “So then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, and fourteen from David to the exile in Babylon, and fourteen from then to the birth of the Messiah.” (Matthew 1:17) • “From David to the time when the people of Israel were taken into exile in Babylon, the following ancestors are listed: David, Solomon (his mother was the woman who had been Uriah's wife), Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, and Jehoiachin and his brothers.” (Matthew 1:6-11) • “Jehoram, Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham…” (1 Chronicles 3:11)

12. Inaccurate, Inconsistent, Unreliable? • Joseph and Mary flee with Jesus to Egypt: • “This was done to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, ‘I called my Son out of Egypt.’” (Matthew 2:15) • “The LORD says, ‘When Israel was a child, I loved him and called him out of Egypt as my son. • But the more I called to him, the more he turned away from me. My people sacrificed to Baal; they burned incense to idols.” (Hosea 11:1,2)

13. Inaccurate, Inconsistent, Unreliable? • “As a result, the punishment for the murder of all innocent people will fall on you, from the murder of innocent Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar.” (Matthew 23:35) • “The king (Joash) forgot about the loyal service that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had given him, and he had Zechariah killed. As Zechariah was dying, he called out, ‘May the LORD see what you are doing and punish you!’” (2 Chronicles 24:22)

14. Inaccurate, Inconsistent, Unreliable? • “Then what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true: ‘They took the thirty silver coins, the amount the people of Israel had agreed to pay for him, and used the money to buy the potter's field, as the Lord had commanded me.’” (Matthew 27:9) • Zechariah 11:13

15. Inaccurate, Inconsistent, Unreliable? • “Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!” (Matthew 5:3) • “Happy are you poor; the Kingdom of God is yours!” (Luke 6:21)

16. Jesus calms a storm • “When Jesus came to the territory of Gadara (Gerasa) on the other side of the lake, he was met by two men who came out of the burial caves there. These men had demons in them and were so fierce that no one dared travel on that road.” (Matthew 8:28 GNB) • Jesus calms a storm • “Jesus and his disciples sailed on over to the territory of Gerasa, which is across the lake from Galilee. As Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a man from the town who had demons in him. For a long time this man had gone without clothes and would not stay at home, but spent his time in the burial caves.” (Luke 8:26-27 GNB)

17. Inaccurate, Inconsistent, Unreliable? • Jesus speaks a third time about his death (Matthew 20:17-19) • “Then the wife of Zebedee came to Jesus with her two sons, bowed before him, and asked him for a favor. ‘What do you want?’ Jesus asked her. She answered, ‘Promise me that these two sons of mine will sit at your right and your left when you are King.’” (Matthew 20:20-21 GNB)

18. Inaccurate, Inconsistent, Unreliable? • Jesus speaks a third time about his death (Mark 10:32-34) • “Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘there is something we want you to do for us.’ ‘What is it?’ Jesus asked them. They answered, ‘When you sit on your throne in your glorious Kingdom, we want you to let us sit with you, one at your right and one at your left.’” (Mark 10:35-37 GNB)

19. Matthew vs. Mark? • Jesus speaks a 3rd time about his death (Matthew vs. Mark) • Request to sit at the right hand (Matthew vs. Mark) • “…like the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.” (Matthew 20:28) • “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.” (Mark 10:45)

20. Matthew • “As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd was following. Two blind men who were sitting by the road heard that Jesus was passing by, so they began to shout, "Son of David! Have mercy on us, sir!" The crowd scolded them and told them to be quiet. But they shouted even more loudly, ‘Son of David! Have mercy on us, sir!’” (Matthew 20:29-31 GNB)

21. Mark • “They came to Jericho, and as Jesus was leaving with his disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, ‘Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!’ Many of the people scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (Mark 10:46-48 GNB)

22. “All Scripture is inspired by God…” (2 Timothy 3:16)

23. “Inspiration: Inspired Pen or Inspired Men?”

24. “I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius. No one can say, then, that you were baptized as my disciples. (Oh yes, I also baptized Stephanas and his family; but I can’t remember whether I baptized anyone else.)” (1 Corinthians 1:14-16)

25. “I don't know of anything else the Lord said about marriage. All I can do is to give you my own advice.” • “Now concerning what you wrote about unmarried people: I do not have a command from the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is worthy of trust.” • “That is my opinion, and I think that I too have God’s Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 7:12,25,40)

26. “There is not always perfect order or apparent unity in the Scriptures. The miracles of Christ are not given in exact order, but are given just as the circumstances occurred, which called for this divine revealing of the power of Christ.

27. The Bible is not given to us in grand superhuman language. Jesus, in order to reach man where he is, took humanity. The Bible must be given in the language of men. Everything that is human is imperfect.” {1SM 20.2}

28. “The Bible is written by inspired men, but it is not God’s mode of thought and expression. It is that of humanity. God, as a writer, is not represented. Men will often say such an expression is not like God. But God has not put Himself in words, in logic, in rhetoric, on trial in the Bible. The writers of the Bible were God’s penmen, not His pen.” {1SM 21.1}

29. “It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man’s words or his expressions but on the man himself, who, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, is imbued with thoughts. But the words receive the impress of the individual mind. The divine mind is diffused. The divine mind and will is combined with the human mind and will; thus the utterances of the man are the word of God.” {1SM 21.2}

31. “In the Bible we have in clear lines the revelation of God’s character, of His dealings with men, and the great work of redemption.” (ST, 1906) • [The Bible] “is the book that unfolds the character of God.” (ST, 1898)

32. Challenges • The Gospels are inaccurate, inconsistent, and unreliable • The Gospels were written long after the fact and had meaning primarily for the local Christian communities. • Who was Jesus? • A good moral teacher? • A failed preacher?

34. Historical 1st hand account • “This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them” (John 21:24) • “We proclaim to you the One who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw Him with our own eyes and touched Him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. This One who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen Him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that He is the One who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then He was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard...” (1 John 1:1-3)

35. “Dear Theophilus: Many people have done their best to write a report of the things that have taken place among us. They wrote what we have been told by those who saw these things from the beginning and who proclaimed the message. And so, Your Excellency, because I have carefully studied all these matters from their beginning, I thought it would be good to write an orderly account for you.” (Luke 1:1-3)

36. Things that would have been left out (were they not true!) – “embarrassment factor” • In contrast to ancient records • Women • The Samaritan woman at the well • The Canaanite woman • The Woman caught in adultery • The Women at the tomb

37. Embarrassment factor • “Why do you call me good?” (Mark 10:18) • “He has a demon…” (Mark 3:22) • Hanging out with tax collectors, prostitutes • “He was not able to perform any miracles there…” (Mark 6:5)

38. “The eleven disciples went to the hill in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him, even though some of them doubted.” (Matthew 28:16-17)

39. “…the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve…” (Matthew 20:28) • “When his family heard about it, they set out to take charge of him, because people were saying, ‘He’s gone mad!’” (Mark 3:21) • “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me”

40. The Disciples • Peter • “Jesus turned around and said to Peter, ‘Get away from me, Satan!’” (Matthew 16:23) • Thomas • “Love your enemies” • “Shall we call down fire from heaven on them?”

41. The Disciples • Jesus feeds 5,000 (Mark 6:30); Jesus feeds 4,000 (Mark 8:1) • “Then the wife of Zebedee came to Jesus with her two sons (James and John), bowed before him, and asked him for a favor. ‘What do you want?’ Jesus asked her. She answered, ‘Promise me that these two sons of mine will sit at your right and your left when you are King.’” (Matthew 20:20-21)

42. Details and names • “On the way they met a man named Simon, who was coming into the city from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus' cross. (Simon was from Cyrene and was the father of Alexander and Rufus.)” (Mark 15:21) • “Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the wife of Zebedee.” (Matthew 27:56) • “…a blind beggar named Bartimaeus son of Timaeus…” (Mark 10:46)

43. Details and names • “It was now two days before the Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread. • The chief priests and the teachers of the Law were looking for a way to arrest Jesus secretly and put him to death… • Jesus was in Bethany • at the house of Simon, • a man who had suffered from a dreaded skin disease. • While Jesus was eating, a woman came in with an alabaster jar full...” (Mark 14:1-3)

44. Details and names • It was the fifteenth year of the rule of Emperor Tiberius; • Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, • Herod was ruler of Galilee, and • his brother Philip was ruler of the territory of Iturea and Trachonitis; • Lysanias was ruler of Abilene, and • Annas and Caiaphas were High Priests. • At that time the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” (Luke 3:1-2)

45. Names • Where were the Gospels written? • According to Gerd Theissen: • Matthew: Syria • Mark: Syria • Luke: Rome? • John: Palestine-Syria, then Asia Minor

49. Distinguishing of Common Names in the NT • Simon • Simon (Peter or Cephas) • Simon (the Zealot) • Simon (the leper) • Simon (of Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus) • Simon (the tanner)