NLT Study Bible - Gospel of John - Flipbook - Page 4
1765
Timeline
about 6~4 BC
Birth of Jesus
AD 18~36
Caiaphas as high
priest
be the Messiah? Can Christians legitimately claim to be “children of AbraAD 26–36
ham”? Could anyone prove that Jesus’ claim of being sent from God was
Pontius Pilate as
true? Guided by the Holy Spirit in his teaching and writing, John brilliantly
governor of Judea
led his Christian readers through these debates.
AD 28~29
Tensions grew. As more Jews converted, small churches grew up alongJesus clears the
side synagogues and began converting their members. Opposition to the
Temple
Christian believers was inevitable. However, John stood by the church
Passover, AD 30 or 33
during terrible persecution and conflict. When it seemed that the fledgling
Jesus’ crucifixion and
church’s struggle with the prestigious synagogue community would overresurrection
whelm them, John courageously gave witness
AD 65~70
to the ministry of Jesus Christ. When false
Outline
Mark writes the
teachers later brought internal controversy
1:1-18
Gospel of Mark
Prologue: Christ,
and conflict to the church, John again gave
AD 65~80
the Eternal Word
the community strength. Writing letters to
Matthew writes the
encourage and exhort (see 1, 2, and 3 John),
Gospel of Matthew,
1:19–12:50
Luke writes the
John became the heroic pastor–theologian of
The Book of Signs:
Gospel of Luke
The Word Displays His
Asia Minor.
Glory
before AD 90
John’s writing is as beloved today as it was
John writes
in the earliest years of the church. Few books
13:1–20:31
the Gospel of John
of the Bible have influenced Christian life and
The Book of Glory:
John writes 1–3 John
The Word Is Glorified
thought like John’s profound and dynamic
AD 60s or 90s
Gospel. By combining intimacy of expres21:1-25
John writes
sion
with
penetrating
insight,
John
provides
a
Epilogue: The Word
Revelation
Commissions His Followers deeply satisfying portrait of Christ.
Summary
John divided his Gospel into two main sections: chs 1–12 and chs 13–21.
The first section, which has been called “The Book of Signs,” tells about
Jesus’ public ministry of revealing himself to the Jewish world. The second
section, sometimes called “The Book of Glory,” records Jesus’ private words
to his disciples and tells of his death and resurrection.
Chapters 1–12. The Gospel prologue (1:1-18) artfully summarizes the
entrance of God’s Word into the world. Jesus was baptized and called his
earliest followers (1:19-51). Then a series of remarkable events (chs 2–4)
highlights Jesus’ revelation of himself to the Jews. At a wedding in Cana,
Jesus turned water into wine. In Jerusalem, he used a whip to drive corruption and money-dealing out of the Temple. He debated the meaning
of spiritual rebirth with a rabbi named Nicodemus. At a well in Samaria,
he met a woman with a checkered marital history and offered her “living
water,” which no well can ever duplicate. In each of these events, Jesus
unveiled his identity.
In the following section (chs 5–10), Jesus appears at a number of Jewish
festivals, using ancient OT symbols and practices to reveal himself to God’s
people. On the Sabbath, Jesus worked by healing a lame man. On Passover, Jesus provided bread for 5,000. In the symbolic light of the Festival of
Shelters, Jesus healed a blind man, reinforcing his own identity as the light
