NLT Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 18
page 1792
Key Places in John
ITUREA
LEBANON
A
I
IC
TRACONITIS
EN
O
SYRIA
PH
N
Mediterranean
Sea
• John’s story begins by describing John the Baptist’s
ministry near Bethany, east of the Jordan (1:19-51).
Here we also read of how Jesus began his ministry,
talking to some of the men who would later become
his 12 disciples. Jesus’ ministry in Galilee began with
a visit to a wedding in Cana (2:1-11). Then he went
to Capernaum, which became his new home (2:12).
He journeyed to Jerusalem for the special festivals
(2:13) and there met with Nicodemus, a religious
leader (3:1-21). When Jesus left Judea, he traveled
through Samaria and ministered to the Samaritans
(4:1-42). Then he did miracles in Galilee (4:43-54)
and in Judea and Jerusalem (5:1-47). He fed over
5,000 people near Bethsaida beside the Sea of
Galilee (Sea of Tiberias) (6:1-15), walked on the
water to his frightened disciples (6:16-21), preached
through Galilee (7:1), returned to Jerusalem (7:2-53),
preached beyond the Jordan in Perea (10:40), raised
Lazarus from the dead in Bethany (11:1-57), and finally
entered Jerusalem for the last time to celebrate
the Passover with his disciples and give them key
teachings about what was to come and how they
should act. His last hours before his crucifixion were
spent in the city (13:1-38), in a grove of olive trees
(the garden of Gethsemane) (18:1-11), and finally
in various buildings in Jerusalem during his trial
(18:12-40). He would be crucified, but he would
rise again as he had promised.
GALILEE
Capernaum Bethsaida
Sea of
Cana
Galilee
Tiberias
Nazareth
SAMARIA
Salim
Aenon
Mount Gerizim
Arimathea
DECAPOLIS
Jordan River
ISRAEL
(Ten Towns)
Sychar
Ephraim
PE
RE
A
Mount of Olives Bethany (east of the Jordan)
Jerusalem
Bethphage
Bethlehem
Bethany
JUDEA
JORDAN
Dead
Sea
IDUMEA
20 mi
0
0
20 km
Thebroken
broken
lines
indicate
modern
boundaries.
The
lines
indicate
modern
boundaries.
A. BIRTH AND PREPARATION OF JESUS, THE SON OF GOD (1:1–2:12)
In this Gospel, John provides clear evidence that Jesus is the Son of God and that we may have eternal life by
believing in him. John also provides unique material about Jesus’ birth. He did not come into being when he was
born; he is eternal.
God Became a Human (2)
1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,*
and his life brought light to everyone.
1
1:3-4 Or and nothing that was created was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything.
1:1-18 What Jesus taught and what he did are tied inseparably to his
identity. John shows Jesus as fully human and fully God. Although Jesus
took upon himself full humanity and lived as a man, he never ceased to
be the eternal God who has always existed, the creator and sustainer of
all things, and the source of eternal life. This is the truth about Jesus and
the foundation of all truth. If we cannot or do not believe this basic truth,
we will not have enough faith to trust our eternal destiny to him. That is
why John wrote this G
ospel—to build faith and confidence in Jesus Christ
so that we may believe that he truly was and is the Son of God (20:30-31).
1:1-18 What does John mean by “the Word”? The Word was a concept
used by theologians and philosophers, both Jews and Greeks, in many
different ways. In Hebrew Scripture, the Word was an agent of creation
1:1
Gen 1:1
Phil 2:6
1 Jn 5:20
1:3
1 Cor 8:6
Col 1:16-17
Heb 1:2
1:4
John 3:15-16, 36;
6:35, 48; 8:12;
1 Jn 5:12, 20
(Psalm 33:6), the source of God’s message to his people through the
prophets (Hosea 4:1), and God’s law, his standard of holiness (Psalm
119:11). In Greek philosophy, the Word was the principle of reason that
governed the world; in Hebrew thought, the Word was another expression
for God. John’s description shows clearly that he is speaking of Jesus
(see especially John 1:14)—a human being he knew and loved, but at the
same time the creator of the universe, the ultimate revelation of God, the
living picture of God’s holiness, the one who “holds all creation together”
(Colossians 1:17). To Jewish readers, to say this man Jesus was God was
blasphemous. To Greek readers, the idea that “the Word became human”
(John 1:14) was unthinkable. To John, this new understanding of the Word
expressed the Good News of Jesus Christ.
