Scripture Reading

Matthew 4:18

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Then he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

And then John 20: 30-31:

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And that believing you may have life in His name.

I seek the Lord’s blessing on this word.

Opening Prayer

Gracious God and Heavenly Father, we do rejoice and give thanks for this great honor that we have to open up in our own language, our own tongue, to open up your word and to consider it the truth that it contains for us. Because it is your living God-breathed out word. And your word brings life. And your word brings light and understanding through the power of the Holy Spirit. And so as we come and we consider these passages, we can begin this study in the Gospel of John, we pray, Father, You would truly give us understanding by your Spirit of the truth we should know and the life that it brings. And so we pray for your blessing upon this word. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

The Biblical Standard of Witness

Well, the scriptural standard to establish the truth of something, whether it’s a charge of a civil crime, or maybe the establishment of an offense in the courts of the church, or even just simply the assertion of a truth that is to be believed, the standard given by God in His word is in the words of Jesus in Matthew 18: by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established.

You see, one witness is not enough. Otherwise, it’s just the word of one against the word of another. Two witnesses, though, is the bare minimum to charge and convict. Of course, with the key stipulation that those witnesses must be rooted in facts and that they must agree with one another. Well, having three or more witnesses, though not necessary, only further strengthens the truth of matter, whatever it may be.

Well, this standard becomes important when we seek to defend the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the midst of an unbelieving world.

This witness testimony was well in existence even before, though, any part of the New Testament was written.

Remember that Jesus appointed 12 men to accompany him during his public ministry for this very purpose, to be witnesses. In fact, Jesus, before his ascension to heaven, declares in Acts 1 verse 8:

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.

And so the 12 disciples, with Matthias replacing Judas, were now being sent as apostles. They were being sent to bear witness to the world of who Jesus was and what He had accomplished for sinners.

And of course, we know that the Apostle Paul would later be appointed as an additional witness. And he would particularly take this gospel message to the Gentiles. And indeed, as we see, even throughout the book of Acts, the truth of the gospel is established and in dramatic fashion as these witnesses went forth preaching Christ.

And again, this was all before anything had actually been written down. But so that the truth would continue to be established for future generations, the Holy Spirit moves certain men to actually write down historical and eyewitness accounts that could be copied and then later translated into multiple languages so that the glorious message of the gospel could reach people of all nations, even to the present day and continuing on until the return of Christ at the end of the age.

Now, two written gospel accounts would have been sufficient. Three, even more so.

And yet, the Lord has been pleased to give us four different gospel accounts to confirm for us, beyond reasonable doubt, that the gospel is true.

But of these four gospel accounts, John stands out as most unique in both the style of writing and in the information that he records. Whereas we know Matthew, Mark, and Luke share a similar structure and often share even near identical accounts of the various events that they record. Yet all four of these accounts, all four, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they all bear witness to the one truth of who Jesus is and the good news He accomplished for us.

And so as we begin a series in the Gospel of John, I want us to keep this in mind, that John is writing as one of several witnesses to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, belief in which is the only way to the forgiveness of sins and eternal life in the glorious presence of God.

Who Was John?

And so this morning, we’re just going to give basically an introduction to this gospel witness of John. And we’ll look at the structure, the themes, but we’re going to begin with a reminder of who John was.

John was one of the twelve disciples. He was one of the twelve that was specifically called by Jesus to follow him during his earthly ministry.

And though John doesn’t record for us the account of Jesus calling him to “follow me,” we find this calling in Matthew’s Gospel as we read in Matthew chapter 4 verse 21.

Going on from there, he saw two brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father. Mending their nets, he called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and they followed him.

We learn several things from this. First, that John’s father was a man named Zebedee, that they were fishermen by trade, and that John had a brother named James, who was also called to be one of Jesus’ disciples.

And John and James obeyed this call. And like Peter and Andrew before them, they became fishers of men.

And so it’s clear, even from the start, that Jesus was calling John and the others to be witnesses, and that they would be sent forth to gather men into the Kingdom of God through the proclamation of the Gospel.

Now when we read this account in Matthew’s Gospel, and I think it’s also recorded in Mark, it seems rather dramatic. Especially this account with James and John, who Jesus walks by. Reading it, it seems as though he’s a stranger. He walks by, says, hey, follow me. And they get up, they get out of their boat, and they follow him. And they leave behind their father to mend the nets and to finish cleaning up. Seems pretty dramatic.

But it’s very likely, as you read all the gospel accounts and you get a flow of things, it’s very likely that this wasn’t the first encounter with Jesus that these men had.

In fact, though John doesn’t name himself, it’s very possible that John was first a disciple of John the Baptist. And we see this in John chapter 1 verse 35, where John records again,

the next day, John, meaning John the Baptist, stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. And then the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

And then later we’re told that one of those disciples was named Andrew in verse 40, but the other remains unnamed.

And so it’s very possible that John is this other unnamed disciple. And we’ll look more at that in just a bit.

But John and his brother were called to be disciples, and they were faithful followers of Jesus. And they developed quite a reputation, and that reputation was not always a positive one.

Jesus referred to them as Boanerges or Sons of Thunder in Mark 3. And it’s very likely that they were given this name in relation to something that they proudly and foolishly said and that Luke records for us in Luke 9 when they said,

Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them just as Elijah did?

And this was in response to a Samaritan village that did not allow Jesus and his disciples to lodge there. And so James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to consume that village.

It’s a pride. certainly seemed to be a stumbling block for James and John.

And of course, there’s another account with the help of their mother at one point. They approached Jesus and they asked Jesus,

do for us whatever it is we ask you.

I mean, right at the start, it seems they’re just being proud and presumptuous. We want you to do whatever we ask you. And what did they ask? They asked that they, the two of them, above the other disciples, would be granted the seats of honor at the right and the left hand of Jesus as he sits on his throne in this kingdom when it’s ushered in. They wanted these positions of power and honor.

Well, yet despite these faults and imperfections, We also know that James and John, along with Peter, became part of an inner circle of Jesus’ disciples who were greatly privileged.

It was these three alone who went in with Jesus when Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead, along with her parents, but it was only those three disciples who were there to witness that resurrection.

They alone witnessed the glorious sight of Jesus being transfigured in Mark 9.

And being His closest disciples, Jesus had these three alone accompany Him as He prayed in anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane the night in which He was betrayed.

Later, the Apostle Paul would testify that John, along with James and Peter, were pillars of the church in Jerusalem, and that they had welcomed him after his conversion.

And according to tradition, we find out that John was the last of the apostles to die, living up to the close of the first century, and he was the only one of the twelve who didn’t die a martyr’s death.

Along with his gospel account, John, we know, also wrote Revelation and the three short letters bearing his name.

And so this is what we know about John, who then, as a very close disciple of Jesus, was certainly then a qualified witness to write an account of who Jesus is and all that he accomplished.

John’s Unique Style of Self-Reference

But one of the unique features of John’s gospel is, again, this thing where he never mentions himself by name.

The other gospel writers, well, not Luke or Mark, but Matthew refers to himself, although he goes by his Hebrew name of Levi. But John, and the other gospel accounts have all the listing of the disciples, but John doesn’t. He doesn’t name himself. Nor, for that matter, he doesn’t even mention the name of his brother James.

Now the reason for this is uncertain.

Now, it’s possible that John, as an old man and as the last living apostle, that he just simply wanted to keep all eyes fixed on Jesus as the central character of his testimony. Really taking care not to impose himself to be a distraction.

That people would read this and say, wow, this is, you know, here’s the last apostle and he’s giving this authoritative word that he’s going to kind of exalt himself above all the other apostles. No, John just wants to focus on Jesus.

Well, if this were the case, that John is just being very humble and it’s very possible, well, again, this would be a stark difference from his younger days as one of those sons of thunder who puffed himself with pride at the thought of sitting at a place of honor in the kingdom of Christ.

And this shift in humility You may wonder, well it certainly may come along with living a long life and certainly seeing all the other apostles before him be put to death. But it could also be something that he learned in imitation of his former teacher, John the Baptist.

Remember John declares in John 3 verse 30:

He must increase, but I must decrease.

When people ask John the Baptist about, hey aren’t you worried about Jesus baptizing? He’s now baptizing more than you. But John says, no, He must increase, but I must decrease.

And again, it’s interesting that John is the only gospel writer to record these words of the baptizer, giving this sense of humility that will run through his gospel.

But even though John doesn’t specifically mention himself by name, he does seem to make plenty of references to himself.

We already noted how he’s likely the other disciple of John the Baptist, who, along with Andrew, went to follow Jesus.

He is also likely another disciple known to the high priest, who, along with Peter, followed the soldiers who had arrested Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. And because John was known, well, he and Peter were then allowed in by the gatekeepers.

And at the close of the gospel, John is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

It was this disciple of whom it was rumored that he wouldn’t die. But John quickly silenced this rumor in the verse right before it as saying, Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but if I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?

And we can imagine since John outlived all the other apostles, well it’s easy to see how such a rumor could have taken hold.

Well in this same account of Jesus walking with Peter and this other disciple by the sea, We also find the most common way John references himself throughout his gospel account.

He does this in chapter 13, verse 23, chapter 19, 26, chapter 20, verse 2, chapter 21, verse 7, and chapter 21, verse 20. John refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved.

Now some may want to criticize and question whether this is that young prideful John coming through as if John was saying that Jesus only loved him or at very least that Jesus loved him more than the others.

But this doesn’t seem to be the case. John isn’t one-upping himself. He seems to be simply stating the truth of what he’s experienced. He is loved by Jesus.

And when we see how the theme of love runs deeply through John’s gospel account, and perhaps even especially in his letters, and even to some extent in the book of Revelation, John was clearly awed and humbled by the great love his God and Savior had for him and all God’s people.

That a young man so prideful could be presented with such great opportunities, given such privilege to be a disciple of the Messiah, to be a witness of the salvation that he graciously accomplished, and to live such a long life of walking closely with him, first in the flesh, but then mostly in the spirit, walking with his Savior.

John is simply acknowledging the undeserved blessing that’s been bestowed upon him. He is loved by Jesus, and it’s evident in his life and his writings that he so loved his savior.

Truly qualifying him to be a faithful witness.

Friends, this is the John who wrote this gospel account.

Background on the Gospel

Well, now that we know who John is, it might be helpful to consider some basic background information on this gospel witness.

And a common question people have about John’s gospel, or really any of the books of the Bible, as it is often an important question, is when was it written?

Well, regarding John’s gospel, there’s really no clear, definite time that can be pinpointed with certainty. Pages and pages have been written on the dating of John’s gospel.

Some argue for an early date, that is before AD 70, because John makes no reference to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. And those arguing this point look to not only John’s silence on the issue, but also, for example, his use of the present tense, in passages like John 5 verse 2, where he describes the pool of Bethesda beside the Sheep Gate, which is in Jerusalem, rather than what was in Jerusalem. So John seems to be speaking as if that pool is still there as he’s writing.

But those who argue then for a later date argue that if John wrote 20 years after the destruction of the temple, well, there really wouldn’t be any need to refer to it. It’s just kind of obsolete.

And this can be strengthened by John’s clarification of Jesus’ words. In John 2, verse 19, when Jesus said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” And then quickly John adds an editorial comment, verse 21, but he was speaking of the temple of his body.

And this could be a way to answer the critics who would question those words of Jesus, since the temple was not rebuilt after three days after it was destroyed.

And John is just clarifying, well look, he’s not speaking about the temple. We know the temple wasn’t rebuilt, but he’s just speaking about his body.

Another support for a later date would be John’s emphasis on the Jewish festivals and how Jesus came in fulfillment of them, acknowledging really that the temple was just now obsolete and thus its destruction really wasn’t worthy of mention.

In short, however, earlier or late, We don’t really have sufficient information to know for certain when John wrote this gospel. Thus, John likely wrote this gospel account somewhere between 60 and 90 AD. That’s about the best that we can do.

Structure of John’s Gospel

When we consider the structure of John’s gospel, it’s notably very different, again, from the other accounts that we have, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which are often referred to as the Synoptic Gospels.

The synoptics are structured around the different phases of Jesus’ ministry. It begins typically with his birth, and then his early ministry in Galilee, and then in Judea, and then in the Gentile regions. And so it kind of goes to as he’s traveling around these different regions, and we get a feel for his ministry in that regard.

But John focuses the ministry of Jesus around the Passover feast.

And so after the prologue of chapter 1 and his early Galilean ministry in chapter 2, we have the first reference to the Passover in John’s Gospel, chapter 2, verse 13:

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

So that’s chapter 2.

Well, then the next reference we find in chapter 6, verse 4:

Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.

And then we have a third and final reference, in chapter 11 verse 55:

And the Passover of the Jews was near.

And so with nearly identical wording, John distinguishes three separate Passover feasts.

Now, what’s the significance of this?

Well, first, it’s largely from John’s description of these references that we really have kind of mapped out for us the precise length of Jesus’ public ministry, which was, we know, about three years. There’s three Passover feasts that happen once a year, so we can see that Jesus’ ministry lasted just about three years. which each year is ministry culminating in the celebration of the Passover in Jerusalem.

Well, this leads to the second significance, as we mentioned previously, that the emphasis on these Passover celebration culminates in the ultimate fulfillment of the Passover in Christ’s own sacrificial death on the cross for the sins of his people.

This fulfillment is, in fact, prophesied by none other than John the Baptist, back in chapter 1, verse 29, who declares, when he first sees Jesus approaching,

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

What took away the sins of the people? What symbolized the removal of the sins, the passing over the sins of the people? In the Passover, it was the Lamb that was slain.

And John, the baptizer, is saying that Jesus is the Lamb of God, provided, and He would truly be that Passover sacrifice.

And so John the Apostle is, again, the only gospel writer to include these words of John the baptizer, thus again indicating its significance for the account which he gives where Jesus has come as the perfect sacrifice the Lord Himself provides to atone for the sins of His people.

And so, with each mention of the Passover in John’s Gospel, we’re reminded then of what’s coming. But not only are we, the readers, reminded, thousands of years later, but even as it happened in real time, Jesus Himself would have been reminded with each passing celebration of the Passover, that the final Passover was quickly approaching, where He, the Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God provided by the Lord, would lay down His life for the sheep whom He loved.

And so John structures his gospel around these Passover celebrations.

Style and Distinctives of John’s Gospel

Well, regarding the style of John’s gospel, it’s worth noting a few things. Again, that makes John’s gospel kind of stand out from the other accounts.

And the first is simply just the style in which John writes. When you read the gospel of John, you get a very different feel Then when you read the other gospel accounts, which all seem to be focused on presenting clear facts and the timing of events following this common timeline, though certainly each one stressing a different theme, but John’s gospel, beginning with his prologue, just has a much more spiritual or theological tone to it.

Not that the others don’t have that kind of a tone at all, nor does John avoid the statement of facts and events. Indeed, we just talked about his mention of the Passover repeatedly as a time marker. But when you read John’s Gospel in comparison to the other Gospels, there’s clearly a different feel, a different emphasis.

John is unique, for example, in the fact that he doesn’t record any of the parables of Jesus, which we know took up the bulk of Jesus’ teaching. He spoke a lot in parables, and the other gospel writers record those parables frequently. But John doesn’t have any.

In fact, in John, we’ll find much of the teaching of Jesus that’s recorded takes place in small, more private settings, rather than in front of large crowds.

Right? So in John, we don’t have the Sermon on the Mount. We don’t have the Sermon by the Sea, or the Sermon on the Plain, or we don’t have the Olivet Discourse.

But it’s only in John that we have his intimate discourse with his disciples about John the Baptist. It’s only in John’s Gospel that we have Jesus’ private nighttime conversation with Nicodemus. Or Jesus’ private conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well. Or the extended teaching to His disciples on the night of the Last Supper. The high priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17. Again, He’s the only one that includes that. Or his conversation with Pilate about authority and truth. Or even as we referenced earlier, his walk on the beach with Peter and John after his resurrection.

See, all these present Jesus in a closer, more intimate way as he teaches and he talks with people on a very personal level. Because this was the Jesus that John knew.

And of all the miracles recorded in the Gospels, I think there’s something like 35 miracles. And again, many of the Gospels are, the writers record similar ones and some are different. But John only has eight of those miracles recorded.

And some of those, like the wedding at Cana and the raising of Lazarus and the great catch of fish, are unique to John. No other gospel writer has those.

And so these differences, again, begin to add further weight to the truth of John’s witness as his gospel account really serves to provide a fuller, more complete, and in some ways, more theological picture of Jesus and his ministry that really kind of just fills in what the others have left out.

Not that the others are wrong, but John is writing, as we’ll see, with a different purpose.

John’s Stated Purpose for Writing

Which is the final thing we want to consider in preparation for this journey through John’s gospel. What’s his purpose for writing? Why did John write this account?

Again, Bible scholars and theologians discuss many possibilities. Some point to some early church fathers who were not that far removed from John and talk about how he was urged to write an account by his friends who seemed to be anxious about the old age and the coming death of this last of the apostles and an eyewitness, and they really wanted to have his witness and testimony.

Well, John, you’ve lived so long. What did you see? What do you remember about Jesus? We want to hear your account.

And some contend that this accounts for the “we” in the word “we” in John 21 verse 24, where it says,

this is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things. And we know that his testimony is true,

that “we” possibly referring to his friends who encouraged him to write and who were well-known in the church at the time.

Others argue that John was responding to false teaching and heresy that was beginning to make its way into the church, both Docetism and Gnosticism. Though both of these heresies didn’t come into fullness until the second century, but they both had early, less-formulated versions that would have been around at that present time.

And as we see from John’s prologue, and both of these heresies, one of the things they shared in common was that they denied that Jesus was God who had come in the flesh. And of course we see in John’s prologue that this was something he established right at the start.

John also may have these heresies in mind because he writes similarly when he writes his epistles. Again, his epistles, some think that he was trying to rebuff early Gnostics because they rejected the idea of Jesus coming in the flesh.

Well, it’s certainly possible that John had these purposes and prompts in view.

But John himself tells us clearly ultimately, why he wrote this gospel account, and we find this in what we read earlier in chapter 20 verse 31:

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

And so we see here two key purposes.

First, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

And again, this is in part what we just mentioned regarding the response to heresies, which makes that quite plausible. John was seeking to establish not only that Jesus was the Christ, the promised Messiah, the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures, but that He was also in the flesh the very Son of God.

And as we mentioned, John emphasizes this right from the start in his prologue, right? We’ll consider the Lord willing next week.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

It couldn’t be any clearer than that. Jesus Christ is the Word of God who became flesh.

We also see John’s emphasis, or emphasizes purpose, with the great I am statements of Jesus that he records. The sheaf of which Jesus declares before the religious leaders in John 8 verse 58 when he says,

Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.

Here Jesus is echoing the covenant name which the Lord revealed to Moses from the burning bush. And the Jews knew exactly what he was saying because they took up stones to throw at him.

And so Jesus makes a clear identification with God the Father.

But He also makes other I Am statements. That again, purposely connect Him to the person and being of the Heavenly Father.

He says,

• I am the light of the world.
• I am the Good Shepherd.
• I am the resurrection and the life.
• I am the bread of life.
• I am the door.
• I am the vine.
• I am the way, the truth, and the life.

And John makes very clear that Jesus is the Great I AM.

John also makes this point that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, by the sampling of miracles. Miracles which John doesn’t call them miracles, he calls them signs. He calls them signs because they point to the true divine identity of the One who performs them.

And again, we mentioned there are eight signs that John records. And I have this then, it’s a good thing if you want to memorize what are the miracles in John’s gospel. Well, I had a professor at seminary that had this acronym, THE SIGNS:

• Turning water into wine in chapter 2.
• Healing the nobleman’s son in chapter 4.
• Empowering the lame man in chapter 5.
• Satisfying the 5,000 in chapter 6. (And I will say that the feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle that is repeated in all four Gospels.)
• Itinerating on the water. (He got a little creative on that one in chapter 6.)
• Giving sight to the blind man in chapter 9.
• Notifying Lazarus in chapter 11. (Corrected from obvious transcription error.)
• And then the final miracle, Supplying the fish in John chapter 21.

So John’s gospel witness proves that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

But imparting knowledge of this truth is only part of John’s purpose as the second reason he writes is so that believing these things, you may have life in his name.

John’s purpose was that his readers then, now, and in the future might know who Jesus is and believe in him so that they might have life, even eternal life in him.

That’s the purpose that John is writing his gospel witness. John wants to see hearts and lives converted. He wants to see sinners dead in their sins and transgressions brought to new and everlasting life in Christ.

He wants to assure those who already believe on Christ, who may be persecuted because of their faith in Christ, as John and the other apostles were. He wants them to be assured of the promise. That if they believe in Jesus, that if they believe He is the Christ, the Son of God, they will have eternal life in Him. An eternal life that far surpasses anything that this life has to offer.

And as you read through the Gospel of John, he gives evidence of this key purpose. In fact, John uses the word life 39 times in his Gospel. And that’s the most of any New Testament book. And it’s third only behind the Psalms and the Proverbs of all Scripture.

And so life is a big deal to John.

And most often when he uses the term life, the implication is of new and everlasting life in Christ Jesus.

We see this, for example, in his conversation with Nicodemus about being born again by the Spirit. And in his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well offering her life-giving water. And even in the several I Am statements that we already mentioned, that He is the bread of life, the way, the truth, and the life, and the resurrection, and the life.

It’s all about life, and finding life in Christ.

And that Christ is the giver of life, and the securer of life.

In fact, John’s emphasis on the resurrection to new and everlasting life, again, is also Demonstrates this because he includes Jesus teaching on this subject in John 5 and John 11. Teaching episodes that are not included in the other gospel accounts. And the two actual resurrection accounts. First of Lazarus and then of Jesus himself.

These demonstrate the centrality of life, of life in and through Christ, to John’s purpose for writing this gospel witness.

Closing Exhortation and Prayer

Beloved, God, John, the faithful and beloved disciple and apostle of Jesus, has written his testimony. what he saw and what he heard. He has written his gospel witness so that we, even those of us here today in the 21st century, that we might truly believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is the Christ, the very son of God come in the flesh.

And that by believing this great truth, we might have new and everlasting life in him.

Friends, take heed and pay attention then, for this purpose for John’s writing will be the focus and hope for a goal of our study of this witness, all to the glory and praise of God alone.

Let’s pray.

O gracious God and heavenly Father, we do rejoice and give thanks for this introduction to the gospel of John. And we praise you and thank you for your kindness and your mercy to us.

That you have provided all these witnesses, that you have provided these four gospel accounts, that you have given us the gospel of John, which is really in many ways as we’ve considered unique, giving us new information and the more personal insights into who Jesus was and what He had come to accomplish.

That we might truly believe that He is the Christ, that He is the Son of God come in the flesh. And that by believing that great truth, that we would have life in Him, even eternal life. because of what he accomplished for us on the cross and how he even now reigns over all things for the blessing and benefit of his people, the church.

That this witness continues to go forth. And we pray, Lord, that as we venture into this study, that you will truly be with us, that you will help us to see these things, that you would also equip us to To bear witness to this, even as we read and study this witness, that we would be challenged to be those faithful witnesses, even as John and the other disciples were. Of the truth of your word, the truth of Jesus Christ, the truth of salvation in him, the truth of forgiveness of sins that we have in him, and the glorious truth of eternal and everlasting life. that we will have in your presence forever and ever.

And so we pray for your blessing upon us in these things, impressing this truth upon our hearts by your spirit. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.