Gtcotr/062321
The
writer of the Gospel of John is the Apostle John …
·
One
of the first two disciples Jesus called to come and follow Him.
·
John
was employed as a fisherman along with his brother James.
·
Both
of them were the sons of a man named Zebedee and their mother was named Salome.
(Mark 16:1)
·
When
Jesus called them, they both forsook all and followed Him.
·
The
Lord surnamed them “Boanerges”, which means, “Sons of Thunder”. (Mark 3:17)
·
These
two brothers were among the favored three who accompanied Jesus along with
Peter to several places which the other disciples were not invited. (Mark
5;9;14)
·
We
don’t know what happened to John’s father, Zebedee, after his two sons left the
family business to become disciples of Jesus of Nazareth. The Bible does not
include a continuing account of Zebedee the fisherman, however we do see his
wife, Salome, faithfully following Jesus all the way to the resurrection and
presumably beyond.
·
It
was John’s mother, Salome, who walked with Jesus and His disciples on the road
and asked Him to allow her two sons to sit beside Him, one on His right and the
other on His left, when He established His future Kingdom. (Matthew 20:20ff)
·
There
is reason to believe the Zebedee family was a family of means and connections.
o John was recognized
and allowed inside the gates of the High Priest’s home in Jerusalem during the
trial of Jesus.
o John also vouched for
Peter to be allowed inside the courtyard as well. (John
18:15)
o There is a stone
tablet which was discovered by archeologists in the city of Capernaum which
commemorates the building of the Synagogue in that city with funds provided by
the house and family of Zebedee. Go with me and I’ll show you this magnificent
piece of history.
·
Salome
is known to be among the group of women who traveled with Jesus and assisted
Him on His journeys by providing funds and service to Him and His companions.
o Mark 15:41 (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed
him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto
Jerusalem.
o Matthew
27:55 And many women were there beholding afar off,
which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:
o Luke 8:3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s
steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their
substance.
·
John
is believed to have been the youngest disciple of Jesus and he lived to be the
oldest and is thought to be the only disciple who died a peaceful death.
·
John
is called the “Disciple whom Jesus loved”, four times by John himself. (John
13;20;21)
·
At
the cross, Jesus entrusted the continued care of Mary, His mother, to John.
(John 19)
· Late in life, many assume in his late 90’s or perhaps at even 100 years old, after having invested himself in many disciples, John writes 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John as well as what we hold in our hands tonight, the Gospel of John. He wrote them all from the city of Ephesus.
This is John, the Disciple of Jesus, the last living Apostle of the Lamb, the man who outran Peter to the empty tomb that first Sunday morning after the crucifixion; the man who walked into the Temple with Peter (Acts 3) and saw the lame man rise up and walk by the power of the Name of Jesus; the man who was put into prison and beaten by the religious leaders in Jerusalem for teaching that the resurrected Jesus was the Messiah and Savior of the world; the man who was sent to Samaria by the Church in Jerusalem after Phillip had held a revival there and the whole city got saved … John laid his hands on the Believers and they all received the Holy Spirit like Peter and John did on the day of Pentecost; the man who watched his older brother James martyred with the sword by the Government for preaching the truth about Jesus; the man who no doubt received news of the martyrdom of every other one of the disciples he once walked and talked and ministered with while following Jesus for those 3½ years; the disciple who was exiled to the Isle of Patmos under either Emperor Nero or Domitian. There he had the visions recorded in the book of Revelation; the man who sat late in life, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and wrote to us about Jesus and the fact that we must be born-again.
Let’s begin at verse 1 of this amazing book about the person and the love of Jesus Christ.
John 1
1 ¶ In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning
with God.
3 All things were made
through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4 In Him was life, and the
life was the light of men.
5 ¶ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
There is no doubt the Apostle John wrote this Gospel and John even tells us exactly why:
John 20:31 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.
We are going to spend some time together in the Gospel of John during these next few Wednesday evenings. It is my hope, as well as the hope of the Apostle John, that in hearing the testimony of Jesus Christ, you might believe and that in believing, you may have eternal life in His name.
Take-A-Ways?
