Gospel of John Online Study
Welcome to this study of the Gospel of John! The study consists of ten 25-minute presentations on different sections of John. Each session will attempt to point out significant theological features of John’s narrative and to help you read this gospel with greater understanding. The best way to proceed is to read the portion of John covered by each session before watching the video. You might also want to go back a re-read each portion after watching. This is to say that the video segments are not intended to be a substitute for reading John but, rather, aides to understanding it. John is a deeply theological gospel, and each video segment is only able to focus on a few things. Read John meditatively and leisurely, and you will find yourself being drawn into his narrative.
Session I: John 1:1-2:12
Most of this session is devoted to John’s important prologue, 1:1-18. This prologue sets out the basic outline of John’s theology and, particularly, his understanding of Jesus. The prologue is the key to the whole gospel and so paying close attention to yields great rewards. This section also contains a four-day preparation period (1:19-51) for the “Mt. Sinai moment” that occurs in 2:1-12. Here, Jesus performs his first “sign” in the context of a wedding, a sign which reveals much about his identity and mission.
Session 2: John 2:13-3:36
This section opens with Jesus’ actions in the Temple in Jerusalem. The other three gospels place this narrative at the end of Jesus’ life but John places it at the beginning. It clearly reveals something important about who Jesus is and what he is about. John 2:21 is absolutely important in this respect. This section also contains the famous dialogue with Nicodemus in 3:1-21. This is the first of several conversations that Jesus will have will various people all of which are designed to lead them to faith. In each case, there is an obstacle. What is holding Nicodemus back? In 3:16-21 we get a compressed account of Jesus’s work. The section closes with 3:22-36 in which John the Baptist provides a witness to Jesus. Does John intend us to see the Baptist as a model of discipleship (3:30)?
Session 3: John 4:1-54
This section contains Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman. Note that in terms of religious orthodoxy, social standing and moral status she is the opposite of Nicodemus. John wants us to see that Jesus engages with very different kinds of people. Note how Jesus attempts to lead her to faith and the obstacles he must work around. Note also where this woman ends up in 4:29. 4:43-54 makes the point that signs and wonders are not the foundation of faith and that Jesus does not wish to be perceived as a mere wonder worker.
Session 4: John 5:1-6:24
This section begins with a narrative in 5:1-18 about Jesus healing a man who has been an invalid for thirty-eight years on the Sabbath. What does this action reveal about Jesus’ identity? 5:19-30 then provides a profound meditation on the relationship of the Son to the Father. For John, this is the only way that Jesus can be properly understood. Note the affirmation in 5:30. In 6:5-24 we have the miracle of the loaves and fish in which Jesus miraculously feeds a large crowd. This action will be shown to have a Eucharistic meaning in the “Bread of Life Discourse” which follows. Note that all of this takes place at the Passover (6:4) which provides the interpretive context.
Session 5: John 6:25-7:52
This is one of the most important sections of the gospel. The Messiah was expected (by some) to bring manna from heaven. In this narrative, Jesus more than fulfills this expectation by presenting himself as the manna. For John, 6:48-51 is key statement of Jesus’ identity and mission. This narrative also has a Eucharistic meaning in that it suggests that through the Eucharist Christians will share in what Jesus has accomplished on the cross. In 7:1-53 Jesus interprets himself in the light of the Feast of Booths. On the last day of this feast, Jesus offers a revelation about himself as the feast’s fulfillment (6:37-38).
Session 6: John 7:53-10:21
This section begins with the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery (7:53-8:11). What does Jesus’ response to moral and theological test say about him? In 8:12-59 Jesus engages in a log dialogue about his authority and his mission. The central question here is: Can Jesus produce any credible witnesses to confirm what he is saying about himself? To this Jesus replies that his testimony is self-authenticating. This is a bold statement since in the Old Testament only God’s testimony about himself is self-authenticating. The dialogue (or, perhaps, inquisition) ends with Jesus making one of the central statements of this gospel in 8:58. Jesus echoes God’s self-revelation on Mt. Sinai. In 9:1-41 Jesus gives sight to a man born blind (an action without parallel in the Old Testament) and in 10:1-21, with Ezekiel 34 in the background, he announces that he is Israel’s True Shepherd (God).
Session 7: John 10:22-12:50
In 10:22-42 Jesus interprets himself in the context of the Feast of Dedication, suggesting that he is the fulfillment of all of Israel’s feasts and worship. 11:1-54 recounts Jesus’ final sign, the raising of Lazarus from the dead. This will be Jesus’ final public action in this gospel, and it points forward to the consequences of his resurrection. Note 11:43-44. Jesus is not headed for Jerusalem and in 12:1-8 he is symbolically prepared for burial before he enters the city. John’s account of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem (12:12-19) deserves careful consideration. In John 12:27-36 we have John’s version of the “Garden of Gethsemane” moment. In the face of his approaching suffering and death, Jesus affirms his mission to glorify the Father. 12:44-50 offers a compressed statement about Jesus’s mission, one which reveals his identity.
Session 8: John 13:1-16:4a
This section opens with the washing of the disciples’ feet, an action which offers an interpretation of Jesus’ death. 13:31-17:26 is often referred to as the Farewell Discourse in that Jesus prepares the disciples for his death and explains why his death is a good thing. Although he will not be physically present with the disciples, they will not be alone, and he will not abandon them. The purpose of this discourse is not to supply information but to prepare the disciples for their mission. The mission of the Son will be extended through the community of the disciples. In this discourse, Jesus begins to speak about the Holy Spirit who will render him present even during his apparent absence.
Session 9: John 16:4b-18:32
16:4b—15 complete what Jesus says about the Holy Spirit with 16:14 being crucial. 17;1-26 is sometimes called the High Priestly Prayer since Jesus intercedes for the disciples and for all Christians who follow them. This prayer looks forward to the mission of the Church as emerging from Jesus’ death and resurrection. 7:24 contains another import moment of self-revelation. With 18:1 we begin the Passion Narrative, the story of Jesus’ arrest, trial and execution. John’ s account of Jesus’ arrest in 18:1-11 is very different from the accounts of the other three gospels and so deserves careful attention. The Passion Narrative also contains Peter’s three-fold denial of Jesus.
Session 10: John 18:33-21:25
This section contains Jesus’ trial before Pilate which also reveals something important about Jesus (18:33-40). John makes it clear that Jesus dies at the moment when the Passover lambs are being slaughtered in the Temple, making it clear that he is the Passover Lamb. For John, Jesus dies not defeated or abandoned but in victory (19:30). John’s account of the resurrection in 20:1-29 makes an important point: Jesus’ resurrection is the foundation of the Church’s mission. In preparation for this, Peter’s three-fold denial is undone by a three-fold commission (21:15-19). Note the concluding statement in 21:25.