Why Gospel of John?
So that people might meet Jesus.
WHY THE GOSPEL OF JOHN?
We’re glad you’ve asked! Seriously, more than a few people ask this question.
If I was going to hand somebody a book, I would ask.
So, let’s come to this question with a question, “If you were to hand just one Book of the Bible to a person who has never met Jesus, which book would it be—and why?”
Our answer is the Gospel of John, and we have 4 broad reasons.
Written for You to meet Jesus
John says he wrote this Gospel that people might meet Jesus. Here are his actual words from the end of his Gospel, chapter 20 verse 31.
“…but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
John is the only Gospel writer that specifically calls out this purpose.
You meet Jesus...and Yourself
By Verse 14 of Chapter 1 you meet Jesus…and yourself. The first 14 verses clearly tell you Jesus is God come to earth. In today’s world, where we all are being conditioned to receive information quickly, John’s Gospel hits this note.
The first 12 verses also speak to us. It speaks of darkness, and how “the world did not know him”. There was a time when all of us “did not know him”. I went to church for years and did not know him.
And not only do you meet Jesus, by verse 14 you are invited to become a member of his family.
“12But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
The "Cliff Notes" of the Bible
The Gospel of John is like the “Cliff Notes” of the Bible. Seriously. Consider how the Bible consists of 66 books but yet has one theme – God chasing after his creation, after human beings. In the Gospel of John we see just how far God will go to rescue us.
In his Gospel, John sets up reading the rest of the Bible. He introduces Old Testament ideas such as Jesus as The Lamb of God, the Good Shepherd, the Passover Sacrifice, and more. While a person who has never read the Bible before won’t understand all these ideas, the Gospel primes the person new to the Bible for future reading. Imagine them reading Exodus as God feeds the people in the desert, and their mind going back to Jesus as the Bread of Life that they read in John.
In The Beginning
We live in a world of competing philosophies. Most of us do not spend our days thinking about these sorts of deep thoughts, but they are in the background operating.
Consider how John’s Gospel starts, “In the beginning…” Those three words make a huge philosophical statement, that the universe had a beginning. For centuries people denied this situation because if there was a beginning, then the immediate question is who/what caused the universe to begin. This Gospel clearly asserts that the universe was brought into being by a grand plan that was from God.
The Gospel, again within the first 14 verses, notes that Jesus existed before time, was at the creation, and indeed is God come to earth.
The list goes on. The point is that the Gospel of John stands against philosophies that deny God as creator, sustainer, and redeemer.
At this point, maybe you are ready to read John’s Gospel for yourself. We would love for you to read the Gospel through our 21 Day Challenge guided reading.
Or maybe you are still wondering how does the Gospel of John help me share my faith? That is a great question. First, let’s be clear. It does work, but it isn’t some magical hocus-pocus sort of thing.
There is some deep biblical truth that this process stands upon, including the power of God’s Word and the power of Prayer.
We unpack How It Works here.
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