John 1-2: Sipping and Flipping

We start a new season focused on learning how to be a friend of Jesus through John’s writings, beginning with John 1 and 2. I read John’s opening scenes to show who Jesus is, then sit with the question of whether we’ll follow Him when He disrupts what’s wrong in us. 
• John’s unique purpose compared with the synoptic gospels 
• John’s awe at being loved by Jesus 
• Jesus as the Word and the light who overcomes darkness 
• becoming children of God by receiving and believing 
• John the Baptist’s witness and the Lamb of God 
• “Come and you’ll see” as the start of discipleship 
• water into wine at Cana as Jesus’ first sign 
• cleansing the temple and Jesus’ claim about the true temple 
• the challenge of following Jesus into uncomfortable places 

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Transcript

New Season And Big Theme

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Welcome back to the Out Loud Bible Project Podcast. This is Mike. I'm excited we get to start a new season of the podcast today. And this season is going to be taking a look at a number of books written by John and also Jude, but all of John's writings here, under the topic of how to be a friend of Jesus. Because John is known as being Jesus's arguably best friend, if not one of his best friends. And John wrote a number of letters, but more famously his gospel, which we're going to start here today, the Gospel of John. It was written much later. Matthew, Mark, Luke. Those are the first three Gospels. John is the fourth. Matthew, Mark, and Luke have a lot of stories in common. They were writing and telling of the same stories from their different angles and perspectives. Those are called the synoptic gospels because those three have a lot of things in common. John is different. It seems like John was also writing his letter, his uh gospel, a lot later, as if, well, Matthew and Mark and John, they wrote theirs, and John was like, I don't know, I I got I got it I got a different perspective. I was very close to him. I I I just want to say some things and share some stories that the other guys haven't talked about. And so then John was able to compile his gospel with this in mind. I've talked about before as we kind of talk about the Gospels throughout this podcast, as we get to them, that uh Matthew talks about what Jesus said. And Mark focuses on what Jesus did, and Luke shares how Jesus felt. And John tells us who Jesus is. It's the thing that struck John the most, who Jesus really is. And John also was marveling at the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, also loved him. So as we go through this book and we see John write something like the one Jesus loved, that's his own little term for himself. He doesn't even name himself in the story here. When he does talk about John, he's talking about John the Baptist. When he talks about himself, he refers to the disciple that Jesus loved. Because it just struck him. It's not a brag, it's just struck him. It's like, wow, Jesus, after just to think how much I know about him and who he is, the fact that he loves me blows my mind. The fact that I'm one Jesus loves incredible. And so that's the spirit with which John is writing here as he writes his gospel. So we get a lot of unique stories and unique perspectives from John's gospel that we don't get in the other gospels, which makes for a really interesting read. John doesn't start with narratives or even a genealogy like the other gospels do. He starts, well, at the beginning, because that's where the story of Jesus truly starts. So let's start this season of the podcast learning how we can be a friend of God as we read from one of God's closest friends, John. This is John chapter one and two in the New English Translation. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind, and the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it. A man came, sent from God, whose name was John, and he came as a witness to testify about the light, so that everyone might believe through him. Now he himself was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. The true light who gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was created by him, but the world didn't recognize him. He came to what was his own, but his own people didn't receive him. But to all who have received him, those who believe in his name, he is given the right to become God's children, children not born by human parents or by human desire or a husband's decision, but by God. Now the word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory, the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth who came from the Father. John testified about him and shouted out, This is the one about whom I said, He who comes after me is greater than I am, because he existed before me. For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another, for the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ. See, no one has ever seen God. The only one himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God known. Now this was John's testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? He confessed. He did not deny, but confessed I am not the Christ. So they asked him, Well then who are you? Are you Elijah? He said, I'm not. Are you the prophet? He answered No. Then they said to him, Who are you? Tell us so that we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? John said, I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, make straight the way for the Lord. As the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees, so they asked John, Why then are you baptizing if you're not the Christ nor Elijah nor the prophet? John answered them, I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not recognize who's coming after me. I'm not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal. Now these things happened in Bethany, across the Jordan River where John was baptizing. On the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is the one about whom I said, After me comes a man who's greater than I am, because he existed before me. I didn't recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel. And then John testified, I saw the Spirit descending like a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. And I didn't recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. I've both seen and testified that this man is the chosen one of God. Again, the next day John was standing there with two of his disciples, and gazing at Jesus as he walked by he said, Look, the Lamb of God. When John's two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Jesus turned around and saw them following and said to them, What do you want? So they said to him, Rabbi, which is translated teacher, where are you staying? Jesus answered, Come and you'll see. So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. Now it was about four o'clock in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two disciples who heard what John said and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother, Simon, and told him We found the Messiah, which is translated Christ. Andrew brought Simon to Jesus, and Jesus looked at him and said, You're Simon, the son of John. You will be called Cephas, which is translated Peter. On the next day Jesus wanted to set out for Galilee, and he found Philip and said to him, Follow me. Now Philip was from Betheda, the town of Andrew and Peter, and Philip found Nathaniel and told him We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathanael replied, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip replied, Well, come and see. Now Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him and exclaimed, Ah, look, a true Israelite in whom there's no deceit. Nathanael asked him, how do you know me? Jesus replied, Before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree? I saw you. Nathaniel answered him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel. Jesus said to him, Because I told you I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You'll see greater things than these. He continued, I tell all of you the solemn truth, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Now, on the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, Jesus' mother said to him, They have no wine left. Jesus replied, Woman, why are you saying this to me? My time's not yet come. His mother told the servants, whatever he tells you, do it. Well now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. And Jesus told the servants, fill the water jars with water. So they filled them up to the very top, and then he told them, Now draw some out and take it to the head steward. And they did. When the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from, although the servants who had drawn the water knew, he called the bridegroom and said, Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper wine when the guests are drunk. You've kept the good wine till now. Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs in Cana of Galilee, and in this way he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Campernum with his mother and brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days. Now the Jewish feast of Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple courts those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at tables. So he made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple courts with the sheep and the oxen, and he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables to those who sold the doves, he said, Take these things away from here, do not make my father's house a marketplace. His disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for your house will devour me. So then the Jewish leaders responded, What sign can you show us since you're doing these things? Jesus replied, Destroy this temple, and in three days I'll raise it up again. Then the Jewish leader said to him, This temple's been under construction for forty six years. You're going to raise it up in three days? But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the saying that Jesus had spoken. Now, while Jesus was in Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover, many people believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing, but Jesus would not entrust himself to them because he knew all people. He didn't need anyone to testify about man, for he knew what was in man. Well, following Jesus sounds fun when it's all about going to parties and turning water into wine, seeing miracles and going on walks and learning and talking, that's all great. But when Jesus goes into a space and completely disrupts it, flips things over, calling out what's wrong, and sometimes that space is in our own hearts. Oof. Following Jesus doesn't sound so fun anymore. It gets scary, it gets uncomfortable. Are you willing to follow Jesus into those places? That's the thinking out loud, thought for the day. Join me next time as we continue the book of John. Many more great conversations ahead as we learn how to be a friend of Jesus. We'll see you then.