John: More Than a Biography (Introduction)

I hold in my hand a book written by Andrew Bonar.

It is a biography of a man by the name of Robert Murray

McShane. Over my years of living, which

has been 67 of them almost 68, I've read many biographies.

But there's one biography that stands head and tails above them

all, and it's this one. It's about a man whose ministry

spanned 6 1/2 years. He lived to be 29 years of age.

He died 2 weeks before his 30th birthday.

He pretty much turned Scotland upside down with the gospel.

He pastored Dundee Church in Scotland and yet his ministry

only spanned 6 1/2 years when he died.

Historians tell us that 7000 people gathered as memorial.

That was in an age where there was no television, no social

media. Word was given by horseback or

word of mouth to make sure others heard about what had

taken place. So by the time he died and the

time they gave the memorial service a few days later, 7000

people would gather to celebrate the life of one man who turns

Scotland upside down with the Gospel.

In fact, it was Charles Spurgeon who said these words about Mr.

McShane. He said, this is the This is one

of the best and most profitable volumes ever published.

The memoir of such a man ought to surely be in the hands of

every Christian and certainly every preacher of the Gospel.

The Memoirs and Remains of Robert Murray McShane by Andrew

Bonar stands heads and tails above every other biography

written by any other man simply because in 6 1/2 years he turned

country upside down. I have on my desk in my office a

quote by Mr. Mcchain, and that quote stares me in the face

every time I open my Bible, every time I sit in my chair.

This is the quote. In fact, I think it's the best

quote ever given for any pastor who's ever lived.

This is what it says. Mr. McShane is writing to a

fellow colleague in his letter explains this.

Do not forget the culture of the inner man, I mean of the heart.

How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his Saber clean

and sharp. Every stain he rubs off with the

greatest care. Remember, you are God's sword,

his instrument. I trust a chosen vessel unto him

to bear his name in great measure, according to the purity

and perfections of the instrument, will be the success.

It is not great talents God blesses so much as great

likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful

weapon in the hand of God. That is what characterized the

life of Robert Murray McShane, something about a holy

instrument being the most awful weapon in the hand of the living

God. And it's a reminder to us as

fathers. It's a reminder to us as

leaders, especially a reminder to us as pastors, that as God's

chosen vessels, you're used by God for the glory of his

precious name. But the Memoirs and Remains of

Robert Murray McShane is a book about one man's life.

It's a biography. And as great as the biography

is, there is a greater biography.

In fact, there are 4 authors of that biography, Matthew, Mark,

Luke and John. And yet their biography is not

about a man necessarily who lived a great life.

It's about the God man who gives life, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we are about to embark on a study of the Gospel of John,

John's unique gospel, which by the way, 93% of John is not in

the other three gospels. So it is unique.

It's written 20 to 30 years after the other writers wrote

about the Christ. But John's Gospel is so unique

that he gives us the Christmas story in four English words,

four Greek words. He gives us the Christmas story

at its greatest description, and he does it without any of the

historical figures, but with all the theological facts.

That's what makes John's gospel so unique.

The gospel is found in verse 14 of chapter one.

In four words. The Word became flesh.

That's the Christmas story. No Mary, no Joseph, no

shepherds, no Bethlehem, no Manger, no cradle, no sheep, no

hay, just the Word became flesh. The historical figures are are

unique in and of themselves, but the theological facts are what

defined for us. Christmas, the Word became flesh

and the Word is defined in verse #1 of John's Gospel first

chapter where it says that in the beginning was the Word and

the Word was with God and the Word was God or literally God

was the Word. And so you realize that that God

became flesh. It's a summation of the Old

Testaments theological facts about Christmas.

But in the Old Testament it's in one word, and in the New

Testament it's in 4 words. But the one word in the Old

Testament is translated with four words, and that's found in

Isaiah 7 verse #14 and that is Emmanuel, which translated means

God is with us. So 4 words in the Old Testament,

4 words in the New Testament give us all we need to know

about the Christmas story and we are about to embark on the

greatest story of the greatest man, whoever lived Jesus Christ

our Lord. Such a unique gospel as John

writes it. It was Martin Luther who said

that this book is the unique and tender and genuine chief gospel.

You see, John is more than a biography.

John is the gospel. It's the good news.

The gospel writers, writers give us the gospel of Jesus Christ

our Lord. It screams nothing but good

news. They just do it from different

perspectives. It was William Barkley in his

commentary on John who said this.

For many Christian people, the Gospel According to Saint John

is the most precious book in the New Testament.

It is the book on which, above all, they feed their minds and

nourish their hearts, and in which they rest their souls.

For John has the most penetrating gaze of all the New

Testament writers into the eternal mysteries and the

eternal truths and the mind of God.

Many people find themselves closer to God and Jesus Christ

in John than in any other book in the world.

Most of us, as new believers, began our reading in the Gospel

of John. And that's because John's Gospel

is written with simplicity. It's written with sublime words.

In fact, very, very often he describes everything in no more

than two syllables. Every once in a while he will

embark on a three syllable word, but for the most part, it's the

easiest gospel to read. So let me, as we introduce to

you the Gospel of John, give you the ABC's of our introduction.

First of all, the author, then the background, then the

characteristics, and then your decision, the AB CS.

By way of introduction, let's talk first of all about the

author. John's name is not mentioned by

him. He doesn't say that he is the

author. He's referred to 10 different

times in his gospel, but five times he's referred to as the

disciple whom Jesus loved. In fact, it says over in John 13

now they were leaning on Jesus's bosom, one of his disciples whom

Jesus loved. That's how he refers to himself.

And think about that with me, if you will.

Jesus never asked John, do you love me?

But he asked Peter, do you love me?

But never asked John that question.

In fact, he asked Peter that question.

And the response was if you love me, feed my sheep.

If you love me, tend to my lambs.

If you love me, do this. But to John he said this John

John 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19, verse #26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the

disciples standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother,

Woman, behold your son. They looked at John and said,

Behold your mother as Christ hung on the cross.

As he thought about his mother. He entrusted his mother into the

care of one man, the man who knew he was loved by the Lord

and the man who truly loved his God.

Historians tell us that that John cared for for Mary until

she died. But it's interesting to note

that even though he was known as the disciple whom Jesus loved,

he was also known as Bornegas, a son of Thunder.

In fact, he had a brother named James.

They were called the Sons of Thunder.

So even though he was the disciple whom Jesus loved, and

even though he was the one that Jesus truly loved and entrusted

his mother to, he was an impetuous man.

He was a ferocious man. He was an explosive man.

He was the one who wanted to call fire down from heaven to

consume those who would not follow Christ or believe in

Christ. This is the disciple whom Jesus

loved. In fact, he says in his epistle

in first John 3 verse #1 he says, oh, what manner of love is

this that the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should

be called the children of God? The word he uses this pot of

pen, which means something that's from another world, from

a from another, not not just another generation, but

something that's otherworldly. What other worldly kind of love

is this that the father would bestow upon us that we should be

called the children of God. John was so overwhelmed with

with God's love because he was such a ferocious man.

He was called the son of Thunder along with the brother James.

And yet God loved him and he recognized that and he responded

to that in a very unique and and special way.

And John, as he writes, first John, second John, and 3rd John,

you'll notice the great contrast because John was somebody who

was not a Gray man. He was a black and white man.

Everything he wrote was in black and white, stark contrasts.

Contrast like light versus darkness, life versus death,

spirit versus flesh, the redeemed and the lost, the

righteous and the unrighteous. He was a man of stark contrast.

He didn't mince words. He made it very clear what he

believed and what others would believe if they were true

followers of Christ. Because he was a true follower

of Christ. He truly loved the Lord and was

overwhelmed that the Lord would even love him.

I wonder if if you are in that category of people who are

overwhelmed that God would even love you.

The Bible says that God loves the world.

I I don't understand that. I don't grasp that magnitude of

love, But God's love is uniquely different than ours.

It's infinite. Ours is finite.

His is perfect, ours is imperfect.

But John was able to recognize God's love for him and he

responded in a way by helping other people know how they could

be loved by God as well. What a a great man he was.

At the end of his life, he was banished to the Isle of Patmos.

He was the only one of the 12 that we know of that was not

martyred. He died an old man, but before

he died he was exiled to the Isle of Patmos, in which he

would receive the great revelation of the return of

Christ. His writing was somewhere around

95 or 96 AD, which is very important to understand because

he was exiled under the reign of Domitian and Domitian reign from

88 AD to 98 AD and he was exiled to that island was able to

receive the glorious vision of the return of Christ in the Book

of Revelation. Explains all you need to know

about the return of Jesus Christ our Lord.

But that's the author. How about some background

concerning the Gospel of John? John does it differently than

Matthew, Mark, and Luke. They they, they write as if they

have a videographer with them and they're videotaping as they

move along through the life of Christ.

But John is more a snapshot kind of guy.

He gives you snapshot of this, then a snapshot of that, a

snapshot of this, then a snapshot of that.

He doesn't do it necessarily in a chronological order, but in a

very systematic kind of way to prove his point.

In fact there are 4 gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels, but

each of them has an emphasis and I think you need to grasp this

because each gospel is an elongated version of one verse

of the Old Testament. Let me explain it to you.

The book of Matthew is all about the royalty of the Messiah.

The King has come. So Matthew writes about the king

and his Kingdom and all of his royalty.

And in Matthew's Gospel you have a genealogy that traces the

lineage of Christ back to David so that you will know that he is

the rightful heir to the throne, that he is the son of David.

He is the king of Israel, very unique.

The Gospel of Matthew and you can write in in gold letters

across the top of the book of Matthew.

Behold your king phrase taken from Zechariah 9 verse #9 So one

verse Zechariah 99, Behold your king is unfolded for you in the

Gospel of Matthew. You come to the book of Mark,

Mark's Gospel. So while Matthew emphasizes his

royalty, Mark emphasizes his humility because he emphasizes

the servanthood of the Messiah. So when you read the Gospel of

Mark, you have one keyword that is spread all throughout the

gospel, and it's the word immediately because servants act

immediately when it comes to accomplishing their task.

And Mark's gospel has a unique emphasis on the hands, arms, and

feet of the Messiah because it's the hands and the feet and the

arms of the servant that do all the work.

And so you can write across the Gospel of Mark these words.

Behold, my servant, Isaiah 42 verse #1 So Zechariah 99 is

unfolded in the Gospel of Matthew, and Isaiah 42 verse #1

is unfolded in the Gospel of Mark.

You with me so far, you taking good notes.

I hope so, because you'll be quizzed on this before you leave

today. I'm just kidding you.

Then you come to the Gospel of Luke.

Oh, by the way, Mark has no genealogy in it.

Why? Because nobody cares about where

a servant's from. That's important to understand

that. Then you come to the Gospel of

Luke. Luke is all about the humanity

of Christ, and Luke has a genealogy, but the genealogy

that Luke gives goes all the way back to Adam to prove the

humanity of the Messiah. He is the Son of man.

And so you can write in gold across the top of the Gospel of

Luke. Zechariah chapter 6 verse #12

Zechariah 6 · chapter mention

Behold a man. So Zechariah 6 verse #12 is

unfolded in Luke's Gospel. Then you recognize that Isaiah

Isaiah 42 · chapter mention

chapter 42 verse #1 is unfolded in Luke's and Mark's Gospel.

Zechariah 99 is unfolded in Matthew's Gospel.

Then you come to the Gospel of John, and John's emphasis is on

the deity of Christ. See if Matthew on his royalty,

Luke, excuse me, Mark on his humility, Luke on his humanity,

and John on his deity, the Son of the living God.

And there you're right across the top of the Gospel of Luke,

Isaiah chapter 35 verse #4 which says, behold your God.

Isaiah 35 · chapter mention

See that? So one verse in the Old

Testament is magnified in each of the Gospels in a very

specific and strategic way by the Spirit of God, All of us

inspired by God. But but Matthew's going to

unfold his kingship and Mark's going to unfold his, his

humiliation as a servant. And Luke's going to show us that

he's the, he's the Son of man, his humanity, humanity that

wraps around deity. And then when you come to the

Gospel of John, it's all about the Son of God.

He is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us.

What an incredible understanding of how the Old Testament

introduces to us the New Testament.

Now the New Testament is able to fulfill all that was spoken in

the Old Testament to show us the continuity of the Spirit of God

as He begins to show us the beauty of all that's there.

Now, John's gospel does not contain certain elements.

John's gospel does not contain the birth of Christ.

It doesn't contain the baptism of Christ.

It doesn't contain the temptations of Christ.

It doesn't contain the ascension of Christ.

In fact, it it doesn't contain the Lord's Supper, it doesn't

contain Gethsemane. In fact, John's Gospel has no

parables in it. None.

Interesting to note that John would not discuss any of the

parables of our Lord. You also realize that in John's

Gospel of the miracles he chooses, not one miracle deals

with demonic activity in casting out demons.

Not one. But John does tell us about the

first miracle, the wedding at Cana of Galilee.

The other gospels do not. He talks to us about the

narrative with Nicodemus about what it means to be born again.

The other gospels do not. He incorporates that the the

woman at the well and the conversation he has with her The

the other gospels do not. In fact he includes the raising

of Lazarus, what's the other gospels do not.

He also includes the washing of the disciples feet, What's the

other gospels do not? And he incorporates in his book

all that took place on the eve before the crucifixion when it

came to discussing the ultimate comforter that would come the

Holy Spirit. The other gospels do not.

And then of course, he records the High priestly prayer of

Christ, which the other disciples or other apostles do

not. So there's a lot of uniqueness

to John's Gospel that sets it apart from the synoptic Gospels,

Matthew, Mark, and Luke. For John's emphasis is proving

the deity of Christ, that Jesus is the Son of God.

So when the the Mormons come to your door and they say that

Jesus is a brother of Lucifer, you say, no, he's not, he's the

Son of God. When the Jehovah's Witnesses

come to your door and they say that that Jesus is the, the,

it's just Michael the Archangel. No, he is the son of God.

And the phrase that is used is wios to describe son, which is

very, very important because we OS never is about origin.

The word for that is Tecnon or briefos.

Jesus is never called the little born one of God.

He is the Son of God, the we OS of God.

And we OS is defined as position, equality and the

rightful heir of the Father. He is the Son of God.

You will note that John's Gospel refers to God as Father 127

times because Jesus refers to God as his Father.

You will also note that there was never ever in the history of

Judaism where a Jew ever referred to God as my Father.

God was a father of Israel in terms of a nation.

He was the Father of the nation, but no Jew up until the time of

Jesus ever referred to his Father in heaven as my Father,

because that would be blasphemous.

But Jesus comes along, He talks about his Father, my Father in

heaven, because he is the Son of God.

He is equal in nature. He was equal in position as God.

That's what we us means. He is the Son of God.

So John is here to prove to us in various ways that Jesus is

who he said he was. He is God in the flesh.

So you move from the author to the background to to the

characteristics and and what I want you to see about this is

just one verse because it gives us John's motive, John's message

and John's manner in which he gives us the message.

Turn to John chapter 20, very familiar words, verse #30

John 20 · chapter mention

therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence

of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these

have been written. So you may believe that Jesus is

the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, and that believing you

may have life in his name. The motive by which John writes

is that you might believe. That word is used 92 times in

John's gospel. He's writing that you may

believe. Listen very carefully if you

have a family member that does not believe.

This is where your family member needs to be every Sunday

morning. If you have a friend that

doesn't believe this is where they need to be every Sunday

morning. Bring them with you.

If you have to drag them with you, drag them here.

However you can get them here. Get them here.

Because if you ever want them to believe who Jesus Christ is and

be a follower of Christ, they need to hear what John has to

say. Because the whole motive behind

him writing is that you may believe that Jesus is the

Messiah and the Messiah is the Son of God.

So whatever you do, if you have a friend or family member that

doesn't believe, get some handcuffs, put it around your

wrist, put the other one around their wrist and bring them with

you every Sunday morning. And then you can unlock that

when they leave when it's over. But let them know, I want you to

believe because John wrote, I want you to believe that Jesus

is the Messiah. That's his whole motive for

writing. He uses the word witness 47

times. He used the word truth truth

some 66 times. He used the word No 117 times

because he wants you to know for certain who Jesus Christ is.

There's a great emphasis in John about believing in the Lord

Jesus Christ. Acts 1631.

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

Do you believe in Him? Do you know Him?

Do you understand the witnesses that talk to us about Him?

This is so important. I can't emphasize it enough that

if you know someone who doesn't believe, do whatever you have to

do to bring them with you, that they might believe that Jesus is

the Christ, the Son of God. That's his motive.

What's his message? That Jesus is God in the flesh.

That's why he gives those eight IM statements a go a me direct

translation of the four Hebrew consonants that make up the

tetragonmaton in the book of Exodus that describe God fact.

When you read the Gospel of John, let me suggest that you do

this. You take your shoes off for an

Exodus chapter 3. God said take your shoes off,

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

Moses, you're standing on the holy ground.

There is no more holier ground than the Gospel of John because

every page is ablaze with the reality of the deity and glory

of Christ. Fact, we should probably have

some kind of place out in the foyer where you can take your

shoes off when you walk in here. Because when you open up the

Gospel of John, it's all about seeing Christ as the Son of God,

the great I am. And that's why Jesus said or

John says in John 8 quoting Jesus, unless you believe that I

am, you will die in your sins. You must believe that Jesus is

the God who spoke to Moses from the burning Bush in Exodus

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3. You must believe that if you do

not believe that you have another Jesus.

If you have another Jesus, you'll never be saved.

You have to believe in the Jesus of the Bible because the Jesus

of the Bible is the God of the Bible and the Jesus of the Bible

is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

I try to explain to my Jewish friends, they have another God.

They don't have the true God. And they will say, well, I

believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

And I said, no, you don't, because if you did, you would

believe in the great I am, that Jesus is the Messiah who is the

true and living God. But you don't believe that the

Jews serve another God. I'm sorry to say that, but

that's the truth. And we must come to to grips

with the reality of what the Bible says.

Jesus is God. They do not believe that.

They believe what the Muslims believe that Jesus is just

another prophet. But that's the truth.

Was he a prophet? Yes.

Was he the prophet? Yes.

But he's much more than a prophet.

He's the son of the living God. And so you read the witnesses of

a people like John the Baptist. Behold the Lamb of God, who

takes away the sin of the world. Nathaniel Rabbi, you are the Son

of God, the King of Israel. Peter, John 6.

We believe and have come to know that you are the Holy One of

God. Martha John 11 Yes, Lord, I have

believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who

comes into the world. Thomas, my God, my Lord, my

king, you have all these witnesses, You have the

witnesses of the scripture, the witness of the Spirit, all

saying the same thing. Behold your God.

One book that fulfills Isaiah 35 verse #4 and the manner he tells

you and John chapter 20. Many other signs did Jesus do.

John 20 · chapter mention

Interesting that he has seven signs. 7 Miracles.

He chooses them very strategically, very

specifically, to inform us about what took place at a very unique

time in the life of Christ. To show you that all these signs

prove without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is God in the

flesh, that the Messiah is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and

Jacob. He wants to prove to you that

Jesus is the Son of God. And so he's going to begin in

chapter 1, verse #1 all the way through verse #18 giving us an

introduction to the Son of God. And then in chapter 1, verse #19

all the way to chapter 12, He's going to give us the public

ministry of the Son of God. And then in chapter 13 through

chapter 17, he's going to give us the private ministry of the

Son of God. And then in chapter 1819 and 20,

he's going to give us the passion ministry of the Son of

God. And then chapter 21 will be the

conclusion. So you have an introduction in

chapter 1, a conclusion. In chapter 21 you have the

public ministry, private ministry, and passion ministry

of the Messiah. That's how the book of John is

outlined. Very simple, yet very, very

important for us to understand that Jesus is the Son of God.

Last point is the and that is your decision.

What decision have you made about the Christ?

Who is Jesus in your mind? Better yet, who really, truly is

Jesus? Do you see him as the Bible

portrays him and proclaims Him? Do you see as you open up the

perfect law of liberty, as Paul says in Secretary of History 18,

we with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the

Lord, we open up the gospel of John, and what do we see?

We see the brilliant shining forth of the glory of God.

And therefore when you read it, you're being changed from one

level of glory to the next level of glory, even as by the Spirit

of God. If you want to be transformed,

if you want to be changed, behold the face of God.

You see him clearly in John's gospel.

So who is Jesus and what must I do to be saved?

Boy, John will give that to you in great detail as he discusses

his Christ counter with Nicodemus.

But interesting when you come to the end in Christ is before

Pilate, he brings out Jesus and he says behold the man at a

place called the Echo Homo there in the city of Jerusalem, Behold

the man, heaven been beaten beyond recognition.

It's almost as a pilot saying, behold, he doesn't look like a

man anymore, but he is a man. Because he's been beaten so

severely and completely bloodied and marred and broken, he stands

unrecognizable. Behold the man.

And then a little later on he brings Christ out again.

It says to Israel, Behold your king, your king.

Your king is a man, but stand it all at your king.

So Pilate would write the inscription that would be

carried with Jesus and hung on the cross.

Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews, and the Jewish leaders

were upset. Say that that's what he said.

And Pilate said I've written what I've written because he

wrote the truth. Jesus of that despised village

of Nazareth is your king. But yet Luke 19 says we will not

have that king rule over us. I wonder if you made the

decision for him to rule over you, that the Son of the living

God, King in the flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld

His glory. John says the glory as of the

only begotten of the Father, full of grace and full of truth,

because of the truth of the living God.

He bestows grace upon those who are so undeserving.

That's me. That's you.

Have you made the decision to be a follower of Christ?

Let me pray with you, our most gracious Heavenly Father.

We are grateful for today, the brief moment that we could spend

just introducing this marvelous gospel.

What lies before us are so many unbelievable pages of the glory

of Christ. So with anticipation, we we look

to what you're going to reveal to us that we might truly

believe. I pray for everyone in the room

that Lord they would be a believer in the Lord Jesus

Christ, that they would not leave without committing their

life to the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

And for those of us who know those that do not believe compel

us to bring them with us. They might hear how the Word

became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld the beauty and

splendor and glory of the Son of God.

We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ our King, Amen.