The Word of Life
Tony Nester
John 1:1-5
According to the majority of Biblical scholars John wrote his Gospel as an old man, perhaps in his eighty's, around the year 90 AD. John had become a disciple of Jesus when he had been in his youth, perhaps not even 20 years old. So the Gospel of John is a long look back on what how Jesus had changed the direction and shape of his life.
Once John became a disciple of Jesus, he came to have a special place in Jesus' inner circle. He was probably one of The Twelve, as we count the disciples. He was known as the disciple whom Jesus loved, meaning that Jesus had a special affection for John (John 13:23). After Jesus' death and resurrection, John became an influential leader among the early churches that spread across the Mediterranean world. He wrote letters to several of these churches, and we have them in our NT as First, Second and Third John. He witnessed the persecution of Christians. He himself was imprisoned for a time on the island of Patmos, a prison-colony of the Roman Empire. It was during that imprisonment that John saw the visions which make up the last book of our NT which we call the Revelation of John. So, John has the last word in our Bibles: Amen, Come Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20.)
Before he died John decided to write a gospel. But why a fourth Gospel when there were already three being circulated among the churches: Matthew's, Mark's and Luke's?
Each Gospel explains the coming of Jesus in a different way. Matthew cites Jesus' genealogy which demonstrated that Jesus was the fulfillment of God's faithfulness across the generations of Israel. He was the son of Abraham, and through Abraham, the son of David. Mark tells us that Jesus came at exactly the right time. Jesus arrived proclaiming, ''The time is fulfilled, repent and believe the Gospel.'' (Mark 1:15). Luke begins his Gospel with the stories of two unexpected pregnancies: that of Elizabeth who was supposedly too old to have children, and ...
Tony Nester
John 1:1-5
According to the majority of Biblical scholars John wrote his Gospel as an old man, perhaps in his eighty's, around the year 90 AD. John had become a disciple of Jesus when he had been in his youth, perhaps not even 20 years old. So the Gospel of John is a long look back on what how Jesus had changed the direction and shape of his life.
Once John became a disciple of Jesus, he came to have a special place in Jesus' inner circle. He was probably one of The Twelve, as we count the disciples. He was known as the disciple whom Jesus loved, meaning that Jesus had a special affection for John (John 13:23). After Jesus' death and resurrection, John became an influential leader among the early churches that spread across the Mediterranean world. He wrote letters to several of these churches, and we have them in our NT as First, Second and Third John. He witnessed the persecution of Christians. He himself was imprisoned for a time on the island of Patmos, a prison-colony of the Roman Empire. It was during that imprisonment that John saw the visions which make up the last book of our NT which we call the Revelation of John. So, John has the last word in our Bibles: Amen, Come Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20.)
Before he died John decided to write a gospel. But why a fourth Gospel when there were already three being circulated among the churches: Matthew's, Mark's and Luke's?
Each Gospel explains the coming of Jesus in a different way. Matthew cites Jesus' genealogy which demonstrated that Jesus was the fulfillment of God's faithfulness across the generations of Israel. He was the son of Abraham, and through Abraham, the son of David. Mark tells us that Jesus came at exactly the right time. Jesus arrived proclaiming, ''The time is fulfilled, repent and believe the Gospel.'' (Mark 1:15). Luke begins his Gospel with the stories of two unexpected pregnancies: that of Elizabeth who was supposedly too old to have children, and ...
There are 12839 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
