Week 14 - John 1-12

 April 27, 2021

Welcome to Week 14!  This week we will begin the "John track" by reading the first 12 chapters of the gospel of John.  This track will also bring us to 1-3 John and Revelation.

You will immediately notice a difference between John and the other three gospels.  For example, John does not include a birth narrative; he presents Jesus as the Word who was with God in the beginning and who has now been manifest in the flesh (The Word became flesh...).  As another example, you will not find any parables in John's gospel.  Lest we only focus on what's not there, I will also point out that John is the only gospel where you will find Jesus' "I am" statements.  As Michael Williams points out, the use of the "I am" statements ("I am" is the covenant name of God revealed to Moses) is one of the ways that John shows that Jesus and God the Father are one.  John also includes 7 of Jesus' miracles (note that 7 is a number of completeness of perfection).  You will also notice more of a Greek/western style to John that would speak to those influenced by Greek culture.

Our reading also includes a section (7:53-8:11) that is either set off by parentheses or is in italics. The Scriptures that we have today are the result of many manuscripts, the earliest of which no longer exist. So scholars try to use the oldest manuscripts. Sometimes there are discrepancies in the manuscripts and translators try to use the oldest and most reliable ones to compile the scriptures that we read. It's interesting to wonder why this section would have been lost or left out of certain manuscripts. Something to wonder about as you read.

As you read, keep in mind our reading questions.  Use these as general questions to keep in mind as we read to help formulate your reflections, observations, and questions.

Our guiding questions are these:

  • What stood out to you in the reading?
  • Was there anything confusing or troubling?
  • Did anything make you think differently about God?
  • How might what you read change the way you live?

Please post a comment below with some of your questions, comments, and reflections from this week's reading.

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