John (Understanding the Books of the Bible) - Softcover

Smith, Christopher R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0830858024 ISBN 13: 9780830858026

Publisher: IVP, 2010

Synopsis

"These things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." This is how the apostle John describes his purpose in telling the story of Jesus, first through his public ministry, then through private instruction of his followers. This unique guide takes readers through the gospel of John as a whole and then helps them engage and understand each of its individual sections. The 26-lesson format is ideally presented for group or individual studies and will evoke deep conversation and personal growth through a whole new way of learning from and engaging God's Word. The Understanding the Books of the Bible study series helps readers understand the biblical story by not only talking about what the authors wrote, but also how they wrote. Quite often, recognizing whether a passage is poetry, proverb, or history and discerning how the author built his book will unlock its meaning for today's reader.

About this title

About the Author

The Rev. Dr. Christopher R. Smith is a writer and biblical scholar who lives in East Lansing, Michigan. He pastored local churches for nearly twenty years and was a consulting editor to the International Bible Society (now Biblica) for The Books of the Bible, an edition of the Scriptures that presents the biblical books according to their natural literary outlines, without chapters and verses. He is also the author of After Chapters and Verses: Engaging the Bible in the Coming Generations and of the other volumes in the Understanding the Books of the Bible study guide series. He is a volunteer campus staff worker with Graduate InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Michigan State University. He has a B.A. in literature from Harvard, a master's degree in theological studies from Gordon-Conwell, and a Ph.D. in historical theology and Bible from Boston College. He has published articles in journals such as New Testament Studies, Novum Testamentum, and The Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. He answers questions from users of these study guides on his Wordpress blog, "Understanding the Books of the Bible."

From the Back Cover

"These things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." This is how the apostle John describes his purpose in telling the story of Jesus. John tells us first about Jesus' public ministry and then lets us in on the private instruction Jesus gave his disciples. This unique guide takes readers through the gospel of John as a whole and then helps them engage and understand each of its individual passages.

The format is ideally presented for group or individual study and will evoke deep conversation and personal growth through a whole new way of learning from and engaging God's Word. The 26 lessons are organized into two 13-lesson units that cover the two major parts of the gospel. This allows groups that meet weekly to finish each part in about three months

From the Inside Flap

Reading and studying the book of John is a great way to be introduced to Jesus as both a public figure and a private teacher. It's a great way to see a deeper meaning behind religious practices that might feel routine or hard to understand. And most of all it's a wonderful way to meet Jesus personally and experience the new life he's able to give everyone who "believes in his name."

The book was probably written down during the last couple of decades in the first century (80s-90s AD). At that time, the leaders of many Jewish synagogues in the Roman Empire were threatening to expel anyone who believed Jesus was the Messiah. Anyone who was expelled would lose their religious identity. But in his book, John shows that followers of Jesus continue to possess the whole heritage of God's people in this world. Jesus himself embodies the deepest meaning of their historical experiences and worship practices. For example, John shows how Jesus is the "true temple," the "true Sabbath," and so forth.

The book of John has two main parts. The first part is often called the Book of Signs. It describes Jesus' public ministry. As it does, it relates seven "signs" or miracles that Jesus did. The second part of the gospel is known as the Book of Glory. It relates Jesus' private instructions to his disciples, and the story of his death and resurrection (what Jesus called his "hour of glory.")

The main purpose of the book of John is to show people how they can come into a living relationship with Jesus Christ. The book was written by a man named John, who was one of Jesus' personal followers. He was especially close to Jesus during his lifetime, and he wanted everyone to come to know Jesus as he had. Near the end of the book, John explains that this was his purpose in writing: "These things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." ("Messiah" is a name for the Savior sent by God.)

Edition details

• Publisher: IVP
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0830858024
• ISBN 13: 9780830858026
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 131