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John: More Than a Biography (Introduction) · CCC West Covina

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I hold in my hand a book written by Andrew Bonar.
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It is a biography of a man by the name of Robert Murray
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McShane. Over my years of living, which
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has been 67 of them almost 68, I've read many biographies.
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But there's one biography that stands head and tails above them
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all, and it's this one. It's about a man whose ministry
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spanned 6 1/2 years. He lived to be 29 years of age.
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He died 2 weeks before his 30th birthday.
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He pretty much turned Scotland upside down with the gospel.
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He pastored Dundee Church in Scotland and yet his ministry
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only spanned 6 1/2 years when he died.
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Historians tell us that 7000 people gathered as memorial.
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That was in an age where there was no television, no social
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media. Word was given by horseback or
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word of mouth to make sure others heard about what had
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taken place. So by the time he died and the
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time they gave the memorial service a few days later, 7000
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people would gather to celebrate the life of one man who turns
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Scotland upside down with the Gospel.
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In fact, it was Charles Spurgeon who said these words about Mr.
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McShane. He said, this is the This is one
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of the best and most profitable volumes ever published.
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The memoir of such a man ought to surely be in the hands of
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every Christian and certainly every preacher of the Gospel.
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The Memoirs and Remains of Robert Murray McShane by Andrew
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Bonar stands heads and tails above every other biography
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written by any other man simply because in 6 1/2 years he turned
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country upside down. I have on my desk in my office a
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quote by Mr. Mcchain, and that quote stares me in the face
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every time I open my Bible, every time I sit in my chair.
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This is the quote. In fact, I think it's the best
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quote ever given for any pastor who's ever lived.
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This is what it says. Mr. McShane is writing to a
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fellow colleague in his letter explains this.
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Do not forget the culture of the inner man, I mean of the heart.
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How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his Saber clean
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and sharp. Every stain he rubs off with the
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greatest care. Remember, you are God's sword,
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his instrument. I trust a chosen vessel unto him
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to bear his name in great measure, according to the purity
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and perfections of the instrument, will be the success.
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It is not great talents God blesses so much as great
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likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful
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weapon in the hand of God. That is what characterized the
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life of Robert Murray McShane, something about a holy
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instrument being the most awful weapon in the hand of the living
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God. And it's a reminder to us as
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fathers. It's a reminder to us as
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leaders, especially a reminder to us as pastors, that as God's
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chosen vessels, you're used by God for the glory of his
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precious name. But the Memoirs and Remains of
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Robert Murray McShane is a book about one man's life.
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It's a biography. And as great as the biography
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is, there is a greater biography.
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In fact, there are 4 authors of that biography, Matthew, Mark,
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Luke and John. And yet their biography is not
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about a man necessarily who lived a great life.
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It's about the God man who gives life, the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And we are about to embark on a study of the Gospel of John,
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John's unique gospel, which by the way, 93% of John is not in
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the other three gospels. So it is unique.
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It's written 20 to 30 years after the other writers wrote
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about the Christ. But John's Gospel is so unique
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that he gives us the Christmas story in four English words,
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four Greek words. He gives us the Christmas story
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at its greatest description, and he does it without any of the
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historical figures, but with all the theological facts.
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That's what makes John's gospel so unique.
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The gospel is found in verse 14 of chapter one.
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In four words. The Word became flesh.
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That's the Christmas story. No Mary, no Joseph, no
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shepherds, no Bethlehem, no Manger, no cradle, no sheep, no
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hay, just the Word became flesh. The historical figures are are
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unique in and of themselves, but the theological facts are what
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defined for us. Christmas, the Word became flesh
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and the Word is defined in verse #1 of John's Gospel first
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chapter where it says that in the beginning was the Word and
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the Word was with God and the Word was God or literally God
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was the Word. And so you realize that that God
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became flesh. It's a summation of the Old
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Testaments theological facts about Christmas.
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But in the Old Testament it's in one word, and in the New
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Testament it's in 4 words. But the one word in the Old
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Testament is translated with four words, and that's found in
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Isaiah 7 verse #14 and that is Emmanuel, which translated means
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God is with us. So 4 words in the Old Testament,
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4 words in the New Testament give us all we need to know
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about the Christmas story and we are about to embark on the
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greatest story of the greatest man, whoever lived Jesus Christ
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our Lord. Such a unique gospel as John
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writes it. It was Martin Luther who said
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that this book is the unique and tender and genuine chief gospel.
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You see, John is more than a biography.
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John is the gospel. It's the good news.
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The gospel writers, writers give us the gospel of Jesus Christ
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our Lord. It screams nothing but good
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news. They just do it from different
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perspectives. It was William Barkley in his
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commentary on John who said this.
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For many Christian people, the Gospel According to Saint John
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is the most precious book in the New Testament.
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It is the book on which, above all, they feed their minds and
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nourish their hearts, and in which they rest their souls.
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For John has the most penetrating gaze of all the New
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Testament writers into the eternal mysteries and the
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eternal truths and the mind of God.
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Many people find themselves closer to God and Jesus Christ
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in John than in any other book in the world.
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Most of us, as new believers, began our reading in the Gospel
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of John. And that's because John's Gospel
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is written with simplicity. It's written with sublime words.
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In fact, very, very often he describes everything in no more
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than two syllables. Every once in a while he will
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embark on a three syllable word, but for the most part, it's the
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easiest gospel to read. So let me, as we introduce to
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you the Gospel of John, give you the ABC's of our introduction.
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First of all, the author, then the background, then the
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characteristics, and then your decision, the AB CS.
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By way of introduction, let's talk first of all about the
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author. John's name is not mentioned by
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him. He doesn't say that he is the
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author. He's referred to 10 different
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times in his gospel, but five times he's referred to as the
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disciple whom Jesus loved. In fact, it says over in John 13
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now they were leaning on Jesus's bosom, one of his disciples whom
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Jesus loved. That's how he refers to himself.
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And think about that with me, if you will.
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Jesus never asked John, do you love me?
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But he asked Peter, do you love me?
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But never asked John that question.
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In fact, he asked Peter that question.
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And the response was if you love me, feed my sheep.
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If you love me, tend to my lambs.
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If you love me, do this. But to John he said this John
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chapter 19, verse #26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the
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disciples standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother,
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Woman, behold your son. They looked at John and said,
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Behold your mother as Christ hung on the cross.
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As he thought about his mother. He entrusted his mother into the
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care of one man, the man who knew he was loved by the Lord
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and the man who truly loved his God.
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Historians tell us that that John cared for for Mary until
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she died. But it's interesting to note
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that even though he was known as the disciple whom Jesus loved,
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he was also known as Bornegas, a son of Thunder.
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In fact, he had a brother named James.
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They were called the Sons of Thunder.
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So even though he was the disciple whom Jesus loved, and
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even though he was the one that Jesus truly loved and entrusted
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his mother to, he was an impetuous man.
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He was a ferocious man. He was an explosive man.
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He was the one who wanted to call fire down from heaven to
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consume those who would not follow Christ or believe in
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Christ. This is the disciple whom Jesus
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loved. In fact, he says in his epistle
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in first John 3 verse #1 he says, oh, what manner of love is
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this that the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should
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be called the children of God? The word he uses this pot of
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pen, which means something that's from another world, from
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a from another, not not just another generation, but
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something that's otherworldly. What other worldly kind of love
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is this that the father would bestow upon us that we should be
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called the children of God. John was so overwhelmed with
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with God's love because he was such a ferocious man.
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He was called the son of Thunder along with the brother James.
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And yet God loved him and he recognized that and he responded
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to that in a very unique and and special way.
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And John, as he writes, first John, second John, and 3rd John,
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you'll notice the great contrast because John was somebody who
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was not a Gray man. He was a black and white man.
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Everything he wrote was in black and white, stark contrasts.
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Contrast like light versus darkness, life versus death,
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spirit versus flesh, the redeemed and the lost, the
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righteous and the unrighteous. He was a man of stark contrast.
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He didn't mince words. He made it very clear what he
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believed and what others would believe if they were true
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followers of Christ. Because he was a true follower
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of Christ. He truly loved the Lord and was
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overwhelmed that the Lord would even love him.
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I wonder if if you are in that category of people who are
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overwhelmed that God would even love you.
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The Bible says that God loves the world.
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I I don't understand that. I don't grasp that magnitude of
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love, But God's love is uniquely different than ours.
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It's infinite. Ours is finite.
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His is perfect, ours is imperfect.
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But John was able to recognize God's love for him and he
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responded in a way by helping other people know how they could
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be loved by God as well. What a a great man he was.
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At the end of his life, he was banished to the Isle of Patmos.
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He was the only one of the 12 that we know of that was not
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martyred. He died an old man, but before
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he died he was exiled to the Isle of Patmos, in which he
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would receive the great revelation of the return of
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Christ. His writing was somewhere around
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95 or 96 AD, which is very important to understand because
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he was exiled under the reign of Domitian and Domitian reign from
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88 AD to 98 AD and he was exiled to that island was able to
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receive the glorious vision of the return of Christ in the Book
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of Revelation. Explains all you need to know
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about the return of Jesus Christ our Lord.
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But that's the author. How about some background
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concerning the Gospel of John? John does it differently than
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Matthew, Mark, and Luke. They they, they write as if they
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have a videographer with them and they're videotaping as they
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move along through the life of Christ.
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But John is more a snapshot kind of guy.
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He gives you snapshot of this, then a snapshot of that, a
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snapshot of this, then a snapshot of that.
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He doesn't do it necessarily in a chronological order, but in a
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very systematic kind of way to prove his point.
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In fact there are 4 gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
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Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels, but
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each of them has an emphasis and I think you need to grasp this
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because each gospel is an elongated version of one verse
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of the Old Testament. Let me explain it to you.
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The book of Matthew is all about the royalty of the Messiah.
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The King has come. So Matthew writes about the king
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and his Kingdom and all of his royalty.
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And in Matthew's Gospel you have a genealogy that traces the
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lineage of Christ back to David so that you will know that he is
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the rightful heir to the throne, that he is the son of David.
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He is the king of Israel, very unique.
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The Gospel of Matthew and you can write in in gold letters
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across the top of the book of Matthew.
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Behold your king phrase taken from Zechariah 9 verse #9 So one
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verse Zechariah 99, Behold your king is unfolded for you in the
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Gospel of Matthew. You come to the book of Mark,
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Mark's Gospel. So while Matthew emphasizes his
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royalty, Mark emphasizes his humility because he emphasizes
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the servanthood of the Messiah. So when you read the Gospel of
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Mark, you have one keyword that is spread all throughout the
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gospel, and it's the word immediately because servants act
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immediately when it comes to accomplishing their task.
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And Mark's gospel has a unique emphasis on the hands, arms, and
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feet of the Messiah because it's the hands and the feet and the
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arms of the servant that do all the work.
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And so you can write across the Gospel of Mark these words.
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Behold, my servant, Isaiah 42 verse #1 So Zechariah 99 is
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unfolded in the Gospel of Matthew, and Isaiah 42 verse #1
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is unfolded in the Gospel of Mark.
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You with me so far, you taking good notes.
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I hope so, because you'll be quizzed on this before you leave
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today. I'm just kidding you.
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Then you come to the Gospel of Luke.
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Oh, by the way, Mark has no genealogy in it.
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Why? Because nobody cares about where
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a servant's from. That's important to understand
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that. Then you come to the Gospel of
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Luke. Luke is all about the humanity
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of Christ, and Luke has a genealogy, but the genealogy
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that Luke gives goes all the way back to Adam to prove the
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humanity of the Messiah. He is the Son of man.
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And so you can write in gold across the top of the Gospel of
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Luke. Zechariah chapter 6 verse #12
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Behold a man. So Zechariah 6 verse #12 is
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unfolded in Luke's Gospel. Then you recognize that Isaiah
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chapter 42 verse #1 is unfolded in Luke's and Mark's Gospel.
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Zechariah 99 is unfolded in Matthew's Gospel.
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Then you come to the Gospel of John, and John's emphasis is on
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the deity of Christ. See if Matthew on his royalty,
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Luke, excuse me, Mark on his humility, Luke on his humanity,
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and John on his deity, the Son of the living God.
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And there you're right across the top of the Gospel of Luke,
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Isaiah chapter 35 verse #4 which says, behold your God.
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See that? So one verse in the Old
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Testament is magnified in each of the Gospels in a very
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specific and strategic way by the Spirit of God, All of us
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inspired by God. But but Matthew's going to
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unfold his kingship and Mark's going to unfold his, his
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humiliation as a servant. And Luke's going to show us that
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he's the, he's the Son of man, his humanity, humanity that
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wraps around deity. And then when you come to the
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Gospel of John, it's all about the Son of God.
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He is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us.
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What an incredible understanding of how the Old Testament
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introduces to us the New Testament.
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Now the New Testament is able to fulfill all that was spoken in
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the Old Testament to show us the continuity of the Spirit of God
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as He begins to show us the beauty of all that's there.
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Now, John's gospel does not contain certain elements.
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John's gospel does not contain the birth of Christ.
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It doesn't contain the baptism of Christ.
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It doesn't contain the temptations of Christ.
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It doesn't contain the ascension of Christ.
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In fact, it it doesn't contain the Lord's Supper, it doesn't
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contain Gethsemane. In fact, John's Gospel has no
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parables in it. None.
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Interesting to note that John would not discuss any of the
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parables of our Lord. You also realize that in John's
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Gospel of the miracles he chooses, not one miracle deals
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with demonic activity in casting out demons.
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Not one. But John does tell us about the
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first miracle, the wedding at Cana of Galilee.
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The other gospels do not. He talks to us about the
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narrative with Nicodemus about what it means to be born again.
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The other gospels do not. He incorporates that the the
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woman at the well and the conversation he has with her The
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the other gospels do not. In fact he includes the raising
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of Lazarus, what's the other gospels do not.
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He also includes the washing of the disciples feet, What's the
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other gospels do not? And he incorporates in his book
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all that took place on the eve before the crucifixion when it
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came to discussing the ultimate comforter that would come the
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Holy Spirit. The other gospels do not.
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And then of course, he records the High priestly prayer of
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Christ, which the other disciples or other apostles do
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not. So there's a lot of uniqueness
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to John's Gospel that sets it apart from the synoptic Gospels,
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Matthew, Mark, and Luke. For John's emphasis is proving
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the deity of Christ, that Jesus is the Son of God.
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So when the the Mormons come to your door and they say that
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Jesus is a brother of Lucifer, you say, no, he's not, he's the
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Son of God. When the Jehovah's Witnesses
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come to your door and they say that that Jesus is the, the,
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it's just Michael the Archangel. No, he is the son of God.
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And the phrase that is used is wios to describe son, which is
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very, very important because we OS never is about origin.
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The word for that is Tecnon or briefos.
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Jesus is never called the little born one of God.
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He is the Son of God, the we OS of God.
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And we OS is defined as position, equality and the
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rightful heir of the Father. He is the Son of God.
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You will note that John's Gospel refers to God as Father 127
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times because Jesus refers to God as his Father.
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You will also note that there was never ever in the history of
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Judaism where a Jew ever referred to God as my Father.
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God was a father of Israel in terms of a nation.
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He was the Father of the nation, but no Jew up until the time of
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Jesus ever referred to his Father in heaven as my Father,
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because that would be blasphemous.
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But Jesus comes along, He talks about his Father, my Father in
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heaven, because he is the Son of God.
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He is equal in nature. He was equal in position as God.
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That's what we us means. He is the Son of God.
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So John is here to prove to us in various ways that Jesus is
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who he said he was. He is God in the flesh.
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So you move from the author to the background to to the
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characteristics and and what I want you to see about this is
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just one verse because it gives us John's motive, John's message
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and John's manner in which he gives us the message.
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Turn to John chapter 20, very familiar words, verse #30
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therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence
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of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these
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have been written. So you may believe that Jesus is
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the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, and that believing you
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may have life in his name. The motive by which John writes
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is that you might believe. That word is used 92 times in
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John's gospel. He's writing that you may
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believe. Listen very carefully if you
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have a family member that does not believe.
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This is where your family member needs to be every Sunday
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morning. If you have a friend that
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doesn't believe this is where they need to be every Sunday
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morning. Bring them with you.
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If you have to drag them with you, drag them here.
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However you can get them here. Get them here.
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Because if you ever want them to believe who Jesus Christ is and
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be a follower of Christ, they need to hear what John has to
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say. Because the whole motive behind
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him writing is that you may believe that Jesus is the
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Messiah and the Messiah is the Son of God.
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So whatever you do, if you have a friend or family member that
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doesn't believe, get some handcuffs, put it around your
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wrist, put the other one around their wrist and bring them with
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you every Sunday morning. And then you can unlock that
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when they leave when it's over. But let them know, I want you to
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believe because John wrote, I want you to believe that Jesus
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is the Messiah. That's his whole motive for
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writing. He uses the word witness 47
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times. He used the word truth truth
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some 66 times. He used the word No 117 times
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because he wants you to know for certain who Jesus Christ is.
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There's a great emphasis in John about believing in the Lord
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Jesus Christ. Acts 1631.
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Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
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Do you believe in Him? Do you know Him?
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Do you understand the witnesses that talk to us about Him?
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This is so important. I can't emphasize it enough that
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if you know someone who doesn't believe, do whatever you have to
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do to bring them with you, that they might believe that Jesus is
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the Christ, the Son of God. That's his motive.
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What's his message? That Jesus is God in the flesh.
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That's why he gives those eight IM statements a go a me direct
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translation of the four Hebrew consonants that make up the
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tetragonmaton in the book of Exodus that describe God fact.
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When you read the Gospel of John, let me suggest that you do
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this. You take your shoes off for an
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Exodus chapter 3. God said take your shoes off,
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Moses, you're standing on the holy ground.
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There is no more holier ground than the Gospel of John because
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every page is ablaze with the reality of the deity and glory
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of Christ. Fact, we should probably have
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some kind of place out in the foyer where you can take your
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shoes off when you walk in here. Because when you open up the
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Gospel of John, it's all about seeing Christ as the Son of God,
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the great I am. And that's why Jesus said or
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John says in John 8 quoting Jesus, unless you believe that I
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am, you will die in your sins. You must believe that Jesus is
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the God who spoke to Moses from the burning Bush in Exodus
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chapter 3. You must believe that if you do
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not believe that you have another Jesus.
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If you have another Jesus, you'll never be saved.
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You have to believe in the Jesus of the Bible because the Jesus
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of the Bible is the God of the Bible and the Jesus of the Bible
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is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
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I try to explain to my Jewish friends, they have another God.
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They don't have the true God. And they will say, well, I
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believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
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And I said, no, you don't, because if you did, you would
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believe in the great I am, that Jesus is the Messiah who is the
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true and living God. But you don't believe that the
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Jews serve another God. I'm sorry to say that, but
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that's the truth. And we must come to to grips
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with the reality of what the Bible says.
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Jesus is God. They do not believe that.
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They believe what the Muslims believe that Jesus is just
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another prophet. But that's the truth.
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Was he a prophet? Yes.
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Was he the prophet? Yes.
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But he's much more than a prophet.
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He's the son of the living God. And so you read the witnesses of
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a people like John the Baptist. Behold the Lamb of God, who
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takes away the sin of the world. Nathaniel Rabbi, you are the Son
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of God, the King of Israel. Peter, John 6.
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We believe and have come to know that you are the Holy One of
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God. Martha John 11 Yes, Lord, I have
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believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who
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comes into the world. Thomas, my God, my Lord, my
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king, you have all these witnesses, You have the
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witnesses of the scripture, the witness of the Spirit, all
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saying the same thing. Behold your God.
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One book that fulfills Isaiah 35 verse #4 and the manner he tells
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you and John chapter 20. Many other signs did Jesus do.
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Interesting that he has seven signs. 7 Miracles.
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He chooses them very strategically, very
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specifically, to inform us about what took place at a very unique
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time in the life of Christ. To show you that all these signs
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prove without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is God in the
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flesh, that the Messiah is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
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Jacob. He wants to prove to you that
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Jesus is the Son of God. And so he's going to begin in
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chapter 1, verse #1 all the way through verse #18 giving us an
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introduction to the Son of God. And then in chapter 1, verse #19
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all the way to chapter 12, He's going to give us the public
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ministry of the Son of God. And then in chapter 13 through
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chapter 17, he's going to give us the private ministry of the
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Son of God. And then in chapter 1819 and 20,
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he's going to give us the passion ministry of the Son of
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God. And then chapter 21 will be the
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conclusion. So you have an introduction in
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chapter 1, a conclusion. In chapter 21 you have the
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public ministry, private ministry, and passion ministry
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of the Messiah. That's how the book of John is
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outlined. Very simple, yet very, very
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important for us to understand that Jesus is the Son of God.
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Last point is the and that is your decision.
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What decision have you made about the Christ?
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Who is Jesus in your mind? Better yet, who really, truly is
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Jesus? Do you see him as the Bible
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portrays him and proclaims Him? Do you see as you open up the
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perfect law of liberty, as Paul says in Secretary of History 18,
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we with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the
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Lord, we open up the gospel of John, and what do we see?
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We see the brilliant shining forth of the glory of God.
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And therefore when you read it, you're being changed from one
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level of glory to the next level of glory, even as by the Spirit
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of God. If you want to be transformed,
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if you want to be changed, behold the face of God.
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You see him clearly in John's gospel.
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So who is Jesus and what must I do to be saved?
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Boy, John will give that to you in great detail as he discusses
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his Christ counter with Nicodemus.
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But interesting when you come to the end in Christ is before
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Pilate, he brings out Jesus and he says behold the man at a
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place called the Echo Homo there in the city of Jerusalem, Behold
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the man, heaven been beaten beyond recognition.
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It's almost as a pilot saying, behold, he doesn't look like a
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man anymore, but he is a man. Because he's been beaten so
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severely and completely bloodied and marred and broken, he stands
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unrecognizable. Behold the man.
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And then a little later on he brings Christ out again.
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It says to Israel, Behold your king, your king.
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Your king is a man, but stand it all at your king.
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So Pilate would write the inscription that would be
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carried with Jesus and hung on the cross.
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Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews, and the Jewish leaders
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were upset. Say that that's what he said.
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And Pilate said I've written what I've written because he
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wrote the truth. Jesus of that despised village
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of Nazareth is your king. But yet Luke 19 says we will not
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have that king rule over us. I wonder if you made the
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decision for him to rule over you, that the Son of the living
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God, King in the flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld
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His glory. John says the glory as of the
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only begotten of the Father, full of grace and full of truth,
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because of the truth of the living God.
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He bestows grace upon those who are so undeserving.
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That's me. That's you.
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Have you made the decision to be a follower of Christ?
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Let me pray with you, our most gracious Heavenly Father.
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We are grateful for today, the brief moment that we could spend
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just introducing this marvelous gospel.
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What lies before us are so many unbelievable pages of the glory
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of Christ. So with anticipation, we we look
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to what you're going to reveal to us that we might truly
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believe. I pray for everyone in the room
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that Lord they would be a believer in the Lord Jesus
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Christ, that they would not leave without committing their
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life to the Messiah, the Son of the living God.
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And for those of us who know those that do not believe compel
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us to bring them with us. They might hear how the Word
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became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld the beauty and
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splendor and glory of the Son of God.
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We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ our King, Amen.