Love Study Guide

8/8/2019 Love Study Guide

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A Discipleship Journey through Johns GospPt. 2


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Not a Synoptic

No parables and lots of analogies.

Not primarily Chronological,but is selective history of

Jesus (20:31).

Emphasizes Jesusreplacement of the Templeand the Sacred Feasts of

Judaism.

Likely written in Ephesus by John or is a collection of Johannine teachings on

Jesus (80-90AD). 1

Background on Johns Gospel

A LEAF OF JOHNS GOSPEL ISTHE EARLIEST NT MANUSCRIPTIN EXISTENCE. SCHOLARSREFER TO THIS FRAGMENT ASPAPYRUS #52. IT CONTAINS 5VERSES FROM JOHN

The Prologue (1:1-18) Jesus is the Word,the Light, and the Life - full of Grace and Truth.Ancient biography introduced themes at beginningFor example, Cornelius Nepos lived in the 1st centuryB.C. Is the earliest.Plutarch in the 40s-50s AD, and Imperial biographies of Galba and Otho.

The Book of 7 Signs (1:19-12:50) Hechanges water to wine, propheticallycleanses the Temple, heals the noblemansson, heals the lame, feeds the multitude, healsthe blind, raises Lazarus to life again - nally,

Jesus the Messiah is rejected by the Jewishcommunity (12:37-50).It is interesting that John records several stories from theSynoptics that he doesnt actually tell. The assumption isthat his readers already have access to them. One notableaccount is John 1:42. John records a pre-conversioninteraction between the disciples and Jesus.

The Book of His Glory: Jesus preparesto suffer and prepares his disciples for hisdeparture (13:1-20). The New Covenantpeople are cleansed and instructed, theMessiah must suffer and be gloried, theresurrected Jesus must reveal himself to his

disciples and they must witness his signs.

Epilogue (21)

1. Andreas Kostenberger, John, in Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary, vol. 2, ed. Clinton E. Arnold(Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2002), 4-12.

2. Kostenberger, John, 22.


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Jesus didnt issue thecommand to love oneanother in a theological

vacuum. As Dr. Gerry Sittserhas stated, As one in community, God draws us intothe perfect mutual love that exists within himself andallows us to participate in that love. 3

The love that the new covenantcommunity would experience wasqualitatively superior to the gardenvariety kind of love in the world. ThisGod-love is only accessible to thosewho have experienced a

metamorphosis of the inner man. 4

A follower of Jesus will cling to Jesusauthoritative commands. The centralethic of new covenant life will be the

commitment to love a brother/sister as ourselves.The law that is now written on the heart of thebeliever is the law of love and mutual concern.

1 . Disciples are New CovenantPeople.

John 14:23Jesus answered him, Thosewho love me will keep myword, and my Father willlove them, and we will cometo them and make our homewith them.

John 17:23I in them and you in me,that they may becomecompletely one, so that theworld may know that youhave sent me and have lovedthem even as you have lovedme.

Jeremiah prophesied that God would

enact a new covenant with his people (Jer31:31-34), writing his laws in their hearts,& forgiving their sins, resulting in auniversal knowledge of God.

In week 2, we are going to explorethe theme of Love in Johns

Gospel. What does it mean forthe disciple to Love as Jesus did?

Notes:

3. Gerald L. Sit tser, Love One Another: Becoming the Church Jesus Longs For (Downers Grove: IVP, 2008), 17.

4. Michael Wilkins, Following the Master: A Biblical Theology of Discipleship (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 233.

JESUS NEWCOVENANT COMMAND

A REGENERATE HEART

GODS VERYOWN NATURE


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John 15:9As the Father has loved me, so Ihave loved you; remain in mylove.

2. Disciples do as Jesus says and as Jesus does .5

Jesus emulated the Fathers love to perfection while he wason earth. He stated that he only spoke what he heard theFather say, and only did those things which he saw the Fatherdo. So not only will the disciples receive the Spirit that will utterly transform them, they also have the

THE FATHER LOVES THE WORLD, SO HE SENDS THE SON

(3:16) - The sacrice that God authorized is a jarring notion. But the severity of theremedy matches the scope of the human dilemma.

(3:35; 5:20) - Jesus stated that the Father had placed all things in his hands - andthat the Father would astonish them with even greater miraculous exploits. TheSons righteous cause will be vindicated and the immeasurable love of the Father towards the Son willbe translated to the new covenant community. 6

(14:21). The new covenant community will receive an unprecedented revelationabout the Son. Though Jesus has shown himself to unbelieving Jews as the trueMessiah, he will now reveal that he and the Father are one to his followers.

THE FATHER LOVES THE SO N, SO HE EMPOWER S HIM WITHOUT MEASURE

5. Michael Wilkins, In His Image: Reecting Christ in Everyday Life (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1997), 49. Wilkinscalls this being the Real Imitation of Jesus.

6. Craig Keener, The Gospel of John (Peabody Mass: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003), 581.

The Pattern of New Covenant Love

THE SON LOVES HIS FOLLOWERS, SO REVEALS HI MSELFTO TH EM


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THE SON COMMANDS HI S FOLLOWERS TO LIVE BY ANEW KINGDOM MAXIM

THE SON ASSURES HIS FOLLOWERS OF AN ENDLESSSOURCE OF THIS LOVE

(13:34a; 15:12, 17) - A New Command I give you This command was not new inthe sense that theyd never heard anything like it before. Indeed, many other Jewish sectstaught the supremacy of love, such as the Essenes of Qumran, the teachings of rabbi

Hillel, and the OT itself. 7

(13:34b; 15:12b) - Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.

The key to Jesus new messianic maxim was as I have loved you and no onehas greater love than this, to lay down his life for his friends. It is the self-sacricial love that was so radical and new for these Jewish disciples. 8 Disciplesare driven by a seless love that is alien to our self indulgent world.

(14:23) - those who keep them are those who will be loved by my Father...and we

will come to them and make our home with them. The command to love sacriciallyis accompanied by a new impulse generated from a new source - God himself will takeup residence in the new covenant followers. These followers will not have to contrive ormanufacture this love. It will be the natural motivation of the transformed soul.

THE SON EXPECTS HIS FOLLOWERS TO EMULATE HISCOUNTERCULTURAL LOVE

7. Andreas Kostenberger, John in The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary, vol. 2, ed. Clinton E. Arnold(Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2002), 136.

8. Kostenberger, John, 136.

The Pattern of New Covenant Love cont...

THE SON GIVES THE SPIRIT TO HIS FOLLOWERS, ANDTHEY ARE TRANSFORMED

(20:22) - In this passage, Jesus breathes on the disciples and says, Receive the

Holy Spirit. Jesus has demonstrated his love for his disciples in the ultimate act of sacrice. He now empowers them to be transformed into bona-de love machines for the Kingdom.


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John 13:35

By this everyone will knowthat you are my disciples,if you have love for oneanother.

3. Disciples are distinguished by their sacricial love foreach other.

Thus far we have learned that disciples are new covenantpeople who are charged with following Jesus example of love toward them. Now we move on to examine more fullythe character and quality of this sacricial love that Jesus demonstrated to his followers and demanded of them.

IT IS SELFLESS Jn 12:25 - Those who love their life will lose it, and those who hate their life in this

world will keep for eternal life. This counterintuitive principle of love is the coreaxiom of Kingdom living.

Jn 14:15, 21, 23 - Whoever does not love me does not keep mywords.

Jesus made is clear that the evidence of this love was obedience.

IT IS EVIDENCED BY FAITHFULNESS TO JESUSTEACHING

The Characteristics of Love

Jn 15:10 - If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love.

IT IS AUTHENTIC ATED THROUGH LASTINGCOMMITMENT

S e l f l e

s s


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Documents

Love Study Guide