John Chapter One

So we moved through chapter one of John this week and I shared with you some of the important points of the chapter from John's point of view as he presents to us who Jesus is. There is no mistaking that John is conjuring up several biblical images that communicate to us the significance of the person of Jesus and His appearance:

• We have a very clearly embedded Genesis motif that expresses in no uncertain terms that Jesus is the Son of God in full relationship with the Father and is God among us. [The use of "Word" to represent Jesus is a rabbinical Aramaic code for Messiah and the use of "Light" is a direct reference to Jesus presence at the beginning of time]
• There is a clearly embedded Exile motif that expresses God's promise in the OT prophetic literature that a Messiah and He Himself [depending on which prophet you read] will appear and restore Israel and the nations back to relationship with Him.  We see this in the "Behold the Lamb of God" introduction by John the Baptist and the completion of the Jacob ladder scene that Jesus communicates to Nathanael regarding the angels descending and ascending onto the "Son of Man." [by the way a cryptic title that Jesus uses of himself - his favorite title that He shares with others]
• There is also an Exodus motif - represented in the "tabernacling among us" phrase.

John will continue to draw on these three motifs throughout the rest of the book as he continues to build his case regarding who Jesus is.  As we read, we are drawn into the court room and forced to consider as well, based on John's evidence, regarding who Jesus is!  Remember though that what solidifies our relationship with Jesus from John's presentation in the Gospel is not simply "belief" but responding to Jesus' call to "come and see" and so experience who He is.

I'm sure that all of us are in this course and part of the Portico community because we have and are "experiencing" Jesus in very profound and real ways. I pray that as we continue through the chapters you will be drawn deeper into who Jesus is and compelled to reach out to Him even more!  After all, this is exactly what the Father, Son and Spirit desire for us: complete inclusion into their relationship for each one of us. This leads us to our true human existence!

As promised, I have uploaded audio from last week and you can access the first and second hour of lecture time below if you missed some or all of the class. We now have four students for credit and I will need to push class time to 9:30 pm to cover the material for their sake. For those of you sitting in the class, please know that you are welcome to stay till 9:30 pm but if you need to leave I totally understand and please know that I appreciate you being present for any duration of time that you can to get in on the material I will be sharing. I will continue to record the sessions so that you can have access to them for follow.

Portico John Lecture - Chapter One God Among Us Part I:



Portico John Lecture - Chapter One God Among Us Part II: