What is the Gospel?
Depending on who you talk to, you may get a different answer. The technical answer is: the Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament in the Bible, comprised of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are the synoptic Gospels. The literal answer: Good News as translates from the Greek. Or we can go with the theological answer: the record of God’s plan to save people from their sin, whereas man sinned separating themselves from God, and nothing we do makes us good enough to bridge the gap sin created; it is only through Jesus Christ living a perfect, sinless life, being crucified on the cross, and rising again on the third day defeating death, whereby all who believe in him will be saved.
Although all correct, we are going to be specifically focusing on the theological definition as we spend the next year working our way, chapter by chapter through thr Gospel of John.
John’s Prologue
As stated, John is a work of theology. And there are some presuppositions that are included in his writing. The big presupposition we need to immediately establish is that Jesus is God. Because he is God and God created the world by speaking it into existence. He is the Creator, not a creation.
There is an assumption that the reader (or hearers) of this Gospel have knowledge of the Old Testament. John opens the Gospel with a reference to Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning…” which he quotes at his opening “In the beginning…” (John 1:1). He also references the the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). This is a correlation to Exodus 26 and the time if the Israelites in the wilderness with the Tabernacle. In other words, Jesus – the second person of the Trinity aka God – dwelt among his people in the same way the presence of God was with the Israelites.
One of John’s favorite visuals is that of light and darkness. This plays through on his Gospel, and also in the books of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John.
Introducing a Supporting Character
John introduces us to another man by the same way: John the Baptist. No, John the Baptist was not a member of a Baptist church, but he was in the desert baptizing people. John the Baptist (JB) was the son of a relative of Jesus – Zechariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1).
He would also be considered a prophet, the first since the closing of the Old Testament. Why? An OT prophet could be characterized by the use of the phrase “The word of the LORD”, the calling of the people to repentance, and the declaration that the kingdom of heaven is near. JB was a fulfillment of a prophecy made by Isaiah in chapter 49 verse 3. John records that JB was recognized as a prophet of the same caliber as Elijah (John 1:21), and there were others who were asking if JB was the Christ – which he promptly denied.
Public Recognition of Jesus as Messiah
From this point on, John as the narrator begins to move the Gospel account forward. The presuppositions have been set, and we’ve been introduced to JB. Now the main character comes to the scene: Jesus.
John 1:29 introduces us to the Christ with him coming to John to be baptized. Thus is considered by scholars to be the opening of his ministry. It is at this moment we, as readers get to see the theology of the Trinity played out for the first time in John’s Gospel. We see Jesus (Word made flesh), we are told the voice of God the Gather was heard, and the Spirit of God descended like a dove. JB also publicly identifies that Jesus is the Lamb of God. Once again, although used in other places in scripture, John deliberately draws the parallel of the Lamb of God and the sacrificial system outlines in Exodus. Lambs, perfect spotless lambs, were used as sacrifices. Now a Person is also identified as a Lamb. This was a public declaration of Jesus being the perfect sacrifice of God. However, we see this comparison reading after these events have taken place, but these would have been “buzz words” during this time of history and in their cultural context.
This left such an impression on those present that we begin to be introduced to some other players who would eventually come to play important roles in the history of the Church.
Discussion Questions
I mention that there are parallels in John’s writing. What are some other parallels that you see between the opening of Genesis and the opening of John’s Gospel? What about other OT books?
Read Luke 1 and Isaiah 40. What are some indicators that JB was a fulfillment of prophecy?
Just from John 1, what do we know about Jesus and God as a whole?
Road Trippin With Rachael 
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