November 29, 2015         John, Chapters 1-11

Download discussion questions: John 1-11 Overview Verses

Since we began our discussion group in February, we have covered approximately the first half of the Gospel according to John.  Most commentaries or other descriptions of the book John wrote suggest that the first eleven chapters (or twelve, depending on the writer) form a unit as the first part of the story John is telling.  The remainder of the book continues the story but with a shift in focus and in detail.

The discussion this week will be about seeing what John was saying in those first eleven chapters.  What was his overall theme?  Is there a thread (or several) running through those chapters tying them together?  Our goal is not to impose a structure or a plan on John’s inspired words.  Instead, what can we see of the process of John’s thinking as he wrote?  As he thought about his experiences, how did he organize them into a story?  What was he trying to communicate to his readers (like us)?  How did he want readers to see the story developing?

We know what is coming in the last half of the book:  intense teaching, immediately followed by “misunderstanding from His own family, betrayal by one of His intimate friends, being jeered at and manhandled by the Police, and execution by torture” (to use C.S. Lewis’ strong description of Christ’s arrest and crucifixion[1]), then resurrection and ascension.  What do we see in the first half of the book that prepares us (or at least sets the stage) for the rest of the story?  How is the first half of the book important to understand the second half?

The handout for this week consists of short excerpts (one or more verses) from each chapter of John’s Gospel.  Even though the chapter divisions are not part of the original text, and even though they are almost never the best place to divide John’s story, they are convenient and familiar sections for us to consider.  Download the handout, and look at the excerpt for each chapter (and think back to our earlier discussions) and make any notes or comments that help you put together the story John is telling into a cohesive whole.  Even better, go back and look at the text surrounding each of the excerpts to refresh your memory and help you see the “big picture” that John is presenting for his readers.  Select a verse or two from each chapter that will help you see that picture and will help you share John’s story with the group.

[1] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (San Francisco:  HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2000), 180.