For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Listen to the 10th podcast in the series (11 minutes), John: The (Heavenly) Word in (Human) Flesh.

Emphasized in this podcast:

• 90% of John’s material is unique, and mainly set in Jerusalem, as opposed to Galilee.
• Unlike the Synoptics, John is not structured around the Caesarea-Jerusalem trek following Peter’s confession (Mark 8).
• Emphasizes Jesus’ incarnation: humanity.
• Antitheses: simple yet effective use of paired opposites, combined with physical and spiritual levels (and frequent misunderstanding).
• Has the most universal focus of the four gospels.
• Triple-7 (7 signs, 7 confessions, 7 I AM statements). (More on this in the Worship podcast series.)
• Humanity: fatigue 4:6; anguish 12:27, 13:21; weeping 11:33-35; irritation 2:4; friends 11:11.

A study of John 11:1-35

• Jesus has friends, and he spends time with them.
• Jesus is affected by the emotions of others (Mary, Martha, the crowd).
• Jesus loves Lazarus, in a way he did not love others. Like us, he is closer to some persons than to others.
• Jesus is seized with emotion ("Jesus wept"), and this was obvious to others.
• Jesus shows us how to be human.

Questions

• Am I aware of the differences among the four Gospels?
• Do I grasp the message of John's gospel?
• Do I lean towards conceiving of Christ as more and Angel or more as a human? Do I have a balanced Christology?
• Have I ever been taught that the body is somehow unnecessary, or even unspiritual?
• Am I attempting to imitate Jesus, as an example of the perfect human?

Next:  Jesus in James: Wisdom from Above.