The Gospel According to John -- Introduction

It seems like as the years go by, our world seems more and more complex. There are so many different competing worldviews and beliefs out there, that one cannot help but wonder, “What is the truth?”

Pontius Pilate asked that same question as he interrogated Jesus before condemning him to death by crucifixion. While Pilate often gets a bad rap, you have to be able to relate to the guy somewhat. The irony is that he had before him the One who is Truth incarnate, yet he did not recognize Him. So often the truth is right before our eyes, but we fail to see it.

Our next journey as a church will take us on pilgrimage into the heart of truth, by taking a closer look at the author of truth: Jesus, the Son of God. Whether you are a believer or not, our hope and prayer is that through this excursion – like canoeing down a river – you will come face to face with a compelling vision of Christ.

Nearly two thousand years ago, a wise old man sat down and reflected, pondering unfathomable mysteries and profound truth in his heart by the dim glow of a flickering candle. Having experienced the indescribable, John, the Beloved Disciple, was reaching for words that could describe all that he had experienced in the presence of His master... His Lord… His King. How does one begin a story about One without beginning? “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God.”

The Gospel according to John is primarily a story of rescue. The pre-existent Son of God became flesh and made his dwelling among people to bring light to those in darkness, freedom to the enslaved, and life to the spiritually dead. Christ is the climax of the human story, the supreme cruciality, the ultimate plot twist.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke… they focus on Jesus’ ministry, the kingdom of God and his teachings about that kingdom But John is a different kind of animal. With reckless abandon, it delves into the unfathomable depth of Christ’s divinity. It paints a portrait of Christ as the Logos -- the “Word” that spoke the universe into existence. He is the pre-existent, Only Begotten Son of God, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.

Together, we will venture out into the vast wilderness of who Jesus is, like pioneers discovering wonder after breathtaking wonder for the first time. We will be spending a long time on this expedition, canoeing down this river and seeing where the waters carry us.

We can’t promise you that you’ll ever come back to where you were before, and if you do, you will certainly be changed, because we are on an adventure to find Christ – the compelling, untamed, beautiful, terrible, awesome God-man who changed the course of cosmological history.  And we won’t stop searching till we get there. So roll up your sleeves! Get out your Bible. Bring a pen. Bring a notepad. Bring your heart – fully engaged and ready to dig in. We’re going to gaze upon the unbridled majesty of the divine mystery: Jesus, the Christ, Son of God.