Ark of the Covenant - Bible History Online
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John 10

1 - "Most certainly, I tell you, one who doesn't enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 - But one who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 - The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.
4 - Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 - They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don't know the voice of strangers."
6 - Jesus spoke this parable to them, but they didn't understand what he was telling them.
7 - Jesus therefore said to them again,"Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep's door.
8 - All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn't listen to them.
9 - I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture.
10 - The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
11 - I am the good shepherd.Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:11-12,15,22The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 - He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep, and scatters them.
13 - The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand, and doesn't care for the sheep.
14 - I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I'm known by my own;
15 - even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 - I have other sheep, which are not of this fold.Isaiah 56:8I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.
17 - Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life,Isaiah 53:7-8that I may take it again.
18 - No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Father."
19 - Therefore a division arose again among the Jews because of these words.
20 - Many of them said, "He has a demon, and is insane! Why do you listen to him?"
21 - Others said, "These are not the sayings of one possessed by a demon. It isn't possible for a demon to open the eyes of the blind, is it?"Exodus 4:11
22 - It was the Feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem.
23 - It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon's porch.
24 - The Jews therefore came around him and said to him, "How long will you hold us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."
25 - Jesus answered them,"I told you, and you don't believe. The works that I do in my Father's name, these testify about me.
26 - But you don't believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you.
27 - My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
28 - I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
29 - My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand.
30 - I and the Father are one."
31 - Therefore Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32 - Jesus answered them,"I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?"
33 - The Jews answered him, "We don't stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy: because you, being a man, make yourself God."
34 - Jesus answered them,"Isn't it written in your law, 'I said, you are gods?'Psalm 82:6
35 - If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can't be broken),
36 - do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You blaspheme,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God?'
37 - If I don't do the works of my Father, don't believe me.
38 - But if I do them, though you don't believe me, believe the works; that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."
39 - They sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand.
40 - He went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was baptizing at first, and there he stayed.
41 - Many came to him. They said, "John indeed did no sign, but everything that John said about this man is true."
42 - Many believed in him there.
John Images and Notes

The Book of John

John 1:14 - And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 20:31 - But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

John in The New Testament - A Brief Overview

St. John the Evangelist by Guido Reni
Painting of St. John the Evangelist by Reni - 1620

Introduction to The Gospel of John

The Word Gospel. The fourth book of the New Testament is the Gospel of John. John is the fourth of the four gospel writings, yet there is only one gospel about Jesus Christ and there are four different writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The word "Gospel" means "good news", and the good news is about Jesus Christ dying on the cross and then 3 days later conquering death and rising from the dead, offering salvation to all mankind, this is the Gospel.

Summary of The Book of John

Brief Summary. Jesus was Jehovah God, the eternal Word made flesh. He came to His home, Israel, and He was rejected. He came to this world, and the world rejected Him, but anyone who  would believe and receive Him would have life through His name, and be given authority to call themselves a "son of god."

Purpose. John makes one thing clear in John 20:30, 31 - "these ( things) are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ; and that believing ye may have life in his name." John sought to lead men to eternal life by first convincing them of His deity, the miracles were actually recorded as "signs" to confirm His deity, that He was Jehovah God, the incarnate Word made flesh. John called Jesus the bread of life, the light of the world, the good shepherd, the way the truth and the life, the true vine, all clearly pointing to the deity of Jesus. In fact John points to everything in His life and teachings as a sign that Jesus of Nazareth was truly the Eternal Word of God who "became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth" (John 1: 14).

John Compared to the Other Gospel Accounts. The "Synoptic Gospels" - Matthew, Mark and Luke all have their unique perspective of the life of Jesus Christ, as well as John's approach. John is always emphasizing the deity of Jesus as well as His divine miracles. John also gives us a bit more information about Jesus' ministry in Jerusalem, where Matthew, Mark and Luke focus more on His Galilean ministry. There is also a difference regarding the chronology of the last week (Passion Week) of Christ's life. It is important to note that the Gospel accounts do not necessarily place their focus on chronology and orderly biography of the ministry of Jesus with names, places, and dates, but rather a full perspective of their unique portrayal of Jesus Christ.

Authorship. The author of the Gospel of John is identified in John 21:20 as "The disciple whom Jesus loved" who leaned on Jesus' breast. It is clear that John was that disciple and he did not wish to use his own name directly as the author, possibly for reasons of humility. Early church historical writings from early second century AD recognize the Gospel of John as a sacred book. Theophilus of Antioch (170 AD) was the first to write the name John as the author. Shortly after this Irenaeus identified John as the disciple who had leaned on Jesus' breast. This is especially important because Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp, who had known the man John personally. Clement of Alexandria mentions John as having composed a "spiritual gospel."

Critics of John as the Author. There is a statement that was made by Papias that there were actually two men named John in Ephesus at the same time, and John the Apostle was referred to as "John the Elder". Many opponents of the apostle John's authorship give credit to the other John as the writer of the fourth Gospel. Although the answer cannot be positively determined by history, tradition and internal evidence definitely point to John the apostle as the author.

Date. It is worthy to consider the words of the most famous archaeologist of all time that according to archaeological evidence there is "no longer any solid basis for dating any book of the New Testament after about A.D. 80." Most scholars conclude that the book of John was written around 85 or 90 AD probably before the exile to Patmos. It is also important to consider John 5:2 when it mentions "Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep [market] a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches." This verse would indicate that this existed at the current time that the Gospel of John was written. This would place the written work before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. There is also no evidence as to whether John wrote the Gospel before or after his return to Ephesus from the Island of Patmos.

The Man John. John's book attributes the work to "the disciple whom Jesus loved." This say a lot about the man John, and the fact that Jesus left his mother Mary in John's care, having spoken the words from the cross, is very significant. Another indicator of John's character is found in the book of 1 John, he continually talks about love, loving one another, and that God is love, etc. It is also safe to say that John was a Jew, this can be clearly seen by his accuracy about Jewish customs, Jewish way of thinking, and by his quotations from the Hebrew Old Testament. He knew the topography of the land of Israel from a Jewish perspective quite well. It is easy to see in his writings that he was a close disciple of Jesus, an eyewitness of the events surrounding Jesus' ministry. One can determine by process of elimination, that the author is not just any John but John the apostle, the son of Zebedee, who is prominently mentioned in the Gospel accounts.

John and Church History.  Church tradition records that John came to Ephesus after Paul's work was finished there. Later, during the reign of the Emperor Domitian, he was banished to the Island of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation. Shortly thereafter he was released and returned to the city of Ephesus.

Archaeology. The Rylands Papyrus Fragment was discovered in 1920 in Egypt containing a few verses from John 18 dating back to about 120-135 AD.

Outline of the Book of John

The Word of God - Chapter 1:1-51
His Public Ministry - Chapters 2:1-12:50
His Private Ministry - Chapters 13:1-17:26
His Death and Resurrection - Chapters 18:1-20:31
John's Conclusion - Chapter 21:1-25

Jesus written in Hebrew
The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus" would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A). Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means "The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".

John Resources

Outline of the Life of Jesus in Harmony
Simple Map of First Century Israel
Topographical Map of First Century Israel
Map of the Ministry of Jesus
Map of the Roads in Ancient Israel
Map of the Roman Empire