👉 Subscribe to Vitaly Oliynik's author's channel: / @vitalioliinik Bible School Topic of the quarter: "The Gospel of John: main themes" Lesson #4, "Witnesses of Christ the Messiah" October 26, 2024 I. Testimony of John the Baptist (BC). 1. Read John 1:19-28 (in turn) and answer the questions: a. What does the word "Jews" mean in this passage? (v. 19 - "the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem" - in the capital, they have temple servants at their disposal - religious leaders!) b. What do John's words "I am not the Christ" mean? (in the original ὁ χριστός (ho Christós) – with the article = that same Christ; see John 1:41 – “the Messiah” – τὸν Μεσσίαν (ton Messiah), with the article; John was a priest, was anointed – see Luke 1:5,59,60; Exodus 28:41) c. Who did John consider himself to be? (v. 23 – about whom Isaiah prophesied) d. What do John’s words reveal about who Jesus is? (quote from Isaiah 40:3 – “to the Lord” – in the original יְהוָ֑ה (yehvah), “our God”!) e. What do the questions in v. 25 reveal about baptism? (It was expected, it was not a new rite!) 2. What new things have you learned from this section? II. The Lamb of God (PN). 1. Read John 1:29-34 (one by one) and answer the questions: a. What did John call Jesus in v. 29? (The Lamb of God) b. Where does this concept come from? (See Isaiah 53; v. 3 - "man"; v. 5 - "our sins ... our iniquities"; v. 6 - "The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all"; v. 7 - "like a sheep ... like a lamb"; as early as the 2nd century BC, Jonathan ben Uziel's Targum (translation into Aramaic) on Isaiah 52:13 reads: "Behold, My servant the Messiah ...") c. In what sense was Jesus before John - v. 30? (John was six months older than Jesus – see Luke 1:24-27,30,31; here he refers to the pre-eternal existence of Jesus – see John 1:3) d. How did John know who exactly the Lamb of God is? (vv. 32,33 – “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove... upon Him”) e. What other names did John call Jesus? (v. 34 – “the Son of God”) 2. List who you personally think Jesus is! III. John’s Two Disciples (VT). 1. Read John 1:35-42 (one by one) and answer the questions: a. What is Jesus called in v. 38? (Rabbi; this is what Nathanael calls Him – v. 49, 3:2 – Nicodemus, 4:31 – the disciples; 6:24,25 – the people) b. Check Jesus’ question in v. 38. in other translations (“what are you looking for?” (Cassian); these are the first words of Jesus in this Gospel!) c. Check the end of v. 38 in other translations (“where are you staying?” (Stern) – in the orig. μένω (meno); this happened in Bethabara – v. 28, in Judea; see v. 43 – “he wanted to go to Galilee”; see Matt. 4:13 – “settled” – κατοικέω (katoikeo)) d. How did John’s disciples recognize Jesus as the Messiah – v. 41? (v. 37 – John’s testimony; v. 39 – communication with Him) e. Who is the unnamed disciple? (See 13:23,24 – “one of His disciples whom Jesus loved”; 18:15,16 – again Peter and “the other disciple”; 20:3,4 – again “Peter and the other disciple”; 21:20-24 – this is John) 2. What is the basis for your beliefs about who Jesus is? IV. Philip and Nathanael (SR). 1. Read John 1:43-50 (one by one) and answer the questions: a. How did Jesus know Philip to look for him? (v. 44 – “from the same city as Andrew and Peter”; see 12:21,22 – chain: Philip – Andrew – Jesus) b. What was Philip guided by in forming his attitude toward Jesus? (v. 45 – “Moses in the Law and the Prophets”) c. What is the best way to help people overcome prejudices and skepticism? (v. 46 – “come and see”) d. What did Nathanael call Jesus? (v. 49 – “Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel”) 2. Have you used Philip’s approach to skeptics? V. The Testimony of Nicodemus (CT). 1. Read John 3:1,2 (one by one) and answer the questions: a. What did Nicodemus call Jesus? (v. 2 – “Rabbi... a teacher who came from God... God is with him”) b. Check the middle of v. 2 in other translations (“such signs” (RBO) – Jesus’ actions were signs of Who He is) c. Who was Nicodemus? (v. 1 – a Pharisee, “one of the rulers of the Jews”; 7:50,51 – a member of the Sanhedrin) d. What is the significance of Nicodemus’ testimony? (2 verse - "we know" - the original attitude of the "leaders") 2. What serves as a sign for you that reveals the nature of Jesus? ATTENTION!!! Preamble: Comments on this channel are intended to react to the content of the video under which they are posted. If a topic is not discussed in the video, it cannot be raised in the comments. Rules: 1. Before expressing an assessment, read the material to the end (Prov. 18:13; John 7:51). 2. If the material was useful, like (👍) and leave positive comments (Psalm 14:1,4; Matt. 25:21,23). 3. In case of disagreement with any statement, indicate what exactly seemed wrong, at what minute of the recording, and how you see a discrepancy with the Bible (John 18:23). 4. Express yourself politely, respectfully, and favorably (Rom. 12:7; Col. 4:6). 5. Insinuations about the motives of the author, interlocutors, or anyone else are prohibited; evaluation is to be given not to the person/persons, but to the material (1 Cor. 4:5; 1 Kings 8:39). 6. Theological statements are to be substantiated by the Bible (Matt. 3:4,7,10). 7. Vulgar and obscene language is prohibited (Eph. 4:29). Vitaly Oliynik.