THE GOSPEL OF

John
You are holding a truly
remarkable book. It tells the
extraordinary life story of the
most influential man who ever
lived – Jesus Christ. It’s a story
that is both heartwarming
and shocking. It’s a story
that people died to record
and preserve so that you can
hold it in your hands now and
read it. It’s a story that has
THE GOSPEL OF

John
changed the lives of countless
people around the world and
throughout history. Read this
book to rediscover who Jesus
is and the offer he makes to all
of us: to come and experience
new life through him.

www.apassionforlife.org.uk

ISBN 978-1909559233

9 781909 559233
New International Version

PAS2940 Gospel Cover FINAL.indd 1-3 30/08/2013 13:32

 THE GOSPEL OF

John

New International Version

 This edition of the NIV Gospel of John is published by
The Good Book Company for A Passion for Life
© A Passion for Life/The Good Book Company 2013
The Good Book Company
Blenheim House, 1 Blenheim Road,
Epsom, Surrey KT19 9AP
Tel: 0333 123 0880
International: +44 (0) 208 942 0880
email: info@thegoodbook.co.uk
www.thegoodbook.co.uk
www.apassionforlife.org.uk
ISBN: 9781909559233
ISBN (pack of 20): 9781909559905
Bible text taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised.
Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton
Publishers, a division of Hachette UK. All rights reserved.
Printed in the UK.

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Read this first!

The Christian faith is first and foremost about a person – Jesus

Christ.
Many people know a few things about Christianity and some
people know some things about Christians – but the star attrac-
tion of Christianity is not really Christian activity, or even Chris-
tian people. It is Jesus.
Jesus says that if we follow him, he will give us “life to the
full”. That is, we will be able to live life in this world in a whole
new dimension. But, more than that, we will also have the guar-
antee of life beyond this world in God’s perfect future world. Jesus
offers this life as a gift. It is free of charge. This is quite simply the
best news in the world!
This book is one of the authorised eye-witness accounts of Je-
sus’ life and teaching. It was written by John, the closest of all
of Jesus’ disciples. John is described as “the one whom Jesus
loved”. He was with Jesus from the beginning; he saw and heard
all that Jesus did and said. Jesus gave John the special job of
recording his words and work for us.
John himself came to the conclusion that Jesus offers us “life
to the full”. His aim in writing this book is so that we come to
believe in Jesus and share in the gift of life.
This edition of John’s Gospel has been produced by a group
of ordinary Christian believers from churches across the United
Kingdom. We have found that what Jesus offers to give us is quite
simply the best news in the world. We would love you to discover
this too!
We really hope you might be prepared to read this book with
an open heart and mind. You may be surprised by what you dis-
cover…

3
Some practical suggestions:
Read it slowly…
You can read through John’s account in under three hours. But to benefit
most from what John is showing us about Jesus, it is better to read it slowly.
There is a reading plan on the opposite page. Why not take one section per
day and spend some time chewing over what you have read.

Read it thoughtfully…
John tells us at the end of his account (page 58, Chapter 20 verses 30-31)
that he has recorded these particular works and words of Jesus so that we
might believe that Jesus is who he says he is – and have life in his name.
Rather than speeding through the account, why not take more time and think
carefully about each incident and section of teaching? You will notice that
John has recorded many specific miracles (or signs), and the teaching that
comes before and after the signs tells us how we are meant to understand
them. Pay particular attention to these explanations.

Read it responsively…
John wants us to do something with what we read. This isn’t simply a stack
of information. This is the account of a person. Jesus doesn’t want us just
to know about him. He wants us to know him personally, so that we have
life to the full. All through the account we will find Jesus telling us how we
should respond rightly – he also tells us how not to respond. As you read,
think carefully what you are learning about Jesus and how he does (and does
not) want you to respond. There is a section at the back – What do I do next?
on page 61. This section seeks to summarise what a response to Jesus might
look like. Best of all, however, why not think carefully about how Jesus wants
you to respond at the end of each reading?

Read it prayerfully…
John wrote his account because he had discovered life to the full through
knowing Jesus. Wherever you are on your personal spiritual journey, God
wants to help you understand what you are reading. In fact, he promises to
help us if we ask him. So why not say a prayer to God before you read and
ask him to help you understand and respond rightly.

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 Lord God, please help me as I read John’s book about Jesus.
Help me to understand who Jesus is and what Jesus is telling me about
himself and about me. Help me to hear what you have to say to me.
Help me to respond rightly to what I am discovering.
Please show me how I can have the full life that Jesus is offering me.
Amen

Reading plan: John in 36 days

Day 1: John 1:1-18 Day 19: John 11:1-44

Day 2: John 1:19-51 Day 20: John 11:45 – 12:11
Day 3: John 2:1-22 Day 21: John 12:12-50
Day 4: John 2:23 – 3:21 Day 22: John 13:1-30
Day 5: John 3:22-36 Day 23: John 13:31 – 14:4
Day 6: John 4:1-24 Day 24: John 14:5-31
Day 7: John 4:25-54 Day 25: John 15:1-17
Day 8: John 5:1-29 Day 26: John 15:18 – 16:4
Day 9: John 5:30-47 Day 27: John 16:5-33
Day 10: John 6:1-39 Day 28: John 17:1-26
Day 11: John 6:40-71 Day 29: John 18:1-14
Day 12: John 7:1-24 Day 30: John 18:15- 27
Day 13: John 7:25-53 Day 31: John 18:28 – 19:16
Day 14: John 8:1-30 Day 32: John 19:17-37
Day 15: John 8:31-59 Day 33: John 19:38 – 20:18
Day 16: John 9:1-41 Day 34: John 20:19-31
Day 17: John 10:1-21 Day 35: John 21:1-14
Day 18: John 10:22-42 Day 36: John 21:15-25

A note about chapters and verses

Throughout this book you will see some large numbers and some smaller numbers. The
larger numbers are chapters that John has been split into. The smaller numbers are the
“verses” that make up each chapter. They weren’t in the original, but have been added
later to help us find our way around. We often use a kind of “shorthand” so that John
chapter 3 and verse 16 will be written as “John 3 v 16” or sometimes as “John 3:16”.

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 People, places and ideas in John’s Gospel
Abraham: the ancestor of the by God to prepare the way for The Prophet: another name
people of Israel. Jesus. for God’s promised ruler, who
would be a prophet like Moses.
Annas: Caiaphas’ father-in-law. Judea: the region in Israel in
which Jerusalem was situated. Resurrection: not just Jesus’
Baptism: a ceremony involving
own resurrection, but also
water, which symbolises The Law: refers to the first five
the final day at the end world
washing away sin and making a books of the Old Testament
history when God has promised
fresh start. (Genesis to Deuteronomy) but
to raise everyone from the dead
also to the rules and commands
Caiaphas: the most senior and judge us.
to God’s people, Israel.
priest, the High Priest.
Samaria: an area between
Levites: a group of people who
Christ: the title for God’s Judea and Galilee populated
helped the priests to take care
specially chosen King. It simply with a mix of nationalities and
of the temple.
means “chosen one”. religions. Samaritans were de-
Messiah: another name for spised by Jews for their ethnic
Elijah: one of the greatest
Christ. and religious impurity.
prophets of the Old Testament.
God promised that before he Moses: the greatest of the The serpent in the wilder-
visited his world he would send prophets of the Old Testament. ness: refers to a time when God
another prophet “like Elijah”. He received the Ten Command- rescued Israel from his own
ments from God. judgment through raising up a
The Feast of Booths: annual
bronze snake on a pole.
feast when Israelites remem- Nazareth / Galilee / Cana:
bered the rescue from Egypt. places in the far north of Israel Son of God: a title referring to
distant from Jerusalem. the Christ.
Good Shepherd: another name
for God’s chosen King. God ac- Manna in the wilderness: after The Son of Man: one of the
cused the kings of Israel of being God rescued Israel from Egypt most exalted titles for God’s
bad shepherds. He promised that they wandered in the desert king in the Old Testament. It
he would send a Good Shepherd for 40 years. God fed them on speaks of God’s king as lord
to lead his people. manna, a type of bread. and judge of all people.
The Holy Spirit: God. He The Passover Feast: the main The Temple: the Jewish place
lives inside everyone who has religious festival for the Jews of worship in Jerusalem, where
decided to follow Jesus. when they remembered that Jews would come to worship
God rescued them from slavery God, celebrate his festivals,
Israel: the nation descended
in Egypt. He rescued them and offer sacrifices to God.
from Abraham, and the
through the sacrifice of a lamb.
geographical land which God The Vine: God’s people, Israel,
Hence “the Passover lamb”.
promised to give to Abraham. are described as his vine. The
Pilate: the Roman Governor term is usually used negatively
Jerusalem: the capital city
who ruled at the time Jesus was in the Old Testament. But God
of Israel.
put to death. promises to raise up a good
John the Baptist: not the same vine.
Priests: the people who served
as John, the author of
at the temple in Jerusalem. The Word: is a title John uses
this book. John the Baptist was
to speak about Jesus before he
Jesus’ cousin. He was sent
was born.

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 Introduction
The first chapter of John’s account is an introduction.
We meet the Word (another name for Jesus) in eternity
and Jesus in history.

The Word became flesh

1 In the be­gin­ning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the be­gin­ning.
3 Through him all ­ things were made; with­out him noth­ing was
made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the
­light of all man­kind. 5 The ­light ­shines in the dark­ness, and the
dark­ness has not over­come a it.
6 There was a man sent from God w ­ hose name was John. 7 He
came as a wit­ness to tes­ti­f y con­cern­ing that l­ight, so that t­ hrough
him all ­might be­lieve. 8 He him­self was not the ­light; he came only
as a wit­ness to the ­light.
9 The true l­ight that g
­ ives ­light to ev­ery­one was com­ing into the
world. 10 He was in the ­world, and ­though the ­world was made
­through him, the ­world did not rec­og­nise him. 11 He came to that
­which was his own, but his own did not re­ceive him. 12 Yet to all
who did re­ceive him, to ­those who be­lieved in his name, he gave
the ­right to be­come chil­dren of God – 13 chil­dren born not of
nat­u­ral de­scent, nor of hu­man de­ci­sion or a hus­band’s will, but
born of God.
14 The Word be­came ­flesh and made his dwell­ing ­among us. We

have seen his glo­r y, the glo­r y of the one and only Son, who came
from the Fa­ther, full of ­grace and truth.
15 (John tes­ti­fied con­cern­ing him. He c ­ ried out, say­ing, ‘This is
the one I spoke about when I said, “He who ­comes af­ter me has
sur­passed me be­cause he was be­fore me.” ’) 16 Out of his full­ness
we have all re­ceived ­grace in p ­ lace of g­ race al­ready giv­en. 17 For
the law was giv­en ­through Mo­ses; g­ race and ­truth came ­through
­Jesus ­Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only

a 5  Or understood

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 Son, who is him­self God and b is in the clos­est re­la­tion­ship with
the Fa­ther, has made him known.

John the Baptist denies being the Messiah

19 Now this was ­John’s tes­ti­mo­ny when the Jew­ish lead­ers c in Je­

ru­sa­lem sent p ­ riests and Le­vites to ask him who he was. 20 He did
not fail to con­fess, but con­fessed free­ly, ‘I am not the Mes­si­ah.’
21 They ­asked him, ‘Then who are you? Are you Eli­jah?’

He said, ‘I am not.’
‘Are you the Proph­et?’
He an­swered, ‘No.’
22 Fi­nal­ly they said, ‘Who are you? Give us an an­swer to take

back to ­those who sent us. What do you say ­about your­self ?’
23 John re­ plied in the ­words of Isa­iah the proph­et, ‘I am the
­voice of one call­ing in the wil­der­ness, “Make ­straight the way for
the Lord.” ’ d
24 Now the Phar­ i­sees who had been sent 25 ques­tioned him,
‘Why then do you bap­tise if you are not the Mes­si­ah, nor Eli­jah,
nor the Proph­et?’
26 ‘I bap­tise with e wa­ter,’ John re­plied, ‘but a
­ mong you s­ tands
one you do not know. 27 He is the one who ­comes af­ter me, the
­straps of ­whose san­dals I am not wor­thy to un­tie.’
28 This all hap­pened at Beth­a­ny on the oth­er side of the Jor­dan,

­where John was bap­tis­ing.

John testifies about Jesus

29 The next day John saw J­esus com­ ing to­wards him and said,
‘Look, the Lamb of God, who t­akes away the sin of the w ­ orld!
30 This is the one I ­
meant when I said, “A man who ­comes af­ter
me has sur­passed me be­cause he was be­fore me.” 31 I my­self did
not know him, but the rea­son I came bap­tis­ing with wa­ter was that
he ­might be re­vealed to Is­ra­el.’
32 Then John gave this tes­ti­mo­ny: ‘I saw the Spir­it come down

from heav­en as a dove and re­main on him. 33 And I my­self did not

b 18  Some manuscripts but the only Son, who

c 19 The Greek term traditionally translated the Jews (hoi Ioudaioi) refers here and
elsewhere in John’s Gospel to those Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus; also
in 5:10, 15, 16; 7:1, 11, 13; 9:22; 18:14, 28, 36; 19:7, 12, 31, 38; 20:19.
d 23  Isaiah 40:3 e 26 Or in; also in verses 31 and 33 (twice)

8
 53 Then the fa­ther re­al­ised that this was the ex­act time at ­which
J­esus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he and his w ­ hole
house­hold be­lieved.
54 This was the sec­ond sign ­Jesus per­formed af­ter com­ing from

Ju­dea to Gal­i­lee.

Part Two
John 5:1 – 10:42
This section of John’s account shows us what Jesus’ work
is. Chapter 5 verse 24 is the “summary verse”. He has
come to give life to those who believe. This life begins
now and stretches beyond this world. Those who believe
will not face God’s judgment. The chapters that follow
show us why some people will not respond rightly to
Jesus – even though he keeps on holding out the offer of
life to them.

The healing at the pool

5 Some time lat­er, ­Jesus went up to Jeru­sa­lem for one of the

Jew­ish festivals. 2 Now ­there is in Je­ru­sa­lem near the S­ heep
Gate a pool, w ­ hich in Ar­a­ma­ic is ­called Be­thes­da a and ­which is
sur­rounded by five cov­ered col­on­nades. 3 Here a ­great num­ber of
dis­abled peo­ple used to lie – the b ­ lind, the lame, the par­a­lysed.
[4] b 5 One who was ­there had been an in­val­id for thir­ty-­eight ­years.

6 When ­ Jesus saw him ly­ing ­there and ­learned that he had been
in this con­di­tion for a long time, he ­asked him, ‘Do you want to
get well?’
7 ‘Sir,’ the in­
val­id re­plied, ‘I have no one to help me into the
pool when the wa­ter is ­stirred. ­While I am try­ing to get in, some­
one else goes down ­ahead of me.’
8 Then J­ esus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’

9 At once the man was c ­ ured; he ­picked up his mat and walked.
The day on ­which this took ­place was a Sab­bath, 10 and so the
a 2  Some manuscripts Bethzatha; other manuscripts Bethsaida
b 3,4  Some manuscripts include here, wholly or in part, paralysed – and they
waited for the moving of the waters. 4From time to time an angel of the Lord
would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each
such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had.

17
 Part Three
John 11:1 – 20:31
This section of John’s account shows us how Jesus will
give us life. The outside parts of the section (chapters
11 – 12 and 18 – 20) speak of Jesus’ death and of the
life he has come to bring through his resurrection. He
conquers death by his death. He gives life to us through
his death. The inside section (chapters 13 – 17) show us
what it will look like to enjoy life with Jesus in this
world.

The death of Lazarus

11 Now a man ­named Laz­a­rus was ill. He was from Beth­a­ny,

the vil­lage of Mary and her sis­ter Mar­tha. 2 (This Mary,
­whose broth­er Laz­a­rus now lay ill, was the same one who ­poured
per­fume on the Lord and w ­ iped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the
sis­ters sent word to ­Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is ill.’
4 When he h ­ eard this, ­Jesus said, ‘This ill­ness will not end in
­death. No, it is for ­God’s glo­r y so that ­God’s Son may be glo­
ri­fied ­through it.’ 5 Now ­Jesus ­loved Mar­tha and her sis­ter and
Laz­a­rus. 6 So when he ­heard that Laz­a­rus was ill, he ­stayed ­where
he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his dis­ci­ples, ‘Let us
go back to Ju­dea.’
8 ‘But Rab­bi,’ they said, ‘a s ­ hort ­while ago the Jews t­here ­tried
to ­stone you, and yet you are go­ing back?’
9 Jesus an­swered, ‘Are t­ here not t­ welve ­hours of day­light? Any­

one who walks in the day-­time will not stum­ble, for they see by
this ­world’s ­light. 10 It is when a per­son walks at ­night that they
stum­ble, for they have no light.’
11 Af­ter he had said this, he went on to tell them, ‘Our f­riend

Laz­a­rus has ­fall­en ­asleep; but I am go­ing ­there to wake him up.’

12 His dis­ci­ples re­plied, ‘Lord, if he s­ leeps, he will get bet­ter.’
13 Jesus had been speak­ing of his d ­ eath, but his dis­ciples ­thought
he ­meant nat­u­ral sleep.
14 So then he told them plain­ly, ‘Laz­a­rus is dead, 15 and for your

35
 Conclusion
John 21:1-25
The final chapter of John’s account shows Jesus
appearing to his disciples and re-commissioning them
to serve him by teaching (feeding) his people.

Jesus and the miraculous catch of fish

21 Af­ter­wards ­Jesus ap­peared ­again to his dis­ci­ples, by

the Sea of Gal­i­lee. a It hap­pened this way: 2 Si­mon ­Pe­ter,
Thom­as (also ­known as Did­y­mus  b ), Na­than­a­el from Cana in Gal­
i­lee, the sons of Zeb­e­dee, and two oth­er dis­ci­ples were to­geth­er.
3 ‘I’m go­ ing out to fish,’ Si­mon Pe­ter told them, and they said,
‘We’ll go with you.’ So they went out and got into the boat, but
that ­night they ­caught noth­ing.
4 Ear­ly in the morn­ing, ­Jesus ­stood on the ­shore, but the dis­

ci­ples did not re­al­ise that it was ­Jesus.

5 He ­called out to them, ‘Friends, ­haven’t you any fish?’

‘No,’ they an­swered.

6 He said, ‘Throw your net on the r ­ight side of the boat and
you will find some.’ When they did, they were un­able to haul the
net in be­cause of the ­large num­ber of fish.
7 Then the dis­ ci­ple whom ­Jesus ­loved said to Pe­ter, ‘It is the
Lord!’ As soon as S­ i­mon Pe­ter ­heard him say, ‘It is the Lord,’ he
­wrapped his out­er gar­ment ­round him (for he had tak­en it off)
and ­jumped into the wa­ter. 8 The oth­er dis­ci­ples fol­lowed in the
boat, tow­ing the net full of fish, for they were not far from ­shore,
­about a hun­dred metres­. 9 When they land­ed, they saw a fire of
burn­ing ­coals ­there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish you have

just caught.’ 11 So ­ Si­

mon Pe­ ter ­climbed back into the boat
and ­ dragged the net a­shore. It was full of l­arge fish, 153,
but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to
them, ‘Come and have break­fast.’ None of the dis­ciples ­dared
ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord. 13 Je­
sus came, took the b ­read and gave it to them, and did the

a 1 Greek Tiberias
b 2  Thomas (Aramaic) and Didymus (Greek) both mean twin.
59
 same with the fish. 14 This was now the ­third time ­Jesus ap­peared
to his dis­ciples af­ter he was ­raised from the dead.

Jesus reinstates Peter

15 When they had fin­ ished eat­ing, ­Jesus said to Si­mon Pe­ter,
‘Si­mon son of John, do you love me more than these?’
‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’
Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’
16 Again ­Jesus said, ‘Si­mon son of John, do you love me?’

He an­swered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’

Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’
17 The ­third time he said to him, ‘Si­mon son of John, do you
love me?’
Pe­ter was hurt be­cause ­Jesus ­asked him the t­ hird time, ‘Do you
love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all t­hings; you know that I
love you.’
Jesus said, ‘Feed my s­ heep. 18 Very t­ru­ly I tell you, when you
were youn­ger you ­dressed your­self and went w ­ here you want­ed;
but when you are old you will s­ tretch out your ­hands, and some­
one else will ­dress you and lead you ­where you do not want to
go.’ 19 Jesus said this to in­di­cate the kind of ­death by ­which Pe­ter
­would glo­ri­f y God. Then he said to him, ‘Fol­low me!’
20 Pe­ter ­turned and saw that the dis­ci­ple whom ­Jesus ­loved was

fol­low­ing them. (This was the one who had l­eaned back a­ gainst
­Jesus at the sup­per and had said, ‘Lord, who is go­ing to be­
tray you?’) 21 When Pe­ter saw him, he a­ sked, ‘Lord, what a­ bout
him?’
22 Jesus an­swered, ‘If I want him to re­main ­alive un­til I re­turn,

what is that to you? You must fol­low me.’ 23 Be­cause of this, the
ru­mour ­spread ­among the be­liev­ers that this dis­ci­ple ­would not
die. But J­esus did not say that he w ­ ould not die; he only said, ‘If
I want him to re­main ­alive un­til I re­turn, what is that to you?’
24 This is the dis­ ci­ple who tes­ti­fies to ­these ­things and who
­wrote them down. We know that his tes­ti­mo­ny is true.
25 Jesus did many oth­er ­things as well. If ev­ery one of them were

writ­ten down, I sup­pose that even the ­whole ­world ­would not have
room for the ­books that ­would be writ­ten.

60
What do I do next?
Right at the beginning of John’s
account he tells us what Jesus of-
fers:
Yet to all who did receive him,
to those who believed in his
name, he gave the right to
become children of God.
John 1:12
Jesus offers us the opportunity to
become part of God’s family. This
is what life to the full is really all
about – being a child of God with
him as our Father, and safe in his
family for ever.
That phrase “the right to” speaks
of the absolute and confident au-
thority of Jesus to make this offer
to us.
John tells us that this comes free
of charge: “he gave”. It is a gift
and it comes to us not because of
what we do, but because of who
Jesus is and what he has done for
us.
This really is life to the full – the
best news in the world!
So what is needed if I am to be-
come a child of God? Here are
three simple steps to follow:
1. Admit
I need to admit that I am not nat-
urally one of God’s children. Do
you remember Nicodemus back
in chapter 3? This dedicated, re-
ligious rabbi had to learn from
Jesus that his religion could not
make him part of God’s family –
“Very truly I tell you, no one can
see the kingdom of God unless
they are born again” (3:3). Jesus
went on to explain that the way
we treat Jesus shows us that we
don’t naturally belong to God’s
family. He is God’s Son, he is the
light, but as Jesus said: “This is
the verdict: light has come into
the world, but people loved dark-
ness instead of light because their
deeds were evil” (3:19).
We each need to admit to God
that we have failed to treat Jesus
as we ought to have done. I am
not naturally part of his family.
2. Believe
John 1:12 tells us that family
membership comes “to all who
did receive him, to those who
believed in his name”. The prom-
ise of inclusion in God’s family
is quite literally for anyone who
trusts in Jesus and receives him.
The following 20 chapters of
John’s account are dedicated to
giving us many reasons to do just
that! So much so that in 20:31
John can say: “These are written
that you may believe that Jesus is
the Messiah, the Son of God, and
that by believing you may have
life in his name.”
61
 John has certainly made the case.
He has shown us:
• the works of Jesus, his signs
• the words of Jesus, his teaching
• the word of God, his promises
for centuries before Jesus came
• the witness of Jesus’ disciples.
Jesus has claimed to be nothing
less than God himself in human
flesh: “I and the Father are one”
(10:30). His resurrection from the
dead is the final proof that he re-
ally is who he says he is – God
himself! Lord and King! Thomas
eventually responds rightly: “My
Lord and my God” (20:28).
This makes the death of Jesus on
the cross all the more remarkable.
Jesus is God – but he came to die
on the cross for us. Perhaps the
most famous sentence in John’s
account is this:
For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have
eternal life. John 3:16
Jesus came into the world to die
on the cross. His death carried
God’s judgment for our sin – Je-
sus was being punished for us.
This is how he enables people
like you and me to become part
of God’s family. To use Jesus’ own
words: “Whoever hears my word
and believes him who sent me has
eternal life and will not be judged
but has crossed over from death
to life.” (John 5:24).
62
As we trust Jesus for who he is and
what he did on the cross, we will
never be judged by God for any-
thing we have done wrong. We
have already crossed over from
spiritual death to spiritual life. All
because God loved us and sent Je-
sus to die on the cross for us.
Jesus cried out on the cross: “It is
finished!”. This was a cry of com-
pletion. He had finished paying
for the sins of the whole world.
In response to the question: how
can family membership in God’s
family possibly be available to a
person like me? Jesus says – be-
cause God loves you and because
I died to wash away your sins!
3. Receive
In 1:12 John says: “To all who did
receive him…” The great news is
that Jesus’ promise is for free (he
gave) and for anyone (to all).
Remember the Samaritan woman
from chapter 4? You could not
imagine a more unlikely candi-
date! She had already had five
husbands. She was not married
to her latest man. She was eth-
nically, religiously and morally im-
pure. Yet Jesus welcomed her. He
will welcome you too if you will
receive him. As you ask Jesus to
come into your heart he will enter
in the person of his Holy Spirit. On
the basis of Jesus’ finished pay-
ment on the cross, he will wash
away your sins and make you a
member of God’s family.
A prayer
If you are ready to take these three
steps, then here is a prayer you can
use to ask God to make you a mem-
ber of his family through Jesus:
Admit: Father in heaven, I admit
that I have not treated you or
your Son, Jesus, as I should. I
have failed to live in your world
with you as my Lord. I have said
and done things that displease
you. Most of all I have tried to
keep you out of my life and run
my life without you. I am sorry.
Believe: Father in heaven, I be-
lieve that Jesus is who he says he
is. He is my rightful Lord and God.
I believe that Jesus did what he
came to do. His death on the
cross took your judgment for my
sins. Thank you.
Receive: Father in heaven, I
receive Jesus into my life as my
Lord and God, and as my Saviour,
who died for my sins. Thank you
for his offer of life to the full.
Please help me now, as a new
family member, to grow to live
for you and please you in every-
thing I do. Amen.
If you prayed sincerely, then be
sure that God has heard you. God
promises to welcome into his fam-
ily anyone who comes to him:
Yet to all who did receive him,
to those who believed in his
name, he gave the right to be-
come children of God.
So what happens next?
Jesus describes himself as the
Good Shepherd.
My sheep listen to my voice; I
know them, and they follow
me. I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish; no
one will snatch them out of
my hand. John 10:27-28
The key to being and growing as a
family member (or a member of the
flock!) is to feed and to follow.
Feeding simply means listening to
Jesus’ teaching in the Bible. That’s
what you’ve already been doing as
you have read through John’s Gos-
pel. Now it would be good to find
another Christian – perhaps the
person who gave you this book –
and ask them to introduce you to
a church where Jesus’ words in the
Bible are taught clearly. That way
you will be fed even as you seek to
feed yourself by reading the Bible.
But those who feed must also fol-
low. So you need to start acting
on what you are learning about
Jesus. Ask him to show you how he
wants you to live. Ask him what he
wants you to do with your life, so
that you can live like a true family
member. And what a promise the
Good Shepherd makes to everyone
who feeds and follows: “No one
will snatch them out of my hand.”
As you seek to do this, you will
find that following the Good
Shepherd really is life to the full!
63
 palestine in the time of Jesus

The Great Sea

(Mediterranean Sea)
GALILEE
Capernaum Bethsaida
Tiberias
Cana

Nazareth
Aenon
(Salim)

Sychar

SAMARIA

Ephraim

Jerusalem
Bethlehem Bethany

JUDEA

0 10 20 30 40 50 km

64
 THE GOSPEL OF

John
You are holding a truly
remarkable book. It tells the
extraordinary life story of the
most influential man who ever
lived – Jesus Christ. It’s a story
that is both heartwarming
and shocking. It’s a story
that people died to record
and preserve so that you can
hold it in your hands now and
read it. It’s a story that has
THE GOSPEL OF

John
changed the lives of countless
people around the world and
throughout history. Read this
book to rediscover who Jesus
is and the offer he makes to all
of us: to come and experience
new life through him.

www.apassionforlife.org.uk

ISBN 978-1909559233

9 781909 559233
New International Version

PAS2940 Gospel Cover FINAL.indd 1-3 30/08/2013 13:32