Profound Truths from the Gospel of John

By Elden Daniel

This book concentrates on Jesus in the Gospel of John by looking at stories, lessons taught by Jesus, and what Jesus said about some topics. The author seeks to identify, state, and distill specific profound truths from these passages. Knowing the truth is preliminary to believing the truth which leads to

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elden Daniel
• Release date: Nov 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781088006313

Elden Daniel

...the unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8 KJV). ...the endless treasures available to them in Christ (Ephesians 3:8 NLT). ...the boundless riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8 NIV).

Book preview

Profound Truths from the Gospel of John

Profound Truths from the Gospel of John

Profound Truths from the Gospel of John

Dr. Elden Daniel

Elden Daniel

Copyright © 2021 by Dr. Elden Daniel

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First Printing, 2021

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Contents

Introduction

1 Jesus Changes Water into Wine

2 Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

3 Jesus Talks with a Samaritan Woman

4 Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

5 John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah

6 Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

7 Raising Lazarus from the Dead

8 Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

9 Jesus Before Pilate

10 The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

11 The Vine

12 Persecuted

13 Holy Spirit (Advocate)

14 The Other I am’s of Jesus

15 Jesus and His Father (Part1)

16 Jesus and His Father (Part 2)

17 Jesus and His Father (Part 3)

References

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Other Books by Dr. Daniel

Introduction

In this book, I have concentrated on Jesus in the Gospel of John by looking at stories, lessons taught by Jesus, and what Jesus said about some topics. I sought to identify, state, and distill specific profound truths from these passages. Knowing the truth is preliminary to believing the truth. Here are is a sampling of verses that emphasize the importance of truth.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32).

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ (Ephesians 4:15).

It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth (3 John 1:3-4).

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart (1 Peter 1:22).

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks (John 4:23).

As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:13 NLT).

Knowing the truth is preliminary to believing the truth which leads to doing the truth. There is a principle: truth drives practice. I have developed this concept in great detail in my book, The Mystery of Godliness (2020). This is the way it works. Whatever we do is based on what we believe. If we truly believe the truth, we will do the truth. If we discover that what we are doing is not based on truth, we must go back and examine what we truly believe. If we discover that we indeed were not believing the truth, then we must discard the non-truth and replace it with the truth. This principle demonstrates the importance of knowing the truth so we will do the truth.

Dr. Frances Schaeffer in Escape from Reason explains it this way:

As you read through the chapters and consider profound truths, watch for some keywords and concepts. Watch for commands to obey and examples of obedience. Watch for commands to love and examples of love. Watch for examples of commands to give glory and examples of glory given. Watch for gifts and promises given.

Remember that the purpose of instruction from God’s Word is to do God’s Word.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says (James 1:22).

The format I followed was to give the passages and glean what I thought were profound truths. Sometimes I have a paraphrase of a story. Other times I have a summary of a lesson. Sometimes I added interesting points. Some chapters are very short while other chapters are much longer.

When presenting passages, I deliberately left out the numbering of verses. When you read a passage that involves several verses, it will be one continuous passage. That is the way it originally appeared. Noting chapter and verse is a wonderful tool for referencing. We often see numbering in legal documents. However, it is my view that often breaking up a passage with the numbering of verses can be a distraction that hinders grasping the full meaning. Think about it. If you write a letter to a friend, you don't number the sentences or the lines. You want your thoughts to flow together.

Each chapter is a stand-alone chapter. Each is structured to be a lesson. Jesus is the greatest teacher and we can learn from Him. You will find some duplication because the passages overlap from stories, lessons and topics.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:29).

The last three chapters are based on what Jesus said about His Father. I simply pulled anything in red letters that mentioned the Father. I personally was very moved because although I have read the gospel of John many times, I had never captured the closeness between Jesus and His Father. My sense of appreciation for the Trinity has been greatly enhanced. I wonder if you will experience this as well.

Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (Psalms 25:4-5).

1

1

Jesus Changes Water into Wine

A Story with Profound Truths from the Gospel of John

In each story, we will start with a summary of the story. Then we will identify some profound truths and sometimes include some interesting insights. If you are not familiar with the story you will find the entire relevant passage after the profound truths and interesting insights and we will conclude with some Discussion Questions. Notice Jesus is the main character in each story.

The Story

The scene is a wedding in Cana and among the guests were Jesus, His mother, and His disciples. A problem arose when the celebration ran out of wine. Mary somehow became concerned and told Jesus that there was no more wine. Remember Jesus was a guest so we wonder why would this be a concern for Him.

Allow me to take some liberties in speculation. Mary knew who Jesus was. She had been there at the conception. She was there at the birth when the shepherds came and later the wise men showed up. She would remember the incident in the temple when Jesus was twelve and Jesus had said that He was about His Father's business.

but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often (Luke 2:19 NLT).

For Mary, an opportunity had arrived to