Name ______

Period # ______

Encountering Jesus in the New Testament

Directed Reading Worksheet

Chapter Seven: The Gospel of John: Jesus the Word of God

Directions: As you are reading through the chapter, fill in the missing information.

Pages 207-211 Background on the Gospel of John

  1. The Gospel of John was written for ______who were ______after the Roman Revolt.
  1. This persecution caused some of the Christians from the local Church to leave ______and emigrate to ______. ______converts to Christianity were also in this community as well as ______.
  1. Why was the Gospel written? List the two goals.

a.

b.

  1. Unlike Mark the ______, Matthew the ______, or Luke the ______, the evangelist of John’s Gospel is much more interested in ______
  1. John stresses three things about Jesus’ identity. List them.

a.

b.

c.

  1. Scholars detect two other purposes the evangelist had in mind when writing his Gospel. What are they?

a.

b.

  1. When was John’s Gospel composed? ______
  1. T or F. (If false, explain why) John’s Gospel contains a small fragment that is the earliest section of the New Testament.
  1. John’s Gospel differs in many ways from the synoptic Gospels. Give five examples.

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

  1. There were two major sources for the Gospel of John. The first was a ______, called a “______.” Some of the seven signs the Gospel records are found in the synoptics, but unique to John are three miracles. List them.

a.

b.

c.

  1. The second major source for the Gospel was a version of the ______and ______narratives.
  1. As to the identity of the author, in approximately ______, the Church ______attributed the fourth gospel to John, the “______” of the Lord.
  1. Church tradition identifies this John as ______. His brother ______was also an ______; their father was a man by the name of ______.
  1. What do today scholars believe about John?
  1. T or F. (If false, explain why) In the ancient world, authorship was attributed to the one who actually wrote it.
  1. A solid tradition places John in ______where he likely gathered around him a community of ______. These disciples took John’s testimony, the story goes, ______, and later produced in stages a Gospel that addressed the ______.
  1. T or F. (If false, explain why) All scholars believe the Gospel of John was written in Ephesus.
  1. List the four part outline of John.

a.

b.

c.

d.

  1. Identify the key themes of John’s Gospel:
  2. ______. look to the signs Jesus performs and believe.
  3. ______. This is the basic fact of Christian faith.
  1. ______. Jesus promised another Paraclete who would guide, comfort, and counsel Christians.
  1. ______. He is the revealer and the revealed. As God’s unique son, both fully God and fully man, only he can reveal the father fully.
  1. ______. This shows it through service and his Paschal mystery.

Pages 212-215 The Word of God

  1. ______is the study of Jesus Christ; that is, trying to understand ______
  1. John’s Gospel strongly stresses what three aspects of Jesus’ identity

a.

b.

c.

  1. Scholars term this emphasis in John as a “______” or “______.”
  1. In contrast to John’s approach to Jesus, the synoptic Gospels stress a “______” (“______”)
  2. Contrast these two approaches.
  1. By using the expression “______”, the evangelist was drawing on a concept that appealed to both ______and ______Christians.
  1. Explain the meaning of logos in the Old Testament.
  1. “______” also symbolized ______, a personification for one of God’s important attributes.
  1. Word of God also meant something to Gentiles immersed in Greek philosophy. What did it mean to:

Stoic philosophers

Gnostics

  1. What is the climax of the prologue? Write out the verse.
  1. The prologue introduces some of the major conflicts that are developed later in the Gospel. List three.

a.

b.

c.

  1. What two things does the prologue reveal about John the Baptist.

a.

b.

  1. For John, “______” is not simply a title of a mere human being like all others. It is a title to describe a ______, a ______
  1. Which title for Jesus is a direct connection to the name Yahweh? ______

Match the title to its meaning

34. ______Bread of LifeA. Jesus is the source of life; we must remain attached to him.

35. ______Light of the WordB. Jesus is the beacon of truth who points us to his Father.

36. ______SheepgateC. Jesus is the way to God’s kingdom, heaven.

37. ______Good ShepherdD. Jesus has power over death. Belief in him leads to eternal life.

38. ______The Resurrection and the LifeE. Jesus loves each of us and has surrendered his life for us.

39. ______Way, Truth, LifeF. Jesus gives true life, eternal life. By receiving him in the Eucharist, he lives in us.

40. ______VineG. This summarizes the Word’s purpose for joining us; he is the way to God; he proclaims the truth of salvation; he bestows on us eternal life.

Pages 216-221 The Book of Signs

  1. This portion of John’s Gospel is called the ______because it is organized around ______. In contrast to the synoptic Gospels which describe miracles as “______” (______in Greek) that help establish ______John uses either the word ______(______) or ______(______) to describe Jesus’ miracles.
  1. The Old Testament refers to the words of God and the signs of God. Explain the meaning of each of these terms

Work-

Sign-

  1. These discourses constantly remind us that ______in Jesus helps us gain ______
  1. This nature miracle, performed at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry at ______, is the first public event where Jesus reveals ______, leading his disciples to ______
  1. What two things do weddings symbolize?

a.

b.

  1. Mary has a unique role in this miracle. What did this miracle reveal about Mary’s role?
  1. On another level, Jesus’ providing wine for the wedding represents the ______he brings from God, thus fulfilling Old Testament prophecies of ______.
  1. Catholics interpreted water in this miracles as a symbol of______that purifies us while the wine can signify the ______which brings us ______- ______with Jesus, the Lord.
  1. What is the second sign? ______
  1. This sign teaches that faith in Jesus can ______. Is also teaches the power of ______.
  1. What is the third sign? ______
  1. The point of this third sign is that ______.
  1. What does Jn 5:17 reveal about Jesus and his relationship to the Father?
  1. For the evangelist, the term “Jews” represents those who persist in ______and who are ______. The term “Jews” also symbolizes anyone who ______and who engages in ______
  1. In no way should we extend responsibility for ______to all Jews of Jesus’ time or Jews of different times and places.
  1. What two miracles parallel the Exodus miracles of manna in the desert and the parting of the Red Sea?

a.

b.

  1. Explain how the Old Testament events parallel the miracles.
  1. What is the sixth sign? ______
  1. This sign contrasts a ______who was given his sight and those who had sight yet were ______.
  1. What important lesson would the early community have learned from the example of the blind man?
  1. What theme from the prologue is recalled?
  1. What is the most important miracle in John’s Gospel? ______
  1. Caiaphas, the high priest, utters one of the great ironical statements in John’s Gospel. Write out his statement.
  1. This seventh sign sums up all the other four signs and pulls together many theological themes in the Gospel of John: List 4

a.

b.

c.

d.

Pages 222-228 The Book of Glory

  1. In John’s Gospel, identify the day he reports the Last Supper to have taken place. Why is this day significant?
  1. The ______teaches that “sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are ______.
  1. Jesus began the meal with a profound act of humility. He, the Master, ______, a task a slave was not required to perform. Why did Jesus do this?
  1. After ______left the meal to go into the night (______), Jesus gives a new commandment:______
  1. What two promises does Jesus make to his disciples?

a.

b.

  1. What is the heart of the Good News?
  1. Write out the priestly prayer of Jesus.
  1. Nothing exemplifies the glory of Jesus and his Father as does the ______, the central event of our ______.
  1. T or F. (If false, explain why) All four Gospels claim that there were eyewitnesses to the resurrection.
  1. Identify the aspect each of the Gospels emphasizes.

Mark –

Matthew-

Luke-

John-

  1. T or F. (If false, explain why) For John, the empty tomb brings about faith.
  1. The lesson of this resurrection appearance is this: ______and ______are the keys to discipleship…
  1. What event symbolized the leadership role of Peter ______
  1. It is not until Jesus ______of the resurrection that the disciples would know for themselves that the Lord was risen.
  1. Jesus ______, signifying the giving of the Holy Spirit, and instructed them to ______in his name.
  1. When Thomas saw Jesus, he acknowledged his divinity, “______” the highest proclamation of faith in Jesus made in any of the Gospels.
  1. Chapter 21 of John contains three events. What does each of the following events symbolize?
  2. Jesus helps the disciples catch fish –
  1. Jesus prepared a breakfast for them –
  1. Jesus re-commissions Peter –
  1. The resurrection stories agree on six essential points. List them.

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

  1. There are accompanying essential beliefs about the resurrection, including the following four points.

a.

b.

c.

d.