The Gospel According to John

In the “Berkeley Version”

 

Part I – Chapters 1-10

 

These color codes apply:

                    Black—original Bible translation text by Gerrit Verkuyl

                    Green—Dr. Verkuyl’s own footnotes to the Bible text

                    Blue—exposition remarks from Clif Moberg, course director

                            

Certificates of Completion for Part I and Part II will be issued to those who complete all questions in their entirety giving evidence of having read the accompanying text with exposition notes that are provided throughout.

 

The Berkeley Text is in the boxes that have their chapter numbers in brackets at the top.  Example:  [5] signifies it is from the fifth chapter of the Gospel.

See the map of the Holy Land in New Testament Times on page 18.

 

 

 

Chapter One

In the beginning (creation was imminent) was the Word, and the Word was with God (face-to-face proximity) and the Word was God (so strong is the Father’s desire to express that he has his Son:  the Word).  ²He Himself was in the beginning with God.  ³Through Him every­thing came into being and with­out Him nothing that exists came into being.  ⁴In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men (the Word is the shining example of how we should live).  ⁵The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not appropriate (snuff out, extinguish) it.

 ⁶There came a man named John (named this by God—Luke 1:13) sent from God ⁷for a witness to testify regarding the Light (as yet, the unnamed righteous way He was sending), so that everyone might believe (in this Christ) through him (John’s testimony).  ⁸He was not himself the Light; but he should testify regarding the Light (as an authentication).

⁹The true (unwavering) Light, that illumines every person (the “spark of the divine”; an unsul­lied conscience) was coming into the world.  ¹⁰He was in the world and the world came into being through Him (surrounding him was all he had made), yet the world (those people in it) did not know Him (he did not sign his name “Jesus” to this creation as an artist might to his painting.  Prior to age 30, when a rabbi might take first students to follow him, Jesus walked through this world with no credit as the creator).  ¹¹He came to His own (the Jews) and His own did not accept Him (they withheld giving him acceptance and devo­tion).  ¹²But to those who did accept Him, He granted ability to become God’s children, that is, to those who believe in His name; ¹³who owe their birth (into the kingdom) neither to human blood (not physical, as from parents), nor to physical urge (self-actualized), nor to human design (not through the planning, i.e.,  Solomon had many marriages and these produced children useful to ratify political treaties he’d made), but to God (the Father of Jesus).

           

 

 

Midsummer 26 AD

¹⁴And the Word became flesh (incarnation) and tented (moved about, lived) among us, and we viewed His glory—such glory as an only son receives from his father—abounding in grace and truth (hallmarks of Jesus’ character).

            ¹⁵John testified (legal witness, a Hebrew stan­dard) about Him and cried out (town crier), “This was the One of whom I said (as for short-term prophesy), ‘My successor (John’s mission was to not take long) takes precedence over me because He existed before me (the Son is eternal).’” (In the following, it is John the Beloved Disciple who writes it more likely than it’s being quoted from John the Baptist:)  ¹⁶For from His abundance (abounding in grace and truth, verse 14) all of us have received one grace after another (in successive supply); ¹⁷for while the Law (the historic, God-given statute describing how we are to live and what we should avoid) was given through Moses, (enters now the arena a difference:  Law versus Grace—this latter is presented by Jesus in his teachings and life) Grace (I capitalize this—God’s dispensation to be ushered in) and Truth (his always-existing Mediator always following God’s will and who will initiate the dispensation) came through Jesus Christ (who lived in a full, open view the ethical requirements of the law).  ¹⁸No one has ever seen God; the only-begotten Son (monogenes in the Greek) who abides at the Father’s bosom (closer to the Father’s heart than any), He has made Him known.

¹⁹And this is John’s testimony when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to inquire of him, “Who are you?”  ²⁰He admitted without denial and frankly admitted (admitted quickly), “I am not the Christ!”  ²¹They asked him, “Then who are you? 

           

 

 

Elijah (that Old Testament prophet having not died who was transported to heaven)?”  He said, “No, I am not!”  “Are you the prophet (described as one like Moses to arise and instruct the people who would give their attention—Deuteronomy 18:15)?”  He answered (resoundingly), “No!”  ²²Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may have an answer for those who sent us (John was likely to be quoted)!  What have you to say about yourself (He had no desire to direct attention concerning himself, only Jesus)?”

²³He said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the desert (not a synagogue nor a temple—John’s words were uttered in barren locations, incidentally where learning was at once made accessible to women as never before):  Prepare the way of the Lord (facilitate how others are to hear of him), just as Isaiah the prophet said (this is how John saw himself).”  ²⁴Now the messengers were from the Pharisees (a legalism sect that held beliefs that:  1) eternal life was to be gained, and 2) angels exist.  Another sect—the Sadducees—was believing neither) ²⁵and they asked him, “Then why do you baptize, if you are neither the Christ nor Elijah, nor the prophet (his popularity and success around this baptism did not speak loudly enough for their ears.  These coming asking Why your baptism? were wanting to discover:  What is John attempting to achieve here?  And, he does not answer directly the questions about his authority)?”  ^26-27John answered them, “I baptize with water.  My successor stands among you (“he’s on his way; he’s coming!  But until he is revealed, I shall proclaim the message as I’m told by God”), whom you do not recognize (“You Pharisees and their messengers are less apt to have a proper regard for his nature than I have”), the strings of whose sandals I am not fit to untie (being less in status than a slave).”     

           

 

 

²⁸These things occurred at Bethany beyond the Jordan where John was baptizing (following Jesus’ baptism, in a fast of 40 days, Jesus would have experienced a body weight loss of 25%.  Consider photos of a subject in a medical school study that took place 100 years ago.  Top row photos show him before the fasting began.  The only sense to improve during the next six weeks was slight improvement in vision.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

40-DAY FAST

 

 

 

This subject in a prolonged fasting study lost during the first 30 days about 20% of his body weight.  The photos in the bottom row show his appearance before he began an additional ten more days of fasting.  Day 40 – a similar time length Jesus had gone into the wilderness, there for fasting and tempting—resulted in this man’s shedding 5% more body weight.  So to think that this emaciated state in all likelihood represents Jesus’ appearance as he emerged from fasting and “the temptation” gives us new appreciation for the ordeal and joy over calling new disciples—his “fishers of men”, he promised to make them—and of their willingness to become followers.

 

 

 

 

                                                5

           

Late February or Early March 27 AD  (After His baptism and temptation)

            ²⁹Next day he (John the Baptist/Baptizer) saw Jesus approach­ing him and said, “See (he is explaining and pointing Jesus out for them; some have probably gathered just to see him return from that wilderness), the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (his reference to the scapegoat as the surviving one of a pair of sin-bearing animals annually sacrificed.  This “world” was far-reaching, not parochial in scope).  ³⁰He is the One (formal attestation) of whom I said, ‘The man who succeeds me takes precedence over me because He was previous to me.’  ³¹I did not recognize Him; but I have come to baptize with water so that He may be made known to Israel (John was not shy in stating his own purpose).”

            ³²John testified further (elaborated on the witness he’d thus far supplied), “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove and remain on Him, ³³and while I did not know Him (though John once had “felt” him, though blindly—trans-utero, it might be so-called—yet with recognition that seemed to be God’s test.  This occurred when the “with child”-Elizabeth heard her also-pregnant cousin Mary’s greeting—Luke 1:41), He who sent me to baptize with water told me Himself, ‘On whom you see the Spirit descend and remain (two astonishing parts of a signal John was told to watch for), He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit (John the Baptist learns of another baptism besides the one he provides.  John is told it will happen, but God does not promise that he’ll see it; John dies early on during the ministry of Jesus).’  ³⁴And I did see it (he affirms regarding the Holy Spirit with dove-like appearance) and I testify that He is the Son of God (declaration).”

            ³⁵Again the following day John was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶when he looked at Jesus who was walking along, and he said, “Behold the Lamb of God (2-in-1 sacrifice:  both scapegoat and dying sacrificial lamb; death/resurrection—twofold, Jesus is the victorious sacrifice for sin and over sin’s effect.  These are the words of Abraham to his son Isaac, “God will provide Himself the lamb for the burnt-offering”—Genesis 22:8)!” 

 

 

 

³⁷Hearing him say this, the two disciples followed Jesus (…and left John behind.  A diminishing role thus had started; yet twenty years later, there were followers found who testified regarding John’s baptism but who had no knowledge of the baptism of Jesus with the Holy Spirit—Acts 19:3-4, 54 A.D.).  ³⁸Then Jesus turned and, noticing that they followed Him, said to them, “What are you looking for (A new teacher perhaps?  Another to baptize?  Your messiah and savior?  Certainly this, for it was next in their speech:  him as their teacher)?”  They said to Him, “Rabbi—translated Teacher—, where do you stay?”  ³⁹He told them, “Come and see (genuine and open was his invitation; symbolic in that he leads them from their baptismal spot)!”  They went and saw where He was staying and visited with Him that day—it was then about four in the afternoon.

⁴⁰Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who listened to John and who followed Him.  ⁴¹He first looked for his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah—translated Christ—(Andrew needed but the testimony of John about him—not a  miracle—to place belief in Jesus, this after they’d met and talked.  Since it was two followers of John going together after Jesus, it’s doubtful Jesus shared personal knowledge with either, as later he would with Nathanael),” ⁴²and led him to Jesus.  Looking at him, Jesus said, “You are Simon, the son of John; you will be called Cephas (Jesus claimed his right as Creator to change the name of his follower.  Modern equivalent would be for a person who bears a false prophet’s name; such is subject to change.  Anyways, all shall experience this name-change in time—Revelation 2:17),”—translated, Peter (“stone,” as for stability.  As Jesus saw Peter in this way, we should too—we should not dwell on Peter’s denials).

            ⁴³Jesus planned to go out to Galilee next day and found Philip, to whom He said, “Follow Me!”  ⁴⁴Now Philip came from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.  ⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets did too:  Jesus of Nazareth, the (apparent, thought-to-be and assumed) son of Joseph.” ⁴⁶Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth (the town served as a pass through for travelers, traders and soldiers)?”  Philip replied, “Come and see!”

            ⁴⁷Jesus noticed Nathanael approaching Him and said of him, “There truly is an Israelite (a solid citizen) without deceit (misrepresentation) in him!”  ⁴⁸Nathanael asked Him, “How do you know me?”  To which Jesus replied, “I saw you under the fig tree before ever Philip called you (Jesus has open vision here, and it is of the Spirit’s doing)!”  ⁴⁹Nathanael (the name meaning “gift of God”, in Hebrew) rejoined, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel (heaven-sent, you shall rule.  Spontaneous and “uncoached”, this Nathanael declares directly to the Lord.  It stands for more than, say, Andrew’s attestation which, privately voiced, was solely to family members.  Nathanael, after all, had been in Jesus’ vision!!)!”  ⁵⁰Jesus further replied to him, “Do you believe because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree (this type of tree figures in another miracle in time, where the Master receives no provision of its fruit—his right as Creator—Mark 11)?  You will see greater things than that.”  ⁵¹He then said to him, “Truly I assure you all, you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man (at the Ascension?  Is this meant?  Five hundred was the number that saw him that time—I Corinthians 15:6.  But if Jesus is speaking here of just these few, then if it is, alternately, the Gethsemane garden vigil he speaks of—when the angel ministered to him—unfortunately, they were to all sleep through it).”

 

 

 

Chapter Two      March,  27 AD

            A couple of days later there was a wedding at Cana in Gali­lee (best archeological assessment places it as Cana Khirbet Kana—“place of reeds” eight miles to the north of Nazareth where Jesus grew up.  Reeds have to do with natural wet areas at lower elevation but are still con­sidered as “close” to this site) at which Jesus’ mother was present, ²and Jesus as well as His disciples was invited to the wedding.  ³As the wine gave out, Jesus’ mother addressed Him, “They are out of wine (the groom’s father was failing in the responsibility to provide for all who are attending)!”  ⁴Jesus said to her, “Woman (he was there with disciples and would not want their possible start of calling her “Mother” as well), what is that to Me and to you?  (Does Jesus respond to every need?  First, look at his calling the disciples and their situations of call, one succeeding the other.  John the Baptist’s pointing him out to Andrew, Andrew following Jesus and listening to him, Andrew telling Peter, Philip telling Nathanael, Nathanael proclaiming “Thou art the Christ, Thou art the King of Israel,” following Jesus revealing to him personally that he’d been seen within Jesus’ vision afar off; this problem at a wedding is not fitting now into the type of proclaiming of Jesus in line with Messianic prophecy heretofore.  No prophet had said, My servant shall keep you well stocked in wine, or my emissary will fill your drained wineskins when you’re lacking for your guests.  In fact, no mention is made of any marriage or any wedding in any of Jesus’ teaching where it does not apply directly to His ministry and kingdom.  This was no setting in which to have Jesus figure prominently; it was the couple’s “day” and their ceremony.  Yet at her request, he does honor his mother.  However, some secrecy is involved; he does not want all in the place proclaiming a miracle.  Still in all, her advice is good:  “Do all he (Jesus) tells you”)  My time (the beginning for walking about and declaring the kingdom of God as “here”) is not here yet (“and it’s not my wedding banquet.  Then My Father will aptly provide for all in attendance, to all who have their faith in me.”  Un­fortunately, this request Mary gave Jesus was framed exactly as Satan’s temptations had been in the wil­derness; he was challenged to provide himself food:  “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to turn into loaves.”  Her intent, however, was to move him on, based on:  “Because you are the Son of God…”)!”  ⁵His mother told the waiters, “Do whatever He tells you (“he’s your boss; we’re both boss to you.”  Jesus is not seen in Scripture as doing another favor for her while he sought to follow God the Father’s every wish)!”

 

 

⁶Now there were six stone water-jars standing there for the Jewish rites of purifying (a stone jar is less porous than clay and more sanitary; however, efforts to produce these are monumental.  The water from rain runoff was collected in cisterns.  The best was put in jars associated with their community’s feasting days, and used for their ritual washing; it was not religious observance per se.  Stone jars were crafted from rocks initially weighing 1000 pounds before hollowing out.  Dimensions of some found from first century use are 2 ½ feet in height, 16 inches in diameter—see photo p.17) that would hold from twenty to thirty gallons.  ⁷Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water (“the miracle we are going to have will be a big enough one!”  There is a tad bit of similarity here with having excess of a good thing that later on shall be used for cash purposes.  In Jesus’ case, gifts given by wise men probably got converted into cash for covering their travel expenses going down into Egypt.  This family here could be described as poor)!”  Therefore, they filled them to the brim.  ⁸Again He told them, “Now take a dip and carry it to the table manager!”  They carried it ⁹and when the table manager tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from,—though the waiters who had drawn the water knew—he called the bridegroom ¹⁰and told him, “Everyone serves the good wine first (even so, a forgivable deception) and the poorer when they have drunk more than enough; but you have retained the good wine until now (it was an individual dipper that he tasted from.  He probably never knew it came from water jars; those were kept ceremonially, meticulously clean.  Jesus had changed that function, if only temporarily, during this wedding.  This ministry or mission of Jesus’ here, while earthbound, was going to reveal a great deal about the boundless love from his creative Father.  Then Jesus would be called away, and he was going to be gone back to the heavenly abode for a very long time, as we account it.  So while here, the words he’d say, and the spiritual outcome or ramification was going to be immense and intense, and as the bible says “full of grace and wisdom.”  This wine, then, and the fullness of the jars that he chose to signify his work on earth for the next three years, showed—by the wine stewards comment—that it was rich and excellent wine.  So these words of Jesus are in a similar way, the good words; the Bible is the Good Book, it invigorates and sustains us, is our bread and life, it will hold us on through what life metes us.  Then, after this Age of Grace we are in, there is every likelihood God will be showing sinners who cling to the Law for their righteousness but fail, just how beneficial Grace really is.  And we will be the ones to explain that for them, generation after generation—not the angels.  This dual presence and operation of regenerated saints helping those who carry on existence “the old fashioned way” is that rule of the earth from His Holy City as relates to the strict legal, Moses’-like law with its general commands).”

            ¹¹Jesus wrought this earliest of His signs in Cana of Galilee, thereby displaying His greatness.  And His disciples believed in Him (Ecclesiastes 1:8 defends such an appetite “…the eye is not satisfied with seeing” and one tangible, visible miracle here is getting those disciples off to their “good start” following after their ever-convincing Master).

            ¹²Following this, He and His mother and brothers and His disciples went down to Capernaum and stayed there for a few days (Bethsaida, just across the Jordan River inlet to the Galilee lake or sea, was perhaps hometown to all these starting disciples.  Perhaps Mary’s seeing her eldest so very under-weight caused her a concern that brought her along to make sure he was eating right).

 

 

 

April-May, 27 AD

¹³The Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jeru­salem (visitors, no matter their direction of travel from, must all ascend the height to reach Jerusalem—and what one carries along:  works, pride, self-centeredness, ambition just gets heavier and heavier, and less useful, as one goes).  ¹⁴There He found seated (they had taken chairs in, to become “the regulars”) in the temple (in its Court of the Gentiles section) the dealers in cattle, sheep, and pigeons (those who sell to Jews the animals to sacrifice.  These carry a guarantee the priest(s) doing the sacrificing will accept the animal.  When Jesus shrieks—Luke 19:46—My house will be a house of prayer! he has Gentiles, and the dilemma this animal “market” causes, in mind:  in the temple they can only pray and only in this section.  Hard to pray amidst the congestion of sheep bleating as they move about, and perhaps mooing cattle or a donkey braying, and with birds fluttering in cages!  And to top it all off, the Gentiles were left to see these animals and know they were not allowed to make the sacrifices as Jews properly were); also the money-changers; ¹⁵so, making a whip out of ropes, He drove them all out of the temple, both sheep and cattle, poured out the brokers’ coins and overturned the tables (as a carpenter he would have turned many a table over to complete it, but not like this!).  ¹⁶And to the pigeon-deal­ers He said, “Take these outside; do not make My Fa­ther’s house a sales shop.”

            ¹⁷His disciples recollected (following the prime Easter) that it is written, Passion for Thy house shall consume me (Psalms 69:9; and in Deuteronomy 4:24, Our God is a consuming fire).

            ¹⁸The Jews came back at Him, “What sign will you show us for your doing these things (“You must attest to your authority for your actions here!  We, the priests and Levite teachers, are in line with the authority our Scripture passes down, but you, Jesus, must show yourself authentic by having at your disposal supernatural events you can demonstrate!”)?  ¹⁹To which Jesus replied, “Destroy (raze, level, flatten) this tem­ple and in three days I will erect it (stand it up straight.  As he just had “destroyed” their enterprising commer­ce with the sacrificial animals here in this temple, they countenanced this leap of his destroying their temple itself!  But to destroy this structure and then rebuild it in three days was only ludicrous!  For even all of Caesar’s road builders assembled for the purpose of doing that could never accomplish a raising up of a temple in three days!  These Jews subsequently asked in error; God does not provide “signs” when he already has attested to His Son’s unique authorization.  In conjunction with this, two and a half years later Jesus says “I have authority to lay it [my life] down and I have authority to take it up again.  I received this injunction from My Father”—John 10:18).”  ²⁰Then the Jews remarked, “This temple has been in process of building for forty-six years, and will you erect it in three days (this “three days” part of Jesus’ suggestion was duration for his body to lie in a tomb awaiting the resurrec­tion.  Jesus’ spirit, however, was busy elsewhere—John 10:16.  These temple officials stupidly (mis)understood this statement of his, and legalists have a record of doing that.  Take Nicodemus in asking, “Can a man enter his mother’s womb a second time to be re­born?”—John 3:4)?”   

 

 

 

²¹But He was speaking about His bodily temple (As Jesus frequently talked about his Father being in him and of his being in the Father, this correlates with olden times where God rested in the holy of holies [chamber] of the tent tabernacle; and, too, when it was then eventually built, the temple (II Chronicles 6:41)—not this one Herod had financed the construction for, but earlier ones:  the First and Second temples.  Interestingly, and to our direct benefit as Christians, Paul in I Corinthians 6:19 directs readers to consider their body as “a temple of the Holy Spirit within you.”  When the Father was in the Son, making the Son the temple; we see how when we now have the Holy Spirit, this makes us his [the Father’s] temple and Christ’s body-of-Christ both—I Corin­thians 12:27);  ²²so, when He had risen from the dead, His disci­ples recollected that He had said this;—they believed the Scrip­ture and the message which Jesus spoke.

            ²³While He was at Jerusalem during the Passover Feast, many who observed the signs which He wrought, believed in His name (as the sought-for and awaited Messiah).  ²⁴But Jesus would not entrust Himself to them, because He understood them all; ²⁵and because He did not need anyone’s evidence about people (already he had received enough verification by the good testimony coming John the Baptist and the works, too, the Father did through Jesus; the works accomplished spoke as if it were the Father “speaking”.  This provided the Divine decree:  no further need for more testimony!  Once the credentials of the Gospel presenter are attested to, then the heaven-originated miracles wrought on earth will cease:  these did for Jesus; the disciples after their Great Commissioning; Peter and John; and finally Paul.  Miracles still happen—don’t be dismayed—but it is the exception, and rare.  Jesus saw those to be doubting John’s baptism-event claims and the ones who disbelieved Christ’s miracles would always press for more…even clear up till Matthew 27:40 when Jesus is hung on the cross), for He knew what was in the human heart (fickleness—Phillip, John 1:45/14:8-11; slowness to believe—two on the Emmaus road, Luke 24:25-27; denial—leaders, John 12:42-43/ John 9:30 and parents, John 9:11, 21-22; secrecy—Samaritan woman, John 4:17; foxiness—king Herod, Luke 13:31-32/Luke 23:8,11-12; betrayal [willingness to hand over someone for money or political consideration] and thievery—a disciple, John 6:64/John 12:6).