1, 2, 3 John Bible Study from the book Love One Another
Some refer to the book of John as the gospel of love because he mentions the word love thirty-nine times, more than Matthew, Mark, and Luke combined and more than any other book in the New Testament.
In all the Bible, only the lengthy 150-chapter book of Psalms uses love more often.
In John’s much shorter letter of 1 John, love shows up twenty-seven times (and seven more times in 2 and 3 John).
John, it seems, is all about love. And as followers of Jesus, so should we. That is, we should love one another. This is what Jesus tells us to do and what John repeats to us.
Unlike most of the letters in the New Testament, John doesn’t address 1 John to a specific church or person, with content unique to them. Instead, he gives universal truths for everyone.
As such, we can apply 1 John to ourselves to follow Jesus with more intention and greater confidence.
Questions:
What does love mean to you?
How well do we do at loving others?
What can we do to love more fully?
As followers of Jesus are we known for our love? What does that say about us?
How willing are you to consider 1 John as more applicable to us than Paul’s letters?
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Discover practical, insightful, and encouraging truths in Love One Another, a devotional Bible study to foster a deeper appreciation for the two greatest commandments: To love God and to love others.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
1, 2, 3 John Bible Study from the book Love One Another
The apostle John (not to be confused with John the Baptist) is one of Jesus’s twelve disciples and part of Jesus’s inner circle, along with his older brother James and his friend Peter.
But there’s more. In his biography of Jesus, John refers to himself as the disciple Jesus loved.
Imagine that.
Consider that Jesus has many followers. He picks twelve of them to be his disciples and three of them to be in his inner circle, but beyond that John rises above them all as the disciple Jesus loves. (The word love occurs often in John’s writing, which we’ll cover throughout this study.)
John also wrote five of the New Testament books. Only Paul wrote more.
As far as the New Testament’s content, John wrote about 20 percent of it. Only Paul and Luke wrote more, about 33 percent and 25 percent respectively.
This clearly places John as one of the top three authors in the New Testament and a leading source of our Scriptural understanding of Jesus and our faith.
It’s interesting that Paul wrote only letters (epistles), while Luke wrote only historical accounts (the books of Luke and Acts). John, however, wrote in both of these genres, as well as a prophetic book, making his contributions to the Bible more holistic.
John is best known for his beloved biography of Jesus (his historical book). Many cite it as their favorite gospel for its poetic language and unique content.
John is also well known for his epic vision of the end times, called Revelation (his prophetic book). Its evocative imagery intrigues and perplexes readers.
John’s letters, however, are not as well known. He wrote three of them, which we know as 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John.
This is unfortunate as John’s letters present valuable insights to help us grow in our faith and understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. This is most true of his longest letter, 1 John.
We’ll dig deep into these three letters to mine simple truths and profound insights to move us forward on our faith journey.
Questions:
What else do you know about John?
What do you think about John calling himself the disciple Jesus loved?
Which of John’s five books do you like the most?
Which of John’s five books do you know the least about?
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Discover practical, insightful, and encouraging truths in Love One Another, a devotional Bible study to foster a deeper appreciation for the two greatest commandments: To love God and to love others.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Focus verse: Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” (John 21:17)
As Jesus wraps up his stint on earth, he spends time with the disciples he trained for three years. They must carry on without him, albeit under Holy Spirit direction. He wants to make sure they’re ready.
First, he must restore Peter, who, a few days earlier, claimed to have no connection with Jesus. It was Peter’s darkest moment. He denied even knowing his teacher.
Yet I don’t criticize Peter for this. Although I hope to respond better than Peter, I suspect that if facing the threat of death, I could do the same thing.
Considering the depth of Peter’s error and what it implies, the master is gentle but intentional. To counter Peter’s three denials, Jesus has his wayward disciple give three affirmations of love.
Three times Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?”
Three times Peter confirms he does. Three times for emphasis.
Each time Jesus then tells Peter to “Take care of my followers,” that is, his church.
Then Jesus ends with the simple instruction to “Follow me.”
These are the essential requirements of faith: To love Jesus and follow him. It’s that simple. And don’t let anyone tell you faith in Jesus is any more complicated.
Just as Jesus restored Peter into right relationship after the disciple turned his back on his Rabbi, Jesus wants to make us right with him and Papa when we falter. We need only affirm our love for him and do what he tells us to do, which starts with following him.
Yet following Jesus isn’t a one-time decision. It’s a recurring resolve to go after Jesus each day. This includes the days we feel like it and even more so on the days we don’t.
We follow Jesus when our life is going well and we’re walking in close fellowship with him.
An even more important consideration is to stick with Jesus when life isn’t so great, when we want to give up, or when we question if our commitment is worth the cost. It is.
If we stray from Jesus, he waits for us to return. (Consider the parable of the lost son in Luke 15:11–32.) With open arms Jesus asks if we love him. We say yes, and he once again reminds us to follow him.
Questions:
How can you live your life under Holy Spirit direction, like the disciples?
How have you responded to your darkest moment?
Do you see God as being gentle with you? Why?
What must you do to follow Jesus every day?
When you mess up, how willing are you to profess anew your love for him and follow him?
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Focus verse:They were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. (John 21:6)
The book of Luke has a story of Jesus. It’s early in his ministry. In this account, he tells a couple of fishermen to go out to deep water and cast their nets, despite having fished all night with no success.
Imagine that, a carpenter giving fishing tips to seasoned fishermen.
The amazing thing is, when they do as he suggests, they take in so many fish that their nets are about to break. It’s as if Jesus wants to get their attention. He does.
Jesus seeks disciples. Because of this miraculous catch, they abandon their trade to follow him. From now on, he says, they’ll fish for people (Luke 5:4–11).
Jesus calls these career fishermen to a greater purpose. Instead of casting their fish nets to catch fish to earn a living, they’ll now cast spiritual nets to fish for people to build Jesus’s kingdom (Matthew 4:19 and Mark 1:17).
As they transition to fish for people, the implication is they will experience a great catch. Today we see just how much. Building on what they began, about two billion people in the world now align themselves with Jesus.
This great catch works so well in getting their attention that Jesus does it again. This occurs at the end of his ministry, after he rises from the dead, but before he returns to heaven.
The fishermen-turned-disciples don’t know what to do with their risen leader saying he will soon leave, so they return to fishing. They catch nothing.
Jesus hollers for them to try fishing on the other side of the boat. They do and another miraculous catch occurs. Again, he gets their attention. This should remind them that he wants them to transition to fishing for people.
The New Testament has another fish story that ties in with this. It’s a parable. Some people call it the parable of the net and others say it’s the parable of the great catch (Matthew 13:47–50).
Jesus uses this story to teach about the kingdom of heaven (the kingdom of God).
He tells us to imagine a great net lowered into a lake and dragged through the water. When full, the fishermen haul the catch to shore to sort the fish. They place the good fish in baskets, and they throw the inferior fish away.
This teaches us about the end times, with angels separating those who lived right from those who did wrong.
Questions:
How do you respond when God tells you to do something that doesn’t make sense?
What has God done to get your attention?
What have you given up to follow Jesus?
Are you fishing for people to join you in Jesus’s kingdom?
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Focus verse: Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)
The Bible writes that faith is having confidence in the things we hope for and assurance in what we don’t see (Hebrews 11:1). Today this definition of faith applies to us.
We cannot see Jesus, so we must accept his resurrection and the salvation that he provides through faith. We have confidence and assurance that he overcame death to save us.
The disciples and Jesus’s other followers have it better than we do. Some of them see the empty tomb and eventually all of them meet the resurrected Jesus. It doesn’t take so much faith to believe what their eyes perceive. John, “the other disciple,” sees and believes (John 20:8).
We can assume that Mary and Peter also believe once they see the evidence of Jesus’s empty tomb (John 20:1–2 and 6–7). The rest of the disciples believe when they see him (John 20:20)—or at least everyone except Thomas.
Though Matthew, Mark, and Luke only mention Thomas once, John tells us more about him than the rest of the Bible combined. He shares three accounts about Thomas.
The first story is Jesus telling his disciples what to expect and encouraging them to believe. He talks of preparing a place for them in heaven and coming back to get them so they can hang out with him forever. Then Jesus adds, “You know the way.”
This confuses Thomas. He wants clarification.
Jesus responds with what has become a familiar verse. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
The second story is what Thomas is most known for. This is where we get the phrase doubting Thomas. When Jesus rises from the dead and sees his disciples for the first time, Thomas is absent.
He doesn’t believe the disciples when they insist that Jesus is alive—again. Thomas does the reasonable thing and demands proof.
In the third story, the disciples, including Thomas, hide in a locked room. Jesus materializes in their midst. He shows Thomas the nail scars in his hand and invites him to examine his side, pierced by the soldier’s spear. “Stop doubting,” Jesus says, “and believe.”
At last, Thomas does. “My Lord and my God!” Thomas now believes. He is no longer doubting Thomas but believing Thomas.
Though doubt characterizes him for a time, belief is where he ends up. He finishes strong. May we do likewise. May we have a firm belief in Jesus and who he is.
Jesus blesses Thomas because he sees and believes. We’re more blessed because we haven’t seen and still believe.
Questions:
Do you doubt that Jesus is who he claims to be? Why?
How do you define faith?
What should you do when your faith wavers?
Is faith the absence of doubt or is it belief in the face of doubt? Why?
Which of John’s three stories about Thomas do you most identify with? Why?
Discover more about faith in Hebrews 11:1–40. What insights can you glean from this passage?
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Focus verse: Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” (John 20:18)
Although Mary Magdalene shows up in each of Jesus’s four biographies, we know little about her. What we learn from Scripture is that Jesus casts seven demons out of her.
Though people debate what casting out demons means, the one fact we can agree on is that the healer makes her life better. Isn’t that what Jesus always does? He improves the lives of everyone he interacts with.
Mary Magdalene shows her gratitude for his healing by following him and giving him financial support. Later, she keeps vigil when Jesus dies and again when they lay his body in the tomb.
The next day, she heads to his gravesite to prepare his corpse, according to their practices. But when she arrives at the grave, his body isn’t there.
With a mixture of confusion and excitement, she runs to find Peter and John to tell them what she saw. Though she doesn’t realize it, she’s the first to see evidence of Jesus’s resurrection. The two disciples race to the tomb and confirm it’s empty.
That makes three witnesses who can testify that Jesus isn’t there. The principle of having multiple witnesses to verify truth occurs throughout the Bible (such as Deuteronomy 19:15, Matthew 18:16, and 2 Corinthians 13:1).
But the evidence is circumstantial. They assume someone moved Jesus’s body. We know that Jesus rose from the dead, but Mary is clueless.
Perplexed, she cries at the opening to the bodiless grave. Mary talks to a man nearby, whom she assumes is the gardener. He’s not. He is resurrected Jesus.
He’s ready to return to his Father in heaven, and he tells her to let his disciples know he’s alive. In saying this, Jesus picks Mary Magdalene to deliver the breaking news of the most significant event in human history.
It’s significant that Jesus chooses Mary as the first eyewitness that he is alive because that culture won’t accept a woman’s testimony. Her word carries no legal authority, yet Jesus chooses her to be the first to tell others the good news.
Mary is, in effect, the first missionary for Jesus.
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Focus verse:Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. (John 19:38)
In reading the biographies of Jesus, it’s easy to assume that all the religious leaders oppose him and reject his message. They do this even though Jesus is the fulfillment the Old Testament points to, their long-anticipated Savior.
He’s their Chosen One, the one the prophets wrote about. Yet they don’t recognize him because he is not what they expect.
This response doesn’t apply to every Jewish leader. Some believe Jesus.
Besides this vague statement of some, we know of two people by name who are both Jewish religious leaders and who believe in Jesus. They are Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus (Day 5, “You Must Be Born Again”).
The Bible doesn’t tell us much about this Joseph. Matthew writes that Joseph is rich and a disciple. Mark says Joseph serves as a prominent member of the religious council. He’s a devout Jew living in expectation of the coming kingdom of God.
John confirms that Joseph is a disciple, but he hides his faith from the Jewish leaders out of fear over what they might do to him.
Even so, Joseph now takes a bold step which publicly aligns him with Jesus. He goes to Pilate to seek permission to give Jesus’s body a proper burial. Joseph can’t do this in secret.
Pilate grants approval, and Joseph takes Jesus’s body to prepare the corpse for internment. This bold move could cause problems with Joseph’s fellow council members.
When they find out—and they will—he faces censure, expulsion, and even punishment, which could include execution. If they killed Jesus, what’s to stop them from killing his followers too?
Going with Joseph on his mission to honor Jesus’s body is Nicodemus.
Nicodemus, you may recall, came to Jesus in secret. He is a member of the Jewish ruling council. He doesn’t want anyone to know he’s talking with Jesus, the man his colleagues decry as a troublemaker.
Jesus tells Nicodemus to be born again.
Though Scripture doesn’t record Nicodemus’s response, we can assume he says yes to Jesus and is born again. If he hadn’t, why would he take the risk to help Joseph prepare Jesus’s body for burial?
In doing so, Nicodemus makes a public statement that he supports Jesus. It’s a risky move because, like Joseph, when word gets back to the Jewish council, they could oust him from his leadership position—or worse.
In an extreme response, he could suffer the same outcome as Jesus: death by crucifixion.
Questions:
Are you a silent believer in Jesus? Why?
What about Joseph of Arimathea most relates to you? What about Nicodemus?
What are you living in expectation of?
Are you willing to take a public stand to show you follow Jesus?
How much will you risk so others can know you’re his disciple?
Discover more about Joseph of Arimathea in Matthew 27:57 and Mark 15:43. Read about other Jewish leaders who follow Jesus in John 12:42. What insights can you glean from these passages?
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Focus verse: “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” (John 19:11)
The Jewish religious leaders want to kill Jesus. They view him as a threat to the little authority their Roman occupiers have given them to rule their people. Retaining power matters most to them. They reason that Jesus must die.
Their power has limits. They can’t execute anyone. They need Roman permission. Once approved, the Roman soldiers will handle the crucifixion, their preferred method of killing lawbreakers.
The authority to approve a crucifixion falls to Pilate. As Rome’s designated leader in that region, he can decide whether Jesus will live or die. As he investigates the charges against Jesus, he realizes Jesus’s innocence.
Pilate tries to release him and save him from an unjust death.
But the Jewish religious leaders don’t care about justice. They only care about their agenda. They oppose Pilate’s solution to the Jesus problem, because they want a different outcome.
His death is what matters to them, even if he has done nothing to deserve such an extreme punishment. Pilate realizes this. Roman law is not at stake. Pilate finds himself stuck in the middle of their scheme.
He goes to Jesus to inquire further. Jesus doesn’t answer Pilate’s questions. Exasperated, Pilate asks Jesus, “Don’t you know I have the power to free you or kill you?”
Now Jesus responds. “You have no power except what God gives you.” But Jesus also offers perspective to Pilate. “The one who betrayed me is guilty of the greater sin.”
This shifts the main blame from Pilate to Judas but doesn’t absolve Pilate of wrongdoing should he convict Jesus to die.
With Jesus affirming that Pilate’s power comes from God and not the Roman government, we see a big-picture perspective. From a human point of view Pilate receives his power through Roman rule.
In truth, it’s God who gives power to both the Romans and Pilate.
This doesn’t mean God supports the Roman’s barbaric reign or Pilate’s decisions. It confirms, however, that God has given them authority over others. It’s up to them to use that power for good or for bad. The decision is theirs. They have free will.
The same applies to Judas. God doesn’t force him to betray Jesus. God gives him the opportunity to decide for himself what to do. He chooses wrong—even though God uses it to bring salvation to everyone.
Back to Pilate. He wants to free Jesus and attempts to do so. But the religious leaders demand Jesus’s death. They stir up a crowd. With the threat of a riot, Pilate gives in, either out of fear or expediency.
As with Gamaliel before him (Day 28, “Don’t Fight Against God”), he may reason that killing one man—Jesus—is better than a riotous uprising that will hurt many.
Pilate uses the power God gives him to order Jesus’s death. This is as Jesus confirmed, Pilate is guilty for what he does. But God didn’t make Pilate do it. The decision was Pilate’s alone.
Questions:
When have you not done what is right so you can do what you want?
How often do you forgo justice because you fear taking a stand?
When has doing what is right been a costly decision?
Where does your power come from?
What does free will mean to you?
Discover more about the temptation to do wrong in 1 Corinthians 10:13 and James 1:13–16. What insights can you glean from these passages?
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Focus verse:“My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36)
Jesus talks often about his kingdom. John, along with Mark and Luke, uses the phrase kingdom of God, while Matthew prefers the kingdom of heaven. The two phrases mean the same thing. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll use kingdom of God.
Kingdom of God is a New Testament phrase. Jesus mentions the kingdom of God in eighty-five verses, with fourteen more in the rest of the New Testament and none in the Old.
Jesus says the kingdom of God is near (Luke 10:9), within his disciples’ lifetimes (Mark 9:1), and even present (Luke 17:21).
Isn’t kingdom of God a reference to heaven and eternal life? If so, how could it have been near two millennia ago but something we expect in our future today?
We must view the kingdom of God as both a present reality and a future promise. Jesus’s kingdom is about heaven when we die. It’s also about our time here on earth today.
The kingdom of God starts with Jesus and his salvation, along with the life we lead in response to his gift to us.
The kingdom of God is about eternal life, and that eternal life begins now. Heaven is part two. We’re living in part one today—at least we should be.
Let’s embrace Jesus’s teaching on the kingdom of God to inform how we act today. He uses parables to teach us what he means.
Although John records none of Jesus’s parables, Matthew, Mark, and Luke do. Here are the parables concerning Jesus’s kingdom:
We should use these kingdom of God parables to inform our view of God and grow our relationship with him and others. Jesus tells us to seek his kingdom first (Matthew 6:33). We should listen and obey.
Questions:
How can you better understand the kingdom of God?
What does it mean to be part of his kingdom?
How can you view the kingdom of God as both a present reality and a future promise?
Which of Jesus’s parables about the kingdom of God most connects with you? Why?
How do Jesus’s parables on the kingdom of God apply to us today?
Discover more about God’s kingdom in John 3:1–21. What insights can you glean from this passage?
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Focus verse:Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow. (John 18:27)
Peter has pledged he would die to protect his teacher (John 13:37). I’m sure he meant what he said—at the time. When we’re at our best, I suspect we might say the same thing.
If Jesus is the most important priority in our lives, we can best prove our commitment by dying for his cause.
Yet, when we face pressure and fear confronts us, we waffle. We cave. Our pledge of complete support for Jesus’s mission only goes as far as our comfort level or personal safety.
With gut-wrenching reality, the life of Peter shows this.
Right after the disciple makes his bold pledge of support, Jesus counters his claim, predicting that by daybreak—before the rooster crows at dawn’s first light—Peter will disown Jesus, not once but three times (John 13:38).
I suspect Peter doesn’t believe his Master. But he should. We all should.
At Jesus’s arrest, Peter does his best to protect his Rabbi. He whips out his sword and slashes at the high priest’s servant.
Remember, Peter’s a fisherman, not a soldier. Just because he carries a sword doesn’t mean he knows how to use it.
He goes for the head. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a downward stroke at the man’s crown or a sideways slice at his neck, Peter misses. He only gets an ear (John 18:10).
Though John doesn’t mention it, other biographers do: At this point the disciples scatter, just as Jesus predicted. The bold and boisterous Peter flees too. Protecting themselves is more important than standing with their Messiah.
Afterward, Peter and another disciple (whom I suspect is John) gather enough courage to return. In the high priest’s courtyard, one of the servant girls recognizes Peter as one of Jesus’s disciples.
“No, I’m not,” he says.
Later in the night, standing by a fire to warm themselves, another person asks Peter if he’s a disciple. Again, Peter denies it. But a relative of the man whose ear Peter sliced off confirms he saw Peter in the garden with Jesus during the arrest.
Peter denies his Master a third time. A rooster crows.
The Bible often repeats things three times for emphasis, to make a point. The most common example is saying that God is “Holy, holy, holy” (Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8).
Here, Peter denies knowing Jesus three times. This isn’t a singular instance. He disowns Jesus threefold. It’s confirmation that he means what he says, as if putting a couple of exclamation points at the end of his denial.
Questions:
What is the biggest priority in your life? Why?
How willing are you to die for Jesus?
How willing are you to be arrested and go to jail for him?
When you fear for your safety, do you fight, freeze, or flee? Why?
Will you stand for him regardless of what it might cost?
Discover more about the gravity of denying Jesus in 2 Timothy 2:12. What insights can you glean from this passage?
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
