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An Outline of the Gospel of John

December 2, 2024 by Christopher L. Scott

I.          DESCRIBING JESUS (1-4)

A.        His Arrival (1)

1.         The Testimony of Jesus (vv. 1-18)

2.         The Testimony of John (vv. 19-34)

3.         The Testimony of the Disciples (vv. 35-51)

B.        His Travels (2)

1.         To Turn Water into Wine (vv. 1-12)

            SIGN #1 – Turning Water Into Wine (vv. 1-12)

2.         To Whip the Waiters (vv. 13-25)

C.        His Talks (3)

1.         A Discussion with Nicodemus (vv. 1-21)

            DISCOURSE #1 – A Talk with Nicodemus About the Son as Savior (vv. 1-21)

2.         A Discussion with the Disciples (vv. 22-46)

D.        His Stops (4)

1.         To Talk with the Woman at the Well (vv. 1-42)

            DISCOURSE #2 – A Talk with the Woman at the Well about the Water of Life (vv. 1-26)

2.         To Heal the Royal Official’s Son (vv. 43-54)

            SIGN #2 – Healing the Royal Official’s Son (vv. 43-54)

II.        QUESTIONING JESUS (5-12)

A.        His Claims (5)

1.         As Equal with God the Father (vv. 1-18)

            SIGN #3 – Healing a Lame Man Near the Pool

2.         As Dependent on God the Father (vv. 19-31)[1]

            DISCOURSE #3 – A Talk with the Jews about Equality with God the Father (vv. 19-30)

3.         As Sent from God the Father (vv. 32-47)

B.        His Signs (6)[2]

1.         Feeding the People (vv. 1-14)

            SIGN #4 – Feeding 5,000 People (vv. 1-14)

2.         Traveling in a Boat (vv. 15-21)

            SIGN #5 – Calming the Waters (vv. 15-21)

3.         Looking for Jesus (vv. 22-25)

            DISCOURSE #4 – A Talk with the Crowd about Jesus as the Bread of Life (vv. 22-59)

            I AM #1 – The Bread of Life (6:35)

4.         Talking with Jesus (vv. 26-40)

5.         Disagreeing with Jesus (vv. 41-71)

C.        His Travels (7)

1.         Encountering More Trouble (vv. 1-24)

2.         Encountering More Questions (vv. 25-53)[3]

D.        His Teachings/Example (8)

1.         The One that Forgives Sins (vv. 1-11)

            I AM #2 – The Light of the World (8:12)

2.         The One Light that Shines (vv. 12-30)

            DISCOURSE #5 – A Talk with the Crowd about Jesus as the Light of the World (vv. 12-58)

3.         The One that Is God and Came from God (vv. 31-59)

E.         His Miracles (9)

1.         Healing a Blind Man  (vv. 1-24)

2.         Defending the Healing of a Blind Man (vv. 25-41)

            SIGN #6: The Healing of the Blind Man (9:1-41)

F.         His Commitments (10)

1.         As the Good Shepherd (vv. 1-21)

            DISCOURSE #6 – A Talk with the Crowd about Jesus as the Good Shepherd (vv. 1-18)

            I AM #3: The Door (v. 7, 9)

            I AM #4: The Good Shepherd (vv. 11, 14)

2.         As the God-Sent Man (vv. 22-41)

G.        His Work (11)[4]

1.         Raising Lazarus from Death (vv. 1-44)

            SIGN #7: The Healing of Lazarus from the Dead (11:1-44)

            I AM #5: The Resurrection and the Life (11:25)

2.         Revising the Plan for Jesus’s Death (vv. 45-57)

H.        His Honor (12)

1.         Private Preparations (vv. 1-11)

2.         Public Praise (vv. 12-19)

3.         Problems in Parts (vv. 20-50)

III.       CONFIRMING JESUS (13-17)

A.        In Service (13)[5]

1.         Washing Others Feet (vv. 1-20)

2.         Wondering Who Will Betray (vv. 21-38)

            DISCOURSE #7 – A Talk with the Disciples about Jesus’s Body and Blood (13:31-14:31)

B.        In Community (14)

1.         The Works of the Father (vv. 1-14)

            I AM #6: The Way, the Truth, and the Life (v. 6)

2.         The Ways of the Holy Spirit (vv. 15-31)

C.        In Commitments (15)[6]

1.         Abiding in the Vine for Fruit (vv. 1-11)

            I AM #7: The True Vine (v. 1)

2.         Abiding in the Vine for Love (vv. 12-17)

3.         Abiding in the Vine against Discrimination (vv. 18-27)

D.        In Predictions (16)

E.         In Truth (17)

IV.       KILLING JESUS (18-19)

A.        The Arrest of Jesus (18)[7]

1.         Approaching Jesus (vv. 1-11)

2.         Taking Jesus (vv. 12-18)

3.         Questioning Jesus (vv. 19-27)

4.         Accusing Jesus (vv. 28-40)

B.        The Death of Jesus (19)

1.         Up for Trial (vv. 1-16)

2.         On the Cross (vv. 17-31)

3.         In the Grave (vv. 32-42)

V.        RAISING JESUS (20-21)

A.        The Resurrection of Jesus (20)[8]

1.         Looking for Jesus (1-10)

2.         Finding Jesus (vv. 11-18)

3.         Believing in Jesus (vv. 19-31)

B.        The Commission of Jesus (21)

1.         To Seven Disciples (vv. 1-14)

2.         To Peter and John (vv. 15-25)

Here’s another outline I’ve developed

PRESENTATION (ch. 1-4)

CONFRONTATION (ch. 5-12)

PREPARATION (ch. 13-17)

CRUXIFICTION (ch. 18-19)

RESURRECTION (ch. 20-21)

Or

POINTING TO THE CHRIST (ch. 1-4)

PROBLEMS FOR THE CHRIST (ch. 5-12)

PREPARATION FOR THE CHRIST (ch. 13-17)

PLACEMENT ON THE CROSS (ch. 18-19)

PREPARATION FOR HEAVEN (ch. 20-21)


[1] I. THE JUDGE (vv. 19-20, 30-31), II. THE COURTROOM (vv. 21-23), III. THE PLEA DEAL (vv. 24), IV. THE VERDICT (vv. 25-29)

[2] Might be better to divide it as vv.1-21, vv. 22-40, vv. 41-31 or vv. 1-15, vv. 16-40, vv. 41-71

[3] Preach and teach this as one sermon (7:53-8:11)

[4] Maybe outline as 11:45-12:8, 12:9-19, 12:20-50

[5] There are many ways to outline these chapters. Swindoll outlines it as vv. 1-17, vv. 18-30, vv. 31-38. Wiersbe outlines 13:1-35, 13:36-4:31. Others follow this pattern: 13:1-20, 13:21-35, 13:36-14:31. Or this way: 13:1-20, 13:21-35, 13:36-14:4, 14:5-7, 8-21, 14:22-31.

[6] I like these headings: The World’s Hatred (15:18-16:4), The Spirit’s Work (16:5-15), The Future Changes (16:16-33)

[7] Or divide it as vv.1-18 and vv. 19-40

[8] Or divide it as vv. 1-18 and vv. 19-31

Filed Under: Outlines of Books of the Bible

Copyright © 2025 · Christopher L. Scott · 810 S. Evergreen Dr., Moses Lake, WA 98837