John The Baptist

John 1:19-34

John the Baptist and Jesus had a very unique relationship. We learn from Luke 1:36 that they were physically related. John was important enough in Jesus life that when the angel informed Mary of her pregnancy, he also informed her of John’s conception. We are also told that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice, the baby (John) “leaped in her womb”.

John was faithful to his ministry. Some may have believed that he was their Savior and pride could easily have allowed him to accept that mantel. But notice that he quickly shared that He was not the Christ (1:20), but only a faithful messenger (1:23). He also clearly recognized who Jesus was. Notice he says in v. 29 “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

I can imagine that Jesus and John spent time together as children since they were close in age and also were related. A great love must have developed between the two of them. Jesus said of John in Luke 7:27 “among those born of women, there is no one greater than John.”

John also clearly knew his purpose and boldly accomplished it. He says in John 1:34 “And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” I think that is the primary message the author wants to share with us about this man.

As I reflect on this section of Scripture I’m reminded that God has given every one of us a purpose. A major part of our purpose as a child of God is to share our faith with others. We are to be faithful in doing this just as John was.

Sharing our faith is more than just verbalizing it. It involves living our lives in a way that reflects the fact that we are Christians. Others should be able to see Christ in us. We are stewards of the life God has given us. Not only are we to share with others financially, but we are also to use the time and the abilities God has given us in a way that pleases Him.

I pray that you will be a faithful steward and servant of the Lord Jesus.

The Word Made Flesh

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:14

Have you considered the tremendous sacrifice Jesus made to be willing to assume human form and come to this sin-sick world just for you and I? He left all the glory of heaven; went through all the testing and temptation we do, yet without sin, and ultimately suffered the pain and agony of death on the cross to pay the price for our sins so that we might have eternal life.

While His sacrifice for us was His primary mission, He also poured His life into twelve men so that they would be able to carry forth His message. Verse eighteen tells us that while none of us has seen God, the Son “has explained Him”. A part of his mission was to help us comprehend God’s love for us and His plan for our lives.

We also begin to understand that He introduced a new age in God’s plan. John mentions (v. 17) that “the law was given through Moses” but “grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ”. No longer are we subject to the law, but we now live in the age of grace. As the acronym explains we experience Gods riches at Christ’s expense.

John uses the phrase “full of grace and truth” to describe Jesus. In verse eighteen he states “He has explained Him (the Father)”. Jesus’ life on earth and the love He demonstrated helps us understand the Father. Jesus taught much about life while He was here and those teachings were faithfully recorded in the Bible so that we might live our life in a way that pleases Him.

Later in this book (15:13) Jesus says “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus also loved us so much that He shared with us difficult things about life, so we would know how to walk through the tests and temptations we face.

One of the most important teachings was about forgiveness. John shares with us in I John 1:9 that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Just as He forgave us, we are to forgive others. Eph. 4:32 says “and be kind to one another, tender-hearted forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

We should thank the Lord daily for His willingness to come dwell among us, teach us, and provide the way for us to share eternity with Him.

Christ - The True Light

“There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.”

John 1:9

The word “light” is used 23 times in the first 12 chapters of John to describe Jesus. Notice the first mention is 1:4 where John says of Christ “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Verse nine describes Jesus as the “true light which enlightens every man”. Some believe that this verse means everyone is saved. I don’t think that is the case. I think it means that Christ is revealed to every person and some chose to trust Him for salvation. Others may be enlightened in that they hear about Christ, but chose to reject Him. While it is Jesus desire that every human be united to Him in faith, He does not make that decision for us. He has given each of us a will; some exercise that will toward Him and others reject Him.

Notice that verse five explains that “the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness did not overpower it.” The light of Christ reveals sin. Satan understands that and creates a real battle within each person, and within the world itself, but he is unable to overpower our Lord. That battle is not over when one trusts Jesus as his/her Savior because the old nature is still present within us. We are still able to be tempted by sin and if Satan can convince us to sin our relationship with Christ is impaired.

John says in a later book (I John 1:9) that if Christians “confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousnes.” That verse was written for Christians, because God knows, even as His children, we will sometimes yield to temptation. He provides a way for us to get back in right relationship with Him. Anytime we recognize sin in our attitude or actions we should claim that verse so that we can live victoriously as He desires.

John also realizes that he is not the true light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. The same is true for us as Christians. We are not the true light to our unsaved friends, but we are to be a witness for Christ, the true light. Our responsibility is to expose our friends to the true light and allow the Holy Spirit to work in their lives. We never want to draw attention to ourselves, but to Christ.

As a young child in Sunday School we learned a song that contained the words “this little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. Let it shine till Jesus comes, I’m going to let it shine.” I pray that your light will continually shine for Him.

Life - Our Most Important Asset

“In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.”

John 1:4

As God created man, He gave him life. There are two aspects of life to consider; physical life and spiritual life. When man was originally created, I believe He was given a physical life that would last forever. However, man chose to disobey God, to sin, and the result of sin is death. There are also two aspects of death; physical death and spiritual death.

There are three facets of our physical life; body, soul and spirit. Our body ages and has specific limitations. Our soul may be considered to have three parts, intellect, emotion and will. We understand that with our intellect we comprehend things. We learn many things in our lives that help govern the way we live. Much of what we learn comes from the education process but we also gain valuable knowledge from experience.

The way we feel is most often guided by our emotions. At times we are happy and at other times we experience sadness. We have joy as well as anger. Sometimes we are motivated and at other times we are not.

We also have a will. Our will often drives us to complete tasks or to carry out assignments. A lack of will often allows us to leave things incomplete or to be lackadaisical about completing a task.

When we are physically born we are sinners facing spiritual death and we learn during our life of a need to trust Jesus as our Savior. When we do that a very important thing happens; the Holy Spirit indwells us and desires to become a major influence on our lives. I Cor. 6:19 explains that “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit”. Since our bodies are that “temple” we have a responsibility to keep them in good physical condition. We are as much a testimony with our body as with the rest of our life.

We should also realize a need to mature spiritually as well as physically. Three things are necessary for us to develop spiritually. We need to be in a good church where we enjoy worshipping God, studying the Bible, enjoying the fellowship of other believers. We also need to study the Bible daily and be diligent in our prayer life. Finally, we need to develop relationships with others that will help us mature in our Spiritual life.

God has given us life. We live it to the fullest by placing our trust in Him and walking in His will.

In the beginning

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.”
John 1:1

The phrase “in the beginning” is a difficult one to fathom. Notice that the next word “was” is past tense. The God we worship has existed eternally, as has His Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is no beginning with them.

There are a couple of things we can learn from this verse. First of all since God is an eternal being He had no need for “time”. Time was created for man’s convenience when the heavens and earth were created. Time seems so important to us, and we should try to use it wisely, but we should remember that one reason God looks at everything differently than we is that His perspective has no time constraints.

As we continue to read in this chapter we confirm that “Word” is another name for Christ. In Genesis 1:1 we read “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. The word “God” as used in this passage is Elohim, which is the plural form of God. God the Father did not create the Son and the Holy Spirit at some time. He is a triune God who has no beginning and no end; He exists forever. That is difficult to comprehend, isn’t it.

As we read and study the Scripture we need to remember that we are finite beings and our God is an infinite being. Because of that difference we will not be able to completely comprehend Him in our lifetime. However, we can be sure that we can understand enough to know that we can confidently place our faith in Him, and be assured that we are going to spend eternity with Him.

It is especially important that we stay mindful of that and don’t doubt that fact as we face difficulties in our lives. God loves us, desires His very best for us and will accomplish that if we allow Him to do that.

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas season and are ready for a new year. I’ve enjoyed studying the Gospel of John and have chosen this year to send devotionals from that book. The book was written by John the disciple; not John the Baptist. We will see that Jesus truly loved John and trusted him completely. Remember when Jesus was on the cross, He asked John to care for His Mother. John also deeply loved Jesus. He shares many intimate details of Jesus’ life and ministry.

I think John was probably a pretty timid person. He writes this entire book in third person without identifying himself. He calls himself “the one Jesus loved”. There are many well known and important verses in John, including one that shares the purpose of the book “but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (20:31).”

I trust you will enjoy and benefit from the study of the book as I have.

Blessings,

Joe