Amazing Lessons from John 1 as We Meditate on Who Jesus Is This Christmas
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Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are what we call the gospels. These are the account of Jesus' life and ministry written by his closest friends and followers. Each account offers us a unique perspective on who Jesus was, as well as the many things he accomplished and taught while on earth. The book of John is the fourth gospel and begins by describing Jesus in terms that connect him to our eternal Creator God.
What an exciting statement, that God’s light is greater than the present darkness in our world. Ultimately our hope is only a sure thing because of this fact. God’s plan, power, presence, and goodness is able to bring order to our fallen world. His plan outmatches the powers of chaos and nothingness that want to pull us away from him.
Jesus was able to pierce the death that seeks to swallow up his people. He made a way for us to find life in him. As we pass through death, we overcome the power of this world, just as he did, and are invited into his forever family. No greater love than this, to lay down his life for those he loves!
If it is not enough that God put on skin so we could know him, he also spoke through many men and women before and after his arrival so we could be sure he was who he said he was. John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus' ministry during Jesus’ life. John means grace, confirming that his appearance and message was an act of grace by God for the people of his time.
There was a 400-year gap between the Old Testament and the birth of Jesus. The Jewish people needed their hearts stirred so they would be ready to receive their Messiah.
It was John the Baptists’ words alongside the stories of the Old Testament that allowed men to believe. None of God’s promises came back void. The Savior came in just the way that God had told Adam and Eve when he said the seed of the woman would one day crush the serpent (Genesis 3:15). He kept telling his people that he had a plan and forever King who was on the way! Once he arrived, they only had to remember the gracious testimony of those that came before Jesus to know his words were true and his life had been long awaited by his followers.
God is so gracious not only to tell us he loves us but to show us. God has woven together a flawless story that culminates in a God-man giving up his life for us. The grace of the Bible is astounding!
Jesus is God’s great gift to us. When he made this world, he knew we would need a Savior in order to be free from our own failures. The Word made a way for us! We can rejoice because we can live with hope that his life and light will guide us now and will sustain us forever as we anticipate eternity in Heaven with Him!
Photo credit: Unsplash/Aaron Owens
