Reading: John 1:19-50
The ministry of John the Baptist is given in some detail in
these verses. What can we learn about
his character and his work from them?
When questioned in v19-28, John is open and honest in his
replies and is not afraid to answer directly.
When asked in verse 22, “Who are you?” he could have explained about his
family line and the things that his father Zechariah foretold about him at his
birth (Luke 1), but instead John’s servant heart chooses to keep those things
to himself and uses the words from Isaiah 40:3 to explain who he was and what
his purpose was. He moves the spotlight
away from himself so that it focuses on Jesus.
Thinking about that question “Who are you?” in the light of
recent life-threatening hostage situations around the world, I was challenged
about how I would reply to those wanting an answer from me. Would I be as open and honest as John? Would you?
Moving to verses 29-34 it must have been a good experience
for John to baptise Jesus and hear God the Father reveal to him that Jesus was
the Son of God. John has a clear
understanding in verse 29 of who Jesus is and his purpose for coming to
earth. Do these truths mean something to
you today?
In verses 35-51 look at what it was that brought each of
these five men to Jesus. How far did
they understand who Jesus was? What
account of Jesus can you give to others?
Also in this wonderful story of Nathanael meeting Jesus, why did Jesus’
answer elicit the response of Nathanael in verse 49 (see John 2:25) and what do
verses 47-50 reveal of Nathanael’s character?
Response
Let’s pray today that
Jesus will reveal himself to us so that, like John and these five disciples, we
might truly know him and his purposes and then invite others to get to know him
too.
Susan
A question rather than a comment if that's OK....does anyone have an insight into where Jesus' baptism and time of temptation sits within John 1?
ReplyDeleteJohn's words in 1:26-27 are similar to those in Matthew 3:11 which was before the actual baptism. John 1:32 is John's recollection after the event. So somewhere around verses 29-21 I would suggest.
DeleteThanks, the Matthew link helps. Is it thought that John isn't referring to consecutive days when he says "the next day....the next day...the following day"?
DeleteI think John IS referring to consecutive days, and his language is carefully chosen to make the point. There appear to be six different days implied if you are in the mood for a treasure hunt!
DeleteWho are you? John points the way for us in answering the question in relation to Jesus. Ken
ReplyDelete