John 3 New, Part 2

Day 1

John 1

Seen, Part 1

Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the g tree, I saw you.”

—John 1:48

Have you ever taken a morning walk at dawn and felt the promise of a new day? You see the piercing beams of light from beyond the horizon before you see the sun. ese beams provide evidence that the sun will rise and the day will begin. You know it’s coming. You know that at any second the bright sun will burst forth, almost blinding you. In a few seconds’ time, predictably, the beams are replaced by full light and everything comes to life.

As we open the book of John and begin to read about the life of Jesus, we are reminded of light versus darkness. e people had been waiting in darkness for four hundred years, waiting for a savior to rescue them. e metaphorical darkness of mankind covered the earth as its people searched for light. But the promise of a savior allowed God’s people to hope. ey hoped that the prophecies would be ful lled concerning sin and forgiveness, sickness and healing, death and life. e prophet Isaiah in chapter 61 declares a restoration that was coming, and the brokenness repaired. It was as if they could see the sunrise before they actually saw the sun. e Gospel of John opens with God reaching down through the darkness to provide light for His children. “ e true light,

which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (v. 9). e true light, Jesus, was described as e Word. God’s Word to His people was a gi of love, sacri ce, and restoration given in the person of Jesus. “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (v. 16). is was the message from God to man. Hope would become reality and nally there would be a way for man to personally connect with God. “And the Word became esh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (v. 14). We will begin to better understand Jesus, God’s gi to us, as we walk through the book of John page by page, story by story, truth by truth.

At times confusing, the book of John begins as we meet another John. John the Baptist, not the author of this gospel, is sometimes known as John the Baptizer. is John was sent to declare the message of Jesus’s upcoming entrance into the world. His message clearly explained that God’s people were about to receive the promised gi of the Messiah. Hopeful anticipation began to stir from village to village. What exactly was John the Baptist’s proclamation? He said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (v. 29). Sometimes God reassures His people with a tangible a rmation or sign. Here His “Holy Spirit descended on [Jesus] in bodily form, like a dove” (Luke 3:22) and rested on Jesus’s shoulder, as if to say, “You can believe. is is My Son.” e author goes on, “And John bore witness: ‘I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him’” (v. 32).

A er Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, His short ministry on earth began. John, the author, tells us how Jesus began to choose His twelve disciples, those who would walk alongside Him as friends, coworkers, and carriers of the message of truth.