Written by: Dave Rose – Church Army
John 1 v 15-18
John tells the truth about him and cries out, saying, “This is the One
I told you about: ‘The One who comes after me is greater than I am, because
he was living before me.’ ”
Because he was full of grace and truth, from him we all received one gift after
another. The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ. No one has ever seen God. But God the only Son is very close to the Father,
and he has shown us what God is like.
Notes
Here we are, near the beginning of the Gospel according to John.
John (the Gospel writer) has just introduced us to “The Word”.
“The Word” who was both with God and was God, who was there before the creation, who played an essential part in that creation, who was the source of all life and who was the inextinguishable light of the world. And “The Word” had come into the world.
John also introduced us to someone else, someone who was not the light, not “The Word”, but a messenger sent from God. This messenger was also called John, John the Baptist, and his job was to be a witness to “The Word”.
This is where our reading starts, with John witnessing, crying out, “This is the One”. The One who was greater than the baptist, who, even though he comes after John, was even born after John, had been living before the baptist, because “The Word” was in the beginning, with God.
John continues; the Law, the basic framework for the Jewish faith, was given through Moses, but Jesus Christ brought something else, truth and grace. Jesus Christ – “The Word” is given a name.
The light of the world, the bringer of life, the agent of creation, who was
in the beginning, was with and was God, was a person, had become human.
Jesus Christ, someone who had been seen, who had walked the world, had had
friends, got cold, wet, hungry and thirsty. This person, this Jesus, has shown
us what God is like, because he IS God the only Son of the Father.
So, we have an open mystery. The Eternal Word, walking the earth, providing a door into understanding the nature of God, leading us into truth, the deepest truth, the truth of Eternal Life.
Prayer
Dear Lord God, thank you for the witness of John the Baptist, the pointer to
Jesus.
Thank you for revealing yourself in the person of Jesus Christ, the Eternal
Word.
Thank you for providing the door into understanding the true mystery of life,
more profound than the latest celebrity endorsed fad, more exciting than any
chemical high, more fulfilling than any retail therapy.
Help me to see through the false claims and shallow gratification of so much
that is on offer in the world today, and instead to turn towards the One, Jesus
Christ. Amen
John 1 v 19-23
Here is the truth John told when the Jews in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites
to ask him, “Who are you?”
John spoke freely and did not refuse to answer. He said, “I am not
the Christ.”
So they asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He answered, “No, I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?” they asked.
He answered, “No.”
Then they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to tell those who sent
us. What do you say about yourself?”
John told them in the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am the voice of one calling out in the desert:
‘Make the road straight for the Lord.’ ”
Notes
“Who are you?”
The Jews in Jerusalem wanted to know.
“Who are you?”
It’s an important question, John was kicking up a storm, charging around
in the wilderness upsetting people, saying what he thought, regardless of rank
or title. So, just who did he think he was, what was his authority?
“Who are you?”
“I am NOT the Christ.”
Some Jews were expecting the Christ, the anointed one. There was disagreement
about just what he would be like, but he was expected. John was not he.
Was John Elijah? Many expected the prophet Elijah to come before the Christ. Was John he? NO.
Was he the Prophet? Others expected the return of another of the Old Testament prophets before the Christ, maybe John was he. NO.
John was not the Christ, and he was not the return of some Old Testament character.
John was himself, unique, a one-off. And John had a unique job, something that
only he could do,
“ I am the voice of one calling out in the desert: ‘Make the road
straight for the Lord.’”
Oh, you’re a teenager – you must like this, you’re in your twenties; you must think like that, you’re fifty-six, you must behave like ……….
The Jews had certain understandings about the Christ and how he would arrive. The baptist turned up, obviously someone a bit out of the ordinary, so they tried to fit him into their understanding. But they had misunderstood.
We all operate a bit like that. We expect the world to work in a certain way, to fit in with our understandings, even ourselves.
But we are each unique, a one-off. Each one with a unique job to do, called by God to the task that he has set before us, that only we can do.
Prayer
Dear Lord God, thank you for making each one of us unique; help me to see the
uniqueness of those who I meet.
Help me to treat them as individuals, not as just ‘a teenager’, ‘a
twenty-something’, or ‘a wrinkly’.
Just as we are uniquely made, thank you for uniquely calling each one of us,
for giving each one of us a task, a ministry.
Help me to respond to your call, to do the job that you have for me, the one
that no one else can do except me.
Help me to draw upon the guidance of your Holy Spirit to recognise your call
from the background noise and upon his strength to see the job through to the
end.
Thank you Lord. Amen
John 1 v 24-31
Some Pharisees who had been sent asked John: “If you are not the Christ
or Elijah or the Prophet, why do you baptise people?”
John answered, “I baptise with water, but there is one here with you
that you don’t know about. He is the One who comes after me. I am not
good enough to untie the strings of his sandals.”
This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River, where John
was baptising people.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, “Look, the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the One I was talking
about when I said, ‘A man will come after me, but he is greater than
I am, because he was living before me.’ Even I did not know who he was,
although I came baptising with water so that the people of Israel would know
who he is.”
Notes
When questioned, John compared himself to Jesus saying, “I am not good
enough to untie the strings of his sandals.” And “He is greater
than I am.”
The Pharisees wanted to know about John, but John wanted to tell them something about Jesus.
Added to the images already given, we now have “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”. John’s listeners would catch all sorts of meanings in this, for he has drawn upon and gone beyond a collection of Old Testament ideas and images.
The exodus from Egyptian slavery, when the blood of the paschal lamb was painted on doorposts to save the Jews from death; the testing of Abraham, when God provided a sheep to act as a replacement sacrifice, saving the life of Abraham’s son; linked to this would be that of the scapegoat, an animal that had the sins of the nation placed upon it, before it was driven into the wilderness.
John takes existing themes of sacrifice for salvation from death, God’s provision and the removal of the people’s sin, and he reworks them. He links and intertwines separate strands of tradition to make them fit for a new situation.
John was both a traditionalist and a modernist. His ministry and teaching were embedded within the history and practices of the past, yet he was never afraid to adopt and adapt to fit new situations.
The press like to portray the Church as being in two mutually exclusive camps, traditionalists and modernists, locked in combat for the future of the Church. Sadly there is too much truth in that picture.
John was within the traditions of Judaism, yet he was prepared to make changes – provided it helped him to explain the nature of Jesus, to make the road straight.
Prayer
Dear Lord God, thank you for the rich tradition that John drew upon, and that
enabled him to create new images to fit the reality of Jesus and his ministry.
Thank you for the traditions that have grown up within the breadth of the Christian
Church.
Help me to draw upon them to enhance my own understanding of your love and
purpose for the world.
Help me to use them as a springboard for making your eternal truths known to
an unbelieving world, creating new, relevant images that will communicate to
all generations.
Thank you Lord. Amen
John 1 v 32-34
Then John said, “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven in the form of
a dove and rest on him. Until then I did not know who the Christ was. But the
God who sent me to baptise with water told me, ‘You will see the Spirit
come down and rest on a man; he is the One who will baptise with the Holy Spirit.’ I
have seen this happen, and I tell you the truth: This man is the Son of God.”
Notes
John was to prepare the way for the coming Christ, the One who would take away
the sin of the world, but John did not know who that person was. He did,
however, know how to recognise him.
When he saw the Spirit come in the form of a dove to rest upon Jesus, John knew that Jesus was the Christ, the one who would baptise with Holy Spirit.
John baptised with water; Jesus with Holy Spirit.
What’s the difference?
John’s baptism was one for repentance and returning to God’s Law. Baptism was an outward sign that the individual was admitting their need for forgiveness, they had done wrong, they needed to be washed clean. A fairly common Jewish religious practice, nothing particularly unusual at all.
The baptism of Christ though was to be unusual, new, in Holy Spirit.
After the baptism the sinner was left to their own devices. They had the Law, to show the correct path, BUT in the end, the struggle was internal and alone. It was one that was always lost – then it was repentance, the sacrificial system and maybe another washing.
What’s new? We all still need to ask God’s forgiveness and want to follow his way. We still have the Law, preachers, teachers and prayer. But we have something else.
To be baptised with Holy Spirit is to have the Spirit of Jesus working within us. Changing us, making us more like Christ, helping us in that struggle. Of course, we still fall, sin again.
But there is no need for sacrifice. Jesus, the lamb of God, has done that once and for all; there is no need for further washing, not if the blood of the lamb has made us clean. Jesus will continually forgive us, far more than seventy times seven.
Prayer
Dear Lord God, thank you that in Jesus all Christians are baptised with Holy
Spirit.
Thank you that because of the indwelling Holy Spirit I will never again be
left alone to fight the temptations that would drag me away from you.
Help me, in my pride, to follow the guidance that the Holy Spirit offers.
Help me, in my weakness, to draw upon the power that he gives.
Help me, in my shame, to know that I always have ready forgiveness available
for the asking, when I fall.
Thank you Lord. Amen
John 1 v 35-39
The next day John was there again with two of his followers. When he saw
Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
The two followers heard John say this, so they followed Jesus. When Jesus
turned and saw them following him, he asked, “What are you looking
for?”
They said, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” (“Rabbi” means “Teacher.”)
He answered, “Come and see.” So the two men went with Jesus and
saw where he was staying and stayed there with him that day. It was about four
o’clock in the afternoon.
Notes
The road has been made straight, the Christ has been identified, the One has
been witnessed to. Now the handover has begun. John’s ministry is coming
to an end because Jesus’s has started.
John continues to testify, “Look, the Lamb of God!” Two of John’s followers are caught by the phrase and follow Jesus.
The term used for “following Jesus” sounds a bit weak, trailing along in his footsteps sort of thing. In fact it has a much stronger meaning.
The “two followers” of John should, more correctly be described as “two disciples” of John, that is two people who accepted the “discipline” that John required. This was a serious thing; it may have included accepting elements of a common life, praying and eating together or dressing in a particular way. Rabbis, religious teachers, would attract schools, groups of disciples who accepted their discipline and followed their teaching.
To leave the discipleship of one person and become the disciple of another was therefore not a small thing. The two disciples of John changed their allegiance, and became disciples of Jesus.
They had made a profound decision, undoubtedly encouraged by John, but we must not assume that they fully understood what they had done.
“Rabbi, where are you staying?” For them, Jesus was a teacher rather than “the One.” They didn’t get it – yet.
A former Bishop of Durham once commented that people should not let failure to understand be a barrier to following Christ. He said that we should not worry about what we don’t understand, the “what about” questions, instead we should simply ask, “Is God a reality in my life?” That’s the important question.
The two disciples did not understand, but they stayed the rest of the day with Jesus. God was, that day, a reality in their life.
Prayer
Dear Lord God, thank you for example of the two disciples, for their willingness
to follow Jesus, even though they had less than a complete picture.
Help me to be a better disciple, accepting your discipline in me life, being
prepared to spend time with you, that you may become a greater reality in my
life.
Thank You Lord. Amen
John 1 v 40-42
One of the two men who followed Jesus after they heard John speak about him
was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. The first thing Andrew did was to
find his brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah.” (“Messiah” means “Christ.”)
Then Andrew took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are
Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas.” (“Cephas” means “Peter.”)
Notes
The two new disciples had spent the night listening to Jesus and it was morning,
and one of them, we are told, was called “Andrew, Simon Peter’s
brother.”
That Andrew is described by his relationship to his brother rather than “Andrew, son of John”, or “Andrew, the Fisherman”, or “Andrew from Bethsaida”, tells us something about the relative importance of the two brothers from the perspective of the early Church. Simon Peter was obviously much more important than Andrew!
And the first thing that Andrew did when he left Jesus was to go and find his big brother. Note that he is no longer talking about Jesus the teacher, now it’s Jesus the Messiah – spending time with God can seriously affect your understanding!
Then Andrew took Simon to Jesus.
Simon Peter may have been the more important in the eyes of the early Church, but it was Andrew the Evangelist that led Peter, the first Bishop of Rome, to Jesus. The future shape of the Church depended upon Andrew witnessing to his brother.
We each have a unique task to do, given by God!
Jesus looked at Simon, and gave him a new name.
Jesus looked beyond the fisherman who stood before him; he saw qualities and
potential.
“ You will be called Cephas.” Peter, the Rock, the foundation for
the future Church.
Both Andrew and Peter had tasks, roles to play within God’s plans for
the future.
We are complex people; we have weaknesses and need to respond to a Baptist-type call to repentance. But we also have strengths, and potentials.
We bring all of this to Christ, weakness, strengths and potential. And he forgives our sins, he helps us in our weakness, recognises our strengths and enables us to reach our full potential.
Prayer
Dear Lord God, thank you for seeing all of me, including my potential.
Thank you for forgiving me when I confess and wish to do better.
Thank you for valuing me despite my weaknesses.
Thank you for offering the guidance and power of your Holy Spirit to enable
me to reach my full potential.
Thank you Lord. Amen
John 1 v 43-46
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to
him, “Follow
me.” Philip was from the town of Bethsaida, where Andrew and Peter lived.
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the man that Moses
wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about him. He is Jesus,
the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
But Nathanael said to Philip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip answered, “Come and see.”
Notes
Jesus travels to Galilee, sees Philip and says to him, “Follow me.”
We don’t know much about Philip; he’s not one of the high flyers in the New Testament, and some have commented that he always seems slightly out of his depth!
Andrew had been directed to Jesus by John. Peter had been directed to Jesus by Andrew. But Philip had been sought out and called directly by Jesus, and became one of the inner twelve Apostles.
“Follow me.”
Whatever others may think about Philip, Jesus obviously valued him. He travelled to Nazareth to call him in person.
And Jesus’ trust was soon justified - straight away Philip found Nathanael, “We have found the man …….. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
Nathanael is not impressed, underwhelmed in the extreme, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
This is a “Can’t be bothered” sort of reply, no real objection beyond a refusal to get excited about anything – Joe Cool.
“Come and see.”
No great flight of persuasive argument, no appeal to the scriptures.
“Come and see.”
This a direct appeal to the experience, “I have met him, I’m convinced,
now you try it”.
Come and see!
At its most basic that is all any of us can do.
We have experienced something, we have spent time with God, now we say, “Come
and see.”
Come and meet this person, this mystery, this God.
Prayer
Dear Lord God, may the time that I spend in your company transform me.
May the experience of you in my life be such a reality that others will see
the difference.
May my testimony to you have the sort of simple reality that will cause others
to wish to come and see you, to experience you in their lives for themselves.
Thank you Lord. Amen
The views expressed by the writers of our daily e-mails are not necessarily those of Church Army or word-on-the-web but of the individual writers.
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes