John’s
gospel is unique from the others.
Matthew, Mark and Luke are referred to as the synoptic gospels because
they are similar to each other. They
contain many of the same stories with different details. We have looked at their
differences—Mark—written first basically to a Roman audience, Matthew—written
to a Jewish audience, Luke—written for the Greek mind by a highly educated
Greek believer. Lastly, we come to the gospel of John. John focuses on Jesus as the Son of God. He is writing to both Jews and Greeks.
John is
my favorite gospel writer. His gospel
contains seven miracles (not necessarily in chronological order but miracles
that demonstrate that Jesus was the Son of God) and half of his gospel’s
content covers Jesus’ death and resurrection.
John highlights Maundy Thursday through Sunday and shares a few relevant
stories after His resurrection. I love
John most because of the way he refers to himself and others in his
writings—which include John, 1-3 John, and Revelation—as the disciple whom Jesus
loved. He taught me to see myself this
way. Who I really am is a dearly loved
child of God.
You won’t
be surprised to find out that John doesn’t mention Jesus’ parents’ names, his
place of birth, or the miraculous birth announcement by angels. John focuses on the miraculous purpose of
Jesus’ birth. All those other facts pale
in comparison to the purpose of Jesus’ birth.
He explains that Jesus is the WORD made flesh. In Genesis we are informed that God spoke the
universes into existence and John reveals that the Word was Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was not created when He was born
on earth; rather He has always been with God.
He is the author and creator of life.
John
defines the mysterious, too-good-to-be true, reality of Jesus’ birth. Jesus took on human flesh to make it possible
for us to take on God’s Spirit. He also
reports the fact that many do not recognize that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God. Any who do not recognize this fact
will not have the right to be called the child of God and be reborn. God created the world; our sin separated us
from God. God loved us and provided a
way for us to be reunited with Him eternally.
The provision was sending His Son to take on human flesh and die without
sin to cover the sins of the whole world.
Try to wrap your mind around that thought.
John had never
seen God but he had seen God’s glory. He
saw the glory of God contained in the human flesh of Jesus Christ along with
Peter and his brother James at the Mount of Transfiguration. He also had visions of the Risen Christ that
he recorded for us in the book of Revelation.
John had deeper spiritual experiences than we have and he teaches us
that God is revealing the mystery of His love and grace by sending Jesus. Moses gave us the law which revealed God’s
holiness and our inability to become holy through our own actions. God has made a way for fallen humans to be
made holy by accepting His grace and truth, which are embodied in Jesus Christ.
John
summarizes the facts of Jesus Christ’s birth in this: “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another”
(John 1:16). Do you believe? Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God—the Word that spoke creation into being made flesh through the union of
the Holy Spirit and the seed of Mary? Do
you believe that the blood and sinew that formed to make a human man contained
the fullness of God? Believing in Jesus
Christ’s purpose in taking on human flesh so that He could be a holy blood
sacrifice for your sins is the most important decision of our entire lifetimes.
Copyright © 2017.
Deborah R Newman
teatimeforyoursoul.com All Rights
Reserved.
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