The Gospel John part 1

Intro

no origin story

no Christmas account

beginning not at the start of the new testament but at the beginning

something important about who and what Jesus is that informs how John wants you to see him for the rest of the gospel

The Word

Jesus was there in the beginning

He is just as much a part of creation as he is the idea of creation its self

he is the Word

he is God’s very will lived out, that is what it means

God’s plans and God’s good and God’s justice and God’s mercy all fulfilled by his son

something that cannot be overcome, that is apparent and unavoidable

Jesus brings grace that those before him could not

he is the fulfillment of what came before him

he is the one who makes God apparent like never before in our world, through his example

The Witness

John comes to bear witness to this so that you will believe

John wants you to understand something that the rest of the world tries so hard to refute

that Jesus is God and there is no separation between them

the Jews, the Muslims, the Atheists etc all claim that maybe he was a man who said some nice things with good intentions and was wrongfully killed

but they will argue tooth and nail that he was not God

John says he is God in the flesh and that he walked with him

that if you’ll believe that then you will be given far more than you deserve

Application

don’t be afraid to believe

the others are making arguments or historical accounts based on timetables as best they could put them together

John tells the story as vibrantly as he can

John doesn’t want to put together a history or make a document ready for the Jewish courts

he wants you to walk with Jesus and know him and believe