Read the Bible in a Year (04NOV19)

DAILY REMINDER – Today, November 4’s Bible reading is John 1-2.

NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, November 5’s Bible reading is John 3-4. May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.

JOHN’s Introduction 

The Gospel of John has been so named by the Apostle John who is also known as the disciple Jesus loved. John’s name means the Lord is gracious. His book is accredited as having been influenced by the book of Genesis and other Old Testament writings. It talks about the beginning of life and light which is similar to the Genesis account of creation and also details events surrounding Passover. John’s book is held by scholars to not necessarily present new information, although it does, but to help his readers believe the information in Scripture that they have already read.

John’s gospel does not include certain information that the synoptic gospels are widely known for such as the transfiguration, the Lord’s supper, exorcisms, the temptation of Christ, nor many parables that Jesus gave. Nevertheless, John does share a fair amount of material that the other gospels do not detail such as Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine, the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus, Lazarus’ resurrection, private teachings to the disciples, the ministry Jesus did in Samaria, and His various visits to Jerusalem.

John’s gospel is believed by scholars to have been written after the destruction of the temple which took place in 70 A.D. and prior to him being exiled on the isle of Patmos around 85-90 A.D. The Apostle John helps the reader to understand that Jesus was and is the Son of God and exclusively to his gospel, he writes about Jesus’ seven “I Am” statements supporting His divinity. 

 

JOHN MOMENT – (04NOV19) “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” (John 1:1-5). The Apostle John tells the reader of how Jesus was with God and was God from the very beginning of time. There is no separation because He and God are One, but He came in the flesh to eliminate the darkness of sin so that man could take hold of His marvelous Light. Therefore, because God is the Creator of all things, reveals all things, and is the Redeemer of all things and people – Jesus being described as the Word is a self-expression of who God is, and God was manifested in the flesh through His son Jesus. Although the Creator was in the world, the world did not recognize Him for who He was. Why was this? The Bible says: “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Therefore, spiritual things are spiritually discerned and because the world could not see Jesus for who He was in the Spirit, they could not recognize Him as their long-awaited Messiah.

John the Baptist was sent to tell of the great Light who was coming to take away the sins of the world. We too have been sent to tell of the Messiah’s coming. This time, He will be to put an end to sin, death, disease, and all that opposes itself against God. Jesus is the Word through which, we are able to defeat the enemy. He set the example by defeating the enemy with the very essence of who He is. The Bible says, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:11). God’s Word has power to defeat the enemy because His Word is who He is and because He cannot be made void, neither can His Word. Therefore, when Jesus came to earth and fulfilled the prophecies that had been given to the prophets of old, He did so because His Word could not be returned void. He fulfilled everything that He was and even now, everything that He has prophesied for the end times will be fulfilled as well. Therefore, let us be mindful to take hold of the Word daily in our prayer life, study life, home life, and in all other areas so that the world may see the Word that became flesh as the Light shining on the inside of us and find their way out of the darkness. Something to ponder….