John 1:28

John 1:28 says, These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.  John the Baptist continues to witness about Jesus as the Messiah.  He had been baptizing with water at Bethabara beyond the Jordan when the Jewish leaders questioned him about who he was, and the next day he saw Jesus coming to him.  If we are a follower of Christ, it is because we have acknowledged His coming to us.  Jesus came to save all people, but until we acknowledge Him for Who He is, His sacrifice means nothing to us.  Verse twenty-nine adds, The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.  John said of Jesus, "Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world." We must realize that He did take away the sin of the whole world, but that does not automatically bring the whole world into the right relationship with God.  We, like John, must acknowledge Him personally.  Verse thirty continues, This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.  John said Jesus was the One he was speaking of when he said One was coming after him Who was preferred before him, because He was before him.  Jesus was born physically after John the Baptist, but He always was, because He was the Creator.  Verse thirty-one states, And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. John had not seen Jesus before, at least not in His real identity as the Messiah, but by the power of God he recognized Him as the Messiah.  We have not seen Jesus physically, but by the power of God we recognize Him when we encounter Him.  How we respond to that encounter makes all the difference.   Verse thirty-two adds, And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.  John acknowledged Him and said he had been baptizing to make the people ready for His coming.  We as Christians today need to be preparing people for the coming of Christ into their life.  Verse thirty-three continues, And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.  John said God bore witness to Jesus as the Messiah, that Whom the Spirit of God descended on and remained on, would come to baptize in the Holy Ghost.  Verse thirty-four concludes, And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.  John said he saw and bore record this was the Son of God.  We need to bear the same witness today, because as Christians, we are baptized in the Holy Ghost.  

1 John 1:19

John 1:19 says, And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? We read that the Jews sent priests and Levites to find out who John the Baptist professed to be.  Even before Jesus began His earthly ministry, the Jewish leaders were questioning any speaking about the Messiah.  We today need to make sure that those proclaiming Christ are doing so to bring glory to God.  I don't feel that the Jewish leaders were wrong to question John, since they had a responsibility as God's people to make sure no false prophets rose to power.  We as God's people today have that same responsibility.  Verse twenty adds, And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.  When asked, John told them he was not the Messiah.  Verse twenty-one continues, And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.  They then asked if he were Elias, and he said no, or this prophet, and he said no.  Verse twenty=two concludes, Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?  They wanted to know the source of his authority to proclaim the coming of the Messiah.  He was simply John the Baptist, acting under the power of his calling by God.  If we are proclaiming Christ and anyone asks us who we are, we can only answer that we are a follower of Christ, acting under His authority.  Verse twenty-three states, He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.  John said he was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias; or Isaiah.  He was doing nothing against the Scriptures.  We need to make sure if someone is proclaiming Christ today that what they proclaim is consistent with the Scriptures.  Verse twenty-four adds, And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.  Verse twenty-five continues, And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?  Those sent to question John the Baptist wanted to know, if he were none of those mentioned, why he was baptizing people.  Knowing a person's motivation is always a good thing.  If John were doing this for personal gain, the religious leaders needed to know, as would we today with anyone who is becoming well known because of their proclaiming Christ. Verse twenty-six says, John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; John said he baptized in water, but One was standing among them, who they knew not, Who was preferred above John.  Verse twenty-seven adds, He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. He said this was One whose sandals he was not worthy to unlatch.  We can never be worthy of the love of Christ, and He will always be preferred above all others, because He is the only way for people to be restored to God. 

John 1:16

John 1:16 says, And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.  John the Baptist continues to speak of Jesus, and how we all received His fullness, grace for Grace.  Christ never lacks in His ability to provide for His followers.  We do His work by His guidance and from His never-ending provision for us.  When we, as His followers, serve the Creator of all things, why do we so often feel that we cannot afford to do whatever He calls us to do.  Sometimes I wonder how small we really feel God is.  We have received the fullness of Christ, not some small percentage.  We receive this fulness by His grace, the unmerited gift of God.  As we have received the blessings of life through His grace, we are called to reach out to the rest of the world in Grace.  We cannot wait for people to become worthy of our love and compassion.  We are to reach out to them as God reached out to us through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  We want forgiveness by the grace of God, but do not want to offer forgiveness to others. Verse seventeen continues, For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.  Verse eighteen concludes, No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.  John the Baptist stated that the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.  We hear a lot today about displaying the Ten Commandments, but we must realize they can only point to our inability to live up to God's calling.  We are told they are to be written on our hearts.  In other words, they are not just words engraved in stone, but living words in our hearts.  Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.  This is what we should be concentrating on.  The law was fulfilled in Christ, by His truth and grace.  It seems at times that we are more concerned with displaying the Ten Commandments than we are in living by them.  What we need to display is the grace of God in our lives. 

  

John 1:15

John 1:15 says, John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. John the Baptist again told the people that Jesus was the One he had been talking about. Christianity is never about who we are, but always about Who He is.  People may point to a Christian and talk about how good they are, but if so, it needs to be because they reflect Christ.  There are many good people in the world who do many good things, but they either don't know Christ or do not reflect His glory.  There are others who profess Christ as their Savior, but don't reflect Him in their actions and attitudes.  Our purpose as followers of Christ is to reflect His glory in all that we do.  Once more, we are not called to give up on the world and cower in fear, but we are to work so that the lost might be redeemed.  When Christianity becomes a religion of hate and exclusion, then it becomes simply a religion.  Christianity is always about a relationship with Christ, and not about our goodness and what we deserve.  John the Baptist did everything to point people to Christ. We must be the same way. Following Christ is a choice, and even though once we accept Him as our Savior we are saved forever, it is still a choice we must make every day as to whether or not we will reflect His glory to the world.  We have the power of God dwelling in us, through the Holy Spirit, and we sit around defeated, because the world is so bad.  If God's people will claim the power of God in their lives, then we will reflect hope and forgiveness to a lost and dying world.  People have never seen God except through Jesus Christ. We are to reflect Christ to the world so that they might see God. 

John 1:14

John 1:14 says, "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."  Jesus was totally man and totally God. We sometimes hear people say that Jesus could not have sinned because He was born without a sin nature.  I guess that is where I differ in my understanding of sin compared to some.  If I was born already condemned to sin with no choice in the matter, how can God condemn me.  He would have made me that way.  We are not punished for the sins of Adam and Eve, or any other long forgotten relative.  We are condemned for our own rebellion against God.  If Jesus had no ability to seek the will of the world instead of the will of the Father, then He was not fully human.  We hear people justify their actions by saying they are only human, as if this removes the responsibility from them.  Jesus showed us what it means to be only human.  God created man and woman and pronounced them very good.  Still, He gave them free will and has to every person since. Those who walked with Jesus beheld His glory.  This does not mean He had a halo hanging over His head or some kind of mystical aura.  It means by His actions and His very nature, people saw His glory.  Some believed and some denied Who He was, and still do today.  As His followers, people should see the glory of God reflected through us, by our actions and our very nature.  If we are judgmental and act superior to everyone, God's glory is not going to shine through.  We can never be the only begotten of the Heavenly Father, but we can be His child.  When we speak of Jesus as the Son of God, we must never forget the Only Begotten Son.  He is the only One Who can restore our relationship to God because He is the Only One Who overcame sin and defeated death. 

John 1:12

John 1:12, says, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them who believe on His name."   Verse thirteen adds, "Which were, born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of me, but of God."  Christ came to save all.  Yes, He went first to the Jews, not so they would alone be saved, but so they could share the gospel with all people.  When Christ calls us to Him, it is not so we can keep salvation for ourselves.  We, as His people, have a responsibility to share the gospel with all people.  The Jews, God's chosen people, failed to accept Him because He wasn't what they wanted.  They wanted worldly power, but Christ offered the power to become sons of God.  When we begin to feel weak in the eyes of the world, remember we have the power of being a child of God.  The only way the world can defeat us is if they defeat our Heavenly Father.  We were all born into this world, whatever state it may be in.  That makes us a human, no better or worse than any other human.  It does not make us a child of God.  Now, I personally believe that until we reach the age where we know right from wrong and choose the wrong that we are His.  Sin, our sin, is what separates us, and choosing Christ as our Savior is what restores us.  I have heard some people say that they are a Christian, but they don't believe in the idea of being born again.  Since that is the cornerstone of salvation, you cannot be one without the other.  As a follower of Christ, we are born again by faith in Christ.  My will, my power, my abilities, will not save me.  Only the will and power of God can save me.  His will is for all to be saved, but the choice belongs to each individual whether they will be or not.  In order to be born again, we must confess our sins.  If we say we are a Christian, but we have never done anything to need forgiveness for, then we make either ourselves or God a liar.  Only One has ever lived Who needed no forgiveness, and that was Jesus, the Christ. 

John 1:7

John 1:7 says, The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.  John the Baptist was there to prepare people to get ready for the coming of Christ, the Messiah, and then have them follow Christ.   He came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. Some people even thought John might be the Messiah. When people are hungry for hope, they will look to anyone for that hope.  John the Baptist was a good man to listen to, even to follow, but he was not the Messiah.  Today, people follow religious leaders as if they were the answer to life's problems themselves.  If they do not point you to following Christ and away from following them, then something is wrong. Verse eight continues, He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  Verse nine says, That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  Again, everything we teach must be founded in the Bible, so we must know what it actually says.  Jesus was and is the true Light of the world. We, like John the Baptist are sent, as followers of His, into the world to bear witness to that Light. Verse ten adds, He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.  Verse eleven continues, He came unto his own, and his own received him not.  When Jesus was in the world, a world made by Him, the world did not acknowledge Him.  He had a few who believed and followed, but even they did not understand Who He really was until after His death, burial, and resurrection.  We today need to understand Who we really follow.  He is not just a man Who walked and taught and died and rose again over two thousand years ago.  He was and is the Creator of this world, and He has promised that He will be with those who put their faith in Him in an even more powerful way through the Holy Spirit.   We need to claim that Power.  John the Baptist boldly proclaimed the coming of Christ in the corrupt and evil world in which he lived.  Even the leaders of God's people refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.  Today, we have religious leaders who are more concerned with maintaining their status than with sharing the gospel with all people.  We need to be more like John the Baptist, a voice crying in the wilderness of lost people, make ready the way of the Lord.  If we truly believe the end is near, we need to be witnessing to as many as we can instead of withdrawing in fear and anguish.  Our commission was not to withdraw and hang on, but to go and witness.  Jesus came to the Jews first and they did not receive Him.