What have we already learnt from the beginning of John 1? We know that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is the Word, that He is Life, that He is Light - and that He shines.
The passage in John continues from verse 6...
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
I don't have a lot of time just now so I will try to make this brief. John number 2, not John who wrote the book, came to direct people to the true light, to the true messiah, the true Christ. We read that he was not the light, but we can also see here from the way that it was written that some people thought of him as the true light. As something other that what he was. With John however they were in for a surprise as he continued to point them away from himself.
They needed someone there to point them in the right direction, someone who was able to see what was true and what was not. There were many others who had come before and claimed to be the Christ, claimed to be something other than what they were. How were they to know one from the other, distinguish the true from the false?
The answer to this last question is found in the final sentence. The true light gives light to every man coming into the world. What did the others promise? How did they show themselves? But also, who bore witness to them? Here is a man who says no, do not follow me, follow Him, he is the true light, he is the only one who is able to give you light. And of course, we heard last time that the light of men is life.
So John, is standing out in the wilderness telling all those who come to him 'don't follow me, but follow Him if you want to have life, for He is the true light and the only one who can give you that light, give you true life.' Jesus also shows who he is throughout his life throught the different miracles he performs, things he does, and words he speaks. You can read more about them in John, or the other gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke).
Are you being true, or misleading others? We are called to be like Christ - here we hear that He was a true light to the world.
Coming Up: Shine, Part 3
God Bless
No comments:
Post a Comment