Prepare the Way - John 1:19-34

Unlike the other three gospels written by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which primarily focus on a historical-narrative of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus but with differing target audiences, John's gospel is definitely written from a theological perspective. While the first three are answering the question "What did Jesus do and why did he do it?" John's gospel answers the question "Who is Jesus and why does that make what he did unique?" John is very clear in John 20:31 "but [this book] was written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. So as we begin our study of the gospel of John, we have to keep this question at the forefront of our minds, "What does John want us to know about who Jesus is?"

Read John 1:19-34

John focuses his gospel on various encounters that Jesus has with different people. The first encounter we see is him meeting his cousin John the Baptist [I'll refer to him as J.B.], not to be confused with John the author of this gospel. We see J.B. as he has been preaching repentance in the wilderness for all of Judea and baptizing people in the water. He was preparing the people for the one who was to come, that is Jesus. Over and over people are confused and mistaking J.B. for someone he's not. They think he's the Messiah, or one of the prophets of old. But J.B. is absolutely certain of his place in God's salvation plan. He is NOT the Messiah. He's the one preparing the way for the Messiah. Not only that, but J.B. is quick to make sure people know he should not be elevated, but that the one to come is so great, J.B. is not even worthy to untie the strap of his sandal.

So eventually, all the preparing that J.B. is doing in the wilderness leads to his encounter with Jesus. Jesus comes and shows just how worthy he is. Remember, J.B. has been baptizing tons of people in the Jordan river, so there is something about this encounter that is significantly different than all the others he's been baptizing. J.B. recognizes it immediately, because when he see's Jesus he says, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" This sounds normal to us because we understand all that Jesus did for us, but to the people who heard J.B. say this, it would have made no sense! But J.B. was fully aware of who Jesus was. But if you were there and you didn't believe J.B. was right or telling the truth, there was no denying there was something special about Jesus, because immediately after Jesus is baptized, we see the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. This is an amazing encounter, and just the beginning of an entire gospel of encounters that tell us one thing. This Jesus, he IS the Son of God.

Amazing. Jesus. The Messiah. The anointed one. Savior of the World. That's who we're going to encounter as we continue to study our way through the gospel of John. Spend some time this morning reflecting on who Jesus is to you. Do you have a right grasp of who he is? If you're not sure, that's ok, ask God to help you fully understand who Jesus is as you read through the gospel of John. If you are fully aware of who Jesus is awesome! The question for you is, what are you doing to prepare the way for him? What are you doing to proclaim him out in the wilderness to all the people you yourself encounter? Do you see him as "the one who's sandals I am not worthy to untie" or is he just a secondary part of your life?

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!




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