Day 249 – John: Birth and preparation of Jesus, the Son of God

“The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” John 1:9 NLT

Read John 1:1 to John 2:12

Unlike the previous Gospels, John does not describe the events leading up to and surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ; instead, he immediately draws our attention to the divinity of Jesus, setting the stage for us to know that Jesus had a particular mission and purpose to step from heaven to earth.

John shows through his Gospel that Jesus is unique as God’s only Son, yet He is fully God. Because He is fully God, He is able to reveal God to us clearly and accurately. Because of this, we can perfectly trust what He says, and by trusting Him, we can gain an open mind to understand God’s message and fulfil His purpose for us.

Jesus is the Light of the World and offers the gift of eternal life to all. John also immediately introduces us to John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way for the Messiah and drawing our attention to the Way that came into prophetic fulfilment. Throughout the Gospel of John and his other books in the Bible, we see his emphasis on signs and his poetic narrative of Jesus as the Light. How blind and foolish to call Jesus nothing more than an unusually good man or moral teacher.

Prayer: Father, thank You for John’s beautiful words colouring the narrative of Jesus being man, but more than man. That the Light of the world became the Son so that we might have eternal life through Him. Thank You for showing us the fulfillment of prophecy from the beginning of this book. Amen.