{"id":30546,"date":"2024-04-02T22:00:03","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T05:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-1_1-13-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-03-19T14:34:57","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T21:34:57","slug":"john-1_14-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-1_14-28\/","title":{"rendered":"What Greatness Looks Like"},"content":{"rendered":"

John 1:14-28 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

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Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

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Today\u2019s passage is John 1:14-28.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

John 1:14 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 14:\u00a0 Verses 14-18 conclude what is known as the Prologue in John 1.\u00a0 The Prologue summarizes some of the central truths about Jesus from the Gospel of John.\u00a0 Just from verse 14 alone we learn that:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus (the Word) \u201cbecame flesh and made his dwelling among us\u201d (v14a).\u00a0 In other words, God became a man when Jesus entered this world and lived among people.\u00a0 This is known as the Incarnation.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus is the Son of God who came from the Father (v14b).<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus is \u201cfull of grace and truth\u201d (v14b).\u00a0 Jesus is not just all grace, nor is he all truth.\u00a0 He is full of both.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For all these reasons, Jesus is unique and unlike anyone else.\u00a0 That is why John calls Jesus \u201cthe One and Only\u201d.<\/p>\n

John 1:15 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 15: John the Baptist was approximately 6 months older than Jesus.\u00a0 The Baptist is saying that although Jesus was born into this world after him, Jesus is still greater than him because Jesus is the eternal Son of God who existed long before the Baptist existed.<\/p>\n

John 1:16 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 16:\u00a0 Every single blessing we experience in life is \u201cfrom the fullness of his grace\u201d (v16).\u00a0 Whose grace?\u00a0 Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t take God\u2019s blessings for granted but realize that from the fullness of Jesus\u2019 grace we have received one blessing after another.<\/strong><\/p>\n

John 1:17 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 17:\u00a0 Before Jesus came, people were aware of God\u2019s law (i.e. His moral standards), which God gave through Moses (for example, the 10 commandments).\u00a0 But when Jesus came, Jesus personally exemplified God\u2019s grace (undeserved kindness) and truth.<\/p>\n

John 1:18 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 18:\u00a0 Who is \u201cGod the One and Only\u201d?\u00a0 Jesus.\u00a0 Notice that over and over Jesus is referred to in the first 18 verses of John\u2019s Gospel as God (see verse 1, 14 and 18).\u00a0 Jesus is not just an ordinary man.\u00a0 He is God.\u00a0 If it weren\u2019t for the incarnation (God becoming human in the form of Jesus) we would have very little idea what God is like, since \u201cNo one has ever seen God\u201d.\u00a0 But \u201cGod the One and Only\u2026has made him known.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Because of Jesus we can know who God is and what He is like.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0As Hebrews 1:3 tells us, Jesus is \u201cthe radiance of God\u2019s glory and the exact representation of His being\u201d.<\/p>\n

John 1:19-23 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.”
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.'”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 19-23:\u00a0 People weren\u2019t sure what to make of John the Baptist.\u00a0 Some thought he was the Messiah (the Christ), but he denied it (v20).\u00a0 Some thought he was the return of the great prophet Elijah or another great prophet (perhaps a reference to a Moses-like prophet from Deuteronomy 18:15), but he denied it (v21).\u00a0 Instead John referred to himself using the words of Isaiah 40:3 as \u201cthe voice of one calling in the desert: make straight the way for the LORD\u201d (v23).\u00a0 In other words, John the Baptist saw his calling as preparing the way for God\u2019s Messiah.\u00a0 He found a Scriptural basis for his mission in Isaiah 40:3.<\/p>\n

John 1:24-28 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now some Pharisees who had been sent
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 24-28:\u00a0\u00a0The Pharisees question John the Baptist on why he baptizes people despite not being the Messiah, nor Elijah or the Prophet.\u00a0\u00a0 In responding to their question, John effectively points the Pharisees to Jesus, saying that someone whom the Pharisees don\u2019t know will be much greater than him.\u00a0 In a way, John is suggesting that \u201cif you don\u2019t get what I\u2019m doing, you\u2019re definitely not going to get who\u2019s coming after me.\u201d<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0 John the Baptist was so secure in who he was and in what God called him to do.\u00a0 So he had no problems putting Jesus over as being greater than him.<\/p>\n

I pray that we would be like John the Baptist \u2013 secure in who we are, confident in what God has called us to do, not worried about how we compare to others, just happy to serve Jesus and point people to Him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Later on Jesus would say that John the Baptist is among the greatest men who ever lived.\u00a0 It\u2019s because\u00a0the road to true greatness is humility: serving others, all the while being secure in who you are.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus, You are God\u2019s One and Only Son, full of grace and full of truth, and from the fullness of Your grace we have received one blessing after another.\u00a0 I pray that like John the Baptist I would be humble, that is, willing to serve others, all the while being secure in who You made me to be.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is John 1:14-28.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

John 1:14 (NIV)
\n14\u00a0\u00a0The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.<\/p>\n

On verse 14:\u00a0 Verses 14-18 conclude what is known as the Prologue in John 1.\u00a0 The Prologue summarizes some of the central truths about Jesus from the Gospel of John.\u00a0 Just from verse 14 alone we learn that:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus (the Word) \u201cbecame flesh and made his dwelling among us\u201d (v14a).\u00a0 In other words, God became a man when Jesus entered this world and lived among people.\u00a0 This is known as the Incarnation.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus is the Son of God who came from the Father (v14b).\u00a0<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus is \u201cfull of grace and truth\u201d (v14b).\u00a0 Jesus is not just all grace, nor is he all truth.\u00a0 He is full of both.\u00a0<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For all these reasons, Jesus is unique and unlike anyone else.\u00a0 That is why John calls Jesus \u201cthe One and Only\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30548,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30546"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30549,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30546\/revisions\/30549"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}