In this passage, we see the glory of Jesus Christ in being the goal of our witness, the initiator of our salvation, the One with absolute authority to change our identity and command our allegiance, and the One who knows all things about us yet continues to love us. Ultimately, we see the "glory as of the only Son from the Father" in Jesus Christ's death on the cross. May we come and see, and then may we go and tell of His glory.
After concluding his theologically rich prologue, the apostle John turns his attention to the witness of John the Baptist. Rather than focusing on who he is and what he has done, John the Baptist focuses on who Christ is (the Lamb of God) and what Christ came to do (take away the sin of the world). The question is whether or not we are going to listen to the message of the messenger.
In this passage, John is stating very carefully and very deliberately that the Word, Jesus Christ, is eternally pre-existent, that He is in eternal relationship with the Father, that He is eternally God, and that He is the eternal Creator of all things. May we marvel at the majesty and splendor and wonder of Jesus Christ.
After Jesus’ death, the disciples secluded themselves in fear. A few weeks later, they were proclaiming that Jesus had risen from the dead. What brought about this change? The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The historical facts of the resurrection of Jesus Christ confront our doubts and bring us face to face with life’s most important question: What will I do with the risen Christ.
With Jesus before him, Pilate faced a terrible dilemma. He found no guilt in Jesus, but the Jews wanted Jesus crucified. As we see in this passage, Pilate lacked the courage to stand up to the crowd, choosing instead to crucify the innocent Son of God. What will we do with the innocent Christ?
During His interrogation, it appeared that Jesus’ fate was in the hands of men like Pilate. But in reality, Jesus was in control. In this message, we look at how man’s attempt to crucify Jesus fulfilled God’s plan. We might think that we are not as bad as some of the characters in this story, but we need Jesus more than we realize.
To the unbelieving eye, Jesus' last days on earth seem as though Jesus is a tragic victim. However, the Gospel of John paints a picture of Jesus in total control over the terrible events surrounding His death, and how this is an encouragement to us that Jesus is control over our terrible events.