In this passage, we are encouraged to give thanks to the Lord for raising Jesus Christ from the dead. Because God acted to save Jesus from death, we can know that all those who put their trust in Jesus Christ will also be delivered from death on the last day. May we therefore joyfully celebrate the Lord's day, not just on Easter Sunday, but every Lord's day that we gather together to triumphantly declare what the Lord has done for us.
In this passage, we see the steadfast love of the Lord on display. When the psalmist was near death, the Lord responded to his distress and became his salvation. Unlike the psalmist, Jesus would actually die. But three days later, Jesus would be raised from the dead, later ascend into heaven, and will one day come again to raise His people from death to life. Because of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, all who believe in Him will also conquer death. What ought to be our response to the Lord's goodness? We ought to "give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 118:1, 29)
In this passage, we see the humility of John the Baptist in making much of Jesus. Because of where He comes from, because of what He speaks, and because of His authority, Jesus Christ is to be exalted "above all." For those who believe in the Son, there is the hope of life. For those who do not believe, there is the promise of death.
In this passage, we see the greatest Lover (God) give the greatest gift (His only Son) that leads to the greatest result (eternal life). But there is a choice before us. Which “whoever” are we – the one who believes in the only Son of God, or the one who doesn’t believe in the only Son of God? What we choose will decide whether we have come into the glorious light of Christ, or whether we are still in darkness.
In this passage, Jesus highlights the importance of being born again - that is a entirely work of God, that it is transformational, and that all that is required to be born again is to look to Christ and believe.
Jesus is often pictured as being meek and mild, gentle and lowly. But in this passage, we see what Revelation 6:16 calls "the wrath of the Lamb." Jesus' anger is directed toward those who would use religiosity as a veneer for personal gain at the expense of God and others. Will we come to the true and better Temple - Jesus Christ - for forgiveness and grace?
In the Gospel of John, we have seen how Jesus is the Word, the life, the light, the Lamb, the Christ, the King, the Son of God, the Son of Man. In this passage, we come to a familiar story - Jesus turning water into wine. But there is nothing ordinary about Jesus here. Jesus is the true and better Master of the Feast who supplies the abundant wine of the gospel, and He is the true and better Bridegroom who makes purification for His Bride - the Church - through His blood that was poured out as the sacrifice for our sins.
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, we read about one of the most important events in history - the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Word became human without ceasing to be God, and we behold His glory through the eyes of faith.