The Gospel According to John (February 3rd, 2026)

John 1

We pause Genesis and begin reading and meditating on the Gospel According to John. The three gospels — Matthew, Mark, and Luke —are called the Synoptic Gospels (meaning "same view"). John is not. In fact, the Synoptic Gospels were written around the same time, while John was written some 20 years later. John felt he could contribute more to the three Gospels. This makes John special.

If Matthew, Mark, and Luke give us a portrait of Jesus through his parables, his exorcisms, his clashes with religious authorities, and his compassion, John provides a broader view by zooming in.

While the Synoptic Gospels function like a documentary—capturing the action, parables, and chronological movement of Jesus—John’s Gospel feels more like a deep-dive theological portrait. Rather than focusing on the "Kingdom of God" through earthly metaphors, John centers his narrative on the identity of Jesus, presenting him as the eternal Logos who exists outside time. He replaces the rapid-fire storytelling of Matthew, Mark, and Luke with long, intimate conversations and high-stakes "signs" designed to prove a singular point: that Jesus is divine. If the Synoptics show us what Jesus did (we can learn a lot about the person from what they did), John focuses on showing us who Jesus is.

So, let us ask, "Who is Jesus really, and what does it mean to meet him?"

John is written so that readers,

“may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).

That purpose shapes everything. John is selective, pastoral, and intensely theological. Let's notice:

• “Signs” (miracles) that point beyond themselves to Jesus’ identity.

• “I am” declarations that reveal divine authority and saving presence.

• A repeated invitation: come and see, believe, abide, live.

• A constant contrast: light vs. darkness, truth vs. falsehood, above vs. below, belief vs. unbelief.

John’s Gospel doesn’t merely report facts about Jesus. It aims to bring you to him.

John 1

Summary

John 1 records that Jesus is not merely a messenger from God. Christ is the eternal Word who is with God and is God (vv. 1–2). John records how creation, life, and light flow from Christ, the Logos (vv. 3–5). Then John pivots from the cosmic to the personal.

God sends a witness (John the Baptist) to point away from himself and toward “the Lamb of God” (vv. 6–8, 29). The turning point is astonishing.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (v. 14).

God does not save us from a distance. Our God is Immanuel. He comes near so near that he can be seen, heard, touched, and followed.

And that is exactly how the chapter ends. The chapter does not end with an eliminate-the-mystery conclusion, but with a trail of footsteps. Disciples begin to gather because Jesus looks at ordinary people and issues an extraordinary summons,

“Follow me” (v. 43).

John 1 is the doorway into the whole Gospel--eternal glory entering our real world, calling real people into real life.

Who is God

“In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God” (vv. 1–2).

God is not silent, distant, or unknowable. He speaks his mind, his will, his heart through the Word. And what is amazing is that this Word is not an abstract idea. The Word is a person.

John then says,

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (v. 4).

God is not merely powerful. He is life-giving. God is not merely knowledgeable; he is light-giving. He does not just expose darkness. He overcomes it.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (v. 5).

And then the most tender revelation.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (v. 14).

John wants us to know the God who moves toward sinners, not away from them. Our God is full of “grace and truth” (v. 14).

What is our guilt

John is honest about our condition.

“He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (v. 11).

The tragedy is not simply ignorance, but refusal.

We are bent toward self-rule. We prefer darkness when light threatens our cherished sins, our suspicion that God’s nearness will cost us control. Even religious people can miss him. John the Baptist must insist, again and again, “I am not the Christ” (v. 20), because the human heart loves substitutes—leaders, experiences, certainty, morality—anything that lets us keep Jesus at a manageable distance. Our guilt is not merely that we do "bad" things. It is that we resist the true Light, and we want life on our terms.

How does Grace shine

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (v. 12).

Not employees. Not volunteers. Not spiritual consumers. Children!

This new birth is not self-made: “born… of God” (v. 13).

Grace shines when John identifies Jesus.

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (v. 29).

The Light does not merely instruct us. The Lamb will be slain for us. And grace shines in the way Jesus gathers disciples.

“What are you seeking?” (v. 38). “Come, and you will see” (v. 39).

Christ does not demand that we finish cleaning ourselves up before approaching him. Our God invites us to reveal what we’re truly after, and then he meets us there to reorder our desires around himself.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we confess that we have often preferred a life we can control over the life your Son gives. We have resisted your light, excused our darkness, and treated Jesus as a religious idea rather than the living Word.

We are grateful that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. It's amazing!

Thank you that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away sin, and that in him you give us the right to become your children.

Draw us again to Christ. Teach us to say, with simplicity and faith, “We have found him,” and to follow wherever he leads.

In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.