Daily Reading:
John 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Prologue
1 In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 All things were created through Him,
and apart from Him not one thing was created
that has been created.
4 Life was in Him,
and that life was the light of men.
5 That light shines in the darkness,
yet the darkness did not overcome it.
6 There was a man named John
who was sent from God.
7 He came as a witness
to testify about the light,
so that all might believe through him.
8 He was not the light,
but he came to testify about the light.
9 The true light, who gives light to everyone,
was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world,
and the world was created through Him,
yet the world did not recognize Him.
11 He came to His own,
and His own people did not receive Him.
12 But to all who did receive Him,
He gave them the right to be children of God,
to those who believe in His name,
13 who were born,
not of blood,
or of the will of the flesh,
or of the will of man,
14 The Word became flesh
and took up residence among us.
We observed His glory,
the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
15 (John testified concerning Him and exclaimed,
“This was the One of whom I said,
‘The One coming after me has surpassed me,
because He existed before me.’”)
16 Indeed, we have all received grace after grace
from His fullness,
17 for the law was given through Moses,
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God.
The One and Only Son—
the One who is at the Father’s side—
He has revealed Him.
John the Baptist’s Testimony
19 This is John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He did not refuse to answer, but he declared: “I am not the Messiah.”
21 “What then?” they asked him. “Are you Elijah?”
“I am not,” he said.
“Are you the Prophet?”
“No,” he answered.
22 “Who are you, then?” they asked. “We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?”
23 He said, “I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord—just as Isaiah the prophet said.”
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 So they asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you aren’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John answered them. “Someone stands among you, but you don’t know Him. 27 He is the One coming after me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.”
28 All this happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The Lamb of God
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the One I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who has surpassed me, because He existed before me.’ 31 I didn’t know Him, but I came baptizing with water so He might be revealed to Israel.”
32 And John testified, “I watched the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He rested on Him. 33 I didn’t know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One you see the Spirit descending and resting on—He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and testified that He is the Son of God!”
35 Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and noticed them following Him, He asked them, “What are you looking for?”
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are You staying?”
39 “Come and you’ll see,” He replied. So they went and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day. It was about 10 in the morning.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Him. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which means “Anointed One”), 42 and he brought Simon to Jesus.
When Jesus saw him, He said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which means “Rock”).
Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day He decided to leave for Galilee. Jesus found Philip and told him, “Follow Me!”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!”
46 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him.
“Come and see,” Philip answered.
47 Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him and said about him, “Here is a true Israelite; no deceit is in him.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered.
49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe only because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51 Then He said, “I assure you: You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Key: Bold - Verse of the Day
Reflection: Today's reading finds us in John's narrative, which begins with the beginning of time, placing Jesus at the center of creation (v2) and ends with the calling of the first of the disciples. This part of our journey is important, because the Bible says that though he was the Creator of the world, the world did not know Him. At times during this season we too can get our eyes off Him, and worry about parties, or gifts, or decorations, when all along, Jesus is among us, humbling patiently awaiting us to notice Him. Over the next 2 days, yes look into the Nativity, and ponder the crowded inn, think about the journey of the wisemen or the herald of the shepherds, and marvel at how it all came to be. Also I beg of you, to squarely put the Ministry of Christ into the center of your focus, because He is the Gift, He is the Sheperd, He is Wisdom and He is the King.
Discussion Topic: Discuss how you can better reflect Jesus, the True Light, who gives Light to everyone.
Prayer: Father, Great is Your name, and Holy to be praised! Your blessings are from Everlasting to Everlasting, your Gift, from the Beginning to the End. Jesus is our gift, given over to humanity, as an eternal sacrifice for the sin of mankind. We accept Your Gift, and offer You our sins in exchange. The beauty of Your grace, the marvel of Your mercy, warms the candle of our heart as we look to You during this time of celebration. Thank You, forever and ever, thank You! In Your name, Amen!
Acknowledgements: Scripture - BibleGateway.com, Image - http://touchyaneighbor.com/2011/04/13/the-reality-of-christ-bible-study-1-john-11-4/
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