Daily Lesson for Sunday 24th of November 2024
In John 1:1, the apostle clearly states that Jesus is God, the divine Son. Consequently, in John 1:4—“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (NKJV)—the reference to life here has to be divine life, underived eternal self-existence. Because He has life within Himself, He can lay down His life and take it again (John 10:17). And, because He has life within, He can give life to whom He will (John 5:21; compare with John 14:19).
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This term life (zoē) appears 36 times in the Gospel of John, about 25 percent of the uses in the New Testament. In John 1:4-5, besides referring to the Source of life on our planet, the word is also linked to salvation. Throughout the rest of John, this idea of life (zoē) is most often expressed as everlasting life, the promise of salvation (see John 3:15-16,36; John 4:14,36; John 6:27,40,47,54,68; and John 10:27-28). Thus, the One who gave life at Creation is the same One who brings salvation, eternal life, to a lost world.
Why did Jesus come to this earth? John 1:29, John 3:16, John 6:40, John 10:10, John 12:27.
“ ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life’ ” (John 3:14-15, NKJV).
Just as the bronze serpent took the place of the Israelites who had been bitten by serpents, so Jesus took our place, we who have been struck down by sin. He took the penalty that was ours so that we might have the life that was His.
Christ also desires that we have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). Thus, for “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13, NKJV).
Christ came to reveal the Father to us. For, “no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18, NKJV). By seeing the character of Jesus, we can see the character of the Father.
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What can we learn from the life of Jesus about the character of the Father? Why is this revelation such good news? |
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