John 1:40-42

When I was a youngster, it seemed like every week or every month I was getting a new nickname. Somebody would decide to call me something different. Nicknames are interesting, aren’t they? Have you ever thought about the nicknames in the Bible? Barnabas was a nickname. It means “son of encouragement.” And Peter was a nickname. John chapter 1 verse 42, “And when Jesus beheld him, He said, ‘Thou art Simon, the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas’ (which is by interpretation, a stone).” I suppose we could stretch our imagination a bit and say He gave him the name “Rocky.” Here is Simon, which means “a hearer” and he gets a brand new name, “a stone.” Now it’s possible that those who knew Simon chuckled when they heard this. Simon, a stone?

When you think of a stone or a rock, you think of that which is stable and he was somewhat unstable! Up one day down the next. He was aggressively following the Lord, and then denying the Lord. When you read the four Gospels, you find the apostle Peter is very human. In fact, he’s very much like us today. Oh he’d make great promises and he didn’t keep them. Went to sleep when he should’ve been praying, fighting when he should’ve been submitting. But you know, the Lord Jesus Christ looked at Simon and said, “I’m going to make a rock out of you. It’s going to take some time. I’m going to have to apply some heat and some pressure. You’re going to have to go through some experiences that won’t be easy, but Simon, you’re going to live up to your new name. You’re going to be a rock.” And that was true. When you read the book of Acts, you find that Simon Peter was indeed a rock.

What does this mean to us today? Well, God knows what you are. We can’t fool Him. We can’t change His mind. He knows what we are. Just honestly say, “Lord, this is the way I am!” He knows what we can be. He knows the tremendous potential in that clay, and He can take that clay and with enough heat and enough pressure He can make a rock out of it. In fact, by the time you get to the book of Revelation you have the vision of the holy city. The apostles are the foundation, precious stones. He takes the rock and turns it into a precious stone. Let Him make you today. He’s got a plan that is perfect.

John 1:35-39

One day the Lord Jesus was walking by the Jordan River. You find the record in John 1 verses 35 through 39. As He walked along, He heard some footsteps behind Him and so He turned and looked and two men were following Him. It turned out that these two men were Andrew and John. Jesus asked them, “What are you seeking?” That’s a good question. What are you seeking? They were following the Lord Jesus Christ. And they replied, “Teacher, where are you dwelling?” That’s a good question, too. Where does the Lord Jesus Christ dwell? Well, He used to dwell in heaven before He came down to earth. He dwelt with the Father. “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God.” He dwelt in the eternal glories and splendors of heaven.

Then He came down to dwell on earth in a body. “And the Word was made flesh, and tabernacle among us,” says John 1:14. When the Lord Jesus Christ was here on earth, He had no special place that He could call His own home. The Son of man did not have any place to lay His head. The foxes had their dens and the birds had their nests, but the very Son of God who created the universe was alone in His own world. (See Matthew 8:20; Luke 9:58.)

Where does He dwell today? Well, He’s dwelling in heaven of course, but He dwells in His Church among His people. The Church is the dwelling place of God. The temple of God, and He dwells with those who are humble and submissive to Him. Isaiah 57:15, listen to it, “For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'”

God doesn’t dwell with the proud and the arrogant. He dwells with those who are submissive, those who are obedient, those who are humble before Him. He comes to the humble heart and makes it a holy heart, and a holy heart is a happy heart. Where does Jesus dwell with reference to your life today?

John 1:30-34

What a scene that must have been! Here’s John the Baptist baptizing the Lord Jesus in the Jordan River. The heavens open up. God the Father speaks and says, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And the Spirit of God descends from heaven like a dove and remains on the Lord Jesus. And John the Baptist makes this dramatic statement: chapter 1 of the Gospel of John verse 34, “And I saw and bore witness that this is the Son of God.” That’s why John wrote his Gospel! He wrote his Gospel to prove that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That is, Jesus is God! He is the eternal God. “In the beginning was the Word,” the Lord Jesus Christ. Then that Word came down to earth and was made flesh. Then He went to a cross and was made sin. John the Baptist bore witness; this is the Son of God.

Is Jesus indeed the Son of God? God the Father said He was. You have the entire Trinity being displayed here at the Jordan River. God the Son is being baptized. God the Father speaks from heaven. God the Holy Spirit comes down like a dove. God the Father said, “This is My beloved Son.” God the Holy Spirit said this is the Son of God by lighting upon Him. You remember that Noah sent forth a dove and it never did come back. Where has that dove been? Well, spiritually speaking that dove’s been flying all through the Old Testament looking for someplace to land. Couldn’t land on Abraham, he lied about his wife. Isaac lied about his wife. Jacob did a lot of lying. David committed adultery. The dove could not find a clean place to land, and then here is Jesus Christ coming out of the waters of the Jordan.

The dove says, “I can land there. He is the perfect Son of God.” The Father says so and the Holy Spirit says so and John said so. He ought to know! God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and John the Baptist gathered together there, and John says, “This is the Son of God.” Can you say that? Oh you say, “What difference does it make? It’s a point of theology.” Oh no. No, no. If you don’t believe that He is the Son of God, you cannot be saved. Trust Him. He is the Son of God. He’s the Savior of the world. He can be your Savior.

John 1:29

During my years of ministry I have been introduced in some interesting ways. Oh I’ve had introductions where people told jokes about baldness, or I’ve had introductions where they’ve told stories about one thing or another. I like a good introduction. I like when someone sets it up so I can just step up to the pulpit and start preaching the Word of God and the people want to listen! John the Baptist was sent to introduce Jesus Christ to the nation of Israel. And how did he do it? John 1:29, He said, “Behold! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Now the Jewish people knew a great deal about lambs. Thousands of lambs were sacrificed every year at the temple or the tabernacle. In the history of Israel, millions of lambs had been put upon the altar.

But now here John is saying one Lamb, not many. Up till now you have had many lambs. Now there’s just one Lamb. “Behold, the Lamb of God.” In Exodus chapter 12 when Moses is giving directions for Passover, he talks about a lamb. Then he says the lamb. And then he says your lamb. There is only one Lamb. It’s the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s the Lamb of God. Not man’s lamb. Up till now they had been sacrificing lambs that came from the flocks owned by men. Ah, but here is God’s Lamb, God’s sinless Lamb, God’s perfect Lamb sent from heaven. In the Old Testament the blood of the lamb covered sin, ah but Jesus Christ takes away sin! Salvation is not just a covering; it’s a cleansing. “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

And in the Old Testament those lambs were for the nation of Israel, but Jesus Christ is for the whole world. “God so loved the world” (John 3:16). He sent His Son to die for the whole world, and the whole world today needs to know that a sacrifice has been made; and the sin can be washed away. “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Have you trusted the Lamb of God to take away your sin?

John 1:19-28

The religious establishment sent a special committee to the Jordan River to investigate the ministry of John the Baptist, to interrogate him. They wanted to know who he was and what he was doing. They asked him in John 1:22, “What do you say of yourself?” Now if you ask that question to some people, they would swell with pride, take a deep breath and start talking about themselves. We like to talk about ourselves, especially if we have something good to talk about. But you know John the Baptist didn’t talk about himself. How would you answer that question if someone said to you, “What do you say about yourself?” John began to talk about the Lord Jesus Christ. We don’t really know ourselves. Oh you say, “I can talk about myself!” We don’t really know ourselves.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). And if we did really know ourselves, would we tell the truth about ourselves? How many of us would really say, “Well, you’ve asked who I am. I’ll tell you who I am. I’m a liar occasionally and occasionally I lose my temper and occasionally I do things I shouldn’t do.” I don’t think we’d like to talk about that. John the Baptist did not talk about himself. He talked about the Lord Jesus and at the same time told them what he was doing. He said, “I’m the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord.” He’s the Word. I’m just the voice! Now you can’t see a voice. You can hear a voice. He said it’s not important that you see me or know about me; just listen to what I’m saying. I’m the voice pointing to the Word. I’m just a lamp. He’s the light! Were He not in my life, I could not shine. I’m just the best man at the wedding. He’s the bridegroom! He must increase, I must decrease.

Today let’s not spend so much time talking about ourselves, and if we do talk about ourselves, let’s do like John the Baptist. Relate it all to the Lord Jesus Christ. We have so many opportunities all day long. Just quietly lovingly to tell people what Jesus Christ means to us. This doesn’t mean we become obnoxious. It simply means we become good witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ, and who knows? Someone today may hear your witness and turn from the darkness and believe in the Light.

John 1:15-18

Perhaps you have heard about the poor farm lady who went to see some relatives who lived on the east coast. They took her down to the Atlantic Ocean. She stood there on the shore and looked at the ocean, and she stared and stared and stared; and finally, they got embarrassed and said, “Well, what’s going on?” Then she began to cry. She said, “Oh, it’s good to see something that there’s plenty of.” Well, the ocean is that way. There’s plenty of water there. In Jesus Christ, you have all that you need. There’s plenty of what you need in Jesus Christ. “And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.” That statement is in John 1:16 and it really encourages me.

The thing I need more than anything else in all this world is the grace of God. Now what is grace? Well, grace is God’s provision for my every need. Grace is the attitude God takes toward me. Grace is not law. Law says, “Do this and you will live.” Grace says, “Receive life and you will do it!” Law tells me what God demands but grace tells me what God bestows. God’s grace is God’s supply of all that we need for any emergency of life and for all eternity. Where is this grace? It’s in Jesus Christ. “And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.” He is full of grace. A friend of mine likes to say, “God has cornered the market on grace.” It’s all in Jesus Christ. You don’t get grace from Moses. The law demands and the law condemns.

You get grace from Jesus Christ. How much is there? Fullness of grace, plenty of grace for everybody. There’s saving grace. “For by grace are you saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). There’s suffering grace. “My grace is sufficient for thee”

John 1:14

What is the most glorious thing you have ever beheld? A beautiful sunrise, a beautiful sunset. I recall when my wife and I were driving to Lincoln, Nebraska following the moving van, moving to Lincoln. Oh, there was a gorgeous sunset that night as we drove along the highway. It was beautiful. Perhaps a gorgeous scenery somewhere you have visited somewhere in this world. What does it mean for something to be glorious? Listen to John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Jesus Christ reveals the glory of God. Now in the Old Testament the glory of God was seen in creation.

“The heavens declare the glory of God.” Alas, man is so ruining God’s creation. Some of that glory is starting to disappear. The glory of God dwelt in the tabernacle. Moses built the tabernacle and God’s glory moved in. Then Israel sinned and God’s glory had to move out. Then Solomon built the temple and God’s glory moved in once again, and then man sinned and God’s glory moved out. The glory of God came down at Bethlehem in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ reveals God’s glory. What is the glory of God? The sum total of all of His attributes. Everything about God is glorious. His wisdom is glorious. His power is glorious. God has His glory revealed in His Son. But Jesus Christ also reveals God’s grace. I might cringe at God’s glory. I might run from God’s glory. It’s too much for me! Ah, but He was full of grace. Grace means that God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. God’s grace means that God’s resources are available to us. God does for us what needs to be done in the person of His Son, Jesus.

How do you receive God’s grace? How do you experience God’s glory? By believing God’s truth. “Full of grace and truth.” When you believe the Word of God and trust the Son of God, then the glory of God and the grace of God begin to go to work in your life and life becomes different. Open your heart to the Savior. Let Him have His way in grace and in glory.

John 1:9-13

How would you feel if you came to your own home and nobody recognized you, and they wouldn’t let you in? That would be an interesting start to a science fiction story, wouldn’t it? Or perhaps a horror story. You come home from work or from school and you go to the front door and they don’t know you and yet this is your home and they won’t let you in. Well, our Lord Jesus had a similar experience. John chapter 1 verse 10, “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own [that means His own world], and His own [people] received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the children of God, even to them who believe on His name, who were born not of blood, [you don’t get salvation from your relatives] nor of the will of the flesh, [you don’t do it yourself] nor of the will of man, [somebody else can’t do it for you] but of God.”

“He came unto His own world, His own things, and His own people received Him not” (paraphrase). Well they should’ve known Him. They had the Old Testament Scriptures to tell them all about the Messiah that was coming. His world knew Him. The winds and the waves recognized Him! The animals recognized Him. Even the demons did! His world of creation knew Him and obeyed Him but the human world did not recognize Him and would not obey Him.

Well, today the Lord Jesus Christ still comes to people. Knocks at the heart’s door and says, “I want to come in.” And far too many people are saying, “Well, who are you and why should you come into my life?” Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, came into a world that did not recognize Him or receive Him. He wants to be born into our lives. Make us the children of God. He wants us to be born into His family. That’s why He came. He came and lived among us, taught us, was a good example to us, died for us and now today He wants to save us. He’s coming to you. He wants you to open the door of your life to Him. I trust you’ll do it today.

John 1:6-8

One day an unusual man appeared at the Jordan River. His name was John, and he got the name John the Baptist. This is what the Gospel of John says about John the Baptist in chapter 1 verses 6 through 8. “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.” Now John was a man. There was a man sent from God. God uses people, doesn’t He? Here is Jesus Christ the very Son of God about to be presented to the Jewish people and who did it? A man. Not an angel. Not a chorus of angels. When the Lord Jesus Christ was born at Bethlehem, angels appeared there at the hillside and told the shepherds that the Savior had been born.

But John came as a man. God uses individuals. Men and women, young people, boys and girls. This man was a special messenger. He was sent from God. I believe God has a definite plan for each of our lives. He has the place He wants to send us. He has the work He wants us to do. John was a witness. Now what does a witness do? A witness tells what he’s seen and heard. When you are sitting on the witness stand in court, they don’t want your philosophy. They don’t want to know your ideas, your opinions. They say, “What do you know?” He was bearing witness to the Light. There’s only one kind of person you have to tell that the light is shining. That’s a blind person. See a blind person can’t see the sun! He may not know whether it’s day or night and so you whisper in his ear, “It’s daytime, the sun is coming up.”

The world was blind. The world was blind to their own need, blind to the God who could meet that need. John came as a witness to do what? To point to the Light, to get people to believe. Well, you and I are just people. We’re made of clay. Made in the image of God, but today God wants to send us. God wants to use us in that office, that school room, that store. Wherever we may be. God wants to use us just to be witnesses and tell people the Light is shining. Believe in the Light. Trust the Light. Come to Jesus Christ who is the Light. The Light of life.

John 1:1-5

Just about everyone knows that the Bible begins with “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” That’s Genesis 1:1. But John 1:1 tells us even more. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God,” says verse 2. And then verse 3, “All things were made by Him.” This Word is a person and that person is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus Christ is the Word. John the Baptist came and said, “I am a voice,” but Jesus is the Word. A voice without words is just noise. The Word of God is Jesus Christ. Now why is Jesus Christ called the Word? Well, what are my words doing right now? My words are communicating, revealing my heart and my mind.

Jesus Christ came to this world as God’s Word. In fact, God’s last Word. The last word God has with mankind is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ reveals the heart of God. You see Jesus Christ picking up the children. That’s God holding a baby in His arms. He takes bread and feeds people. He heals the sick. He even raised the dead. He communicates the heart of God. “God so loved the world” (John 3:16). He also communicates the mind of God. He tells us what it is God wants us to know about ourselves, about the world, and about Himself. If you want the truth about God, you go to Jesus Christ. “No man 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).

Now my question today is this, are you listening to God’s Word? Jesus Christ is the Word, the creative Word, the life giving Word. “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men” (John 1:4). Now without Jesus Christ there is death and without Jesus Christ there is darkness. Jesus Christ is God’s great Word, and when that Word speaks, the light comes into the darkness and life comes where there is death. If you want to know God’s mind and God’s heart and God’s will, get acquainted with God’s Son, the Word, Jesus Christ.