“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,and we have seen his glory,glory as of the only Son from the Father,full of grace and truth.”

— John 1:14

We have been very John heavy so far this year. Last week we read through the whole of John’s second epistle, we began our year long journey through Revelation, and now we’re going to read his gospel for the next fortnight. Why choose to front load this series with so much content from just one person.

There are three main reasons.

John refers to himself five times as “the one whom Jesus loved,” throughout his gospel account, which at first glance might seem a tad egotistical. In the context of this work as well as his others though, it seems that John says this not to say, “look at me!” but rather, “why me?” What’s more, that love is reciprocated time, and time again. John gave himself wholly to God, both during Jesus’ life, as well as for many years thereafter.

The second reason is because of John’s simplicity. Luke was a doctor, Matthew a tax collector, John was a fisherman. I won’t dive into the original language here, or anything like that, but suffice it to say that John delivers rich theology in a singularly simple way. For that reason, I think this is the best of the gospels to start with because it lays such a helpful foundation for much the other reading ahead of us.

Finally, it is because of this verse. John knew what it was like to have the Word come down and dwell with him. He saw his glory, as we spoke about yesterday morning, and it was his desire to deliver the revelation of that glory further to the millennia of disciples to come. He was a man full of grace and truth, because he the man who was grace and truth incarnate.

We should imitate him, as he imitated Christ.

Keep that in mind as we pray this morning.

Let’s pray.

Praying Through the Bible

Lord,

You were the Word before all things,Who spoke everything into existence,

Thank you for coming to this world,in the same form and means that we did.You dwelt among us,and you sent your SpiritTo dwell within us now,

Give me a greater understanding of your glory,Help my eyes to see the wonders of your Word.Give me ears that listen attentively.Put my hands and my own words to work,Fill my heart, my mind, my everything.

You are full of grace and truth.You are grace,You are truth.

Amen

Today’s Readings

Whether you’re ready to sit and read these now, or you think later might be a better fit, I recommend looking through your plan for the day now. If you follow this Bible reading plan, you’ll finish the whole Bible by the end of the year.When will you sit down to read or listen to them?

John 1, Psalm 11, Psalm 12, 1 Chronicles 1:26-27

Serug, Nahor, Terah;Abram, that is, Abraham.

1 Chronicles 1:26-27

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