The Apostle John in his Prologue (the first 18 verses) goes to great lengths to demonstrate the truth that the Son is God–He is the eternal Word, and He has made God known. In verses 19-34, we come to the testimony of John the Baptist. John the Baptist is clear that he is not the Christ. Rather, his entire mission is to point people to Jesus, the true Christ.

When John sees Jesus, he cries out “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (verse 29) Christ, whose birth we celebrate at Christmastime is the Lamb who has come into the world to be slain for sinners. He is the One who has made His people right with God by dying as their Substitute.

We are grateful that December 25, Christmas Day, falls on the Lord’s Day this year. What better way to rejoice at Christ’s birth than to worship with the people of God? We will consider what John the Baptist teaches us about Jesus this Lord’s Day during worship at 5 PM at The Commons at St. Andrews Church in Little Rock. For directions, click here, or contact us for more information.

Last week as we began studying John 1, we saw that the Son of God is the Eternal Word–that He was with God and that He was God. The divinity of the Son of God is taught clearly in John 1:1-5. We also saw that in verse 5, John writes, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Christ is the one who brings light to the world, as He is the true light.

As we continue in verses 6-13, we are told that John the Baptist is the witness to the light. He is not the light–in fact, it’s clear that he is “a man sent from God…to bear witness about the light.” (see verses 6-7). He was the one who would point others to “The true light.” (verse 9) This light is the one who has made Himself known–He has revealed Himself and has revealed the Father. But we are also told that He came to His own people and was rejected. We know well about the Scribes and Pharisees who would have been seen to be experts in the Old Testament Scriptures, and yet they missed Jesus because of the blindness due to sin.

It’s a sobering thought that one can be around the things of God and can even have access to the Word of God and yet miss Christ entirely. This gives us reason to pause and ask ourselves if we have received His Word truly and if we have submitted ourselves to the Savior.

But John is clear that some did believe, that some did receive him. He writes, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 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) All who believe on Him are received as the children of God. This means not only the people of Israel who would believe, but Gentiles also would be received into the family of God. Christ is the Savior to both Jew and Gentile. And the privilege of being a child of God is one of the greatest blessings of the Gospel. We will consider that truth in more depth this Lord’s Day during worship at 5 at The Commons at St. Andrews Church in Little Rock. You can get directions here, or contact us for more information. You can also watch on FacebookLive@RiverCityARP or on YouTube.