Category: Bible Study

Today’s passage: John 1:15–51

Focus verse: John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” (John 1:23)

We first meet John the Baptist in John 1:6. (Remember, John the Baptist is not the author of the book of John. John, the disciple of Jesus, is.)

John the Baptist comes to tell us about the light of Jesus so we might believe in him. In fact, God wants us all to believe—not that everyone will, but so that everyone has an opportunity to. Salvation isn’t a given. It’s a choice. 

After this opening passage in the book of John about Jesus being Word, life, and light, we now return our attention to John the Baptizer.

John’s purpose, his ministry, is to point us to Jesus, preparing people to accept and follow him. John isn’t the light. He serves as a witness pointing to the light (John 1:7–8).

Here are a few things John the Baptist says about Jesus:

• Jesus existed long before John. Though we understand this because John writes that Jesus created our world, the people John addresses aren’t aware of this detail. Explaining that Jesus comes before John hints at Jesus’s eternal nature (John 1:15).
• Jesus will bless us with his abundance (John 1:16).
• The law, God’s commands of right behavior and proper worship in the Old Testament, comes from Moses. In contrast, Jesus will offer grace and truth instead of rules and requirements (John 1:17).
• No one has seen God, except for the Son of God, who is also God (John 1:18). If John’s statement that Jesus is God and God’s Son is confusing, consider that Jesus later says this about himself too (John 17:21–22).

Though some people who come to hear John the Baptist assume he’s their long-expected Savior, he insists he is not. Nor does he claim to be Elijah or even the Prophet (John 1:19–21), even though he embodies the prophesied return of Elijah and is a prophet too. 

Instead, John quotes Isaiah’s prophecy about someone who will call out from a desolate place. This person will tell people to get ready to receive their Lord—that is, their Savior, Jesus the Messiah. John baptizes those who believe what he says.

The next day Jesus arrives. As soon as John the Baptist sees Jesus, he proclaims, “Look! Here comes God’s Lamb who will take away our sins. Though I baptized you with water, he will baptize you with Holy Spirit fire. I confirm Jesus is the chosen one sent by God.”

Questions:

1. What do you think about the line that “salvation isn’t a given. It’s a choice?”
2. How can we understand that Jesus is God and also God’s Son?
3. How does John’s baptism differ from Jesus’s?
4. What do you think about Jesus being the Lamb of God? 
5. How do you understand being baptized with Holy Spirit fire?

Discover more about Jesus coming to John the Baptist in Matthew 3:13–17, Mark 1:9–13, and Luke 3:21–22. What insights can you glean from these passages?

Read the next lesson or start at the beginning of this study.

Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.

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Read more in Peter’s new book, Living Water: 40 Reflections on Jesus’s Life and Love from the Gospel of John, available everywhere in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Today’s passage: John 1:1–14

Focus verse: In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. (John 1:4)

The book of John opens with a most moving passage. It’s lyrical, it’s evocative, and it is exquisite.

In this poetic prelude of John’s Gospel, he calls Jesus the Word, and asserts that the Word is God. This means Jesus is God. While some people may think it’s an overreach to claim that the Word refers to Jesus, keep reading.

To remove all doubt, John later states that this Word becomes human to join us on earth. Jesus becomes a man to live among us. Jesus, as the Word, shows us his glory as the one and only Son from Father God. Jesus overflows with grace and abounds in truth.

He is the Word sent to us from God.

We often assume the Word of God means Scripture. But remember that the New Testament of the Bible didn’t exist until several centuries after Jesus’s death and resurrection. Because of this, we should consider God’s Word as his spoken Word, more so than his written Word.

What if Jesus is more than the metaphorical Word? What if he serves as the actual Word of God? Yes, Jesus is the Word.

John also writes that in Jesus is life. Jesus is present when time begins and takes part in forming our existence. In fact, without Jesus, creation cannot occur. Physical life flows through Jesus at creation. In the same way, eternal life emanates through Jesus now.

Jesus comes so we may have life and live with abundance (John 10:10). This theme of life recurs throughout the book of John, with his writing mentioning life in forty-one verses, more often than any other book in the Bible.

The life of Jesus, and the life through Jesus, gives us light. Just as the sun that Jesus created illuminates our physical world, the light that Jesus gives off now illuminates our spiritual world.

This light shines for us in the darkness that surrounds us, exposing the evil in our world. Best of all, this light of Jesus overcomes the darkness, pushing it away. This means good is stronger than evil. God is more powerful than Satan. Hold on to this truth. Don’t forget it.

Jesus is the light. As the light—our true light—he comes into our world to save us. Though many do not recognize him or accept him, everyone who receives him and believes in his name become children of God, born of God.

Because of Jesus we’ve been born into the physical realm, and through our belief in him we are born a second time into the spiritual realm.

Take time to contemplate John’s profound opening to his biography, revealing Jesus as the Word, the life, and the light.

Questions:

1. What does it mean that Jesus is the Word?
2. How does the Word of God impact your life each day?
3. What does it mean that Jesus is life?
4. What does it mean that Jesus is the light?
5. How does knowing that Jesus took part in creation inform our understanding of him?

Discover what else John says about the Word of God in 1 John 2:14, Revelation 1:1–2, Revelation 19:12–13, and Revelation 20:4. What insights can you glean from these passages?

Read the next lesson or start at the beginning of this study.

Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.

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Read more in Peter’s new book, Living Water: 40 Reflections on Jesus’s Life and Love from the Gospel of John, available everywhere in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

The Bible has four biographies of Jesus. They’re each named after their author: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We often call these accounts Gospels because they proclaim the good news about Jesus.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke have many similar passages and accounts of the same events. Some sections match, while others are close. John differs from the other biographies of Jesus.

As a result, the Gospel of John has more unique content than the other ones. Because of this, we can gain rich insights into the life and ministry of Jesus that the other three authors don’t cover.

John was a disciple of Jesus and part of his inner circle (along with Peter and John’s brother James). This makes John an eyewitness to what he recorded.

His poetic writing is ideal for those who want to mull over his words. (In the same way it can frustrate readers who want information in a quick, easy-to-digest manner.)

John’s writing invites us to slow down, take our time, and consider the text. As you read John, contemplate his words with awe and cherish them for their layers of meaning.

Although Matthew, Mark, and Luke mention John often in their writing, he never refers to himself by name. (Do not confuse this John—Jesus’s disciple—with another John, John the Baptist.)

John, however, refers to himself a few times as “the one Jesus loved” or “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” We could view this as an overconfident self-assessment.

But remember that John is one of the three disciples in Jesus’s inner circle, so this self-identity cannot be too far off. We might do better to understand John’s indirect references to himself as an act of humility. He doesn’t want to call attention to himself.

The book of John opens with a powerful poetic passage. His words have a mystical allure. We’ll cover this lyrical text in Day 1.

Questions:

1. Which of the four Gospels to you like best? Why?
2. What do you know about the Apostle John?
3. What verses have you memorized from John?
4. What are your favorite passages or stories in John?
5. What do you hope to learn as you read and study John?

Discover more about John in John 21:20–24 and Galatians 2:9. What insights can you glean from these passages?

Read the next lesson.

Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.

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Read more in Peter’s new book, Living Water: 40 Reflections on Jesus’s Life and Love from the Gospel of John, available everywhere in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.