THIS LIGHT IS OURS
Opening Prayer
Father in Heaven, open my mind and heart to receive what you have for me today. As I come to your Word, fill me with your Spirit and help me to follow Jesus in ways that proclaim his love for others to see.
Read JOHN 1:29–34
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
John Testifies About Jesus
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”[a]
Footnotes
a. John 1:34 See Isaiah 42:1; many manuscripts is the Son of God.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Think of your favorite title for Jesus. Talk to God about the reasons for your choice and give him thanks for the gift of his Son.Boxer Muhammad Ali was the ‘Greatest’; singer Elvis Presley, the ‘King of Rock and Roll’; and former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the ‘Iron Lady’. These are all examples of famous epithets – titles given to people to convey their character and/or
significance. The epithet bestowed on Jesus by John the Baptist here is the ‘Lamb of God’ (v. 29). We have no idea what John’s contemporaries would have made of this designation, but within the narrative of the gospel it looks ahead at the outset to the climactic, sacrificial death of Jesus as God’s Passover lamb (19:28–37). John is consistent in wanting nothing more than to make Jesus known.
It is significant that John amplifies his epithet: Jesus is ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ (v. 29). With this we are informed that the scope of the new creation that God will work in Jesus is truly cosmic. Through him, all people everywhere—not just Israelites—can receive the Holy Spirit (v. 33) and become children of God (1:12, 13). Jesus, God’s Chosen One (v. 34), is the ‘light for the Gentiles’ (Isaiah 49:6). To what extent does this make God the God of equality?
Apply
When have you been tempted to be surprised by God’s redemptive work in someone?
Closing prayer
Father, help me see those whom I secretly regard as beyond your salvation to be as much a focus of your work of new creation as I am.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
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