Laurelwood Baptist Church
"Who are you, Jesus?"
John 1:1-18
Believe it or not, I began to sense God’s call into the ministry while I was reading the Gospel of John in Greek. Wait! Before you roll your eyes or jump to the conclusion that I am some great scholar, I need to explain something to those of you who would say, “It’s all Greek to me!” When you begin to learn Koine Greek (the common, universal language in Jesus’ day) the Gospel of John is actually the easiest to translate. It’s basic, straightforward, simple Greek. It’s like he put the cookies on the lower shelf so people like me could get them! But, if you have ever read the Gospel of John, you know that it is anything but simple. To follow the food analogy, more like Prime Rib! The Gospel of John is profound, complex in thought and concept, full of mouthwatering, soul satisfying truth!
We begin a new series this Sunday called “Believe: The Gospel of John.” In the Gospel of John we will come to know Jesus better. We will see how Jesus identifies with God by repeatedly by declaring “I AM” …the light of the world; the resurrection and the life; the good shepherd; the vine; the living water; the way, the truth and the life. The glory and reputation that belongs to the Father is clearly seen in Jesus. John’s Gospel will both inform and challenge us on what it means to believe in Jesus.
Lets answer the question of who Jesus is and why that is so important for us to know Him in “Who are you, Jesus?
“It is in Jesus’ name that desperate people pray, grateful people worship, and angry people swear. From christenings to weddings to sickrooms to funerals, it is in Jesus’ name that people are hatched, matched, patched, and dispatched.”
John Ortberg, Who Is This Man?: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus
John 1:1-5 NASB1995
Who is Jesus?
1. God reveals ________________ to us in Jesus Christ.
John 1:18 NASB1995
John 1:6-8, 15 NASB1995
What is so important about knowing Jesus?
1. God reveals ________________ to us in Jesus Christ so that we may come to know God __________________.
John 1:9-18 NASB1995
God reveals Himself to us in Jesus Christ so that we may come to know God personally. This is the Gospel of John and it’s the story of John’s life, a hotheaded commercial fisherman who became the beloved disciple who was a fisher of men.
Do you know Him this way?
Know Him enough to trust Him no matter what?
Know Him enough to delight in reading His Word because He speaks to you personally through it?
Know Him in a way that has given you an attitude of gratitude?
That gives you light even in the midst of your darkness?