John Reading GuideSample

John starts his account of Jesus’s life with His birth. Here we would expect to see a star, a manger, cattle lowing, angels singing, wise men and the like. But in the sweeping introduction to his account, John doesn’t tell of Jesus’s beginning, but ours.

Jesus is the initiator of everything: the universe, our lives, our salvation—all were created and conceived by Jesus. As if that wasn’t enough, in the most surprising move of all, John says Jesus entered into His creation, becoming a living, breathing human—walking among us. Don’t miss this: Jesus became flesh and moved into the neighborhood He created. He played ball down the street with some- one’s kids. He went to school and got hungry. He scratched up His knees and cried for His mother. He grew up and got a job. He had a real-life, human experience.

Why would He do such a thing? John sets out to answer this question for us. At a wedding, in a late-night debate, beside the drinking fountain, at the local hospital, with a disparaged woman, at the funeral of a friend and in other situations—John shows us who God is. All along, Jesus risks us misunderstanding Him in order that He might initiate a relationship with us. He doesn’t initiate a relationship with us because we are worth it—He initiates a relationship with us to give us a life worth living. In light of all that He has done, how should we live in response?

1) What did you learn about Jesus from this chapter?
2) Why is it important that Jesus lived as a man among us?
3) What next step has God asked you to take? What keeps you from stepping forward?