The Way, The Truth, And The Life: A 12-Day Reading PlanSample

 Jesus Is More Than A Good Teacher

Where Matthew, Mark, and Luke all start with a recognizable narrative, John speaks about the Word, who is a person. The Word is alongside God, but He also is God. The Word makes everything we see and experience. He possesses life, an indestructible light. When He comes into the world, the world rejects Him. But those who receive Him become children of God. 

The Word is Jesus. And John, the writer, knew who he was talking about. John spent three years traveling with Jesus, listening to Him teach, and watching how He lived. Because John had a relationship with Jesus, he could speak with confidence about Jesus' character.

Jesus affected John to such an extent that John only ever refers to himself in the book as, "the one whom Jesus loved." John was so transformed by this relationship that his identity was no longer in his profession or family name, but in who he was to Jesus — loved. 

John, like John the Baptist before him, begins and ends his story with one truth: Jesus is it. Whatever you're looking for, Jesus is the answer. Jesus is Messiah, the Savior, God-incarnate, the beginning, the end, the whole point of everything.

With every line and verse, John reminds us that Jesus is what we're looking for. No darkness can overcome Him. Nothing made can exist without Him. "For from him and through him and to him are all things" (Romans 11:36 ESV). This is the foundation of our faith, the greatest truth we can know.

Reflect:

• What is one way that having a relationship with Jesus has changed your life?
• What would you say to someone else asking you about Jesus?
• What is one thing you need to ask Jesus to overcome?