John

JOHN
1John 1:1-7
The Message v.1: “From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands.”

“The Word of Life appeared right before our very eyes, and now I’m telling you all about it.” The apostle John said to people in Atarneus, a city what was now in present day Turkey. “I’m not fooling you or tricking you. What I witnessed was amazing, incredible, the most awesome thing ever!” John paused, waiting for reactions from the people who gathered before him. Touching his arm, he continued, “I touch myself to make sure that I’m still here, and talking to you. The infinite Life of God Himself, took shape before us. I want to share this with you so that you can experience the communion of the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.”

“Who was with you when you hung out with Jesus?” one onlooker asked.

“Well, there was my brother James, Peter, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon, Judas—that traitor—and, of course, me.” (Mark 3:16-19).

“Twelve disciples?”

“Yep.”

“What’s so special about this guy, Jesus?”

“Jesus isn’t an ordinary man—He is the Son of God, the Father.”

“What did He talk about?” a curious observer asked.

“He picked up where John the Baptist left off. He spoke about the kingdom of
God being right here and now! Repent, get baptized, love others, things like that.”

“What else?” another urged.

“We saw him heal people—from blindness to leprosy. He healed pain, people
with seizures. The paralyzed walked. He threw out demons—you name it! When he
spoke, thousands of people crowded around, hanging on every word.” (Matthew 4:23).

“Where did this happen?” a different spectator wondered.”

“At first, we began in Capernaum, outside of His hometown of Nazareth. There
we followed Him around Galilee where He preached in synagogues. Later we went to
Jerusalem, all around Judea, and the Jordan area." (Matthew 4:12-25).

“What did He preach?” another bystander wanted to know.

John went on to talk about the Beatitudes from Matthew 5:1-11. That really blew
their minds!

Take Home Nugget

Did you notice the crowd grow interested? At first, we may feel frightened to talk
about Jesus. What if we just talked to others like Jesus is our friend? (Acts 4:20).

John did that, and they listened. Of course, our actions speak for themselves—louder
than words!

The deeper our love for Jesus, the louder our witness—spoken and displayed—for Him.

J.D. Griffith

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