Gospel of John 1: 1-18, Lesson 1

Gospel of John 1: 1-18, Lesson 1 As you may know, scholars believe that John’s Gospel was written last of the four Gospels. So John has probably read the other circulating Gospels and was well familiar with their accounts and didn't want to be redundant to what was already shared about Jesus. John's objective takes an entirely different approach: to add clarity and certainty to the identity of Yeshua as God's promised Messiah. New members of the church which started to include many non-Jews needed a careful explanation of Jesus as the Messiah the prophets all spoke of, including the greatest of the prophets, John the Baptist. John the Baptist, born in the lineage of priests, received Jesus the Lamb of God and baptized Him in foreshadowing the death and resurrection of His great Sacrifice. All who follow Jesus would be baptized in the Spirit as they followed Him (John 1:33). John the apostle tells us that Jesus is God. In order to ensure believers do not miss this essential point, John draws from the language of Genesis from before time and space, before all Creation relating to us Jesus as Creator from whom and for whom all things exists. This makes all the difference for believers. We will see how knowing the past in light of Jesus, properly gives us understanding of who we are in Christ in the present world, and informs us of who we will become in His Kingdom.