Study of John - Week 5

v. Verses 6-9 “There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” John the Baptist got an early start and “lept in his mother’s womb” when his mother heard Mary’s greeting while she was still pregnant with Jesus (see Luke 1:41). This guy was on fire for God even before he was born. His role is simply to be a witness. The follow on verses in John the Baptist talk about how he denies that he is the Christ or even a great prophet. The author also does not in any way diminish John the Baptist’s role, but actually shows how important he actually was.

The Daily Study Bible – The Gospel of John by William Barclay says that the author put in these verses at least partly because of a small number of people at that time that only recognized the baptism of John the Baptist (see Acts 19:1-7). I think that it is very interesting how the author addressed so many different groups and major concepts in such a short few paragraphs. First, specific things related to introducing the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles and now language specific to the groups who only recognized John the Baptist. Although it has these specific groups and issues of that time in mind, it is still very meaningful and applicable today.

I thought about this group that thought more of John the Baptist than he claimed to be himself and how that applies to us today. I am sure you have heard of people or churches where some personality in the church (or outside the church) become the focal point and took people’s eyes off of Christ. People tend to gravitate toward things that they can actually see, so we have to be careful and remember that faith in what we cannot see is what is important.

Verse 9 shows how the light is available to everyone. It is also referred to a little differently as the “true light”. The Daily Study Bible – The Gospel of John by William Barclay says that the Greek for this word is alethinos, which means real or genuine. I think this is very important because we must recognize that there can be truth in things, even those that are hostile to God. The “true” light is Christ, even if there is light in other things. For example, there are many beautiful ideas in Buddhism, things that are full of truth, but ultimately Buddhism falls short of the glory of God. To walk in the “true” light, you must walk with Jesus Christ.

The Daily Study Bible – The Gospel of John by William Barclay also mentions four concepts that are demonstrated by this verse - His coming dissipated the shadows of doubt, despair, darkness of death, and was available to every man. Jesus was able to demonstrate in front of their eyes the character of God. He took away despair by not only showing them the way, but giving them the power necessary to walk in the light. He brought an end to the fear of death. Lastly, this light was brought to all men, Jews and Gentile alike.

QUESTION: When in your life have you placed more importance on a blessing than on God? How can you get your focus back on God?