John 1:6-15 (Sermon Outline)
Sermon Outline
John 1:6-15
I. Opening Illustration:
a. This video powerfully sets us up for what John is trying to get across to every person that ever reads his Gospel. He wants us to know that Jesus changes everything! And when we are confronted with the truth of this gospel, we are faced with a life-defining moment. Life-defining moments are those moments that change the course of our life for the better or for the worse, for God’s glory, or for our disappointments.
b. It reminds me of a story I once read about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was one of the great Christian thinkers of the 20th century, and was born in Germany in 1904 and was coming of age as a scholar, teacher, and pastor when Hitler rose to power. Early on he recognized the great evil of the Nazi ruler. Bonhoeffer struggled with the role a Christian should play in a country being led into a path of destruction by a government whose cruelty seemed endless. At the height of World War II, Bonhoeffer joined a resistance movement, and he was arrested for helping a group of Jews escape to Switzerland. Later he was implicated in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. After two years in various prisons and concentration camps, he was marched down a flight of steps and, with a handful of other resistance members, executed. His execution took place just four weeks before the fall of the Nazi regime. While in prison Bonhoeffer wrote letters to his family and close friends. One particularly sobering letter described his decision to join the resistance. He understood that even if they were successful, his life would never be the same – this one decision would define him. Can you imagine realizing that one decision would define your life? This morning as we continue to study John, we will learn that each one of us faces such a life-defining moment.
c. We will see that the Word of God will turn our attentions from Jesus for a moment, to a man called John the Baptist, in order to let us know that John the Baptist was a man that was sent by God to tell us about an important decision we need to make regarding Jesus (vv.6-8). In fact, this is a life-defining decision that we must make, because this message that John has from God demands a response from everyone. What will you do with Jesus?
II. Introduction:
a. This morning as we continue our study through the Gospel of John, we will continue looking at the resume that the Apostle John provides for us on behalf of Jesus, and in order to do so, he will first place our attentions upon one of Jesus’ most important “resume” references, and that is John the Baptist, in order to show us that not only is the Eternal Son of God who was with God and is God and created all things, has now come onto the scene of human history at the God appointed, prophetic time. So John first demonstrates that Jesus is God, and now He shows that Jesus came in God’s prophetically ordained timetable. The reason I say that, is because John was the forerunner who would come as a sign and messenger to prepare the way for the Messiah.
b. Looking on the Next Slide: Isaiah 40:3 says, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness; ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” This was a Messianic reference in the sense that God would raise up and individual who would prepare the way for the Messiah. Matthew 3:1-3 informs us that this individual that prophesied about in the book of Isaiah was John the Baptist. And so we see that the Apostle John wants to make sure that those who read his gospel will understand that Jesus is God, and that Jesus appeared at God’s perfect prophetic timetable. And John the Baptist is the proof of that.
c. And so if you would please stand in honor of reading God’s Word we are going to be reading John 1:6-18.
d. READ: John 1:6-18
III. Message:
a. Jesus is the true LIGHT (1:6-13)
i. The ultimate origins of the Son of God, John has demonstrated in the opening 5 verses, is in the eternal realm with God and is God. But now as John gets ready to share his account of Jesus’ earthly ministry, on the stage of human history, he begins as the Synoptic gospels do, with the witness of John the Baptist. That is why it is appropriate for the apostle John to switch from Christ in eternity past, to John the Baptist in the present time.
ii. In (vv.6-8) we read that John was sent to bear witness of Jesus, who is metaphorically called the Light, which is what has inspired the first answer to this morning’s Big Question.
iii. How do we know Jesus is God? Because Jesus is the True Light.
iv. There will be many metaphoric titles that are given to Jesus throughout the Gospels, none of them of which are meant to bring confusion to us, but rather to further clarify who Jesus is to us. Here John is trying to say that Jesus is the Light that was sent into darkness in order to give light to every man. In other words, humanity is trapped in spiritual darkness, and Jesus came to provide direction for us to escape the darkness and walk in the light.
v. This is what was prophesied about Jesus in the OT, and we looked at that this past week in our Fellowship Groups.
vi. READ: Isaiah 9:2
vii. And so here we read that Jesus would be the Great Light that would come and rescue humanity from spiritual darkness. This was the message of the prophets of old, 700 years before Jesus came, and this was the message that John the Baptist was preaching when he arrived onto the scene.
viii. The Bible makes it clear in (v.7) that John the Baptist came to be a witness so that the entire world would know that the timing of the Messiah’s appearance was at hand. And though John came to be a witness to the Light, he himself was not the light, only a reflection of the light. And as a reflection of the True Light, John was sent to point people to Jesus so they would believe!
ix. READ: John 1:7.
x. Here we read in (v.7) that God sent John the Baptist because He wants the world to “believe” in Jesus. This marks the first of nearly 100 uses of the word “believe” in John’s gospel. This Greek verb is pisteuo, and means “to be firmly persuaded about someone or something”, and “to believe in and profess, and fully rest your faith upon someone or something.”
xi. John is a perfect illustration of what that type of faith looks like in our life. He was a man who not only answered the difficult calling of being the forerunner to Jesus Christ, by sharing Jesus with his generation but he also showed us what it meant to walk in humility (John 3:30), and what it meant to persevere even when it felt as if the whole world was against him so much so that he was on the verge of losing hope.
xii. READ: Matthew 11:2-6
xiii. And so here we read that all of John’s hopes and dreams appear to be in turmoil due to the fact that Messiah Jesus, doesn’t appear to have “His winnowing fan in His hand, nor has He thoroughly cleansed out His threshing floor, gathered His wheat into the barn, nor is he burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire” as John believed He would in (cf. Matthew 3:12). In John’s mind, he is at a place where he is questioning even Jesus Himself. Jesus, “I’m not sure if you noticed, but I am about to have my head chopped off! Do you care?” And so as John’s faith is wavering in these last hours of his life, Jesus gives him the most powerful assurance He can by simply pointing John to the prophetic word of God. Jesus quotes from Isaiah 35:4-6; 61:1, both prophecies about what the Messiah would do when He arrived on earth. Jesus is telling John, remember what the Word of God says John, and when you do, you will realize I am who you think I am!
xiv. And so when we talk about John proclaiming Jesus as being the “true Light”, the one whom God sent to give humanity direction, we are saying that John’s message to us calls us to a life-defining decision. We either choose to follow Jesus out of darkness and into the light, and then trust Him for the rest of our life, or we choose to reject Jesus and remain in spiritual darkness.
xv. Let’s move onto the second passage of Scripture this morning, found in (vv.10-14), where we are going to see that John makes it clear why Jesus came to walk among us. He came to rescue us. In fact, it is this idea that has inspired the 2nd answer to this mornings big question, How do we know Jesus is God? We know Jesus is God because:
b. Jesus is the Word from (1:1-3) that became flesh (1:14), in order to RESCUE us (1:10-14a).
i. READ: John 1:10-14
ii. Here we read that the True Light that was the Life of men came into the world that He created, and dwelt among us. John then tells us that even though He was in the world and dwelt among us, the world did not know Him, and what’s even worse, the very people who were waiting for Him to come refused to receive Him.
iii. Another very important word that shows up throughout the Gospels is this idea of “knowing” Jesus. In (v.10) we read that the world did not “know” Him. This word in the Greek is ginosko, and implies an intimate and personal knowledge of someone built upon a close and caring relationship.
iv. It is used often in the Scripture of a husband and wife joining together on their marriage bed. For example Joseph did not know Jesus’ mother Mary, until after Jesus was born (Mt. 1:25)
v. And therefore, when this word is used in context with our relationship with Jesus, it is speaking of a close, personal relationship.
vi. And what John is telling us is that it is vitally important for you and for I to know Jesus, because without knowing Jesus we cannot go to heaven.
vii. READ: John 17:3
viii. And so we see the importance of “knowing” Jesus and it only comes from having a personal relationship with Him that begins by faith and is based upon the Word of God. The way to know Jesus is explained in (v.12), and that is by “believing” in Jesus. Once again, this word is woven throughout this gospel. We must believe in Jesus if we want to become children of God.
ix. READ: John 1:11-13
x. We cannot be saved:
1. By Blood (being born in a Christian family)
2. By the will of the flesh (good works)
3. By the will of man (a pastor or priest)
xi. We can only be saved and be God’s children:
1. Through faith in Jesus
2. Through following Jesus
xii. And so we see that as John continues presenting Jesus’ resume to us, that he not only presents an unwavering belief in the Divinity of Jesus Christ, that He is the eternal God, who created all things, but John is also powerfully demonstrating how important it is for us to believe in Jesus. Our eternal destiny hinges on it. Our relationship with God depends upon it. It is the one decision we must make in our life that will define who we are and what is important to us in life.
xiii. And (v.14) will explain why a decision for Jesus or against Jesus will absolutely define our life.
xiv. READ: John 1:14
xv. Here we read that rather than man reaching up to God, God reaches down to man in the Person of Jesus Christ, who became flesh and dwelt among us, for the purpose of saving us. You see, God loves us so much that He became one of us in order to explain to us how to have a relationship with Him.
xvi. IF I COULD BECOME ONE OF THEM: It reminds me of my history with Black Widows. For those of you who are newer to BFC or maybe you were out of town when I shared the story about how our old home was riddled with Black Widows. When we moved into that house the person who showed the house to us showed me a Black Widow web in the backyard, and because I was a helicopter dad on steroids back then (when Jeremiah was 2) I sprayed the entire parameter of our home and ended up killing 5 Black Widows at the time. Then, when we were getting ready to move out almost 3 years later, I noticed another black widow web in the back and there ended up being 5 more Black Widows all living in community. Well, recently, we had another issue at our new home. You see, I inherited a car last year, and when I received it, we stopped driving our 99’ Toyota Camry, and for the past several months it just sat on our street. And as it sat there I noticed a huge black widow web coming off the rear tire onto the street. As I took a closer look, I realized there was a web on each tire going into the street. So I got out my RAID bug spray and went to work. I sprayed and took a step back and waited, and without fail 4 different black widows came out. The next day I moved the car into our driveway to wash it and clean as we were donating it to a missions ministry. And I parked it there over night, and wouldn’t you know 3 more Black Widow webs pop up and I killed 3 more! There were 7 Black widows living under that car!
xvii. Why do I share this with you? I’m not sharing this with you to tell you what a bully I am to bugs. I actually am not afraid of bugs, but at the same time I want to make sure Jeremiah doesn’t get bit by one.
xviii. It feels like I have been in a war with Black Widows ever since I have moved to Hemet. The last thing I want to do is go to war with Black Widows. However, they keep setting up camp at my house or under my car it turns out. But I have no way to communicate with them that I am going to exterminate them if I see them on my property. If I could somehow become a Black Widow Spider so that I could communicate with them and tell them to stay off my property. If I could let them know to move on, so that I didn’t have to spray them I would. If I became a Black Widow, I’m not sure they would listen to me, because the females kill the males of course, but that would be the only way I could warn them.
xix. Guys, that’s exactly what God has done by sending Jesus to us. God sent Jesus to us in order to explain to us we need to put our trust in Him so that we can be saved. There’s no other way.
xx. READ: John 1:14
xxi. John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Dwelt among us in the Greek is where we get the word “tabernacle” from, which John no doubt places our attention upon to say that just as the Divine Presence of God gloriously hovered over the tabernacle in the Old Testament, now God became a man in order to tabernacle with us.
c. Life Application
a. That is Jesus’ desire for us, to tabernacle with us, that just as Israel would go to the tabernacle to worship God by offering sacrifices, we would follow Jesus each day in order to be a “living sacrifice” to God.
