When John the Baptist announced that Jesus was the Messiah, some of his disciples turned and followed Jesus, others became convinced of Jesus’ identity by their experience and still others came to follow Jesus because of their own study of the Scripture. John’s words led to an immediate growth in the number of disciples who followed Jesus. In many ways the same happens today as believers share their personal testimony or what they have found through believing the Word of God. This ‘ripple effect’ will grow if and when today’s disciples continue to speak ‘just a word’ for Jesus.

In this message on John 1:19-28, Rev Philip Burns highlights the actions and words of John the Baptist in his ministry just before Jesus burst onto the scene. John was a successful ‘signpost’ in that he pointed people to Jesus without drawing too much attention to himself.

John 1:14-18 is an amazing text of John’s gospel, ‘the Word became flesh’. By these words, John tells us something of the some of the motive of love that God had in sending his Son, Jesus, something of the rescue mission he enacted for our sake, and something of God’s presence beside us in the birth of Emmanuel (God with us) – all beyond our full understanding but not our appreciation!.

John’s Gospel is the ‘gospel that is different’. 1:1-18 brings out some of the major themes that John introduces to his readers. John presents Jesus as the Living Word, the One who is fully divine, eternal,the creator of all things and the one who became flesh (man). John’s purpose in writing is that we might believe in Jesus and so have life in His Name and all who do that are granted the privilege of being called His children.