John is all about seeing Jesus for who he is. Have you ever wondered why some people can see Jesus and others can't, some people can see him so clearly and talk about him like he's right there while others he's just a historic figure some name in a book. How can two people seem so differently? Well John seemed to have that question too. So, in this book John impacts that question one story at a time and tells us about people who encountered him but still couldn't see him for who he was, but then suddenly like the sun blazing over the horizon he dazzles them with his light and transforms their whole world as they truly see him for the first time. Over the years people have called spiritual experiences like this enlightenment and in different religions it means different things but in John's gospel Jesus himself is the light seeing Jesus equals enlightenment. Check out John 1:9 , “The true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world he was in the world and the world was made through him yet the world did not know him he came to his own and his own people did not receive him”. The fact that some people can't see him means that despite the light shining brightly they are in a personal darkness in short they're blind, John 1:5 says “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not understood”, what does he mean by the darkness has not understood the light have you ever been the only one who can't see something whether it's the genius of hit song that everyone else is crazy about or the brilliance of the film that everyone loves but you could take or leave then you'll appreciate John's unfolding of people finally seeing and appreciating Jesus. It’s like they get him, maybe you're not there yourself and if that's the case you're in the right place here because John says at the end of the book in chapter 20:30-31, that he wrote this gospel just for you. Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah the son of God and that by believing you may have life in His name. John wants you to believe these are written so that you may believe. It's amazing that John is thinking of you and me and not only that he's expecting us not to believe it just because he says it. In other words, he's not expecting us to believe in something irrationally. Throughout the book John, will actually parade witnesses’ eyewitnesses who give their accounts and put the evidence in front of us. Then John says, “I've written all of this so that you may believe”. I want you to make a judgment for yourself: whether or not Jesus is the savior of the world, the son of God. You and I can make a rational decision and yet have it also be a spiritual one. But in that same verse John also tells us that he didn't put all that Jesus did in the book; verse 30, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book.” The fact that all the stories aren't in there tells me that John carefully crafted a string of testimonies and conversations to show people seeing the light in hopes that little by little our eyes too will begin to adjust to the light slowly and we'll begin to see who Jesus is for ourselves. That's the first clue to understanding why some people come to see Jesus and others don’t. We often come to see Jesus through testimonies or eyewitness accounts of others. It can be difficult to try to describe Jesus to someone who doesn't know him. It's kind of like trying to describe color to someone who's born blind how do you do it? You get creative, you might tell them that red looks to the eye what warmth feels like to the skin and the shade of blue it looks like how cold feels. It's an abstract way to describe something new by relating it to an experience they already know. That's why John uses the experiences of others to tell us who Jesus is. The first witness is a man called John the Baptist. John 1:6, listen to how John presents him. “There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.” Throughout this book we'll meet a whole cast of characters who had their eureka moments of discovery with Jesus when the lights turned on inside their own hearts and souls. Some of these testimonies come from people who were searching, while others were caught off guard. People like me or you are surprised by the light breaking in on our own personal darkness. For example, at the wedding of Cana of Galilee, an emergency reveals Jesus to an unsuspecting crowd. While the disciples, those who were closest to him gradually have Jesus revealed to them. First by listening to the testimony of John the Baptist but then getting to experience him for themselves and that's part of this you'll begin to experience Jesus personally as you read these accounts from others. For those 12, the light gradually dawns on them until finally it has an apex moment in a boat in the middle of a storm of all places where Jesus miraculously calms the storm they're panicking about. These are hardened sailors but Jesus stands up faces the wind and the waves about to capsize the boat and says peace be still. They huddle up in fear and whisper, who is this that even the winds and the waves obey him? We'll meet Nicodemus, who secretly seeks out Jesus behind the scenes to get answers. We also hear the testimony of a rejected woman at a well, questioning if true love even exists. After every love she hoped for in the world, left her as dry as an empty bucket but when we leave her, her heart is a wellspring overflowing with God's love for her. And like all true stories, the book of John has a dark side riddled with broken people chewed up by bad decisions and cast off by those who can't bear to look at them. We'll meet a woman who's caught in the act of adultery but hears the words we all longed to hear from God, “I do not condemn you”. There are many more who will testify in John, but we'll hear their stories as we journey together in this book. The key verse of this book is found in John 3:19, “this is the verdict light has come into the world and men love their darkness for their deeds are evil.” So that's it, a final puzzle piece to help solve the riddle about why some come to Jesus and others don't. When John says, this is the verdict it's like a gavel coming down, a conclusion has been reached, and it rings with finality. This is the verdict; light has come into the world. John says the light is shining, it's been shining since Jesus came. It's not always a case of those who can't see, it's often a case of those who won't see. John continues that the light is there, but men love their darkness. The book of John will leave us to make our own judgment or personal verdict. Can we see? Will we see? Who do we think Jesus is? Which character of all the encounters with Jesus will we be the most like? Will we ponder like Nicodemus, if he's worth giving everything up for? Will we wander away from him like the crowd of 5,000 who didn't think he could satisfy them or thought he asked too much? Will we hate him like the pharisees and seek to eradicate any trace of him in our lives? Will we be frustrated with him like Judas who couldn't force him into his own mold? Will we be like the man born blind who could see for the first time? Or like Lazarus who trades death for life? Or like Andrew and John who gives up everything to follow him? All of them faced the same testimony of Jesus that we’ll read, and, in the end, they testify to us, who he is. John leaves us to make our own judgment. Who is Jesus to me? We will ask that same question throughout this journey. Who is Jesus to you? What do you do with the testimony you've just received?
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