Go! And Believe: Encountering Jesus In The Gospel Of John Series

Go! And Believe: Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of John

Introduction

Church, let me begin with a question: What do you really believe about Jesus?

In our world, people say many things about Him. Some call Him a great teacher. Some think He was just a revolutionary. Others dismiss Him as a myth. But John the Apostle, the disciple whom Jesus loved, gives us a Gospel that cuts through the confusion and brings us face-to-face with Jesus as He truly is.

At the very end of his Gospel, John tells us why he wrote it:

John 20:31 (NLT): “But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.”

John didn’t write to entertain. He didn’t write for academic curiosity. He wrote so that people like you and me, living two thousand years later, might believe—and keep believing—that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through Him we might have life.

This morning our message is titled: “Go! And Believe: Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of John.”

We will unpack three great truths John reveals about Jesus:

Jesus is God made flesh.

Jesus is the Lamb who takes away our sin.

Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.

And as we walk through these truths, my prayer is that your heart will be stirred afresh with wonder, worship, and faith.

1. Jesus is God Made Flesh

John 1:1, 14 (NLT): “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God… So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”

John begins with the eternal. Unlike Matthew who begins with a genealogy, or Luke who begins with history, or Mark who launches straight into action, John opens with eternity past: “In the beginning…”

The Greek word translated Word is Logos. For the Greeks, Logos meant the rational principle that ordered the universe. For the Jews, Logos recalled God’s Word that spoke creation into being (Genesis 1:3: “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’…”).

John brings both ideas together and declares: This Logos is not an abstract force. He is a Person. He is with God, and He is God. And in verse 14, John shocks the world: “The Word became flesh”—the eternal God took on humanity. The Greek word sarx (“flesh”) is raw and earthy. John is saying: the infinite God wrapped Himself in human skin.

For the early Church, this was a staggering claim. Pagan gods were thought to be distant. Philosophical gods were abstract. But John proclaims the transcendent God became immanent. He pitched His tent among us.

As Charles Stanley observed: “Jesus did not cease to be God when He became man, but He became man that we might know God.”

In a world where people feel forgotten, unseen, and unheard, the Incarnation is God’s message: I am not distant. I am with you.

When you feel abandoned, remember: Jesus has walked the dusty roads of life too.

When you feel tempted, remember: Jesus was tempted in every way, yet without sin.

When you feel weary, remember: Jesus sat at a well, thirsty, and understands your weakness.

A missionary translating John 1:14 into an African tribal language used the phrase: “He pitched His tent in our village.” What a picture! Jesus pitched His tent in the brokenness of our world so that He could bring us life.

2. Jesus is the Lamb Who Takes Away Our Sin

John 1:29 (NLT): “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’”

For the Jewish people, this statement was thunderous. Every morning and evening, a lamb was sacrificed in the Temple for sin (Exodus 29:38–39). At Passover, a lamb’s blood on the doorposts meant deliverance from judgement (Exodus 12). The prophet Isaiah foretold of a suffering servant “like a lamb led to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7).

John the Baptist declares that Jesus fulfils all of these images. The Greek word airo for takes away means to lift up and carry away. Jesus doesn’t merely cover sin like the old sacrifices—He removes it completely.

This is substitutionary atonement. Jesus takes our place, bearing our guilt, carrying our punishment. As Peter later wrote:

1 Peter 2:24 (NLT): “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.”

Tim Keller explains: “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”