Jesus is the Main Character
We will dive into the book of John for the next several weeks, and it’s kind of a weird start. Hint: Jesus is the main character!
Discussion Episode
John 1:1-18
About the Story
Jon: Right, we’ve got a story to get to, except it’s disjointed and not really a story. It’s more like a bunch of background!
Bradon: Today, we are looking at John Chapter 1 Verses 1-18 and what you are saying is that it’s just a collection of wandering and ponderings that don’t seem to fit together!
Jon: Yeah, except they do, and you don’t know that until you get into the actual story. So the book of John was written by a super cool guy named John. We have a lot in common; we are both super cool.
Bradon: There are days I wish I could show the listeners my eye roll. There are two very cool John’s. One is the author, and the other is one of the first characters in this story. His name was John the Baptist!
Jon: Too many John’s; we will try and keep them all straight. Bradon, the author John is a lot like you, very creative, and likes or enjoys being just a bit different in a good way! The book of John is way different than the other gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke.
Bradon: John (the author) and I are very unique, creative and artistic fellows! Like the other gospel accounts, Jesus is the main character of his book!
Can I submit to these claims and more significantly to the main character of life – Jesus Christ?
Jon
Application
Jon: It’s a little tricky to find one specific lesson from all of this context and background information that John is giving us in the opening of his book. The one thing that stood out to me above everything else is that Jesus is the main character, and this book is about him.
Bradon: You are right and it’s more! In John’s writing I begin to understand how much the author has been impacted by Jesus personally. John was one of Jesus’ 12 disciples. He writes this as a person transformed by Jesus’ unfailing love and faithfulness. If we read between the lines John is saying Jesus is the main character of Life. He is God, he is the creator and redeemer of life! Redeemer means one who puts things back the way life was originally designed to be.
Jon: The author is saying that Jesus is the main character of life and it forces the readers, you and I, to wrestle with this huge claim.
Bradon: Essentially the rest of this book is backing up or giving evidence to prove the claims in this introduction! Reading this first part of John Chapter 1 forces the reader to ask a question.
The Question
Jon: The question is this. Do I believe that Jesus is the main character of life? This question begs and pushes for a response.
Bradon: If a person says, “I am not sure.” They will likely want to learn more by reading the book.
Jon: If a person says, “No” they will still have to wrestle with the claims made early on in the book and disprove them.
Bradon: If a person says, “Yes, I do believe” then they will want to learn more by reading the book.
Jon: So, Here is our application question. If Jesus is the main character of life if he is God, and if he is our creator and has made a way for us to be children of God. If these things are fact as the author claims them to be, then my belief in them won’t change the facts, but my submission to those facts will change everything for me as an individual.
Bradon: So what is the question?
Jon: Right the question? Can I submit to these claims and more significantly to the main character of life – Jesus Christ?
Bradon: That is an enormous question! Something that is worth reflecting on!
