John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me. John 1:15

A few Christmas’ ago, two Indians came to stay with my brother in England. My brother sits on the board of mission India, and these were guests from that mission. Early one Saturday, they caught the bus into town to visit the local shopping centre. Their purpose? Simply to share the Gospel. They went to find people who might be interested in hearing the Gospel. I remember my brother being mildly shocked at the time; did people actually still go onto the streets to seek converts? We thought that was strictly New Testament.

But the message of the New Testament is that Christ must be proclaimed. The proclamation starts early, well before Jesus steps onto the stage, with Gods proclamation thousands of years before in Scripture. The arrival of Christ is something that God was excited about, and he continues to be excited about it. The last thing Jesus commands his disciples is to proclaim the news, ‘go into the world and tell‘.

In the West, we have on the whole ceased to proclaim Jesus publicly. Today as I visited a carol service out in the open, I was alarmed that the good news of Jesus was not publicly proclaimed. Instead, we prefer the syrupy songs that seem to accompany all things Christian, and downplay the hard message of Jesus; a call to repentance and obedience, through Faith alone in Jesus Christ. There is no other way to come to God.

To proclaim Jesus publicly is to risk a lot, often everything. The 2 Indians I started the story with told my brother that at home, every day they step out to share the Gospel they expect ridicule and persecution. The cost is high. Yet Jesus warned that following him would be a costly endeavour. Suffering would come to all who truly decided to follow him, and proclamation of Jesus was part of the call. If we are honest it is probably the reason why we no longer proclaim the Gospel.

So why proclaim Jesus at all? Because we know him to be the answer to life. We have seen and continue to see lives changed because of him, including our own. Around the world captives are being set free because of this person, Jesus Christ. Because of him, lives have meaning, night turns to day and our relationship with God is assured.People need to know.

This season, so often called the ‘silly season’ for all the wrong reasons, let us be reckless for him. God’s relentless pursuit of us culminates in this single event – it is the creator’s answer to the human problem. His only answer, and his primary way of getting the message out is through you and me.

Look the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; a man is coming who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me –John 1:29-30

Occasionally in life I come across a married couple who appear set apart from the rest. Their marriage is defined by tenderness, closeness, and harmony.

Such people are rarely young, in fact they are always older, but they still have a sparkle. If you listen to their story, it will not always have been like that though. They will tell you of battles, hardships and suffering; of times when they wanted to quit, walk away, start again (with someone  else) but for what ever reason they ploughed on. Such marriages are almost always Christian in my experience and most couples confess to being held together by the unseen, but ever present Jesus.

We are talking about Jesus through the Gospel of John, and as we come to these verses we gain further insight into Jesus and his purpose. Last time we spoke of his deity, and how so few people are able to accept it. In this verse though, we see Johns supernatural reference to the man, Jesus Christ – how is it that a man existed long before John, when he was younger than John?

In Jesus Christ, God became flesh and walked among us. He is both divine and human and will continue to be forever. Later in 1 John, we are told that he became like us, so that we would become like him. That is for another day.

Sometime in the past, before our creation, before even the Angels were made, the Father and Son considered what was before them. With perfect insight, they could see what this world would look like. Our purpose was to be the bride of Christ, a beautiful people made specifically for the outpouring of the Sons love. Yet it would take some steps to achieve that, many of them pain filled.

With some poetic license, you can imagine the discussion. Will the ensuing sacrifice and separation be worthwhile, the Father asks as he bites his bottom lip. So few will respond, even when confronted with the physical presence of the Son. Will it be worth it? The Son counters with his desire for his Bride, his willingness to make the sacrifice even for just a few. Look what they can become, is his response. Yet he waits for permission from his Father. The Father will create everything around the framework of his Son and their relationship, to honour his Son. All of creation is for him, through him and because of him. Even the notion of a Lamb, so ready and easily sacrificed, would be created with him in mind. The Father and Sons love for us, would be the reason for his death. The journey would be messy, ugly and blood soaked at times, and reluctantly many would be discarded but the end would fulfil exactly the purpose both Father and Son had in mind. The story would find its ultimate completion back in the Son, as the Father always intended. It will end up beautiful beyond compare.

The marriage we talked of earlier is a mirror of that relationship as well; separate identities, with separate roles, yet equal. At its very best, which few rarely achieve, there is a harmony that causes the two to be seen as one, moving together with common purpose, the thought of separation unimaginable. So few of us see it even in others, but when we do we see the mirror of how it was made, its origin. A Godhead of more than one.

This week, may you walk in His grace, with understanding that his love is for you through every step; he went to incredible lengths to secure you and one day, when you see him you will be like him.

“the law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”

What about truth? Pick up any Bible concordance and look up reference to truth, and you get an idea of how much weight God puts on truth. It seems that in Israel’s time, as in ours, clever lawyers and articulate politicians were able to manipulate the truth to line their own pockets, usually at the expense of the poor – and God hated it then as he does now. When truth is twisted, justice is denied.

There are two great truths in the Bible and they come together in the person of Jesus Christ. The first is that God tells us our condition is one of sin. We are sick from sin and cannot change ourselves, and our sin condemns us. Our modern day pride, wrapped up in our sophistication and relative wealth, means that we compare ourselves to others and quite often come to a favourable conclusion in our own eyes. We cannot see our real condition.

When we read in the Gospels the great encounters that Jesus had with individuals, we see that he spoke to the heart of the matter concerning sin. Never judgemental nor condemning, Jesus still had a refreshing attitude of getting to the core of our condition, by telling us the truth about ourselves. “Sin no more” he says to the woman who was about to be stoned, and he says it to each of us. We are all sinners, if only we could face the truth about ourselves.

The second truth we deny as much as the first, is that God loves us. It seems especially difficult for us to accept as believers because somehow we really do know how far things have gone astray. We prefer our own works, our own methods, just in case there might be a catch. What if at the end, God doesn’t come through for me, then at least I’ll be able to rely on my own efforts we tell ourselves. We still measure God’s love in terms of our performance.

Many years ago I stayed with a nurse who treated addicts. She told the story of a young boy, a heroin addict who had been subject to horrible family abuse. She used to clean the boy up, and then watch as he would simply fall back into his habit again; the pain, he would tell her, wouldn’t go away. As a result of her love, along the way, he developed a simple faith in Jesus Christ and every day he would journal his prayers. The local church could never accept him on account of his addiction, yet she was convinced beyond all doubt of his being saved. When he eventually died of his addiction, she read his journal and saw an intimacy with Christ that many believers never experience. He had grasped he was never going to be good enough, but through his desperation pursued Jesus as his only hope, something many in the local church couldn’t do. We prefer our shoddy standards to the truth of God’s love.

The truth we are told of here in John 1:17, is that the law is supplanted by Grace. God loved us and was never going to desert us; we were never going to make it on our own, so he’s done all the work for us. The greatest news in history is that Grace has replaced the law in the person of Jesus Christ and in him there is no condemnation at all. The addict, the liar, the hypocrite we all have a second chance at Grace because of his work.

May we see the truth in that this week; firstly that we so desperately need him, and then that we are free because of his love.