[John the Baptizer said,] “I did not recognize [Jesus] as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'”
Key Thought
Isn’t it interesting how hard it is for us to see some things because we are too familiar with them? Jesus’ brothers and sisters didn’t recognize him as God’s Son until after his resurrection. The people in his village didn’t expect anything of importance from him. They missed who Jesus was! But we are promised that if we seek after him, we will find him. If we look at his teaching, we can determine that he comes from God. If we open the door to him, he will come in and share our lives. If we obey him, he will come and make his home with us. If we receive him, we can be born into the Kingdom of God. So the test for each of us is pretty simple: Do I seek Jesus or am I seeking something else — a teaching, a doctrine, a religion? If we seek the latter things, we can know a lot about Jesus, but never really know HIM. So let’s seek Jesus and his new way of life in the Spirit! As we continue to read the Gospel of John together this year, let’s always ask God to reveal Jesus clearly to us.
Today’s Prayer
Father, help me know Jesus more powerfully and more fully as I study his life and seek to reflect his character in my daily life. Please show yourself to me just as you promised. Open my eyes so that I can see your work clearly in my life and praise you fully with my heart and my actions. Jesus, please let me come to know you and not just know about you. In your precious name, I pray and thank you for being my Savior. Amen.
Related Scripture Readings
John 7:1-5, 16-17John 1:10-13John 5:39-40Ⓒ 1996-2022 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware and is available in book form. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.