Today’s Bible reading is John 1 and it’s a great time to start reading one chapter from the Bible along with us each day. For the next few weeks on most weekdays, we’ll be making our way through this record of Jesus’ life as documented by John.
Chapter 1 ends with a promise of Jesus: “You will see greater things than these” (1:50). Here’s how the promise came to be made…
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:43-51)
Near the conclusion of this gospel, John will clearly tell us why he has written what he has written:
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)
“You will see greater things than these,” things documented by John, an eyewitness. Firsthand testimony, that we might believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Things like:
- Water turned into wine (John 2:1-11)
- An official’s son healed (John 4:46-54)
- An invalid given the ability to walk (John 5:1-16)
- 5,000 fed with five barley loaves and two fish (John 6:1-14)
- Walking on the Sea of Galilee (John 6:16-21)
- “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:48-59)
- The eyes of a man born blind opened (John 9:1-41)
- Lazarus raised from the dead (John 11:1-46)
- Jesus washing his own disciples’ feet (John 13:1-20)
- “It is finished” (John 19:28-30)
- Jesus’ own resurrection from the dead (John 20-21)
Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:25)
But how incredibly blessed we are to have the book that John did write. Today’s reading is John 1. Why not devote the next couple of weeks to seeing great things about Jesus and bolstering your faith in him by reading along with us?