January 4

JOHN 1
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
– John 1:29-34

JOHN 1 THE LAMB OF GOD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins
He is the perfect sacrifice to appease God of his wrath
He came into the world so that we might have life
Only through Him can we have freedom: He is light
Believe in him that you may receive eternity
If you don’t believe, you will live in total depravity.

In this account, John the Baptist declares the Lord as the Lamb of God. Let’s look at Leviticus 4:32-35 because this will give us an understanding why the lamb is important as atonement for sins. It says: 32 “If he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish 33 and lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. 34 Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 35 And all its fat he shall remove as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on top of the LORD’s food offerings. And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed, and he shall be forgiven. So, Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for the atonement of our sins because he was sinless. Hence, he is called the Lamb of God.

REFLECTION
• Why is it important for us to remember that Jesus is the Lamb of God?

January 3

JOHN 1
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. – John 1:19-28

JOHN 1 MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
John the Baptist was born to prepare the way of the Lord
He was to be a prophet to speak about God among man
He baptized with water to cleanse people from sin
Though he was a great prophet, he didn’t boast about it
When his disciples edified and placed him on a pedestal
He denied he was great since Christ is greater than him.

Isaiah 40:3-4 prophesies about John the Baptist when he said a voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. That prophecy came to pass in these following verses.
At that time, people were expecting that John the Baptist may be the Christ but John denied this and instead pointed out to them that even though he baptizes with water, the one greater than him will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:15-16). He humbly declares that he isn’t even worthy to strap the Messiah’s sandals.

REFLECTION
• What did John mean when he said “Make straight the way of the Lord?”

January 2

JOHN 1
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. – John 1:10-18

JOHN 1 REJECTED BY HIS OWN PEOPLE
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
God gave his only begotten Son so we can be reconciled with him
He loved humans he allowed Christ to die on the cross to save us from sin
Jesus became like us so he can appease his Father’s wrath
But his own people did not receive or recognize him at all
They didn’t believe he was God’s Son and rejected him instead
By doing so, they failed to see God’s glory in the Savior he sent.

In this account, John shares to us the revelation of God’s design for all humans. We were all created through Christ and for one reason alone: to bring God the glory. We witness God’s steadfast love to his people when he solved the sinful nature of humans. He gave his one and only Son Jesus Christ so he could erase the gap that was built when we gave in to our sinful nature. If the world was created for the purpose of God being given glory which was ruined by the fall of Adam and Eve, how come we don’t give God the praise?
When Jesus was born, he was conceived in Mary’s womb. Because he was of virgin birth, his coming to this world was not received well. He was rejected by his own people. He came from humble origins and did not assume an earthly kingly position.

REFLECTION
• If Jesus himself was rejected, how should we react when people reject us?