From John to Jesus

Gospel: John 1: 35-42

Perhaps more than any other Gospel, the Gospel of John provides us with the most salient connections between John the Baptist and Jesus.  John points out to his disciples the identity of the Messiah, encouraging them now to follow Jesus.  Now that Jesus is present to the world, the ministry of John transitions to the ministry of Jesus.

This transition is most important in terms of theme and for the practical living of our own lives.  John's ministry was one of bringing people to repentance and the washing away of sin in baptism.  Now that we have repented sincerely of our sins, what is next?  Is it enough to merely repent of our sins and go about our regular lives again?  By no means.

In pointing to Jesus, John points out that the next stage of our lives after repentance is necessary and essential, for now we enter the ministry of Jesus, the ministry of mercy.  Now that we have experienced the mercy of God in our repentance, so now we must extend mercy to all in our lives: forgiving others of sins; providing healing, comfort, compassion, and hospitality to all we encounter in our lives.  In short, we must do all that Jesus did in his ministry within the context of our own lives.  It is only in this way that God can be made manifest to the world - only by our actions of mercy in the world.