As I am writing this, it is Good Friday. It’s on this day that we remember the day Jesus accomplished the primary goal he was sent for: to die for the sin of the world, to experience and endure the punishment for sin that we deserved. We know this because we have the New Testament to help us understand the meaning of Jesus’s death. But that wasn’t the case for the disciples. Good Friday was probably one of the most confusing days for the disciples as they watched their Rabbi be crucified. Everything they thought they had worked for seemed to go down the drain in a matter of hours. It seemed like the ministry of Jesus was over like a flash in the pan.

These are such interesting chapters because they really showcase a certain element of Jesus that I really love: Jesus was incredibly controversial. His teachings, his interactions with people, the type of people he chose to rub shoulders with all send the message that his teaching and ministry was different than anyone else. He came to really seek and save the lost, the people who really needed help, those who had no hope other than to be delivered by the Deliverer.

How fitting that we are moving from Isaiah, where the prophecy of the coming Messiah was recorded, to John where we see some of those predictions coming true!

I love how the Gospel (Good News) of John starts – “In the beginning…” (if you like getting a head start on future readings, you just did! Check out Genesis 1:1). I put two exclamation points in the margin of verse 3 – “through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Did you catch that? NOTHING!! All the colors of the world, ethnic groups, medical procedures, flowers, oceans, spices, technology – all has been created by Him.