The Book of John: Message One
By Dr. Michael Guido, D.D.
In a forest in Italy a bandit held up a missionary. Noticing his books, he commanded, "Light a bonfire and burn them." The missionary lit the fire, but asked, "May I read something from each book before burning them?" "You may," he answered. From one he read the 23rd Psalm, from another the story of the Prodigal, and from another the story of the Good Samaritan. After reading each passage the bandit said, "That's a good book. Don't burn it. Give it to me!" In the end no book was burned, and the bandit took the books and walked away into the darkness. Years later he met the missionary, but this time not as a bandit but as a believer, yes, a preacher. "It was the reading of your books," he testified, "that did it." On this broadcast we study one of the Gospels. I prayerfully hope you'll read it and receive the Lord as your Savior.
"But," you ask, "why are there four gospels?" One day, while in Europe, I stood before a beautiful stained glass window. There I gazed upon the symbolic figures that represented the writers of the four gospels. There was a Lion, a Man, an Ox and an Eagle. The Lion stood for Matthew. He saw the Lord Jesus as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and he presented Him as the Messiah and King. His message is "Behold your King!" The Man stood for Mark. He saw the Lord Jesus as the perfect Servant who went about doing the will of God. His message is "Behold the Servant!" The Ox stood for Luke. The ox is the animal of service and sacrifice. He saw the Lord Jesus as the Sacrifice of men. His message is "Behold the Man!" He is the one Mediator between God and man. The Eagle stood for John. The eagle can look at the sun and not be dazzled. John looked into the eternal mysteries. He saw Jesus being God and man in one blessed Person. His message is "Behold your God!" Thus we have four distinct records of our Redeemer, and that's why we have four Gospels. During the broadcasts that follow we'll study the Gospel of John. Don't miss a single one.
We thought on the portion, now think on the person - the apostle John. After a bloody battle during the last war, a chaplain asked a wounded man, "Can I do anything for you, son?" "Yes, chaplain, sir," he answered, "please return thanks for me." "Why?" asked the chaplain. "Thank God," answered the young man, "for giving me a godly mother." John, too, could thank God for a godly mother. She spent herself in ministering to the Lord and for the Lord. But there's no word about his father's love for the Lord. One day John went to a revival at a riverside. It seemed that everyone went to hear the evangelist - John the Baptist. As that evangelist got a glimpse of the Lord, he said, "Look! There's the Lamb of God!" Two men turned and followed Jesus. One of the men was John, the author of the book that bears his name. After his conversion he became a close companion of Christ. So intimate was he with our Lord that he was chosen to witness the miracles of Jesus, and to care for His mother after He was crucified. This splendid man of God was chosen to write, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Gospel of John.
Let's think on the purpose. Why did he write it? The answer is found in John 20:31, "These are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." There's a double use of the word "believe." Why? Because there are two sides of believing. First, there's intellectual belief. This means that you come to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Second, there must be more than intellectual belief. There must be a surrender or a trust to that of which the mind is convinced. So salvation means, "I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world." But it doesn't stop there. It goes on to say, "I take Him as my personal Savior, and I trust Him with all my heart." When I was a boy in Ohio I walked with my uncle to a pond that was covered over with ice. "I believe that ice is strong enough to hold us," said my uncle. My uncle stood on it. "Trust yourself to it." I did. That's faith. Won't you just now trust yourself to Christ? Won't you just now trust your life to Christ? God bless you!
copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic Association
All Scripture verses are quoted from the New King James Version..
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This series of messages on the books of the Bible were originally written for broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The Sower." They are collected and reprinted here for your enjoyment and spiritual edification.