“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God . . . ” John 1:18 NIV
Think back to your days in elementary, junior, and high school. Your teachers employed a common method to enable students to remember. They used repetition. It’s highly effective. I’ve been out of high school for over a half century, and today I can still recite things that I learned from repetition, such as the Lord’s Prayer in Spanish, the poem Silver by Walter de la Mare, etc. It’s a technique that has been around for a long time.
Think about the Israelites of the Old Testament. Even though they witnessed the presence of God and many miracles, God had to repeat Himself in word and deed time after time after time after time for them to understand Him. Jesus did the same in the New Testament.
John is a favorite book in the Bible for many people. I really like it because Jesus is quoted many times, so we learn directly from His lips. One of the major themes in John is that Jesus is God. Did you realize this? It’s easy to get distracted by everything that’s recorded.
Here are the names attributed to Jesus in the book of John: the Word, the light of all mankind, one and only Son, Lamb of God, God’s Chosen One, Messiah, Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, Rabbi, king of Israel, temple, Son of Man, living water, Savior of the world, bread of life, Holy One of God, I am, light of the world, gate for the sheep, good shepherd, Father, God’s son, resurrection and the life, the way and the truth and the life, true vine, King of the Jews, and Rabboni (which means “Teacher”)
The book of John informs us who Jesus using many different descriptors. It’s a type of repetition for us to “get it”.
Look at these names of Jesus. Which ones really register with you?
Prayer: Thank you, God, for Your patience in instructing us on who You are. Amen