John 1:1-28
Of the four Gospels, John is the only one that was not written after the same document. The first three, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are called synoptic Gospels, because they were written by different men but the content was most likely rewritten from one source.
Jesus is the Word of God
In the first three verses, we see Jesus as the Word of God. In verse 14, it says the Word became flesh and lived among us, so we see that Jesus didn’t come into being when he was birthed through Mary. Jesus existed at creation. Some believe He also appeared in angelic form in the Old Testament as the Angel (messenger) of the Lord. We also know that Jesus had a free will and chose to leave glory to enter into the earth as a human man.
John the Baptist
John the Baptist said that Jesus came before he did. We know John was born first, by about 3 months. Before Jesus came on the scene, John started preaching to prepare people for the coming Messiah. There had been no prophet for 400 years before John. Priests and Levites were sent by the Pharisees to John to inquire if he were the promised One. He said no. Then they asked if he was Elijah, who was dead, interestingly, and John said no. They asked John if he was the Prophet, and he said no. Then they asked him who he was. Obviously, John was getting attention and crowds of people were coming to him or religious leaders would not have been sent to him to find out who he was.
John answered with Scripture, quoting from Isaiah 40:3, the voice of one preparing for the Messiah. They asked why he was baptizing to repentance, and John pointed to Jesus,
1 Kings 14-15
Judgment comes on the house of Jeroboam and then the king dies. Jeroboam not only worshipped idols; but he also caused those who followed his civil leadership to sin by worshipping idols as well. Leaders are under a great judgment because of the greater responsibility they have to influence people.
Evil in the Sight of the Lord
In 1 Kings 14:22, referring to Judah and Rehoboam, we read the phrase “did evil in the sight of the Lord.” We see this phrase over and over again. God notices everything. There is nothing He doesn’t see, so when we sin, we are doing it right in front of Him. If we love the Father, we will not want to do anything we would not want Him to see.
In chapter 15, we read about the next kings of Judah, the southern kingdom:
Abijam, the son of Rehoboam
Reigned 3 years
He reigned over Judah with a sinful heart
Asa, the son of Abijam
He is the first of 8 kings who walked in obedience to God
We also read about the kings of Israel, the northern kingdom:
Nadab, the son of Jeroboam
He was assassinated by Baasha (see 1 Kings 14:14), ending Jeroboam’s dynasty
He reigned 2 years
Baasha, son of Ahijah
Reigned 24 years
He did evil in the sight of the Lord
There is conflict between Israel and Judah. Jeroboam has an end to his royal lineage, but Judah will continue the line of David, which will ultimately lead to Jesus.
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