Pastor John

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life- ² the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us- ³ that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

^ESV 1 John 1:1-3

Some months back during a lunch conversation a pastor friend of mine asked: “Ken, what are you passionate about?” After some reflection, the answer became clear; Truth Matters! In hindsight, I don’t know why the answer required any thought at all; you’d think it would have been on the tip of my tongue.

As I read through John’s letters, especially 1^st John, I get the sense that John felt the same way. In all of his letters, John exposes the errors of the day and points his readers towards truth. For John, truth mattered.

While I have often thought of John as the Beloved Disciple, I confess to have never thinking of him as a pastor until recently. But his letters are no doubt pastoral in nature; meant to guide and shepherd his flock in truth. So in the coming weeks, instead of looking at John the Beloved, or John the Apostle, lets think of him as Pastor John.

He begins by affirming a central truth about Jesus. Jesus is eternal. I suppose the correct theological terminology would be that Jesus is eternally begotten by the Father, but my mind is sufficiently stretched by simply thinking of Him as being around forever; past and future.

But the next three things John mentions really catch my attention. John says that he has heard Jesus; seen Jesus; even touched Jesus in the flesh! Think of the strength of John’s testimony. He’s walked with Jesus! If I may be so bold as to put words into his mouth, John is saying ‘I’ve seen Him with my own two eyes!’

In our verses today, John points out twice that Jesus was made manifest to us; meaning that Jesus descended from the heavenly realm to abide with us in the flesh. He also points out that Jesus is the word of life and the eternal life that has come from the Father to earth.

And for what purpose? Why did Jesus come to earth and why is John going to such lengths to establish this truth? So that his readers might know the truth and enjoy the same fellowship with God the Father and God the Son that John and the other Apostles enjoyed.

Pastor John knew Jesus; do you know Him? More on this in the coming weeks…

Ken worships at Tharptown Baptist Church in Russellville where he leads an adult Bible study. Comments are welcome and may be sent to kenaskew@charter.net.