John 1-3: A 12-Day Reading Plan Sample

Matthew and Luke begin with a genealogy and birth account, but John takes a different approach. In the first sentence, John reveals the thrust of his book, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that in Him is life. And this Jesus that John writes about came to earth and put on flesh to live among us. 

John is very concerned that we understand who Jesus is. The primary way we come to know God is through the study of the Scriptures. When we want to know what God is like—His character, attributes, and how He responded in specific situations—we need to take a close look at how He revealed Himself in the Bible.   

When we think about what God is like, our knee-jerk reaction, because of our humanity, is to believe God is disappointed, angry, frustrated, and regrets saving us. But Jesus, who is God in the flesh, shows us a very different picture. If we want to understand what God is like, we need to pay special attention to how Jesus acted in the Gospels. How did He treat sinners? The sick? The lost? What made Him angry? What caused Him to weep? How did outsiders respond to Him? If we want to have a thriving relationship with God, we’ll have to throw out any preconceived notions about Him that don’t align with how He presents Himself in the Scriptures. 

How would you describe God’s character? Do your thoughts align with what you read about Him in the Scriptures?