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We live in a day and time when less and less people know about Jesus, and as a result, less and less have come to a place where they know Jesus. And even more, it bears pointing out that there is a huge difference between knowing about Jesus … and knowing Jesus. We can know about Him intellectually without ever knowing Him personally and relationally.

In the Gospel of John, the apostle John often referred to himself as the one whom Jesus loved. He didn’t write that distinction because he was the only one whom Jesus loved; rather, he does so because he didn’t only have knowledge of Jesus, and he didn’t even only simply follow Jesus; rather, he was walking in an intimate love relationship with Jesus. He loved Jesus with all of his heart, soul and strength, and he knew Jesus loved him perfectly. And he desired for the readers of his Gospel to know the same.

Our Lord came to earth that we might enter into that same kind of intimate relationship with Him – to love Him with our whole heart, soul and strength, and know that He loves us so much that He laid down His life for us. That kind of love does not happen simply through knowledge of Him; rather, it involves surrendering our lives to Him, spending time with Him, believing Him and trusting Him.

Each one of the four Gospel accounts are written with a different perspective on the earthly ministry of Jesus. The Gospel of John is written through his first-hand account of all that he personally witnessed as he walked with Jesus. And I believe it’s fair to say that as he wrote his account under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, he wanted each reader to come to the place of not simply being satisfied to know the facts about Jesus, but rather to enter into a personal love relationship with Him – to in fact be a disciple who knows Jesus, and knows they are a disciple whom Jesus loves.

John readily admits in his account that he did not fully understand who Jesus was – the Son of God – until He had risen from the dead.(1) Think about that! This was someone who was a first-hand witness to so much. Think about all the knowledge he had about Jesus. But still he did not yet believe until Jesus rose from the dead!

John was there when Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized.(2) He was there when the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and rested upon Jesus.(3) When John the Baptist told both he and Andrew that Jesus is “the Lamb of God”, he turned to walk with Jesus.(4)

John was one of the disciples that accompanied Jesus at the wedding feast in Cana.(5) He followed Jesus to Jerusalem, and observed as Jesus passionately cleansed the Temple.(6) More than likely, due to his family’s influential relationship in Jewish society,(7) Nicodemus called upon John to help arrange his private meeting with Jesus,(8) at which there were probably only three people in the room – Jesus, Nicodemus and John. (Think about it – John heard Jesus give a detailed account of the Gospel to Nicodemus, even though he did not completely understand it himself at the time.)

John would have followed Jesus back into the Judean countryside, and would have been one of His disciples that was baptizing.(9) He was also at Jacob’s well, and saw the multitude of Samaritans that came to Jesus as a result of the testimony of the Samaritan woman.(10) And he was back in Cana with Jesus, when He performed His second miraculous sign in Galilee – the healing of the government official’s son.(11)Soon thereafter, John returned to his family, working alongside his father and brother, until the day Jesus called him, together with Peter, Andrew, and James to follow Him and become fishers of men.(12)

John, together with Peter and James, formed an inner circle that Jesus chose to walk with Him in a more intimate relationship. As a result, he experienced a bird’s eye view of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration(13) and at the Garden of Gethsemane.(14) His family’s influence enabled him to gain admittance into Jesus’s trial in the High Priest’s home,(15) and protected him from retribution as he stood as the only apostle there at Calvary, as Christ was being crucified.(16) Jesus entrusted His mother Mary into John’s care – which given the fact that she had other sons – speaks volumes about the relationship between John and Jesus.(17)

But by John’s own admission, through all of that he did not yet truly believe! It was only when John saw the empty tomb,(18) that he truly believed!(19) John was there when Jesus ascended. He was there in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came upon them, and he was one of the first two disciples to be taken into custody after Pentecost. And through it all, he came to know, follow and love the Son of God personally… and intimately.(20)

John wrote his Gospel account through that lens. He does not want the readers of his Gospel to understand who Jesus is only once they read about His resurrection. Rather, he has written the first eighteen verses of his Gospel(21) as a prologue so that we might truly know who Jesus is from the very beginning. The Gospel message is encapsulated in those first eighteen verses.

He wants us to look at what Jesus did through the lens of who He is. He wants us to follow Him because of who He is and not what He will do for us. He wants us to surrender our lives to Him, not out of some self-seeking motivation, but because of who He is. He wants us to submit our lives to Him, not commit to Him. He wants us to love Him with all of our heart, soul and mind because of who He is. He wants us to worshipHim because He is worthy of worship.

Walk with the Master as one whom He loves … and heed this reminder from another one whom He loved:

He is the One who is the true light, who gives light to everyone.

He came into the very world He created, but the world didn’t recognize Him.

He came to His own people, and even they rejected Him.

But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God.

From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.

God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.(22)

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A portion of this post is adapted from Walking With The Master, chapter 17. This fourth book in the Lessons Learned In The Wilderness series is available through Amazon in print or for your e-reader. Click HERE for more information on how you can obtain your copy of the book.

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(1) John 2:22; John 20:8-9

(2) John 1:15

(3) John 1:32

(4) John 1:36-37

(5) John 2:11

(6) John 2:17

(7) See A Family Affair, chapter 16 of Walking With The Master

(8) John 3:1-21

(9) John 3:22

(10) John 4:1-42

(11) John 4:46-54