Show Don't Tell: John 1:15-18

Imagine a sun-drenched afternoon by the Jordan River, the air thick with the scent of wildflowers and the murmur of water lapping against the rocky banks. Crowds gathered, their faces a tapestry of curiosity and expectation, drawn by the magnetic presence of John the Baptist. Clad in rough camel’s hair, his hair wild and unkempt, he stood like a prophet from olden times, his eyes aflame with passion and purpose.

“Behold!” he thundered, his voice cutting through the chatter like a sword. “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” As he spoke, the crowd leaned in, entranced by the gravity of his words. They knew John had arrived first—his wild cries in the wilderness had become the stuff of legend—but now he spoke of someone greater, someone whose very essence transcended time itself.

“Out of His fullness, we have all received grace upon grace,” John declared, his arms opened wide as if to embrace the very heavens. Picture it: grace crashing like waves upon the shore, not merely a replacement, but an overflowing abundance, a divine tidal wave that swept the weary and lost into its embrace.

He continued, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” The crowd felt the weight of those words, the promise of new life. Suddenly, John’s voice softened, his tone tender yet powerful: “No one has ever seen God; but the one and only Son, who is Himself God, has made Him known.”