By Al Johnson
I love preaching through books of the Bible, and this past Sunday we began a new series through 1 John. The more I spend time studying the Apostle John’s writings, the more I walk away encouraged and excited to pastor Jesus’ Church.
John was a dear friend of Jesus, and not the kind of fair-weather friend who dips out when life gets tough. John was loyal to Jesus to the very end. He writes 1 John as a seasoned elder statesman—gentle yet firm, fatherly yet bold, wise from years of walking closely with Jesus. John is not a young, brash disciple anymore, but rather a weathered shepherd who has seen it all; persecution, betrayal, suffering, exile, and yet his heart is still soft toward Jesus.
When you experience the types of ministry trials he faces, it could have been easy for John to be a bitter old man with war stories. He most certainly has the war stories but isn’t the kind of guy who’s hardened and unapproachable. He has a father’s heart and when you read the books of the Bible he wrote you hear that come through. John was a faithful pastor and man who built everything in his life on the person and work of Jesus Christ. This is the man we will learn from over the next several weeks in our study of 1 John!
Jesus Is Our Faithful Friend
John wasn’t the only faithful friend in the story. Jesus was. Long before John loved Jesus, Jesus loved him. John’s example of faithfulness to the end is a reflection of Jesus’ faithfulness toward him. The truth is, the closer you walk with Jesus the more you reflect him in everything you say and do.
In your family, friendships, and relationships, people will let you down and they may misunderstand you, reject you, or even walk away. But Jesus doesn’t. He is the “friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). Jesus is the One who “lays down His life for His friends” (John 15:13). Even when Peter denied Him (Luke 22:54–62), even when the disciples scattered (Matthew 26:31), even when the crowds turned violent (Matthew 27:20–23), Jesus stayed faithful. He went to the cross, not because His friends deserved it, but because “God so loved the world” (John 3:16).
A faithful friend doesn’t shrink back, but points you to the truth in love. That’s exactly what the Bible does for us. God doesn’t just pat us on the back and leave us where we are. His word tells us the truth, even when it stings, because He loves us too much to let us stay in our sin (Proverbs 27:6).
Throughout this series my prayer is that we would see Jesus’ faithfulness to us and marvel at the magnitude of his mercy and grace. Additionally, my prayer is that we would stay close to Jesus and, like John, be faithful to him all the days of our life. Lastly, I pray that we would have the same type of brotherly affection for one another as John has for the churches he’s writing to.
It’s All About Jesus
John stood by Jesus when no one else did. John was a faithful friend who loved Jesus, and he wanted everybody else to know Him too. You couldn’t silence John. He told anyone who would listen, and plenty who wouldn’t, about the Savior who had changed everything for him. In Acts chapter 4, John and Peter are dragged before the authorities for preaching Jesus. The officials demand they stop talking about Jesus. But their response was, “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). In other words, they made it clear that, “you can threaten us, arrest us, cancel us, but you will not shut us up about Jesus.”
Years later, Rome tried again. They tossed John onto the island of Patmos, thinking isolation would break him and at minimum keep him from telling others about Jesus. Instead, John wrote a book of the bible — The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Even alone, stripped of everything, John still had Jesus—and that was enough.
This is the man we are learning from, a man who was faithful to Jesus to the end. As we study 1 John it’s clear that we are hearing from a man whose heart has been captured by his Savior. We are hearing from a man who had walked with Jesus, and suffered for Him. John is saying, “I want you to know Jesus like I know Him. I want you to love Him like I love Him.”
So, what about you? Do you love Jesus like that? Will you stick with Him when it’s hard, when it costs you, and when it’s unpopular? Will you see Him as the Friend who never leaves, never forsakes, and never quits on you?
I also wrote a study guide to help you read and study 1 John that you can download and read for free here. You can also watch past sermons from our study in the book of 1 John here.