The Most Dangerous Question
Day 3 — Unseen: John 1:1-14
Introduction
At some point, most of us made a quiet decision about Jesus.
Maybe we decided He was a good teacher — wise, compassionate, worth listening to. Maybe we filed Him under founder of a major world religion, alongside Buddha and Muhammad. Maybe we decided He was a historical figure whose followers got a little carried away. Or maybe we just never quite got around to deciding anything, and He’s been sitting in the background of our lives, neither fully in nor fully out.
All of those positions have one thing in common: they let you keep a comfortable distance.
But here’s the problem. Jesus doesn’t leave comfortable distance as an option.
The claims He made about Himself are so specific, so staggering, so completely without parallel in human history, that they force a decision. You can’t read what He actually said and walk away with good teacher. Good teachers don’t say the things Jesus said.
So today we look directly at Him. Not the safe, manageable version. The real one.
Scripture
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
— John 1:1-4, 14 (NIV)
Reflection
The Claim That Changes Everything
John opens his Gospel with a statement that would have stopped his readers cold.
In the beginning was the Word. Every Jewish reader recognized those words instantly — they echo the opening of Genesis. In the beginning God created... John is deliberately, unmistakably placing Jesus at the origin of everything. Before creation. Before time. Not a created being who arrived on the scene — but the one through whom the scene was created.
And then John says it plainly: the Word was God.
Not like God. Not from God. Not a god. Was God.
And then — the moment that should take your breath away — the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. The eternal, uncreated God of the universe stepped into His own creation. Took on skin and lungs and hunger and grief. Walked the same dusty roads. Felt the same afternoon heat. And did it not to observe us from a safe distance, but to dwell — the original word means to pitch a tent, to move into the neighborhood — among us.
This is not the biography of a good teacher. This is the most astonishing claim in human history.
One Among Many — Or One Unlike Any?
Here’s what makes Jesus singular.
Muhammad never claimed to be God. He pointed to the Qur’an. Buddha never claimed to be able to save anyone. He pointed to the Noble Path. Every other founder of a major religion pointed away from themselves toward a teaching, a text, a set of practices.
Jesus pointed to Himself.
I am the way. Not I will show you the way. I am it. I am the truth. Not I will teach you the truth. I am it. I am the life. Not I will point you toward life. I am it.
You cannot put Jesus in a category with other religious teachers without ignoring the most important thing He ever said about Himself. He didn’t offer a path to God. He said He was God — in human form, dwelling among us, full of grace and truth.
That claim is either the most important truth in human history, or the most spectacular delusion. But it is not the kind of thing a merely good teacher says.
The question Jesus puts to every person who has ever lived is the same one He put to His disciples on a dusty road two thousand years ago: Who do you say that I am?
You don’t have to have the answer today. But you should know that Jesus is asking — and that at some point, every human who has ever drawn breath will be required to answer.
Grace Note
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.” — Colossians 2:9-10 (NIV)
The God who created everything chose to become reachable. Not distant, not abstract, not unknowable — but present, specific, and close enough to touch. Whatever you’ve been looking for, whatever you sense is missing — it has a name. And that name became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.
Prayer Prompt
Jesus, I’ll be honest — I’m not sure I’ve ever really decided what I think about You. I’ve kept my options open. Kept a comfortable distance. It felt safer that way.
But I’m starting to wonder if safe is the right thing to be aiming for here.
If what John wrote is true — if You were there at the beginning, if You are actually God in human form, if the fullness of everything I’ve been searching for lives in You — then the distance I’ve been keeping isn’t wisdom. It’s just fear.
I’m not ready to have all the answers. But I’m asking You to make Yourself known to me. Not as a concept. Not as a historical figure. As the living Word — the one who became flesh, who moved into the neighborhood, who is full of grace and truth.
Show me who You actually are.
Amen.
Response
1. Sit With the Question: Jesus is asking you — right now, today — Who do you say that I am? Write down your honest answer. Not the Sunday school version. Not what you think you’re supposed to say. What do you actually believe about Him at this moment? Write it without editing. This is between you and Him.
2. Read the “I Am” Statements: Look up the seven “I Am” statements of Jesus in John’s Gospel — I am the bread of life (6:35), the light of the world (8:12), the gate (10:9), the good shepherd (10:11), the resurrection and the life (11:25), the way, the truth and the life (14:6), the true vine (15:1). Read them slowly. Let the cumulative weight of them land.
3. Ask the Question Out Loud: Find a quiet moment today and ask Jesus directly: Who are You? Then sit in the silence for two minutes. You’re not looking for a dramatic experience. You’re practicing the posture of someone who actually wants to know.
To read all the posts in this devotional series, visit: https://www.thisistheway.live/t/unseen
© Steve Peschke / This Is The Way