The Gospels are not biographies. They are encounter records. Every chapter, every story, every miracle, every conversation. They are not designed to give you information about Jesus. They are designed to introduce you to Him. And the difference between information and introduction is everything.
You can know everything about Jesus and never meet Him. You can quote every verse, pass every theology exam, win every Bible quiz, and still have a relationship with Jesus that is entirely academic. You know about Him. You do not know Him.
John 20:31
"But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
John did not write his Gospel so you could study Jesus. He wrote it so you could believe in Him. And belief is not intellectual agreement. It is relational trust. The kind of trust that changes how you live, how you pray, how you see the world, how you treat people, how you handle suffering, how you face death. That is what the Gospels are for.
The People Who Met Jesus
Over thirty encounters are recorded in the Gospels. A leper who reached out and was touched. A centurion who understood authority. A woman at a well who was seen. A blind man who was called by name. A tax collector who was invited to dinner. A grieving sister who was met with tears. A doubting disciple who was met with scars. A fisherman who was met with breakfast on the beach.
Every encounter is different. Every person is different. But the pattern is the same. Jesus sees them. He speaks to them. He changes them. Not because they earned it. Because He is who He is.
What These Encounters Reveal
Jesus is not who the church made Him. He is not a rule-giver. He is not a life coach. He is not a political revolutionary. He is not a gentle teacher who never offends anyone. He is the Son of God who got angry at religious hypocrisy, who wept at graves, who touched lepers, who ate with sinners, who forgave enemies, who called out the powerful, who welcomed the outcast, who died for the world, and who rose from the dead.
He is more dangerous than the church admits and more loving than the critics allow. And the only way to know that is to meet Him in the pages of the Gospels. Not through a sermon. Not through a verse of the day. Through the actual encounters recorded there.
When you read the Gospels, do not read them as a student. Read them as a participant. Put yourself in the story. You are the leper. You are the blind man. You are the woman at the well. You are the tax collector. You are the doubting disciple. Jesus is speaking to you in every encounter. Listen.
How to Read the Gospels as Encounters
Read slowly. One story at a time. Not a chapter a day. A story a day. Read it three times. First time for the facts. Second time for the feelings. Third time for the invitation. What is Jesus saying to you in this story? What is He revealing about Himself? What is He asking of you?
Do not rush. The Gospels are not a race. They are a meal. Sit down. Eat slowly. Taste every word. Let Jesus feed you the way He fed the five thousand. Not with a snack. With abundance.
And when you finish, start again. You will see something new. Not because the text changed. Because you did. Every encounter with Jesus changes you. And the more you encounter Him, the more you become like Him. Not by imitation. By proximity. You become what you behold.
A Prayer to Close With
Jesus, I do not want to just know about You. I want to know You. Open the Gospels to me like letters You wrote personally. Let me see You in every story. Let me hear You in every word. Let me meet You in every encounter. And let every meeting change me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
The Gospels are not a book. They are an invitation. Accept it. Read them. Meet Him. Let Him change you. With honesty and hope, Claire