Jesus, the Word

Matthew 11:17 "and saying:

'We played the flute for you,
     And you did not dance;
We mourned to you,
     And you did not lament.'

Jesus is talking about John the Baptist to the people. They were happy to go listen to John's messages as long as it didn't cost them anything. Once it came time for them to respond, they stopped going to him. Jesus is looking for a response from His people.

Revelation 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."
John responded to the first voice. His response was immediate.There was no questioning whether it was God he was hearing. he was close to Jesus, so he knew His voice. 
If we are to respond to Jesus, we have to know His voice, and to know His voice, we have to know Him. In the first few verses of John, he tells us the secret to knowing Jesus

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was in the beginning with God. [3]All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. [4] In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
John just described Jesus, yet he used the name 'the Word'. John is telling us that Jesus is the Word. The Word is who Jesus is. Reading the Word brings us closer to Jesus because He is the Word.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
It's no coincidence that this is found in the Bible after John 1:1-4. It's because Jesus is telling us that only by reading the Word can we get to God. There's no shortcut, no other option, the only way is through Jesus, the Word.