John 1:1-18
His is one of the nation’s best known voices, his voice may even be better known than Dan Rather’s or Tom Brokaw’s . For almost seventy years he has been on the radio somewhere, most of that time bringing us news and commentary from the heartland. Of course, I’m talking about Paul Harvey. Even though Harvey is well known for his daily news show, I have to admit a certain fondness for his program “The Rest of the Story.” Maybe it’s because I enjoy trivia but I find learning some arcane fact about a celebrated person to be great fun.
For example, he might tell us about a “mama’s boy” whose mother was so domineering that he actually hid the fact he had a girlfriend. This mother badgered his superiors until they finally agreed to give him a promotion, making him the youngest person around to hold that position. Only after a couple more such tales of motherly aggression would Harvey reveal he had been talking about the youngest brigadier in WW I, Douglas MacArthur, and then Harvey would conclude his essay by observing, “Now you know the rest of the story.”
As we study the Gospel of John we should keep in mind that the apostle seemed to write with a intention to let his readers know the rest of the story.
From the very first sentence John lets us know some things that might not have been immediately apparent to the casual observer. “In the beginning was the Word…”
The Word Unseen
John’s opening words recall the very opening words of the Bible, “In the beginning God…” There may be several reasons why ha chose to commit that bit of plagiarism but I can’t help but wonder if he was trying to signal his readers that what he is about to say is every bit as momentous as the story of the Creation
Here John introduces us to the Logos, the Word. Introduces us, but not necessarily his first readers. Many of them, both Jewish and Greek, would have been familiar with the term Logos. Each used it as they discussed their understanding of God.
For the Greeks, the Logos had come to mean the underlying rational principle guiding the universe. From about the sixth century before Christ the term was used to describe an expression of the divine will or thought, but it was never personal. Some scholars argue that the notion of the Logos was widely discussed among educated Greeks and the devotees of the various religions in that culture. John may have known of the concept but it’s unlikely he borrowed it from the Greeks.
Because the concept was so popular among the Greeks, some have suggested that John took the idea from their philosophers. The truth is there are enough similar notions in the Old Testament that John could have easily found it there
Among the Jews, the Logos (Word) of God was highly revered. It was the instrument of Creation. (Gen. 1; Ps 33:6) Eight times in the first chapter of Genesis God speaks and another phase of Creation begins.
Some Palestinian Jews, fearful of taking God’s Name in vain, actually substituted Logos for Yahweh as they read the Scriptures aloud in the synagogues.
Then, too, John’s own observations of the One who was the Logos may have prompted him to conclude that the term was appropriate.
What’s important is not the source of John’s terminology but what he says about the Logos. Listen to his description.
The Logos was Pre-existent. V1 a “In the beginning…” The New Living Bible’s translation is to the point “In the beginning the Word already existed…”
The Logos was God, fully and completely. V 1c. “The Word was God…” The notion here is unequivocal deity.
The Logos was in communion with God from the beginning. This fellowship with God existed from before creation. The Logos was not a created being, the Logos was eternally in a special relationship with God. In both verses 1 and 2 John says “the Word was with God” or “toward God.“ The language suggests a face to face relationship; on the one hand is says they were on the same plane, equal; on the other hand, it points to a profound intimacy. This fellowship will be a theme of the Gospel.
John assumes the doctrine of the Trinity in the prologue to his Gospel. His Gospel will have much to say about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. The fundamental notion that God has eternally existed as three “Persons” is a profound mystery, but it also points to the reality of an eternal fellowship within what we call the Godhead.
From time to time well-meaning preachers or poets suggest that God Created humankind because He was lonely. The Bible nowhere suggests that.
What is important here is the fact that the Logos enjoyed this eternal fellowship with God. As Williams translates verse 2, “He is the One who was face to face with God in the beginning.” That reality makes what John will eventually say about the Logos all the more shocking.
The Logos was the agent of Creation. (v 3) Jews already understood this. Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.”
This idea is important because later on John will let us know that the One who was the agent of creation will be the agent of the new creation.
The Logos is the source of life and light. John speaks of a particular event. He may be speaking on two levels. Physical light came from the act of creation, the act of the Logos. At the same time spiritual life has its origin in him, as well
He not only has bathed the world in physical light, he has shown a spiritual light onto the world. Sometimes human rebellion and sin has threatened that light but the darkness has never extinguished that light. The theme of these verses seems to be the unconquerable nature of the Light.
One of the things we’re going to notice as we study John’s Gospel is that John knows the end from the beginning. He may be letting us know that there will be those who try to put out the Light; he’s also letting us know that that “ain’t gonna happen.”
For most human history the One whom John calls the Word, or the Logos, was unseen, known only through his works. What John has thus far said about the Logos is enlightening but hardly prepares us for his next shocking statement.
Even John postpones making that statement by briefly introducing the ministry of John the Baptist. We’ll take a longer look as John--the Baptizer--another time but suffice it to say that John the Gospel-writer want his readers to neither think to much of John or think too little of him. He will let John take care of the first problem.
Anyway, after introducing John the Baptizer, John the Gospel-writer returns to the subject of the Logos. In so doing he gives us his Christmas story in only twenty-one Greek words.
The Shocking Word
Listen to the shocking thing John has to say about the Logos.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 NASB)
Please understand what John is saying here. It is at the heart of the Christmas story. It is more significant than mangers, than shepherds, wise men, than gold, frankincense, or myrrh.
"The Word became flesh (a particular human named Jesus) and tented with us" or ("lived a while among us") An incredible statement--God--the Creator--became a human being and lived for a while among humans. Some of the religions told of gods posing a men but there is nothing like this.
The awesome truth is that for a while, in a small province under the boot heel of the Romans, God spoke Aramaic with a Galilean accent.
This is a profound mystery. There are many questions left unanswered, questions concerning the day to day life of an Incarnate God. In Joseph’s carpenter shop, did Jesus--whose word had created the light pouring through that shop’s windows--abide by the principle “measure twice, cut once?” We don’t know enough to answer such questions. We do know that when it was cold, he was cold. When it was hot, he was hot. If circumstance ever caused the family larder to be bare, he was hungry.
As he lay in that manger did the God-Man, the Incarnate Deity we hail in our carols, think to himself, “Boy are you going to be surprised when I grow up!” As he lay in his crib did he cry at the sound of a thunder clap, the thunder he had created? We don’t know.
We do know that John thought we should know something more important than the answers to such questions. So he shares a testimony--the kind an eye-witness would give, and offers a conclusion.
In his testimony he says, “We gazed on his glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father's unique Son, full of grace and truth.”
What did John--and the other apostles--see in Jesus? They saw a glory which could only belong to God, a glory which was reflected in grace and truth. That, of course, is important. Grace without truth leaves us ignorant. Truth without grace leave us lost.
They saw it reflected every day in his life. Not once did sin diminish that glory. Time did not stop the outpouring of that grace. Writing years after his original encounter with Jesus he could still write, “We have all received one blessing after another from the fullness of his gracious love.” (John 1:16). Every year at Christmas we’re encouraged to give special gifts to our loved ones. God’s gift to us the first Christmas was one which never has been exhausted.
This led John to what he saw as the only reasonable conclusion.
1:17. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
1:18. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, (only begotten God) who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
John invites a comparison between Moses and Jesus Christ. He does not denigrate Moses but he does challenge his readers to weigh the impact of Jesus' coming. Moses gave the Law ; Jesus Christ, on the other hand, gave merciful forgiveness. Because the Logos became flesh, our relationship with God is on a new foundation, not one of our own effort but one of grace.
Jesus--the Logos incarnate--has not only brought us grace, he has given us a clearer picture of God.
A key assertion of Christianity says, "If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus." He reveals God's character. How can he do this? William's translation of “only begotten Son” suggests it is because he is "Deity Himself." The notion of Jesus--the Incarnate Logos-- as the is a crucial part of what John says about him.
. The Incarnate Logos has a Sonlike relationship with the Father. It is a unique and unparalleled relationship. The church father Athanasius once said, “The Son of God became a man so men might become sons of God.”
That is part of John’s Christmas message to us. Still, we should never forget that Jesus Christ was the Son of God in a way that no one else ever has been or ever will be the son (or daughter) of God.
At Christmas we have a better view of God because God gave us that better view.
Conclusion
As John reaches the end of this Prologue you can almost hear him saying, “Now you know the rest of the story.”
Much that follows in the gospel is a footnote to that story.
It is a story that gives meaning to Christmas.
Back when I was in college there was a popular Christian song which we don’t hear much anymore. It was written by William Booth-Clibborn back in 1921. Here are the words
Oh, how I love Him
How I adore Him
My breath, my sunshine
My all in all
The great Creator
Became my Savior
And all God's fullness
Dwelleth in Him
How I adore Him
My breath, my sunshine
My all in all
The great Creator
Became my Savior
And all God's fullness
Dwelleth in Him
Down from His Glory
Ever living story
My God my Savior came
And Jesus was His name
Born in a manger
To His own, a stranger
A Man of sorrows, fears and agony
Ever living story
My God my Savior came
And Jesus was His name
Born in a manger
To His own, a stranger
A Man of sorrows, fears and agony
The great Creator
Became my Savior
And all God's fullness
Dwelleth in Him.
Became my Savior
And all God's fullness
Dwelleth in Him.
Without reluctance
Flesh and blood His substance
He took the form of man
Revealed the hidden plan
Oh, glorious myst'ry
Sacrifice of Calv'ry
And now I know Thou wert the great "I am"
Flesh and blood His substance
He took the form of man
Revealed the hidden plan
Oh, glorious myst'ry
Sacrifice of Calv'ry
And now I know Thou wert the great "I am"
It’s an old, but maybe, new way to see Christmas.
