Moved Into the Neighborhood

Good morning!

John 1:1-18 is our main text for the morning.

Why do you think that the apostle John, the apostle to whom Jesus was closest, wrote his gospel?  He tells us in John 20:30-31 - - - 

"Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book.  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 starts out his gospel book, then, by introducing us to Jesus in verses 1-18, while also introducing us to John the Baptist, the first Jewish prophet to come on the scene in close to 400 years. Many of the apostle John's readers would have been familiar with John the Baptist, and many people of the day thought that John the Baptist was the Messiah.  John the Apostle is clearing that up for his audience right away.  In the first chapters of his gospel, Luke tells us the more detailed, complete story of John the Baptist, but John does not go into that amount of detail here, choosing to focus more on Jesus.

What are some of the facts we see here about Jesus?

"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, and without him nothing was made, that was 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."

John 1:1-4  NIV

1.  John refers to Jesus as the Word, which is a translation of the Greek word, "logos".  While this term is not common in our culture, it was a familiar term to both Jews and Greeks of the first century A.D.  In the Greek philosophy, it was used to describe the bridge between a lofty God and the material, corporeal world in which we live.  In the Old Testament, the word "logos" was used to mean "the personification of God's revelation" or the means by which God's will was carried out on earth.  (The two words used in the Old Testament to refer to the spoken, Spirit-breathed word of God were "logos" and "rhema".)  John used this familiar term, "logos", and then expanded upon it to describe Jesus.
2.  The Word, Jesus Christ, existed "in the beginning".  (vs. 1)  This statement signifies that Jesus was not a created being.  Like God the Father, Jesus has always "been".
3.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  (vs. 1).  By this statement, we see Jesus revealed as the second member of the Divine Trinity - - - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - - - all co-equal.
4.  Jesus, the Word, is the creator of all things.  John states this very clearly in verse 3:
"Everything was created through him; nothing - - - not one thing! - - - came into being without him."   We read in Genesis 1:2, that "the Spirit of God hovered over the waters".  So, at the creation of this world, all three Persons of the Trinity were present.  See also Hebrews 11:3 and Psalm 33:6-9.
5.  Next, John attempts to describe Jesus, and he uses two descriptors:  light and life.  Jesus is Life, and therefore created/creates all life, even today.  He is also light.  In his smaller books, placed near the end of the New Testament, John frequently describes God as "light".  In fact, 1 John 1:1-5 is very similar to John 1:1-5 - - - (NIV)

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - - - this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.  The life appeared; we have seen and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.  We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.  And our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ.  We write this to make our joy complete.  This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you:  God is light; in him is no darkness at all."  

6.  Jesus is "God the Father seen".  In the Message version, John 1:14 and 18 are translated like this:

"The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.  We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son.
No one has ever seen God (the Father), not so much as a glimpse.  This one-of-a-kind God-Expression (Jesus, the Son), who exists at the very heart of the Father, has made him (the Father) plain as day."

Jesus testified of Himself in John 10:30, when He stated to the religious leaders, "I and the Father are one."

Dear Jesus, thank you for inspiring both Johns to reveal You to us in such a clear way, so that there can be no doubt as to who You are.  As C.S. Lewis said, and I paraphrase, people can either believe you are God, as You claimed, or they can believe you were a madman, a lunatic.  But, the option of believing You were merely a good man or a wise teacher is not one You have left open to us.  Open our hearts to see You more fully as You truly are, Lord.  Thank you for "moving into the neighborhood".  In Jesus' name, amen.