Our Gospel reading for this week comes from the opening verses of the Apostle John’s Gospel. Both Matthew and Luke’s Gospels tell versions of the birth of Jesus, which we like to read at Christmas time. Mark’s Gospel is short, fast-paced, and does not have a nativity story, instead starting right in with Jesus’s baptism and ministry. John’s Gospel, however, with his emphasis throughout on Jesus being the divine, eternal Son of God, begins by going back even further than Jesus’s earthly birth, back to the dawn of time, when Jesus existed before creation. Let’s study these opening verses of John’s Gospel.
Both Jews and Greeks had concepts for “the Word” (vs. 1). For Jews, it was an expression of God’s wisdom. They believed God’s spoken Word brought about creation, was given to the prophets, and was written down in the Scriptures. For Greeks it meant reason, intellect, and philosophy. John is clearly speaking here of Jesus. He truly is the Word, the ultimate revelation of God, the living picture of God’s holiness.
Jesus is both fully human and fully divine (vs. 1-3). He took upon Himself full humanity, and lived as a man. However, He never ceased to be the eternal God who has always existed from before the beginning of time. If we cannot believe this basic truth and doctrine, how can we have enough faith to trust our eternal destiny to Him?
As we read in verse 3, Jesus was involved in the creation of everything in the universe into existence, including you and me. If we do not believe that we are God’s special creation, then we are no more than an accidental jumble of atoms. Created by God, we are something unique and valuable. Apart from God we are nothing.
As John continues, he declares that Jesus is the Creator of life, and that His life brings light to mankind (vs. 4-5). The word “comprehend” in verse 5 means to overtake, apprehend, or overcome. Darkness cannot overcome or conquer light. The darkness of evil will never overcome or extinguish God’s light. Darkness cannot overcome light! Jesus is that Light (vs. 9). As He testified, He is the Light of the world (John 8:12, John 9:5). Throughout the Bible, particularly in John’s Gospel, darkness is symbolic of evil, sin, and Satan. Jesus calls believers “lights”. We are not the source of light, which only comes from Jesus, but we are to reflect that light, just as the moon reflects the light of the sun. We are to reflect that light out into the world, pointing others to Jesus (vs. 8).
Jesus left heaven to put on human flesh in order to bring us God’s Good News. The people God created did not recognize Jesus. Even those whom He chose to prepare the rest of the world for the coming of the Messiah failed Him and did not receive Him (vs. 10-11). However, those who do receive Jesus, they are given the right to become God’s children (vs. 12). God created everyone, but not everyone is God’s child. Only those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior are God’s children, as verse 12 in our passage in Scripture says.
As John concludes this passage, he states again, how Jesus, the eternal, divine Son of God became man (vs. 14). Jesus was not part man and part God. He was completely human and completely divine (Colossians 2:9). Jesus is the perfect expression of God in human form, the exact representation of God’s nature because He is God Himself (Hebrews 1:3). Because Jesus became a man, He experienced life just as we do. He was tempted, felt sadness and grief, also joy and happiness. However, He did not sin. We can take comfort in this, knowing that Jesus understands everything we go through.
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