John 1
-Introduction-
The Apostle John gives us the fourth gospel on the account of Jesus’ life
from his perspective through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. John writes
later in the cannon comparatively to the other gospel writers from what most
scholars conclude. A date post destruction in Jerusalem could be considered
viable. This would make the writing of the text sometime after 70 AD, even as
late as the 90s AD. He writes for the purpose of proving conclusively that
Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of the Living God, and that all who believe in
Him will have eternal life (John 3:16). It is primarily written to searching
non-Christians or new believers in Christ, which makes this book an excellent
starting point for newcomers to the faith in the Messiah. Therefore, the great
themes of this book include, but are not limited to: The Messiah as the Son of
God, Eternal Life, Belief (Faith, Trust), The Holy Spirit’s Work, Resurrection,
and the Battle Between Light and Darkness.
-John 1- “In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He
was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and
apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being (John 1:1-3).”
Right off the bat, John jumps into deep theology for us, as the reader, to
grapple with. He is the LORD, pre-existent, eternal, and co-equal with the
Father. This is Trinitarian theology at its finest biblical extraction. The
Word (Logos) is Jesus, and He was
from the very beginning with God as the Creator of the Universe. In Him, the
Christ, was life, which became the Light of men as He came into the world. He
shined in the darkness, but the darkness (the lost world) did not comprehend
Him (John 1:4).
-There came a man sent from God by the name of John (John
the Baptist). He came as the primary witness in order to testify about the
Light, which was Jesus Christ. He made it clear that he was not the Christ,
which coming into the world enlightens every man, but a proclaimer that was of
lower rank and file. John the Apostle goes on to say that Jesus was in the
world, the world that He Himself made, yet the world did not know Him in
relationship. Jesus came to His own people, the Jews, but they did not receive
Him. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children
of God, even to those who believe in
His Name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the
will of man, but of God (John 1:5-13).” John will pick up on this salvific theme
of the rebirth later in Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus (John 3:1-21).
-Now John specifically states that Jesus, the Word, has
become flesh and dwelt among mankind. His glory as the only begotten from the
Father, full of grace and truth, can actually be seen on the earthly-tangible
level. This is the One whom John the Baptist testified about as pre-existent
and of greater rank. The great thing about all of this is that we, as humans,
can receive “His fullness,” and “grace upon grace.” The Law was given through Moses,
but grace and truth were actually realized through Jesus Christ, the Savior. Jesus,
who is in the bosom of the Father (a Divine Unity), has explained God to us in
a way we can understand (John 1:14-18). *Application*
This is an amazing revelation that we should meditate on. God’s Law is perfect
and valid (Matthew 5:17-20). It reveals the thoughts and intentions of the
heart (Hebrews 4:12). However, it simply shows our imperfections and failures. It
necessitates the need for Someone to rescue us from our self-induced separation
from a pure and holy Sovereign. Thank God today that He has given us mercy
rather than justice. He has given us His Son as a propitiation for our sins (Romans
3:25-27, Hebrews 2:17; 10:1-17, 1 John 2:2-6; 4:10). This is the impetus for
eternal life.
-John the Baptist’s mission is declared in this next
section. As the Jews were sending priests and Levites from Jerusalem out to
Bethany beyond the Jordan to the east where John was baptizing his baptism of
repentance (Matthew 3:1-12, Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3), he confessed without denial
that indeed he was NOT the Christ. These religious leaders persisted in asking
important questions concerning him however. Was he Elijah, the Prophet, or who?
They really wanted some answers. They needed to be able to report back to those
who sent them of the Pharisees what John had to say for himself. John responded
by quoting the prophet Isaiah, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make
straight the way of the LORD.’” They couldn’t process how he could be baptizing
if he were not the Christ, Elijah, nor the Prophet. John reminded them that he
could only baptize with water, but among them was the One coming after him,
whom they did not know, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit as the true Son
of God. John the Baptist rightly considered himself unworthy of this Messiah,
or what he called “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John
simply testified to this Savior whom he had seen the Holy Spirit descending as
a dove out of Heaven to remain on Him (John 1:19-34).
-The next day, it happened again as he was with two of his disciples
that John the Baptist testified as to Jesus’ position as He walked by stating, “Behold,
the Lamb of God!” This prompted these two disciples, one of which was Andrew,
to follow Him and a brief conversation ended up gaining them the rest of the
day with the Messiah from about 10am in the morning forward. Jesus’ disciples
began to grow from this point in the text as Simon Peter, Philip, and Nathanael
come on to the scene as they go into Galilee. Nathanael’s awakening starts with
some skepticism as Philip tells him they’ve found the One whom Moses in the Law
and the prophets wrote about. Nathanael’s hang up revolved around Jesus’
lineage from Nazareth and being the son of Joseph, which was really the Christ’s
step-father. Nathanael point-blank asked, “Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth?” Philip simply replied, “Come and see.” As Jesus saw Nathanael coming
to Him, He made a poignant remark about his character, “Behold, an Israelite indeed,
in whom there is no deceit (dolos-
guile, treachery, cunning, decoy, hypocrisy)!” Nathanael, now intrigued, asked
the Savior, “How do You know me?” Jesus noted that before Philip even called
him that He saw him under the fig tree implying that He even knew exactly what
Nathanael was thinking about. We can see this from the reaction and further
teaching of the encounter. Nathanael quickly proclaims Him to be the Son of God
and the King of Israel. Jesus told him that this was nothing, but he would see
far greater things than these. He reveals Nathanael’s thoughts about the
Kingdom by stating, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens
opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man (John
1:35-51).”
-*Application*- Are
we slow to accept some truths from the Messiah like those in our study today?
Jesus desires to take us and make us into His image as children of the
One-true, Living God (Romans 8:29; 12:2). How quickly He does that so often
depends on our faith response to Him. Turn in repentance towards the LORD and
ask Him to forgive all debts caused by the stain of sin. Then realize He has
paid the price on the cross to erase all guilt and bestow eternal life to the
believer. This opens up the heavens and awakens us to the spiritual reality of connection
with the High Power in eternal relationship.
Verses to Memorize:
John 1:1, 12, 14, 47
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