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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
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; without Him nothing was made that has been 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.
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He
came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through Him all
might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the
light.
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming
into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him,
the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own
did not receive Him. Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His
name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural
descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We
have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the
Father, full of grace and truth.
John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying,
“This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has
surpassed me because He was before me.’” Out of His fullness we have all
received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through
Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but
the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship with
the Father, has made Him known.
John 1:1-18
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be
to God.
Have you ever read a summary?
Right now, I am preparing to take a college class as I
work toward earning my master’s degree and as I read each chapter, I find a
summary at the end, a “summing up” of what I have just read that serves to
remind me of key points I should remember.
Note that I said at the end of the chapter because one
rarely if ever finds a summary at the beginning of anything they read. But as
we will see at the very beginning of the Gospel of John, we find a great synopsis
of the man Jesus who is at the center attention in each of the first four books
of the New Testament. Look at this passage again here:
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; without Him nothing was
made that has been 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.
There was a man
sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning
that light, so that through Him all might believe. He himself was not the
light; he came only as a witness to the light.
The true light
that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world,
and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He
came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who
did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become
children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or
a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became
flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the
one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John testified concerning
Him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who
comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’” Out of His fullness
we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given
through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen
God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship
with the Father, has made Him known. John
1:1-18
The first thing we need to get out front is that the Word
mentioned throughout these eighteen verses is Jesus, the word that is above all
words, the name that is above all names (Philippians 2:9).
With that as our stepping off point, here’s what else we
learn about Jesus from John’s opening:
1. He’s been existent from the very beginning.
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; without Him nothing was
made that has been made.
Jesus and God are one. Jesus said as much Himself:
“I and the Father
are one." John 10:30
So Jesus, the Word, was there at the very start, with God
from the very beginning when all things were being created. In fact, because He
and His Father were and are one, Jesus had as much to do with creation as God
did. Nothing was made without Him.
2. In Him, there is perfect life and light.
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.
In this very Gospel of John, we will find Jesus proclaim
these things about Himself:
"I am the Way
and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John
14:6
“I am the light of
the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the
light of life.” John 8:12
Given this, there is only one way to truly live life and
that is by living as Jesus lived. When we live our lives in and through Him,
then we can be sure we are walking in the light of righteousness, a place where
darkness cannot be found. Indeed, anyone who truly follows Jesus will never
walk in darkness because it’s a place He will never tread.
3. He was proclaimed before He entered the world scene to
minister to others.
There was a man
sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning
that light, so that through Him all might believe. He himself was not the
light; he came only as a witness to the light.
John testified concerning
Him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who
comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’”
John the Baptist emerged from the wilderness before Jesus
did to tell others to get ready for His arrival. Note here that John did not do
this by his own motivation but rather in answering the call of God Himself, a
response that fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah:
The voice of one
crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the
desert a highway for our God.” Isaiah 40:3
Indeed, John the Baptist, not to be confused with the
author of this Gospel, came to witness and testify that Jesus, the Light of the
world, was about to come. He did so with the hope that everyone who encountered
Jesus would believe in Him.
4. He came as one with God the Father but still was not
recognized or received.
The true light
that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world,
and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He
came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.
The prophets predicted Jesus’ coming. John declared He
had indeed arrived. The people then saw Jesus face-to-face and watched Him
perform miracles and wonders never done by anyone before.
And still, the people still failed to recognize who Jesus
was, thinking He was merely another prophet (Matthew 21:10-11). Perhaps this is
why they so easily decided to reject Him, soon calling for Him to be put to
death by crucifixion. Although the very God they professed was standing before
them in the flesh, they did not receive Him because they were blind to who
Jesus really was.
5. He brought salvation to those who did receive Him.
Yet to all who did
receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become
children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or
a husband’s will, but born of God.
Not everyone shunned Jesus. Many who listened to His
teaching and witnessed His miraculous works, placed their faith, hope, and
trust in Him. They believed in the name of Jesus and their devotion and
dedication earned them a special blessing, the opportunity to become children
of God, gaining the privilege to live with Him forever.
Then and now, this promise has never failed to come to
be:
For God so loved
the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall
not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world
to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. John 3:16-17
6. He came to earth in human form and full glory,
dwelling among God’s people.
The Word became
flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the
one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus wasn’t just some mystical spirit or apparition sent
by God to His people. He was flesh and blood and bone. He could be touched by
those He ministered to. He bled when He was abused and beaten and crucified.
And He breathed like anyone else until He could breathe no more on the cross. The
glory of God the Father was perfectly and majestically manifested in Jesus, His
Son, who was sent full of grace and truth.
7. He brought an extension of grace to God’s people.
Out of His
fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the
law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
These words brought to mind the words of a classic hymn:
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.
None of these wonderful words, sung by believers for
years, would have an ounce of meaning had it not been for the amazing grace
brought to all mankind through Jesus Christ, who was willing to die in the
place of all sinners to offer them an opportunity to be pardoned from iniquity,
exchanging the death penalty for everlasting life. Indeed, grace, through
belief in Jesus, will lead all Christians home to abide with Him and God
forever when this earthly life is through.
8. He made God known to all.
No one has ever
seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest
relationship with the Father, has made Him known.
No one had ever seen God. In fact, God Himself said this:
But," He
said, "You cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live."
Exodus 33:20
That all changed when Jesus came. People definitely saw
Him and in doing so, they saw God Himself personified. Jesus made God known to
all and in rejecting the Son, they also were rejecting the Father.
And so there you have it. A great introduction about
Jesus before we even get down to looking at His life in detail. I hope this
leaves you as excited as it does me over the journey we are embarking on
through the study of the four Gospels that open up the New Testament.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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