Brilliance

John 1:1-18  (part 2)

"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.' " 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."

I’ve read this passage perhaps dozens of times throughout my life.  But now as I write about it, I am seeing it as though it were a beautiful gem commanding all our focus on the Lord Jesus Christ in all His brilliance. In fact, John tells us that Jesus is the Light—the Light that shone into darkness (vs. 17).  Our world system, in fact, every person’s heart is in darkness because of sin.  There is no inherent goodness, no inner light, no divine spark—just darkness.  When I say “no inherent goodness”, I mean that in our heart of hearts, in relationship to God, none of us is good, not even one (Romans 3:10).  Humanity can and surely does do “good” deeds, even those who are not Christian.  I am certainly thankful for even atheist doctors who do good to all who come to them.  It is a good thing that honors God when we respect, and do “good” to one another regardless of our faith.  But none of this “good” is enough to merit God’s favor.  He sees into the depth of my heart and knows the depravity that is there.  This is the darkness that Jesus came to  Light.  

Then, in the middle of this description comes a “parenthesis”...   Our gaze is briefly interrupted to introduce John the Baptizer*, the Jewish people, and ultimately us. 

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John...” The Jewish people of Jesus’ day were eagerly anticipating the arrival of the prophesied One known as Messiah (anointed one, Christ).  God also told the Israelites through the prophet, Malachi, that another prophet would come who would announce the soon arrival of the Messiah.  John (the Baptizer) would also prepare the people to receive Jesus’ message.  We’ll be seeing more about what that meant in the coming days.

“He came unto His own, and His own did not receive Him.”  In Genesis God separated out a group of people that would be dedicated to Him.  In time God would send the promised One who would crush Satan.   God called Abram (Abraham) out of Ur of the Chaldees (a city in modern-day Iraq) to begin a nation from his family.  Abraham’s son Isaac, Isaac’s son Jacob, and finally Jacob’s twelve sons would become the twelve tribes of Israel.  Initially, Jesus came for these “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24).  Israel was Jesus’ “own people” because Israel was God’s chosen people.  Jesus was—is Jewish.  Although His earthly life would be spent among His own people who would reject him, Jesus came to bring salvation to the whole world.   

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name...”  How thankful I am for this verse!  That’s me!  But what does it mean to receive Jesus and believe on His name?  To answer that we need to understand what the Bible says about Jesus in its full context.  Just believing about Jesus is not the whole picture.  Just using His name doesn’t cut it, either—obviously, many take His name in vain.  Even the demons believe, and they tremble at His word.  Believing on Jesus includes embracing and receiving by faith what the Bible says about Jesus and what He did--that is His "cross-work".  It is this saving faith that gives us the right, the power, and the authority to become a child of God.

The Bible uses many word pictures (metaphors) to describe what our relationship to God is like.  Birth is one of those pictures.  We are born into the Kingdom of God by saving faith.  It is not by our timing, our own will, but the will of God Himself.  If this sounds new to you, it’s not by accident that you are here reading this blog.  Ask God for this faith.  He loves you and is drawing you to Himself.  Continue reading the Bible.  The Gospels are a great place to start. 

Next:        John 1:1-18 (part 3)

*This John is not the apostle John, the writer of the Gospel.