God is Here! (preaching resource for 1/4/26, Christmas season 2)
This post exegetes John 1:1-14, providing context for the Gospel reading on 1/4/26, the 2nd Sunday in the season of Christmas. Insights are drawn from commentary by Warren Wiersbe in "The Bible Expository Commentary."
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| Jesus, by Mironov (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) |
Introduction
“Will God dwell on earth?” asked Solomon in dedicating the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:27). God’s glory had dwelt in the tabernacle in the wilderness (Ex. 40:34), and then it descended on Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 8:10–11). But eventually it departed from disobedient Israel (Ezek. 9:3; 10:4, 18; 11:22–23) and a long dry spell ensued. But then a marvelous and new thing happened: the glory of God came to His people again, but this time in person—specifically in the person of God’s one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
The writers of the four Gospels give us “snapshots” of our Lord’s life on earth. Matthew wrote with his fellow Jews in mind and emphasized that Jesus of Nazareth had fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies. Mark wrote for the busy Romans. Whereas Matthew emphasized the King, Mark presented the Servant, ministering to needy people. Luke wrote for the Greeks and introduced them to the sympathetic Son of man. But John writes for both Jews and Gentiles, presenting Jesus as both Messiah and Son of God. We know that John had Gentiles in mind as well as Jews, because he often “interpreted” Jewish words or customs for his readers (John 1:38, 41–42; 5:2; 9:7; 19:13, 17; 20:16).
John’s emphasis for his Jewish readers was that Jesus not only fulfilled the OT prophecies, but also fulfilled the types: Jesus is the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ from heaven to earth (John 1:51). He is the New Temple (John 2:19–21), and He gives a new birth (John 3:4ff). He is the serpent lifted up (John 3:14) and the Bread of God that came down from heaven (John 6:35ff).
Whereas the first three (‘synoptic’) Gospels major on describing events in the life of Jesus, John emphasizes the theological meaning of these events. For example, all four Gospels record the feeding of the 5,000 but only John records Jesus’ sermon on “The Bread of Life,” which followed that miracle when He interpreted it for the people.
The primary theme of John is the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, To declare Jesus as the Son of God is to declare him to be fully God. John makes this vital point in his first chapter; recording seven names and titles of Jesus that establish Jesus’ identity as no less than eternal God. In the Gospel reading for today, we look at the first two.
Jesus is the Word
John 1:1–3, 14
Much as our words reveal to others our hearts and minds, so Jesus Christ is God’s “Word” to reveal His heart and mind to us. “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). A word is composed of letters, and Jesus Christ is “Alpha and Omega” (Rev. 1:11), the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. According to Hebrews 1:1–3, Jesus Christ is God’s last or final and complete Word to mankind, for He is the climax and summation of divine revelation.
1. The eternal Word
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
He existed in the beginning, not because He had a beginning as a creature, but because He is eternal. He is God and He was with God. Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).
2. The creative Word
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
There is a parallel between John 1:1 and Genesis 1:1. God created through His word: “And God said, ‘Let there be.... ’ ” / “For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Ps. 33:9). God created all things through Jesus Christ (Col. 1:16), which means that Jesus is not a created being. He is eternal God; the Creator.
3. The incarnate Word
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
He was not a phantom or a spirit when He came to earth, nor was His body an illusion. John and the other disciples each had a personal experience that convinced them of the personal reality of Jesus and his body (1 John 1:1–2). Even though John’s emphasis is the deity of Christ, he makes it clear that the Son of God came in the flesh and was subject to the infirmities of human nature and the flesh (yet without sin): John points out that Jesus was weary (John 4:6) and thirsty (John 4:7). He groaned within (John 11:33) and openly wept (John 11:35). On the cross, He thirsted (John 19:28), died (John 19:30), and bled (John 19:34). After His resurrection, He proved to Thomas and the other disciples that He still had a real human body (John 20:24–29), now glorified.
How was this divine, eternal “Word made flesh”? By the miracle of the Virgin Birth (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–38). He took on Himself our humanity and identified with us in every aspect of life from birth to death. “The Word” was not an abstract concept of philosophy, but a real Person who could be seen, touched, and heard. Christianity is Christ, and Christ is God.
The revelation of God’s glory is an important theme in the Gospel. Jesus revealed God’s glory in His person, His works, and His words. John recorded seven wonderful signs that openly declared the glory of God (John 2:11). The glory of the Old Covenant was a fading glory, but the glory of the New Covenant in Christ is an increasing glory (see 2 Cor. 3). The Law could reveal sin, but it could never remove sin. Jesus Christ came with fullness of grace and truth, and this fullness is the experience of all who trust Him (John 1:16).
Jesus is the Life and Light
John 1:4–13
4a In him was life…
Life is a key theme in John’s Gospel—mentioned 36 times. What is essential for human life? Air, water, food and light. Jesus is all of these:
- He gives the “breath of life” (John 3:8; 20:22) by his Spirit
- He is the Water of life (John 4:10, 13–14; 7:37–39)
- He is the Living Bread of Life that came down from heaven (John 6:35ff)
- He is the Light of men (John 1:4), the Light of the world and the Light of life (John 8:12)
Jesus not only has life and gives life: He is life (John 14:6). And his is the life-giving light:
4b …and that life was the light of men.
Light and darkness are recurring themes in John. God is light (1 John 1:5) while Satan is “darkness” (Luke 22:53). People love either the light or the darkness, and this love controls their actions (John 3:16–19). Those who believe on Christ are “sons of light” (John 12:35–36). Just as the first Creation began with “Let there be light!” so the New Creation begins with the entrance of light into the heart of the believer (2 Cor. 4:3–6).
5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
You would think that blind sinners would welcome light, but such is not always the case. The coming of the true light brought conflict as the powers of darkness opposed it. A literal translation of verse 5 reads: “And the light keeps on shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it or understood it.” The Greek verb can mean “to overcome” or “to understand.” Throughout the gospel of John, we see both attitudes revealed: people will not understand what the Lord is saying and doing and, as a result, will oppose Him. John 7–12 records the growth of that opposition, which ultimately takes Jesus to the cross, but the apparent defeat there was the ultimate victory. The darkness could not overcome Jesus who is the Light.
But the world did not understand this Light. Whenever Jesus taught a spiritual truth, His listeners interpreted it in a material or physical way. The light was unable to penetrate the darkness in their minds. This was true when He spoke about the temple of His body (John 2:19–21), the new birth (John 3:4), the living water (John 4:11), eating His flesh (John 6:51ff), spiritual freedom (John 8:30–36), death as sleep (John 11:11–13), and many other spiritual truths.
6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
Satan strives to keep people in the dark; because darkness means death, while light means life. This helps explain the ministry of John the Baptist. John was sent as a witness to Jesus Christ, to tell people that the Light had come into the world. The nation of Israel, in spite of all its spiritual advantages, was blind to their own Messiah! The word witness is a key word in John: the noun is used fourteen times and the verb thirty-three times.
9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
John the Baptist was one of many who bore witness to Jesus, “This is the Son of God!” Alas, John the Baptist was martyred and the Jewish leaders did nothing to prevent it. Why did the nation reject Jesus Christ? Because they “did no recognize him.” They were spiritually ignorant. Jesus is the “true Light”—the original of which every other light is a copy—but the Jews were content with the copies. They had Moses and the Law, the temple and the sacrifices; but they did not comprehend that these “lights” pointed to the true Light who was the fulfillment, the completion, of the Old Covenant.
In John we find Jesus teaching the people that He is the fulfillment of all that was typified in the Law (the Old Testament). It was not enough to be born a Jew; they had to be born again, born from above (John 3). He deliberately performed two miracles on the Sabbath to teach them that He had a new rest to give them (John 5; 9). He was the satisfying manna (John 6) and the life-giving Water (John 7:37–39). He is the Shepherd of a new flock (John 10:16), and He is a new Vine (John 15).
But the Jews of that day were so shackled by religious tradition that they could not understand spiritual truth. Jesus came to His own world that He had created, but His own people, the Jews, could not understand Him and would not receive Him. They saw His works and heard His words. They observed His perfect life. He gave them every opportunity to grasp the truth, believe, and be saved. Jesus is the way, but they would not walk with Him (John 6:66–71). He is the truth, but they would not believe Him (John 12:37ff). He is the life, and they crucified Him!
12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God -- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
What a marvelous promise of God! Anyone who receives Christ (rather than rejecting him like his own people did) will be born again and become one of God’s children! John says more about this new birth in John 3, but he points out here that it is a spiritual birth from God, not a physical birth that depends on human nature.
Conclusion
Jesus—the Word; the Light and Life. God with us. God for us. Have you turned to Him, trusting him and following Him?