We are now moving into the Gospel of John. I broke the first chapter into two pieces because it is so dense theologically that it seemed to me easier to digest in two sittings. In the first 18 verses John the beloved Disciple seems to begin by echoing the book of Genesis. You probably can quote the beginning of the book of Genesis "In the beginning God...". Here John intentionally takes us down that familiar path only this time he is speaking about Jesus, the Word of God. "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 without him not one thing came into being." John 1:1-3 NRSV John speaks poetically but clearly here saying that the Word (Jesus) not only was with God, but the Word was God! This concept separates orthodox from cult.
At verse 6 John (the author) throws us a curve by speaking about John the Baptist. His writing style makes this transition unclear, or at least it doesn't translate very crisply. Pay attention to the same problem in verse 10. John transitions from writing about John the Baptist to writing about Jesus but only uses the pronoun "He" to make the transition.
John presents the thesis of his Gospel here when he says, "He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God." John 1:10-13 NRSV If you hear echoes of some other verses in this Gospel or in the Epistles don't be surprised!
In the last of these verses we are looking at today John brings in the incarnation, "And the Word became flesh..." John 1:14a NRSV. Take your time today and read and reread these 18 verses. If they don't bring questions to mind, perhaps your not reading carefully enough. I pray that they will also inspire faith in the readers. What a beautiful prologue John has penned!
About Me
- Pastor Bill
- I am a committed follower of Jesus Christ, a happy husband, father and grandfather!
5 comments:
To all my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, I bid a joyous hello. Joyous, yes as we read and comment I praise God for this web sight and its loyal followers. I also say thank you Pastor for such lovely daily writings, it is a tremendous lift daily to my soul that there is someone who cares for his sheep as you do. I was away most of this week and not near a computer, so I was not able to keep up on the comment section, so when I arrived home I immediately dialed up and read the weeks comments. I pray that someday we will have seventy visitors/ comments daily or more.
I read MW's comments and couldn't help but think that perhaps MW could use a weekend retreat to strenghten even more his life with God. I know that MW does much with the Adult Ministry and a good retreat would help him do so much more work for Christ and his local church. I also know that there is going to be a men's retreat near his home soon. I think Pastor maybe you could help MW in this matter. I know I prayed for the courage to write this comment, as I know how this retreat helped me spiritually. I might even come out of the "blog closet" to sponsor MW.
In Ephesians 5:18, translates to "we shouldnot be concerned with how much of the Holy Spirit we have but with how much of us the Holy Spirit has". This is a great thought.
P.S. Pastor, I believe your dog is safe.
Good to have you with us again Servant of the King! I like your take on being filled with the Spirit. Too often I am caught measuring the wrong things, and you have me here. The better questions is indeed how much of me does the Holy Spirit have. as for the retreat weekend, I think that would do all of us some good - to rest in God's presence and be renewed!
The dog is safe and sound, but brocolli is an endangered species around here!
Bill
Thank you for the sound advice, abed-melech...I could use a month-long retreat to bask in God's teachings and comfort.
As for this reading, I love the verse "...but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
Eternal life - a gift to be received, not a reward for deeds.
What a precious gift we have been given. A blessing with no conditions on race, age, income level, location, etc.
Thank you Father!
I am truly blessed to receive your grace.
I love this passage. This is probably my favorite 'birth narrative'. Not about the pageant scene, but about the incarnation.
I also love the imagery of Christ as light of the world. Are you a Lord of the Rings fan? I always think of the gift Galadriel gives Frodo, a light of one of the elves, and she says, "it will be a light for you in dark places." I think that we see so many dark places - we have to remember we have the light of Christ with us, and (what we forget even more often)*in* us - to shine out of us as we let it...
What a great passage. The part that really gets me is that Moses brought the law, but through Jesus we are brought grace! He's incredible. We needed the law, and Moses filled that role, but the law isn't all that we get in Christianity. We need the law to help guide our lives and make us do the right decisions. But, we will inevitably slip up, and that's where the grace of Christ comes in for us. How amazing is that? He became flesh, and then gave us his grace. Amen.
Marshall Bailey
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