Read John
1
There are three
creation
stories
in the Old Testament and 1 in the New
Testament. Some have more detail
than others. Some are given in the
context of something else, but this one from John is meant to tell us that what
proceeds from his gospel account goes back to the very beginning.
At some
point if you are not already familiar, read the creation accounts from Genesis.
For now,
let’s consider John’s words which take us to the beginning.
God, whom we
know best through Jesus Christ, is the
same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
God did not create us and say, “Good luck. See you at the judgment.”
He has
always been with us, guiding
us, disciplining us, rebuking us, but most of all loving us. We are not his experiment. We are his masterpiece. God wants us to live a full
life and bring
glory to him
He walked
with Adam and Eve. He sent angels. He sent prophets. All were to show us the way to right living.
God also let
us make our own choices. I guess it’s hard
for a robot with preprogramming to bring glory to God, but an individual of free
will who seeks the Lord over his own comfort and welfare is someone who does
bring glory to God.
But the
angels and prophets didn’t get us to the destination. The law, which worked from the outside in,
never got us out of our disobedience. In
fact, it increased
our disobedience.
So, it was
time for the judgment. It was time for
God to say, “You had your chance and you blew it.”
Yes, the axe
was at the root of the tree. This
was going to be a done deal for humankind, except that God
was not in a hurry to condemn us. He
was patient, not slow to judgment. His
love and mercy exceeded anything that we could imagine.
But what
else could he do that he had not already done?
He came
in the flesh. He
manifested himself in human form. We
will get to that part in a few more verses, but for now, know that the Word
that became flesh and dwelt among us has always been there. He was with God from the beginning. He is
God.
Through him
everything that is was created through him.
Father, Son, and Spirit were there in the beginning. Now come four important statements compressed
into two sentences.
· In him was life
· That life was the light of all
humankind
· The light shines in the darkness
· The darkness has not overcome it.
Light
invades darkness. Life reaches out to
the lifeless. Everything proceeds from
Christ Jesus. We will find many
references to light and life and darkness as we proceed, but understand that
light and life originate in Jesus.
This letter
was written in Greek but had it been written in Hebrew and the Hebrew
traditions continued, it would have been called bə·rê·šîṯ, or In the
beginning.
John is
telling us that this gospel account is not a stand-alone story. It goes back to the beginning. It accounts for the manifestation of God’s
Word who was present at creation into this fallen world some two millennia ago.
John reminds
us that however the story appears to unfold—and in writer’s terms, the human
situation would have been what writers sometimes call the dark night of the soul—this
world could not overcome the One who was from the beginning.
John tells
us before we know the whole story that we will be singing Victory in Jesus.
Three of the
gospels follow a generally parallel track.
These are often called the synoptic gospels. John is more reflective. John accounts for the life of Jesus while he
was with us in the flesh, but John also prompts us with statements such as
these first five verses.
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.
Amen.
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