John 1 - Simply Profound
As you prepare for Christmas, be reminded that Jesus is so much more than a little babe in a manger.
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John 1 (ESV)
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
was not any thing made
that was made.
4 In him was life,
and the life was the light of men.
5 The light
shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 He came as a witness,
to bear witness about the light,
that all might believe through him.
8 He was not the light,
but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light,
which gives light to everyone,
was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world,
and the world was made through him,
yet the world did not know him.
11 He came to his own,
and his own people did not receive him.
12 But to all who did receive him,
who believed in his name,
he gave the right
to become children of God,
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 have seen his glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out,
“This was he of whom I said,
‘He who comes after me ranks before me,
because he was before me.’ ”)
16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God;
the only God,
who is at the Father’s side,
he has made him known.
19 And this is the testimony of John,
when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He confessed,
and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
And he answered, “No.”
22 So they said to him, “Who are you?
We need to give an answer to those who sent us.
What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said,
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’
as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.)
25 They asked him,
“Then why are you baptizing,
if you are neither
the Christ,
nor Elijah,
nor the Prophet?”
26 John answered them,
“I baptize with water,
but among you stands one you do not know,
27 even he who comes after me,
the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
28 These things took place in Bethany
across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,
“Behold,
the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world!
30 This is he of whom I said,
‘After me comes a man who ranks before me,
because he was before me.’
31 I myself did not know him,
but for this purpose I came baptizing with water,
that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 And John bore witness:
“I saw the Spirit
descend from heaven like a dove,
and it remained on him.
33 I myself did not know him,
but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me,
‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain,
this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples,
36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them,
“What are you seeking?”
And they said to him,
“Rabbi” (which means Teacher),
“where are you staying?”
39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.”
So they came and saw where he was staying,
and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him,
“We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said,
“You are Simon the son of John.
You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee.
He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him,
“We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote,
Jesus of Nazareth,
the son of Joseph.”
46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
“Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered him,
“Before Philip called you,
when you were under the fig tree,
I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered him,
“Rabbi,
you are the Son of God!
You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered him,
“Because I said to you,
‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe?
You will see greater things than these.”
51 And he said to him,
“Truly, truly, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
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Previous DIG DEEPER posts on John
John 1 Summary
This famous passage is commonly referred to as John's Prologue. Rather than explain the details of Jesus' birth as Matthew and Luke do, or just jumping into the beginning of Jesus' ministry as Mark does, John introduces Jesus poetically, tying in many Old Testament themes:
JESUS IS THE WORD (v1-3)
The word 'Word' has a bigger sense, which is reflected in the Greek. Jesus is the Logos, which was the transcendent power that Greek philosophers recognized was holding all things together. We get the English word "logic" from this.
Jesus is the all powerful, ever existing divine logic that created all things. The Logos has always been with God and is God.
JESUS IS THE LIGHT (v4-13)
He is the source of light and life in all people. This world has been plunged into darkness by sin, but Jesus is the one true light that overcomes that darkness.
Even though Jesus, the Logos, spoke the world into existence, His creation did not recognize Him when He came, and like bugs that scurry away when a rock is lifted up, the sinful world scurried away rejecting the true light.
But it doesn't take long for John to present the gospel message, which comes in v12:
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
JESUS TOOK ON OUR NATURE AND LIVED AMONG US (v14-18)
The tabernacle and temple were so significant in the Old Testament because the Israelites could see that God's presence lived among them. When Jesus came, John writes that He dwelled (literally: tabernacled) among us.
As you read John, be on the lookout for how Jesus speaks about and interacts with the Temple, showing that He supersedes it. Jesus is a new grace, replacing the grace the Mosaic sacrificial system could only symbolize.
Jesus is the fullest revelation of God. He literally is the Word of God.
Dig Deeper
The prologue John begins his gospel with certainly is fit for a king. Even though Jesus gave up so much to come down and dwell with His people in their sin, He never gave up His authority.
Notice the first thing John records Jesus saying: In v38 He simply asks what are you seeking? Ironically, Jesus' question goes unanswered.
It's not until another conversation begins that Jesus answers His original question with a command: Follow me (v43).
Make sure you are seeking the Logos and following Him.
AAA Prayer :
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (v1)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God will make what you want the same as what He wants (v38)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
