The Word Became Flesh

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:

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. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 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 testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

9 The true light that gives light to everyone 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. 12 Yet to all who did receive 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.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. (John 1:1-18, NIV)

REFLECTIONS:

We are about to embark on a journey through the Gospel of John. In comparison with the other Gospels, John's story stands out as unique and different. His is a peculiar story, filled with all sorts of scenes and teachings that are absent from the Synoptic Gospels. In particular, John's story is filled with miracles and discourses meant to reveal the mysterious identity of Jesus. John takes us behind the scenes of Jesus' ministry in the hopes that we might see and understand and believe that Jesus is the divine Son of God—the One who is God in the flesh.

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"In the beginning was the Word." At once we know that we're entering a story that is both familiar and strange. "In the beginning…" No one can see those words and not immediately think of the creation story in Genesis: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." John's story is not merely about one character who lived in one place and time. No, John wants us to see his story as the Story of God and the world. The story John is telling is about the creator God acting in a new way with his beloved creation. It's about the way in which the long Story, which began in Genesis, reached its climax through "the Word." In Genesis 1, the climax is the creation of humans, made in God's image (Genesis 1:26-31). In John 1, the climax is the arrival of a human being, the Word, who "became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:14).

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When I speak a word, it is, in a sense, part of me. It's a breath that comes from inside me, making the noise that I give it with my throat, my mouth and my tongue. My words originate from my heart, the deepest part of my inner being. They express my inner feelings, desires, and thoughts. My words reveal what's going on inside of me. When people hear me speak, they assume I intended my words. "But you said…," people comment, if our deeds don't match up to our words. We remain responsible for the words we say.

And yet our words seem to have a life of their own, as well. When people hear them, words can change the way they think and live. Think of "I love you…" or "Thank you …" or "You're fired!" These words create new situations. People respond or act accordingly. The words sink into their minds, remain in their memories, and affect the way they go about their day.

Throughout the Old Testament, God regularly acts by means of his "word." What he says, happens. In Genesis, he spoke and creation came into being. "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth" (Psalm 33:6). People and plants may wither and die, but "the word of our God endures forever" (Isaiah 40:6-8). God's word goes out of his mouth and brings forth life and healing and hope to all who hear it (Isaiah 55:10-11). These sorts of biblical ideas are what lie behind John's choice of "the Word" here. It's John's way of telling us who Jesus really is.

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Verses 1-2 and 18 begin and end the passage by stressing that the Word was and is God. The Word was and is in intimate relationship with God. In saying all this, John is stretching the limits of language, making it go beyond what's normally possible. But he can't help it. After all, he's describing "the Word," and "the Word" is just too big and awesome for mere words to describe. In verse 14 John says that the Word "became flesh and made his dwelling among us." That is, he became human, became one of us. He became, in fact, the human being we know as Jesus. And that's the theme of John's Gospel: if you want to understand who the true God is, if you want to know what's going on inside the heart of the one true God, listen closely to his Word, look long and hard at Jesus. Jesus is the Word of God, the one who reveals the very heart of God.

The rest of the passage clusters around this central statement that the Word "became flesh." The one we know as Jesus is identical, it seems with the Word who was there from the very start, the Word through whom all things were made, the one who contained and contains life and light (Colossians 1:15-20). The Word challenged the darkness before creation and now challenges the darkness that is found within creation itself. The Word is bringing into being the new creation, in which God once more says: "Let there be light!"

But strangely enough, when God sends the Word into the world, the world doesn't recognize him. Indeed, when he sends the Word to his chosen people—to Israel, the people to whom he had spoken again and again—they don't recognize him. And this is the central problem which dominates the whole Story. Jesus comes to God's people, and God's people do what the rest of the world do: they prefer darkness to light. And that is why fresh grace is needed, in place of the grace that is already given (John 1:16). The law, which was "given through Moses," points in the right direction; but, like Moses himself, it doesn't take us to the Promised Land. For that, you need the "grace and truth [that] came through Jesus Christ" (verse 17).

One of the most exciting things about this opening passage, this prologue to John's story, is that we're in it too: "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God" (verses 12-13). According to God's gracious Word, you don't have to be born into a particular family to become a child of God. It doesn't matter what gender you are or what socioeconomic bracket you are a part of. It doesn't matter if you are a social outcast or stricken with a disability or enslaved by something in your past. God wants people from everywhere to be born in a new way, born into the family which he began through Jesus and which has since spread throughout the whole world. Anyone can become a child of God, a member of God's family. Something can happen to people in this life, which causes them to become new people, people who believe "in his name" (verse 12). Somehow, someway the great Story of God in the world, the Story of Jesus and Israel, the Story of the Word who reveals the glory of the unseen God—this great Story is a play in search of actors, and there are parts for everyone, you and me included. What a glorious Story this is!

PRAYER:

Gracious Father, thank you for sending the Word to become flesh. Thank you for sharing your heart with us, for revealing the grace and truth of who you are through your Son. We believe that light and life are found in Jesus alone. Father, thank you for inviting us into your family through your Son. Thank you for the new standing we have as children of God, those who have been born of God. We praise you for your unending grace and your limitless favor!

WHO AM I?

I am Tres Sansom, and I am so glad to have my wife back home!