A Christmas Miracle!

John 1:1-18

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.²He was with God in the beginning.

³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

⁶There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. ⁸He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. ⁹The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

¹⁰He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.¹²Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

¹⁴The 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.

¹⁵John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' " ¹⁶From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

This is not the typical passage read at Christmas, but gives part of the backstory that makes Christmas, the birth of the Messiah into our world, so amazing. I've just started to read John, and haven't made it past this passage quite yet! I thought it would be cool to post a few thoughts here, to help you meditate on and celebrate Christmas.

In this passage, John builds a framework for the rest of his book, laying out a clear picture of who Jesus is that he'll continue to expand on throughout the Gospel. I labeled 12 things (though there may be more, or less, depending on your interpretation and reading of things) that John says about Jesus - all building the argument that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, and God Himself.

1. Jesus is the Word of God (v.1)

Not meaning the Bible, but the "divine self-expression" (phrase used by D.A. Carson in his commentary on John). God discloses Himself (He speaks) in the person of Jesus Christ. According to Carson's commentary, in the Old Testament, the Word of God brought creation, revelation, and salvation. All these things are true of Jesus - He created (v.3) and re-created (the idea of us being "born again"), He reveals God (v. 18), and He saves (v.12).

2. Jesus is God (v. 1, 18)

John clearly states that Jesus is God, that He and the Father are one.

3. Jesus exists eternally (v.1-2)

It says that "in the beginning was the Word" - in other words, Jesus was present when time began, when our world began. He has no beginning and no end, He's eternal. There has been no time, and will be no time, when Jesus didn't exist. He always was, and is.

4. Jesus is the Creator (v. 3, 10)

"Without Him was not any thing made that was made" - He created the substance of the universe - every particle of matter, anti-matter, every atom and molecule, everything. While man can build and create things, we have to have something to work with. Jesus created everything out of nothing.

5. Jesus holds life in Himself (v. 4, 12, 16)

He is the giver of life. John says that "this life was the light of men" - the life that He held in Himself was given to us. First in creation, He made us and put life into us; and also at salvation, He is the giver of new life in Him.

6. Jesus is the true light (v. 5, 9)

He isn't just any light, but the true light. He shines in the darkness and is victorious over it. There are not equally powerful forces of good and evil in the world, Jesus is infinitely more powerful than any force of evil, and has been and will be victorious over it all. We need not fear evil or darkness when Jesus is with us. Light always overcomes darkness, darkness cannot envelop light.

7. Jesus is the way of salvation (v. 12-13)

He gave the right for us to become children of God, we did not earn it. He provides salvation through Himself.

8. Jesus came to the world and dwelt among us (v. 10, 14)

This is called the "Incarnation" - God becoming a man. It's amazing, and almost impossible to conceive, considering the fact that He created the world. It's like an author writing himself into a story. Only an author's story only exists in imagination and on paper. God's creation is real and physical, and He physically entered into it in the person of Jesus. He slipped in quietly, under cover of night, and the world, though created by Him, did not recognize Him. Amazing that people would not recognize their Creator when He was present with them! Yet many didn't, and still don't. How often I fail to recognize Him too, even though I'm graciously saved by Him and He lives in me.

9. Jesus reveals the Father (v. 14, 18)

He makes God known, and enables us to know Him.

10. Jesus is full of grace and truth (v. 14, 16-17)

Grace: unmerited favor, a gift (yet not without cost - He Himself was the cost!)

Truth: no falsehood, trustworthy, authoritative, an unmovable anchor, reliable

Contrast that with the law (v. 17). We don't need a list of laws to follow to grow and be changed, we need grace and truth. Jesus is FULL of grace and truth.

11. Jesus is the Son of God (v. 14)

i.e., He is God.

12. He is the Messiah (v. 17)

The Greek word "Christ" means Messiah. John waits until the end of this passage to reveal who he's been talking about: Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The Messiah had been long-awaited and much-anticipated throughout the Old Testament and Jewish history, and now He has been revealed, at long last. He is the hope of all nations, the Anointed One sent from God to save. And He is God Himself. And this is what we celebrate at Christmas - the long-awaited Messiah has come to earth to save people of every nation. Only He came in an unexpected way - as a helpless baby, born in a stable in a small, obscure town, to humble and ordinary parents. Just as when God revealed Himself to Elijah in a whisper rather than an earthquake or a storm, God revealed Himself through Jesus in a baby rather than a powerful political or military leader.

One of the amazing things about Christmas is that all these things, these dozen things found in this passage in John, are all true of this little baby, laying sweetly in a manger. This child held life in Himself, He was full of grace and truth, existing eternally, God Himself. And he came to save us, for His glory. Astounding.

Merry Christmas!

--Jason

Easter Meditations

This weekend marks the most important celebration in the Christian calendar: the remembrance of Jesus death and celebration of His resurrection. Our entire faith rests on this, that Jesus took on death for us, and in paying for sin, gives us new life. Our sole response is faith, to believe in Him and accept His offer. We can't do anything to save ourselves, Jesus did it all.

I used to get confused as to why the resurrection was such a big deal, reasoning that it was because of the death of Christ that our sin was paid for and that we're saved. The resurrection seemed like almost an afterthought, just a validation of Jesus' claims of deity and ability to pay for sin. It is that, but it is so much more.

I thought I'd take a few moments to share some (emphasis on some - there are many more) of the reasons why the resurrection is so vital to our faith. Without it, our faith wouldn't exist (1 Cor 15:14). My prayer is that you'd have some of these things in mind this Sunday, as we celebrate the greatest victory in all of history, and the most significant day in our year.

1) In the resurrection, Jesus was the first to enter the glorified new life. (1 Cor 15:12-49)

Just as Adam was the first man to enter the life of sin and brokenness, Jesus (the "Second Adam") was the first to enter the glorified perfection that we'll inherit after we die. This isn't to say the Jesus wasn't always perfect, or glorified (He was, and is), but that as a man, Jesus was the "firstfruits", as it says in 1 Cor 15. His resurrected body is a model of the resurrected body that we'll one day have. We'll be raised from the dead with a new, glorified body upon Jesus return and the ushering in of a new Heaven and new earth. I could try to go on, but 1 Corinthians 15 pretty much says it all. Take a moment to read through it.

2) In the resurrection, Jesus defeated spiritual death. (1 Cor 15:50-58)

God gives us the victory over sin and death through Jesus. Amazing! Once we trust in Jesus, we no longer have to fear or worry about spiritual death, separation from God. We can now live at peace with God because our sin is paid for and we have the confident hope of eternity with God.

3) Through the resurrection, Jesus remains alive to this day.

Our God is alive, present, always with us. There is no body in the tomb. When Jesus rose from the dead, He didn't live on earth for a time and then die again; He ascended into Heaven, where He remains at the right hand of the Father. Our relationship with Him is real because He's alive and active.

4) Through His death and resurrection, Jesus opened the door for us to freely approach the Father (John 16:26-27)

In the passage I listed, Jesus says an interesting statement, that He will not ask the Father on our behalf, instead that we will ask God directly in Jesus name. This is significant. Prior to Jesus death and resurrection, people were separated from God and He was unapproachable because of our sin. In the Old Testament, God dwelt in the Holy of Holies of the temple, shielded off by a thick curtain, and only once a year, one man - the high priest - could enter. And even then it was risky - a certain set of things needed to happen first to ensure his purity, and he entered with a chain tied to his ankle in the chance that he'd die in God's holy presence, and the other priests would have to drag him out of the Holy of Holies by his ankle. When Jesus dies, that curtain was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), showing that God was now approachable by all, but only through Christ. We, who are in Christ, have our sins paid for, and can now boldly and freely go to God and interact with Him, but we only go to Him in Jesus' name. This is why we pray in Jesus' name, He's the mediator through whom we are able to approach God. He also intercedes for us as He sits at God's right hand.

5) Through the resurrection, Jesus demonstrated His ultimate power and authority over everything. (Colossians 1:15-20)

Think about it - what's the most powerful thing someone could do? What would most demonstrate their authority and power over all things? It would have to be to rise from the dead! What is more final in our world than death? And Jesus defeated it, showing the limitless power of God.

6) Through Jesus' resurrection, He raised us with Him. (Colossians 2:11-14)

Awesome.

7) Through Jesus' resurrection, that very same power dwells in us and works for us. (Romans 8:11, Ephesians 1:15-23)

Read and think about what those passages say. The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, and gives life to us! How crazy is that? How often do we forget that truth, or neglect to tap into that power? And in Ephesians Paul says that the power that God worked in raising Christ from the dead (the greatest power display ever, remember) is for us and working toward us. Wow! This gives us reason to trust God to fight our battles for us, rather than fight them on our own. He's powerful and more than able to fight for us and win. It also gives us a great truth to keep in mind when, later in Ephesians, Paul says that our battle isn't against flesh and blood but against forces of spiritual darkness. These are intimidating forces, but God's power that was displayed in the resurrection is on our side. We can go to Him and let Him fight Satan and all his schemes for us.

These are just a few of the many, many things we could say about the resurrection. Not to mention all the things that Jesus' death accomplished. We could go on for hours and days and years just proclaiming all that Jesus did through His death and resurrection. As you meditate and reflect on these things this weekend, feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section. Let's praise and exalt Jesus together - He is so, so worthy! Praise Him always and forever for who He is and all He's done!!

--Jason