Scripture: John 1:14-18
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
15 John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”
16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
Some thoughts:
In the opening of his book John defines the Word, in Greek logos, as the human being Jesus. In Greek thought, logos was the rational principle guiding the universe and making life coherent. It was a reason, a theory connecting word with structure. Moreover in Jewish thought, logos was the word of the Lord, an expression of God’s wisdom and creative power. At the time of John’s writing, the Christian perspective was that logos was viewed as coming from God and having his personality (John’s perspective).
The logos is God. The word was God (John 1:1). This idea of the logos, as described by John, was revolutionary of the greatest order. In Greek thought the sphere of God, the spiritual, mythical world was separated from the mundane world of humanity, which they called ‘flesh’ (sarx). John wrote that Christ became sarx! In other words, logos became human! Do you see how utterly astonishing this was for the Greeks and the Jews? Jesus was and is 100% divine and 100% human. It is beyond comprehension that the Creator would do this and outside of anything human beings could conceive of. Notice John begins where his audience understands (logos and sarx) and moves from the known bridging to the unknown making the connection between the two. Often when sharing the gospel, we may have a tendency to begin from our territory rather than where the people’s understanding lies and help them bridge the gap to the gospel.
The word used for dwelt (or in this translation “made his home among us”) is tabernacled. The Old Testament Tabernacle in the desert was a type of Christ which is why such great detail was given to Moses in its construction. The coming of Emmanuel (“God with us”) meant, among other things, God was very serious about communicating with us in ways we could understand. In that sense, there is no mystery. This Logos has revealed God to us in the clearest way possible. He humbled himself to become one of us. It is still astounding.
Music: “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” Caitlin
Let all mortal flesh keep silence and with fear and trembling stand
Ponder nothing earthly minded, for with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descended, our full homage to demand.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to be aware of your dwelling place in me this day. May I never become inoculated to the wonder of your Incarnation. In the Savior’s name, Jesus, Amen. -Dan Sharp