When God created the world, He did something infinitely more wondrous than any of us could have ever imagined. He filled a void, with life. Where once there was chaos, now spinning galaxies swirled into being. Where there was darkness, now there is light. Where once there was deadness, now there is life. John puts it so beautifully, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14a). So it is with life, we once was lost, but through Jesus we have been found. We once were dead in our sins, but through Jesus we are saved. Scripture reminds us, "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)" (Ephesians 2:4-5).
The writer of the Gospel of St. John is the son of Zebedee and Salome. He was one of the twelve apostles. His biological brother was James, another apostle. The brothers were followers of John the Baptist. John belonged to the inner circle of the disciples, a group that was near Christ on such occasions, as the transfiguration and the agony in Gethsemane. It was to John that our Lord, while on the cross commanded "His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold, your son'" (John 19:26). John is described explicitly, six times in this Gospel, as one whom Jesus loved. This John was also referred to by Paul as one of the three pillars of the church. The Apostle Paul said, "In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers" (Galatians 2:9).
In the Gospel of John, he wastes no time introducing us to Jesus as the Word, the Light, and the Life. He opens his gospel telling us, "In the beginning," as he introduces the Word. Unlike the other gospels, John goes to the heart and soul of the reader. He does not attempt to go the route of Matthew, in establishing a genealogy to show Jesus' kingship. Nor does he follow Mark who presents Jesus as "The Servant of Man." And he does not take the approach of Dr. Luke, who presents Jesus as, "The Son of man."
John's purpose in this gospel plainly declares "that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through Him." John desires that everyone knows who Jesus is and that the way to Him is by faith.
But before God created anything, there was just God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are distinct, but inseparable. No date can be given for their being. John's belief in Jesus can be summed up in these words, "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3).
The Bible clearly tells us about the existence of God, and that every believer should accept this by faith as being the truth. Genesis 1:1 states, "In the beginning," the same as John began his gospel. There was never a time when the Godhead did not exist.
John states, "In the beginning" was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). Here in John, John refers to the Word, the Logos, as being Jesus. The Greek word Logos, translated Word, means the spoken communication, meaning a message or messages. In Christology, the Logos is a name or title of Jesus Christ. In Him are embodied all the treasures of the divine wisdom, the collective thoughts of God. So Jesus communicates to us what God is like, His actions, thoughts, feelings, and attitude. Jesus was 'With God in the beginning." Unlike our forefathers, He always existed; his life didn't begin when He was born, as a baby on earth. The "Word was with God," indicates a personal relationship between God the Son and God the Father. They are both God, but they are not two different Gods. John's statement makes Jesus equal with God, a fact that haunts many people today, as it did back then.
"All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3). Jesus was God's agent in creating everything, to name a few, light, darkness, water, land, vegetation, sun, moon, galaxies, animals, and let's not forget His greatest creation, man whom He place over all things on earth. Even before He was born as a human, He showed us what God is like through creation. From creation we can see that God is creative, orderly, and powerful.
Make no mistake, John is declaring this amazing truth, in all its fullness and glory. Then who is Jesus? John makes it very clear that He was and is the Son of God, eternal with the Father. John also points out that He was the Creator. This statement is very difficult to understand with our finite minds. If we are to grasps some of what John is trying to relate to us, we must empty ourselves of this twenty-first century mind and seek understanding through our relationship with God.
John not only shows us the God in the creation of life, but John declares that both the physical and the spiritual, originated in Him, and that God makes His power and purpose known to all: "In Him was life and that life was the light of men" (John 1:4). In this statement, John traces the theme of life and light. Life means more than physical well being. It has spiritual dimension, enabling a believer to live abundantly in this life and be sure of resurrection with God after death.
The purpose of light is to banish darkness. When John used the term "light" and "darkness," he is referring to good and evil, holiness and sin. Thus, Jesus, who is morally pure, meaning He is sinless, became God's light in a spiritually dark world, full of sin and evil behavior, thoughts, and attitudes. Even today there are those who resist the spiritual light that shine forth, because they seek not to understand what is expected in this life. Although sin and darkness are powerful, they can be overcome. The light and holiness of Jesus will always be more powerful than any forces of darkness and evil.
The synoptic gospel includes the ministry of John the Baptist, the forerunner, who introduces Jesus to a people who were sitting in darkness. He played a pivotal role in calling the people to repentance. His message was, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." "John testified about Jesus and cried out, saying, 'This was He of whom I said, "He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me"'" (John 1:15). Although Jesus and John was cousins, Scripture makes it clear that he "was a man sent from God." John came as a witness to bear witness or testify of the Light that all men through him might believe.
Because of the impact of John the Baptist's ministry, the people coming to him believed that John might have been that Light, but he adamantly disputed their belief, and in no way would he take any credit. John let it be known that, "He came as a witness, to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light " (John 1:7-8). What a mighty responsibility he had, and today we also must witness and testify that Jesus is the light of the world and that we might have the abundant blessing of life, not only here on earth, but in the world to come.
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:12-14). To read this is just awesome, Jesus gave up His home in heaven, and His face to face company with God the Father, to come to this earth to show us what God is like, and the extent of His love for humanity. He traded a place where everything is good and perfect, for one where sin and suffering is prevalent. What an awesome God we serve!
This devotional is titled "Why?" Please allow me to answer the "why" Jesus left the regal room of heaven and took upon Himself human flesh, and dwelled among such degradation. When reading John 3:17, we get clarity, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." As a sinner, we were already condemn with our Adamic nature. We were on death row headed to the death chamber. Jesus was, and is our only hope. "In Christ there is no condemnation." Humanity was sinking deep into sin.
Colossians 1:14 says, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins." Redemption signifies payment of ransom, to set free an enslaved people. He paid the price, in full, to deliver us out of slavery. Why did He come and dwelled in the flesh? The old system had no saving power. Animal sacrifices did not have the power to save anyone. In the Old Testament, God required animal sacrifices to provide for a temporary covering of sins. They are no longer needed today. Why? In the words of John the Baptist, "Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" Jesus, Himself, became the ultimate sacrificial Lamb. Scripture reminds us, "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22). The blood of Jesus Christ was the complete and final offering. Scripture makes it very clear, Hebrews 10:10 says, "By which we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all."
Why did Jesus die for us? Jesus intentionally laid down His life to save us from our sins. Scripture tells us that Jesus said, "Therefore my Father loves Me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from my Father" (John 10:17-18).
WHY did Jesus die for us? Simply put, because He loves us.
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