Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The text for this Christmas Day is written in the 1st Chapter
of the Gospel according to St John: Verses 1–18:
In the
beginning was he 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. 7He
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 people3 did not receive him. 12 But to
all who did receive him, who believed in his name, the 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.4 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.
What a joy it is to once again hear
the opening verses to the Gospel according to John. John has such a marvellous style. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
John used simple vocabulary and simple grammar.
Never the less, he used these simple tools of language to expresses
teachings that transcend our mortal minds.
John’s Gospel account begins with
something that is very much like an overture beginning a musical drama. If you have attended or participated in an
opera or a musical, you may have noticed that the orchestra or band plays a
medley of introductory musical themes from the entire production. It is a sort of sampler of the music you will
hear during the rest of the performance.
The Holy Spirit inspired John to
begin his Gospel account with this sort of an introduction. Within the first dozen or so verses, John
touches on the themes that he will develop as we make our way through his Gospel
account.
The major theme that John brings out
throughout the Gospel account is very much related to today’s celebration of
the birth of the Christ child. This
theme emphasises the fact that the little baby whose birth we celebrate on this
day … the little baby lying in the manger … is God in the flesh. The little human baby who looks like any
other human baby is … in fact … the Lord through whom all things were created.
John’s Gospel account begins in the
exact same way that the First Book of Moses begins … In the beginning. (John
1:1, ESV) These words take us back to creation. In the beginning was the Word. (John
1:1, ESV) These words proclaim that at the beginning when God created
everything, this Word already
existed. This Word is not a created thing and must, therefore, be one in essence
with God … independent of time.
In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God (John 1:1, ESV) The little word “with,” teaches us that there
is a distinction between this Word and
God. At the same time, the word “with,”
connects this Word to God. If God
and the Word had human form, we could
say they were in agreement, no better still, in harmony there was a complete
solidarity
In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1, ESV) As we continue through the verse, we learn that, not
only was this Word there at the
beginning before anything was created … not only was this Word there with God, but
we now learn that this Word already was God at the beginning. There is nothing in the divine nature which
is not also in this Word.
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with
God.” (John 1:1–2, ESV) Here we see a second time
that this Word was with God in the
beginning before anything was created.
Here we already see the preparation for the teaching of three persons in
one God … that this Word is one
person who is with the other persons of the God who is three persons in one
God. IF we were to fill out this passage
with the information that we find later in this Gospel account, it would read,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God
the Father, and the Word was God the Son. He was
in the beginning with God the Holy Spirit.”
Then the text tells us how this Word was involved in creating all
things. All things were made through
him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3, ESV)
Here we learn that whatever God did to create everything, He did through this Word. In fact, John emphasized this by stating it in
two different ways. This Word was fully involved in creation. God created the world and all creatures by
this Word, and not only created, but
also by him he has from the beginning, governed and upheld it. For if all things were not upheld in their
being by this Word, they would not
long remain created.
John continues again and again to
show that this Word has
characteristics that only God has. This
Word is life. It is the Light of
men. This Word is indeed a person of the Holy Trinity.
After the introduction makes it very
clear that this Word is God and the
life and light of all people, we read, “The true light, which gives light to
everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:9, ESV) Here we
learn that this Gospel account will tell us that this Word who is God and the life and light of man entered history in
order to dwell with His people.
Now we come to the introduction of
the great conflict in this Gospel account.
He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the
world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive
him. (John 1:10–11, ESV) What a sad description this is of the
sorry state of this world after the fall into sin. This Word,
the world’s God, creator, life, and light will enter into the history of
the world and the world will reject Him.
How much evil, pain, suffering, and death result from this one sad fact
… the world does not know its creator?
All the evil, the pain, the sufferings, and the tragedies that befall us
in this world can be gathered together under this one sin. By nature, we are idolaters who do not know
the creator.
For this great conflict there is a
great resolution. But to all who did
receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of
God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will
of man, but of God. (John 1:12–13, ESV) With these great words
of introduction we learn that this Gospel account will tell us what this Word has done in order to give us the
right to call ourselves children of God.
The Gospel will not reveal something that we can do by our own blood, or
flesh, or will, but it is God the Word who
must accomplish this great rescue for us.
John has now introduced the great
themes of his Gospel account. The
overture is almost over. There is one
last thing it must do. It must prepare
us for the opening of Act one; scene one of this great Gospel account. “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.” (John 1:14, ESV)
The account of the true history of
our salvation is ready to begin. This Word who is God the Son, the creator, the
life and light of all mankind is now a man Himself. He has entered history to work salvation for
us. Christ has assumed human nature,
which is mortal, and exposed to the terrible wrath and judgment of God. He has taken up all our weaknesses. Never the less, He does so without sin.
God the Son has taken up our earthly
flesh and set His foot on the path that leads to the cross. His own people will truly reject Him and
arrange for Him to decorate a cross with His bloody body. In this way, God will give us the right to
call ourselves children of God … not by our blood or will, but by His blood and
will.
The path that leads to the cross
also leads through the cross … through death, and then to an empty tomb. The empty tomb proclaims the resurrection of
Jesus and it is the guarantee that we shall also rise from the dead to new,
perfect, eternal life. Today, we
celebrate one step that our Lord took on that road that freed us from our
sin. We celebrate His birth as a man who
will save all people. Amen
The love and peace of our Great
Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds
in Christ Jesus. Amen
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