Let’s continue with John’s introduction of Jesus.
Read John 1:1-14 again.
Remember that an introduction gives us important information about the person being introduced, a framework with which we can start to build a trust or relationship.
So far we’ve seen that Jesus is God and that Jesus became human. Today we’re going to explore more of the structure John lays out for us to understand who Jesus is and how He relates with those He encounters.
Did you see anything new this time? You may want to jot that down.
Hopefully as you were reading, you saw a few more ways that John describes Jesus.
Jesus is Life and Gives Life
In Him was life… John 1:4a
Life and belief are two concepts which repeat again and again and again in John’s Gospel. Because we will encounter the life giving nature of Jesus as we travel through the book of John, it seems unnecessary to spend a lot of time belaboring this point. Just remember this character trait of Jesus is part of the structure we will use to understand Jesus in His relationships.
Jesus is the True Light
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:5
Light is best appreciated in the dark. If I turn a light on in my kitchen while the sun is shining, the light has a negligible effect. But if I find that the sun has set and I am having a difficult time seeing what I’m doing, I appreciate the light that I turn on much more than when the sun is shining. We are going to find as we explore Jesus’ relationships with people that it is those who are broken and hurting who have the greatest appreciation for Jesus. The religious leaders of the day, those who had been most exposed to the light of God’s word in the ancient scriptures, had the most difficulty accepting Jesus as Savior. They had been given light but lacked the right understanding to interpret the True Light.
In what ways has your own religious understanding gotten in the way of you experiencing an intimate relationship with Jesus?
What are the broken and hurting places Jesus has shown up in your life? How has His intervention brought life to you?
Our response to Light differs according to our experience, but there are some universal things to remember about light that apply to our relationship with Jesus as well.
Light exposes. When darkness prevails, stuff remains hidden. When light is shined in dark places, all of a sudden we can see clearly what has been hidden. In this way, Jesus entering the narrative sometimes exposes the ugly things in our lives that we’d prefer stay hidden.
Light also transforms. On my stairway wall I have pictures of my children hanging, including some beautiful watercolor paintings of them as children done by my mother-in-law. If I come onto the stairs while it is still mostly dark, I can see that those pictures are there, but when I turn on the light and come close, I can see all the beautiful details of those pictures. Likewise, when Jesus shines His light in our lives, he may disclose some flaws, but He also certainly highlights the beauty of the lives of His image bearers
Light sustains life and growth. It is impossible for living things to grow without light. If I throw a brick onto my lawn, thus hiding the lawn beneath it from sunlight, it does not take long before the green of the grass fades to a white pallor, turns brown and dies. Sunlight ensures that my lawn remains green and healthy. Jesus also brings healthy growth to life by His presence in the lives of those whose who enter relationship with Him, as we soon shall see.
Can you identify ways in which Jesus hasoperated as the Light in your life?
I love v.1! It speaks so clearly to no one but God could serve as our redeemer being that he clothed himself in sinful flesh yet without sin! His love is simply overwhelming, and I’m grateful.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There are times when I get up in the middle of the night, I don’t turn on the light; I stand for a second to get acclimated to my surroundings then continue on my way. It’s weird to some, but I physically have a reliance on God to navigate me through the stairs & turns in the dark. It drives my husband to love me more! LOL! I try to relate what I do physically to challenges I have in life when darkness tries to invade…rely on God, who is indeed the LIGHT.
AMEN!!! I love how John weaves the truths about Jesus that he sets forth in these opening verses all the way through the gospel.
I have often marveled in the night how brightly a full moon shines. And the light of the moon is merely reflected from the light of the sun. And to think that Jesus, the Word, spoke and the sun had its existence, light shining in darkness!
v3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.