Who Is Jesus? John 1:1-5

Illustration: Imagine a traveler in the desert, exhausted and parched, stumbling upon an old well. The traveler sees the well and desperately hopes it contains water. Cautiously, they lower a bucket, praying that their belief in the well's potential isn't misplaced. With trembling hands, they draw up the bucket, and to their immense relief, it's filled with cool, refreshing water. In this moment, the traveler experiences the power of belief. Their belief wasn't just a passive thought; it was an active trust that moved them to action—to lower the bucket despite doubts and fears. Their belief was rewarded, not because the well magically produced water, but because their trust in its promise led to a life-saving encounter. Likewise, our faith in God is like that traveler's belief in the well. It's not merely an intellectual acknowledgment but a deep trust that moves us to action—to seek God, to pray, to obey His word even when circumstances seem bleak. Just as the traveler found life-giving water, so too can we find abundant life through our belief in God.

John uses the term Belief or Believing as an action to be taken.

John gives us the purpose for writing his account about Jesus.

John 20:31 “but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

I. Jesus is God VS 1

Define Word: Logos - In John 1:1 defines Jesus

The Greek word Logos is defined as Word or Reason which was a Greek concept to explain Deity.

Here John uses it as a word picture to describe how we should understand who Jesus is.

It takes into account the beginning of time in God’s created order, and it takes into account His timelessness and His Trinitarian position.

Once, a group of children in Sunday school were asked, "Who can tell me who Jesus is?" Little Johnny eagerly raised his hand and exclaimed, "I know! I know! “The teacher smiled and said, "Alright, Johnny, tell us who Jesus is.” With a serious look on his face, Johnny confidently declared, "Jesus is God's only Son." Impressed, the teacher nodded and asked, "That's right, Johnny! And can anyone tell me what that means? “Another child, Mary, raised her hand and said, "It means Jesus is like God's superhero! “The teacher chuckled and replied, "That's a good way to think about it, Mary. Jesus is indeed special to God. “Just then, another boy, Tommy, raised his hand excitedly. “I know a joke about Jesus!" he exclaimed. Curious, the teacher said, "Alright, Tommy, let's hear it." Tommy grinned mischievously and said, "Why did Jesus never get a drivers' license?" The teacher, caught off guard, asked, "Why?" "Because," Tommy replied with a twinkle in his eye, "God's always at the wheel!" The class erupted into laughter, and even the teacher couldn't help but chuckle at the clever twist on the idea that Jesus, as God's Son, is always under the care and guidance of His heavenly Father.

A. The eternal existence of the Word.

John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.””

Revelation 19:13 “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.”

B. The Unity of the Word.

John 10:30 ““I and the Father are one.””

John 5:19 “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”

John 5:30 ““I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

C. The Foundation of the Word

The Churches one Foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord was written by Samuel Stone in 1866 in Response to the the heresy of to those who were denying scripture as inerrant and denying portions of the Old Testament. The Church’s one foundation Is Jesus Christ her Lord; She is His new creation By water and the Word:From heav’n He came and sought herTo be His holy Bride;With His own blood He bought her, And for her life He died.

Ephesians 5:25–26 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,”

II. Jesus is Creator VS 2-3

A. Jesus was there from the beginning. VS 2 — The Bible shows this in three ways.

Jesus existed before all creation was and He is the sustainer.

Colossians 1:15–17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

b. Jesus has eternal existence.

Micah 5:2 ““But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.””

Jesus has existence from beginning to end.

Revelation 22:13 ““I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.””

B. Jesus made all things possible. VS 3

We must consider God’s creative power: יהוה Yahweh (YHWH): The tetragrammaton representing the sacred name of God, often translated as "I AM" or "I AM WHO I AM." It signifies God's eternal, self-existent nature.

We must consider God’s sustaining Power: אֱלֹהִים (Elohim) - A plural form used to denote majesty or honor, meaning "God." It emphasizes God's power and sovereignty.

We must consider his provisional Power: יהוה יִרְאֶה Yahweh Yireh (Jehovah Jireh): Meaning "The Lord Will Provide," indicating God's provision for His people (Genesis 22:14).

We must consider God’s Saving Power: Yeshua is Jesus’ Hebrew name meaning God is Salvation or “The Lord Saves”

III. Jesus is Life VS 4-5

“He's only mostly dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive” is a quote from the 1987 movie The Princess Bride. Miracle Max (Billy Crystal) says this line to Inigo Montoya (Cary Elwes) in response to Inigo saying that a friend is dead and can't talk. Miracle Max goes on to say, “With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do. What's that? Go through his clothes and look for loose change”.

Light is not simply the absence of darkness, but spiritually it is the enemy of darkness.

Conclusion:

Imagine a vast and intricate tapestry, woven with threads of countless stories and lives across history. Each thread represents a person, a moment, a heartbeat. At the center of this tapestry stands Jesus Christ. He is not just a figure in history or a character in a book; He is the very fabric that holds the tapestry together.

In one thread, He is the healer who touched the blind and they saw light for the first time. In another, He is the teacher whose words stirred hearts and challenged minds. Yet in another, He is the friend who wept with those who mourned and rejoiced with those who celebrated.

He is the fulfillment of prophecies spoken centuries before His birth, the embodiment of God's love and mercy in human form. In Him, the divine and the human converge—a perfect union that offers hope to the hopeless, grace to the undeserving, and forgiveness to the repentant.

When we look at Jesus, we see compassion that knows no bounds, wisdom that surpasses understanding, and power that transcends the natural world. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end—eternally present, eternally relevant.

The confrontation every person has with creation is a confrontation with Christ.