One of Us — John 1:14-18

Introduction

Joan Osborne’s song “One of Us” is a smash hit by any metric with more than 153 million plays on Spotify. And, it’s unique among pop songs because it gets into existential and spiritual matters. The chorus asks:

What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us. Just a stranger on the bus. Trying to make his way home? If God had a face what would it look like? And would you want to see?

And, the song strikes a chord by asking an ancient question and resolving it with a new answer. For millennia, since mankind began to live on the earth and became confused about his identity, we have asked: Who is God? What is He like? What does his face look like? And, the innovation of the song, with its echoes of postmodernism, is that we should just think of one another like God. We should treat one another with the reverence and respect and honor that has historically been reserved for God alone. You see, humanism is its own religion, dating back to Adam and Eve wanting to be equals with God, and what we see here is that it even comes with its own hymns.

God’s Word

Well, in the prologue to his Gospel, the Apostle John isn’t asking “What if God was one of us?” He’s telling us outright that God became one of us. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…..and the Word became flesh!” That is, Jesus came to answer the age old question “What is God Like?” by showing us in the “flesh.” And, He came so that we could be secured in him. So, that’s the question I want us to ask this morning: What is God Like? (Headline)

He “came” to the “wilderness.”

John 1:14a “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…

John is establishing the identity of Jesus in unequivocal terms. Jesus is the Creator God by whom and through whom and for whom all things have been made. He is eternal and uncreated since “without him was not anything made that was made.” The Word didn’t begin in this moment. The Word was there in the beginning “with” God and AS God. But, John continues by picking up his thought from verses 1-3 and advancing it in verse 14. He makes another reference to Jesus as the “Word.” And, it’s the most mind-blowing yet. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…and the Word became flesh!” That is, Jesus is really God, and Jesus is…

He is a real “man.”

The Word didn’t begin in this moment, but He did in that moment become something He had not been previously — a man. And, it’s important to John that you realize that He’s not just kind of a man. Jesus is not some type of 1/2 and 1/2 demigod. Rather, He is entirely God. Everything true about God is true about him. And, He is entirely man. Everything true about man, save a sinful nature, is true about Jesus. That’s the meaning behind use of the word “flesh.” It means more than Jesus got a body as though He were some superhuman that looks like us but doesn’t feel like us or struggle like us or experience like us. No, “flesh” means that Jesus took on the full human nature, and with it, the full human experience.

How do these two natures coexist without conflict in one person? Well, that’s a question we’ll be researching through eternity. But, we can say that it least includes both forfeiture and acceptance. To become a man and live on earth, Jesus forfeited temporarily the privileges owed to God. He didn’t cease to be God, but He willingly left behind his rightful dignity and the continual adoration of his name. He forfeited his needlessness. And, He accepted instead human pain, suffering, weakness, and limitations. Jesus forfeited his throne so that He could get tired and hungry, thirsty and sad. He left behind perfect community so that He could experience betrayal and fragility and true temptation. And, above all, Jesus became a man so that He could do what God is not normally able to do. Do you know what God can’t do? Die.

And, notice the verb “became.” It in a tense that we don’t have in English called the aorist tense. The aorist is not quite the same as past tense. It describes a completed action. So, here’s the point: Jesus became a man, and He’ll never un-become a man. When you meet Jesus, you’ll meet a man whose hand you can shake and whose neck you can hug and whose scars you can touch. Jesus will for all eternity identify himself with you through his own humanity. And…

He lived a real “life.”

Now, zero in on the word “dwelt.” This is really an extraordinary word. It more literally means “tabernacled.” So, John is saying, “The Son of God became a man and tabenernacled among us.” This is where our OT knowledge helps us again to see the beauty and depth of John’s words. The Tabernacle was the predecessor of the Temple. God’s people would set up their tents so that God’s tent was the center of their community life. The visible light of God’s glory, which is in view here talking about Jesus’ “glory,” would glow from within that tent. And, it was so every person in Israel whenever they felt insecure or wondered how they would have food or whether they would be okay, could look to the Tabernacle, see that God was in their midst, and know that He was going to see them through.

But, it’s interesting that there’s reference here to the Tabernacle and not the Temple, isn’t it? What’s the significance? Well, there are two primary differences. One, it was in the wilderness. It was the temporary dwelling of God until the Temple. And, two, the Tabernacle was temporary. The Tabernacle was the presence of God in the midst of the wandering and sojourning and suffering.

Do you see the picture? Jesus came to join us in the wilderness. He didn’t come to enjoy a privileged life. He came to endure a real life. This wilderness we’re living in feels like it’s going to get the best of us, doesn’t it? Over the last few months, so many of you have dealt with just profound losses in your lives. The wilderness is filled with tears. Jesus knew loss, too. His dad likely died while he was young. He wept over the death of his friend Lazarus. Some of you know what it’s like for the people you love most to hurt you the most. Jesus did, too. He friends slept when they told him they would pray. His people shouted, “Hosanna” on Sunday, and the “Crucify him” on Friday. He shared his life with Judas who betrayed him with a kiss. And, you’re tempted to abandon your life for God for something easier and less painful. Jesus was tempted face-to-face by Satan himself with a quicker, more prosperous life. In his agony before the cross, He pleaded with God to remove the agonizing path that lied ahead. These weren’t contrived temptations meant to tell a story. They were real and deep and excruciating. Jesus didn’t live a superficial life; He lived a real life in the Wilderness with us and for us.

And, that’s why…

He offers real “hope.”

One of the discoveries that I’ve made in pastoral ministry is that people are comforted by experience more than expertise. It’s both a great honor and responsibility to be able to walk with people as one of their pastors through the hardest times of their lives. But, almost inevitably, the person ends up being most comforted by someone within the church who has experienced a similarly hard thing — the loss of a child, a miscarriage, postpartum, the loss of a spouse or job, a husband/wife who had an affair. You see, the greatest hope comes from those with shared experiences who have been able to overcome them.

And, y’all, that’s who our God is. Jesus tabernacled with us to tell us: “I’m with you in the wilderness, and the wilderness is temporary.” He is able to say to you both honestly and sincerely: “I know how bad this hurts. I know how hard the wilderness is. I know how impossible this feels.” And, He is able to say just as surely: “That’s why I overcame it. So, that you will, too. That’s why I suffered. That’s why I died. That’s why I was raised. So, that you can know this won’t last.” Just like the Tabernacle in ancient Israel, we can look in the wilderness to the resurrection and know that we’re going to be okay.

He “gives” in “abundance.”

We really struggle with the idea of having enough, don’t we? We’ll call that a scarcity mindset. Just think of how much of your stress and worry are related to having enough. Enough salary. Enough endurance. Enough retirement. Enough health. Enough patience when you’re raising three kids. But, John is going to show us that Jesus is never worried about running out. In John 2, the wedding is in a frenzy over running out of wine. But, Jesus doesn’t panic. He simply supplies more. In John 6, the disciples are stressed out over having enough food to feed the crowd. But, Jesus turns what looks like nothing into plenty. No, Jesus is never concerned with running out. He doesn’t have a scarcity mindset, but an abundance mindset. He came “that you may have life and have it abundantly,” John says. He always has plenty to give, and that’s shows us again what God is like.

He has abundant “love.”

John 1:14 “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.”

Exodus 33:18–20 “Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.””

Exodus 34:6–7 “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.””

You’ll notice that John gets into more explicitly trinitarian language at the end of verse 14. He says that we’ve seen in Jesus “glory as of the only Son from the Father.” That is, we’re seeing living and breathing in the Son the character and nature of the Father. Son’s display their Father’s likeness that way. And, the imagery that John calls on is really remarkable. He says that “we have seen his glory” and that we have seen that He is “full of grace and truth.” Now, that your eye is more trained by the OT, are you picking up a signal here? (I’m really, really wanting you to see how fruitful our study the last four years has been. So bad!)

It takes us back to Exodus 33 and 34, doesn’t it? God delivers Israel from Egypt, and immediately, they decide to make a golden calf and worship it. Their first response was to abandon God, and so, Moses intercedes on behalf of his people that God would spare them, which God does. But then, Moses makes what may be the most audacious request in human history. He says to God: “Please show me your glory.” And, God tells him two things about his glory. First of all, his glory is most clearly known as his goodness. Secondly, his glory is so potent that sinners can’t survive it. It would kill him. So, God covers Moses and lets only the back edges of his glory be visible. And, that’s what leads to renewal of the Covenant in Exodus 34, where the refrain of the OT first appears. God describes himself in light of his relationship with his people by saying that He is “ABOUNDING in steadfast love and faithfulness.” That is, there’s no limit to the steadfast love and faithfulness He has to give to his people.

Now, let’s go back to John so you can see it. John says that in Jesus Moses’ audacious request has finally been fulfilled. In the Transfiguration, in the cross, in the resurrection, and in the ascension “we have seen his glory.” That is, by becoming a man, Jesus made it so that we cannot only survive God’s glory, but through him, we are actually able to enjoy fellowship with God’s glory. It gets more beautiful still. Remember that refrain “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” If you were to see the Greek version of this, you’d see that when John says “full of grace and truth” that He’s using these exact words to describe Jesus.

“Steadfast love,” or hesed has been one of the words we saw most often in the OT. It means love, but more than love. Kindness, but more than kindness. Loyalty, but more than loyalty. There’s no exact equivalent. It’s goodness in abundance. It’s kindness in excess. It’s love beyond what’s reasonable. It’s the very character of God experienced practically in real life experience. It’s God’s “truth” and “faithfulness” being proven in your life. And, Jesus is this love and this faithfulness in its greatest fulfilment and most practical application. He is God’s abundant “steadfast love” and “faithfulness” embodied with a real heartbeat for you to experience firsthand.

You don’t need more love than Jesus can give. He is love fulfilled and proven. And, you don’t need more grace than Jesus has to offer.

He has abundant “grace.”

John 1:16–17 “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

Verse 16 ends with a strange phrase, “grace upon grace.” I don’t think that what John is saying here is that we keep receiving waves of grace in a way that is as steady as the ocean keeps rolling in. That’s true, but I don’t think this is what it means. This could likely be more accurately translated as “grace INSTEAD OF grace.” Now, what on earth does that mean? Well, that’s what He clarifies in verse 17. “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” That is, it was by God’s grace that we received the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses let us know that God was there and that He wanted to be in a relationship with us. The Law restrained evil and clarified goodness, and the Law helped us to understand that we fall short and couldn’t fix it. God could’ve left us alone and let us find our demise, but by his grace, He gave the Law. Yes, the Law was good and gracious, but the Law was insufficient to save us. That’s why we needed “grace INSTEAD OF grace.” We needed abundant grace that wouldn’t just reveal God and our sin, but that would satisfy God and cover our sin.

That’s the “grace and truth (that) came through Jesus Christ.” Moses showed how far short you fall. Jesus came to show you what God was going to do about it. Jesus, abundant in grace, wasn’t going to overturn “truth” or change “truth.” Truth is tethered to God’s essential holiness. That can’t change. It can’t progress. It can’t evolve. It is. So, Jesus didn’t come so that God would progress truth to fit us or so that God would just turn a blind eye to us. Jesus came to fulfill the Law on our behalf, and then, by his grace, give us all the credit.

That is, Jesus came to personally and practically reveal that our God…

He has an abundant “heart.”

John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”

When John says that Jesus “is at the Father’s side,” He’s saying literally that Jesus is pressed into his chest. It’s as though to say that when the Father sent his Son to us that He reached inside of his own, plucked out his own heart, and give it to us. That is, Jesus reveals to us the loving, gracious, abundant heart of our God for his people.

And so, Jesus gives us a personal encounter with the living God. John 8 helps us to see the picture, I think, that John is getting at. The Pharisees were experts in the Law of Moses, and they had caught a woman in the act of adultery. They brought her to Jesus, and they said, “The Law of Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. So, what do you say?” They’re operating on old, insufficient grace. Jesus bends down and begins to write in the dirt. There’s a lot of speculation over what He wrote, and we don’t really know. The most likely theory, I think, is that He began to write the specific sins of each of the accusers there in the dirt. And, one-by-one, as they saw their sin in light of the old grace of the Law, they left until none of them were left. Then, it was just Jesus and the guilty woman. And, as the embodiment of God’s steadfast love, He ministered personally to her. He offered her “grace instead of grace,” forgiveness instead of the Law. “Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on sin no more.”

Jesus could forgive her because He was God, and He was going to pay her price because He was a man. He did it personally because that’s his Father’s heart. “He (had) made him known” to her. Can you imagine what healing experience it was for her to personally receive grace from Jesus? Brothers and sisters, we’re all this woman. We all need this. As much as hurts, this morning, you need to revisit the sins that haunt you most, but you need to revisit them with Jesus. Your HS girlfriend. Your affair. Your divorce. The lie you told. The money you stole. Your abortion. The same sex relationship you had. Not being there enough for your kids. Take Jesus there with you, and here’s what He’ll say. “I forgive you. I died for you. I love you. Go, and sin no more.” Oh, it’s “grace upon grace.”