Jonh 1:1-18

Wed. Night Bible Study

The Apostle John:

John was one of 3 most intimate associates of Jesus. John was the son of Zebedee (Matthew 4:21 “And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.”

James was his older brother, in Mark 3:17 Jesus refers to these 2 as “sons of thunder”. A following of Scripture leads us to Salome as James and John’s mother. Mark 15:40 “There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;” The parallel account of Matthew records it this way: Matthew 27:56 “Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children.”

Tradition, and possibly Scripture John 19:25 “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.” has it that Salome is Mary’s (the mother of Jesus) sister.

In Matthew 20, we read where Salome asked Jesus if He would command that her boys would sit on either side of Jesus’s throne.

Some say that the boldness to ask such a thing was possibly her being Jesus’ aunt and the boys being His cousins.

Not sure, but it is interesting.

Also, in Scripture, it seems or is speculated that John was with Andrew (Peter’s brother) when John the Baptist was preaching: John 1:40.

John seemed to never refer to himself by name in his account but as the one whom Jesus loved. Seems like an arrogant title, but through his Gospel and his epistles we do read of a man who felt loved by Jesus!

One writer wrote: “The recurring designation of himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved, a deliberate avoidance by John of his personal name, reflects his humility and celebrates his relation to his Lord Jesus.”

According to some historical writings by an early church father Irenaeus, who was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John in Ephesus, John wrote this Gospel somewhere in between AD 80-90 while he was in Ephesus, just a few years before his exile to Patmos. This would be some 50 years after Jesus’ earthly ministry.

John’s epistles (letters) and Revelation was written in the vicinity of John writing the Gospel, but it was a few years after.

Now let’s get to this Gospel, the essence: The overall message of John’s Gospel is found in John 20:31 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”

This book centers on the person and work of Jesus Christ.

One writer wrote it like this; “Summing up, this Gospel focuses on: 1) Jesus as the Word, Messiah, and Son of God; 2) Jesus brings salvation to mankind; 3) Salvation of which we can either accept or reject.

I want to read what one writer wrote about John’s Gospel...... “There are four gospels that tell the story. Three of them (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) give us the earthly history. Three of them look at the birth and the life and the experiences and the travels and the calling of Jesus upon His followers and the teaching and the parables and the events of His life, including His arrest and His trial and His execution and His resurrection, many of the features with which we are so familiar in those, called synoptic gospels, because they’re the synopsis of His earthly life. John doesn’t give us the earthly story. John doesn’t give us the historical view of the life of Christ. John gives us the heavenly story. He gives us the supernatural view of Christ. And in that way, John is unique. Ninety percent of what is in John is not in Matthew, Mark, or Luke. Ninety percent of this is John’s alone to declare under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing in John’s gospel about the birth of Christ. There is nothing about the early life of Christ. There is nothing about the baptism of Christ. There is nothing about the temptation of Christ. There is nothing about the transfiguration of Christ. There is nothing about the travels of Christ. There’s nothing about the garden of agony of Christ. There’s nothing about His ascension into heaven because John is not focusing on the history of His life. There are no parables. Parables were earthly stories. There are no earthly stories. This is a heavenly book. This is a heavenly look at the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the most heavenly of all the gospels by far. The purpose of John is to convince the sinner of the true person of Christ - the true person of Christ. “That you might believe,” John 20:31, “that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, you might have salvation in His name.” This is a salvation book. This is an evangelistic book. And in order to have salvation, you must believe in the true Christ. Write it down somewhere, John 20:31, “These things are written that you may believe” - there’s that word that he uses a hundred times - “that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, you may have” life - eternal life - “in His name.” To have eternal life, you must believe in the true Christ. You must believe in the true Christ, not a false Christ, not a misrepresentation of Christ, not the Christ of human intuition, human philosophy, and false religion, but the true Christ. John, therefore, gives us this immense treasure, twenty-one chapters demonstrating in every paragraph that Jesus is God in human flesh, that He is true God and true man, fully God and fully man. That is the Christ who is the true Christ; that is the Christ that must be believed on in order for one to be saved.

John 1:1-5.......

The beginning: A lot has been made of this opening of John, challenging whether Jesus was a created being or not.

The mormons believe that Jesus was created, they actually believe that God was created by another God.

That is their doctrine created by Joseph Smith who had several visions in the 1800’s, in which these things were supposedly revealed to him.

Turns out he was drug addict.

b. Jesus was not a created being. Listen to what John wrote in his first epistle: 1 John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;”

“From the beginning...” which means the beginning of Christ’s ministry.

John 8:58 helps with this understanding somewhat: “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

Colossians 1:16-17 “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

These all are not contradictions, this phrase just means at the beginning of time was the Word!

The Word was there at the beginning and if we put it all together (the whole counsel of God) then we understand what Colossians 1:16-17 states, that Jesus was there and actively involved in creation.

Now, the Word. Word here we see is capitalized, because this speaking of Jesus. Word in the Greek is “logos”

This description of Jesus was very important, it is actually a simple description if you understand how the Jewish and Greek cultures looked at “logos”.

John didn’t explain why he used the term “Word” or “logos”, why? Why doesn’t he just say “Jesus”

He says “the Word” because that was such a perfect term to use to identify Christ on the supernatural side - on the supernatural side. There was a philosophical understanding of the word, that’s the Greek term logos. The philosophers talked about logos as the reality that was visible in creation.

They believed in a logos spirit, some non-personal power source, some non-personal energy entity. They believed in some abstract kind of principle of reason, they called it, or principle of order and structure, some non-personal force floating around in the universe, some non-personal entity of wisdom, because they understood that you couldn’t have the creation in which they lived without having some source for it. But they believed it was impersonal or, even better, non-personal.

And even the common people saw the logos, the philosophical identification of this powerful, non-personal force in the universe as being responsible for the way things were. John comes along and says, “Let me introduce you to the fact that the logos is not an impersonal force; the logos is a person. The logos is a person, not an impersonal reality, but a personal God who came into the world in the man Jesus - not just a concept but a person.

And then even beyond that, for the Jewish people, they didn’t need an explanation because the phrase “the Word of the Lord” appeared so many times in the Old Testament, and the Word of the Lord was simply the revelation of God. You wouldn’t know anything about God if He didn’t speak, and that’s why Hebrews 1, states God who, in time past, by the fathers and through the prophets, spoke in many ways in many portions, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.”

As the Old Testament is the written Word and the revelation of God, the New Testament is the account of the incarnate Word in the person Jesus Christ. So He is the Word in that in Him God speaks, and that concept was well established among the Jews. “The Word of the Lord came to so-and-so, the Word of the Lord came to so-and-so.” You read that through the Old Testament. The Word of the Lord came often to the prophets, and it often came to the fathers, and it was the will of God expressed and communicated through Revelation.

So, the Word of the Lord is the expression of God to people. There’s no greater illustration of that, there’s no greater representation of that, manifestation of that, demonstration of that, than Jesus Christ. He is God speaking to us.

So, the Greeks and the Jews had an understanding of “the Word” beyond a definition, it was common language speaking about a force. To them it was either God or some in-personal force, but it was power!

John reiterates in verse 2 that Jesus (the Word) was there at creation and He was involved!

Jesus was also with God!

Verse 3 John seems to suggest that the only life given, in creation was given by Jesus!

One writer wrote it like this: “Jesus was God the Father’s agent involved in creating everything in the universe.” Much like we read in Colossians 1:16-17 and Hebrews 1:2 “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”

Life and light are qualities that are given to those who respond to Jesus and His Gospel message!

Eternal life being the most important of lives, to be lived. I do believe that through Christ, as Paul said, we live, move, and have our being. Some say that even our physical lives depends on Jesus!

Life is supreme! Eternal life that is!

Life can only be given by Jesus Christ, He is the light of men! He is the light because He is truth! Some call the light “Biblical truth” That is so, but let us make for sure we understand what the Bible is about.....Jesus Christ, the Person and Work of the Son of God!

Darkness refers to: error, falsehood, sin, an wrongdoing

Light refers to: Truth, Holiness, Purity.

The Light shines in darkness, in other words, light can do away with darkness, but darkness cannot do away with light!

The Truth destroys the lie, Holiness and Purity stands above sin and wrongdoing!

Jesus is the very essence of Truth, Holiness, and Purity! Jesus destroys darkness, just as a lit candle takes away the darkness!

The darkness comprehends it not.........The word “comprehend” is better translated “to lay hold on” or “overcome”. This is the way the readers in John’s era would of understood it!

The darkness will never overpower light, it can never it is impossible.

You bring light into a dark room and the darkness is overcome.

Darkness can never be used in overtaking light, if I said “If you bring darkness into a room...” that is a physical impossibility! Darkness is in the world, it needed a light of truth to come and dispel the darkness and bring light to the point that we are given life by the Light of men!

The only way darkness could prevail, is for mankind to choose to stay in the dark! Deny or reject the Light!

St. John, Vols. I–III Vers. 1–5

Practical reflections:—

I. WOULD WE KNOW THE EXCEEDING SINFULNESS OF SIN? Let us read these verses. If no one less than the Eternal God, the Creator and Preserver of all things, could take away the sin of the world, sin must be a far more abominable thing in the sight of God than most men suppose. If Christ is so great, then sin must indeed be sinful!

II. WOULD WE KNOW THE STRENGTH OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN’S FOUNDATION FOR HOPE? Let us often read these verses. Let us mark that the Saviour in whom the believer is bid to trust is nothing less than the Eternal God, One able to save to the uttermost all that come to the Father by Him. He that was “with God,” and “was God,” is also “Emmanuel, God with us.” (Bp. Ryle.)

Christ and God:—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). As the translation of this passage cannot be improved, and the words are plain, no verbal exegesis is required. The subject is Christ and God, and we are here taught—

I. THAT CHRIST IS THE ETERNAL REVEALER OF GOD. “In the beginning was the Word”—the Logos. He is not a word but the word. As the Revealer, this Word is distinguished—1. By its faithfulness. Christ is the exact exponent of the Divine intellect and heart. 2. By its fulness. Other words only speak part of God. 3. By its forcefulness. Human words are sometimes powerful, they are not always air; they are sometimes a force. God’s words in nature are mighty.

II. THAT CHRIST IS THE ETERNAL SELF OF GOD. “And the Word was with God.” The expression implies that He had a conscious existence distinct from the Absolute One. He was with Him. He that is with me is not me. 1. Christ was with Him in the sense of agreement. There was a perfect concurrence. 2. Christ was with him in the sense of contact. Never out of His presence, living in His light, breathing His inspirations.

III. THAT CHRIST IS THE ETERNAL SELF OF GOD. “And the Word was God.” 1. “He was God” in form. Deep, it would seem, in the constitution of moral soul, is the craving for some form of God. As He appears in the universe, He transcends the limits of human vision. Christ is the form He has assumed; the form in which, in all probability, He appears to His intelligent universe as well as to man. 2. “He was God” in action. Through Him the eternal volitions are carried out and realized. He is the Actualizer of God’s eternal ideas. (D. Thomas, D.D.)

The Word made flesh:—A fourfold contrast.

St. John, Vols. I–III Vers. 1–5

In respect of ESSENCE. Word and flesh. The first suggests pure spirituality, power, eternity; the second materiality, weakness, mortality.