Well, I want you to pretend with me that you are talking to someone who has never ever heard of Jesus, has no knowledge at all of Jesus. How would you describe Jesus to someone? Well, that's what John does in the very first chapter of his wonderful gospel. John is writing in about 70 A.D., about 40 years after the death of Jesus. He's an old man now, wanting you to know the only human being who ever lived who can give you eternal life. And boy, does he ever give you Jesus with both barrels-it's amazing!
The first few verses of John are like an explosion of truth about Jesus that are the foundations of what it means to know him and believe that he's the savior that every human being needs. This section throws content at you so fast. It sort of feels like what happens when a child who's had an amazing experience at school, bursts into the door and he talks so fast, you have trouble taking in everything he's trying to say; he's so excited about getting that content out.
So, I want you to look with me at the most important introductory sentences that have ever been written:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God."
I mean, you could literally spend weeks unpacking these amazing words. "In the beginning was the Word." This is meant to echo the first four words of the Bible, "In the beginning God." Just as the words of Genesis put God at the beginning and the center of all that is, John puts Jesus in the very same place. Think about this. This one who was born to a lowly couple in a manger in Bethlehem, who grew up in a carpenter's family, who ate and drank and slept like any other young man, who you could reach out and touch, and whose voice you could hear, is profoundly more than a man. Unlike any other man who ever lived, this one existed from the beginning of all that is.
Now think about this: If Jesus was there in the beginning, it means he existed before the beginning. This means he exists in eternity before the heavens and the earth and all that they contain were created. This is Jesus. He's profoundly more than a good man and a wise teacher. So, from the very beginning of his gospel, John leaves no room for neutrality when it comes to Jesus.
Notice that John hasn't yet called Jesus, "Jesus." He calls him "the Word." Jesus is the final speech of God, the final message of God, God's most powerful and provocative revelation. The most important concept in the universe that you could know is to know Jesus. The epicenter of true wisdom isn't philosophical or conceptual; it's a person and his name is Jesus! The wisest people on earth aren't wise because they understand science, philosophy, history, medicine, psychology, but because they have come to know, love, and serve Jesus.
But John isn't done with a stunning description of Jesus. He wants you to know for sure that Jesus wasn't just with God, but that he is God! I don't know of any other way of saying that but this: Jesus is as God as God is!
To know God is to know Jesus. To love God is to love Jesus. To serve God is to serve Jesus. They exist in the same nature and in an inseparable union. You can't say, "I don't like the God of the Old Testament, I like Jesus," because they are inseparably one.
These amazing words that describe Jesus have been preserved and recorded for us because God loves us. May we live today with Jesus and our need for him in view, shaping everything we think, desire, say, and do.
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
1. How does John's description of Jesus here at the beginning of his Gospel impact your perspective of Christ in ways that it hasn't before? Have you been tempted to breeze past this part in Scripture and not really pay attention to what's being said? Have you paid attention to it before, but never really understood its significance? Regardless of how you've interpreted or interacted with the beginning of John in the past, approach it now with fresh eyes and abandon any neutrality you may have had before. Re-read John 1:1-2 and meditate on Jesus as he's described.
2. Why does John's echo of Genesis 1:1 make Jesus all the more important as you think about the creation of the world and how Christ was there when it happened? Why is it so significant that Jesus is eternal?
3. What makes John's description of Jesus as 'the Word' so significant? Why is Jesus the ultimate speech of God? Why is he the final message of God? What makes Jesus the most powerful and provocative revelation of God for all time?
4. What kind of evidence does Scripture give us that Jesus is God? Why are God the Father and Jesus inseparably one? Why is it therefore foolish to say, "I don't like the God of the Old Testament, I like Jesus"? How does studying John 1:1-2 make you appreciate and love Jesus more? How can a proper understanding of Jesus shape everything we think, desire, say, and do?
Conversation Prompts to Use with Children
For Younger Children:
• Why is it important to know that Jesus is God just as much as God the Father is God? How is this confusing to you? How can we make sense of it together?
• Why do you think John describes Jesus as 'the Word'? What do you think that means? Why is that description of Jesus important to us today?
For Older Children:
• How can we make sense of the fact that Jesus is God when God the Father is God too? How does John 1:1-2 help us understand the Trinity? What confuses you about God the Father and Jesus being one? Why is it so significant? How can a proper understanding of Jesus shape everything we think, desire, say, and do?
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