John 1; Jesus Assembles His Team To Transform The World

The Opening Verses Of John 1 Is Creating A Description Of Jesus. The Word In VS. 1 Uses The Word Logos To Describe Him. Logos Means Word, Thought, Principle, Or Speech In Greek.

There’s also an active element to the word logos. It means he was active in creation, and the word logos ties into many different aspects of the Old Testament as well.

Matthew, Mark, And Luke are all great books, and they give great insight into Jesus. However in John 1, we see a different path, and that path goes toward proving Jesus’ Divinity.

What Is The Meaning Of John Chapter 1?

This is what we’re going to focus on. I can’t say I’ll be right, but I have been praying and reading John 1 for a while, and I’m prepared to write my thoughts about it.

I’m not a Greek scholar, I’m just a person who’s saved by Jesus and wants to show the world how much he loves them.

Keep in mind I’ll be putting the words of the Bible in quote blocks, I don’t want people to misconstrue my words with the bible.

These are my thoughts, and things I wonder about as I read John 1, I pray Jesus guides me as he stands at the right hand of God, interceding for you and me.

My hope and prayer is that this will point you to God, and helps you get closer to him.

John 1:1-18 The Word Became Flesh

1, In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome^[a] it.

John 1:1-5

⁶ There was a man sent from God whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify concerning that light so that through him all might believe. ⁸ He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

John 1:6-8

John 1: John the Baptist Was Sent To Testify

⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

John 1:9-13

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

¹⁵ (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John 1:15-18

After reading through this, a few questions come to my mind.

• Why Is Jesus Called The Word?
• What Does the Bible Mean By Saying, “In the beginning was the word?

What Does John 1 Mean About The Word?

The word John is referring to is Jesus. As you read through verse 15, you’ll see what he’s referring to. In addition to that, he’s making a direct correlation between God and Jesus.

Keep in mind this was a dangerous thing to do at the time in the Jewish faith. Christians were persecuted and killed. Yet for some reason in John 1, he places this in the introduction of his book. Where everyone can read it.

John 1:1-15 Correlations:

The Word=Life=Light

These 3 words are prevalent in the first 15 verses of John 1. Also, these words tend to pop up in other books of the Bible.

Depending on the translation you’re using, the word light can appear between 90 and 180 times in the Bible. While some other words pop up more often. I still think the word light is extremely relevant.

The Word:

These are written as a progression, and it starts in the first 15 verses. This is when it proclaims that He is the word. In my viewpoint, it’s stating that he’s the voice of God. Remember the time period, prior to this we only had the Torah and other books of the prophets to speak to us.

Now God came down and literally used his voice to tell us about himself. Furthermore, when he spoke, he was starting his plan, putting it all into motion. This is the word that Jesus was, he was the Son Of God and the mouthpiece of God.

If you’re doubting reach John 5: 19-41.

Life:

In him was life, and that life was the light of men. Have you ever thought about our world? It doesn’t seem right, and it seems pointless at times. It’s almost like we’re missing life. If you hone and look around with unclouded eyes. You’ll see people striving every day, for things they can’t keep.

In fact, it seems like hell to me, and I think many people are waking up to that fact.

Where does this lack come from? A good portion of it comes from the fall of man. In Genesis 3:17-19, God speaks to Adam about it.

When we sinned we lost a chunk of our life. Prior to the fall, our planet provided for us, and now we have to sweat and toil for our lives. I’m not saying our lives would be laying around naked eating fruit if we hadn’t sinned. However, I am stating that if we hadn’t things would’ve been drastically different.

While we may not know it or speak it out loud. Inside my heart, I’m confident that we can sense it. In John 10:10 Jesus states that he came to give us life and that we might have it to the full.

The Light:

I wondered for a while if I should connect the life and the light paragraphs, they do give off a cause/effect feel. However, I think they are both distinct characteristics of Christ.

When Jesus came down he brought new life to man, and when this life was brought. It became our light against the darkness.

Many times in the Bible there is a description of light and darkness. Psalm 119:105 it’s stated that the word of God is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

I also believe the sun is a symbol of the son, don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating sun worship. I’m saying the sun gives us light and gives us heat and energy.

Even more so does that come from God, and his son Jesus. It’s a physical type of the spiritual realm.

John 1:19-28 The Messengers Testimony

In John 1 we meet John the Baptist who was the forerunner to Jesus, he was sent as a messenger and was the one who came and prepared the way for Jesus to come to earth. Also as a fun fact, he was Jesus’ cousin, and not that much older than him.

The religious leaders and scholars at the time were looking for the wrong man. In their mind, the messiah was supposed to come and rid them of Roman occupation. Furthermore, they wanted power and wanted to hold onto whatever power they had.

While not all of them were bad (Think Nicodemus) much of the system was corrupt. This made a lot of religious leaders short-sighted, arrogant, and fearful of change. This caused a lot of tension after reading John 1.

Jesus didn’t come to earth so people could live comfortable lives. Instead, he came to transform our thought processes and build a bridge.

His goal was to restore man’s place in the presence of God, and he did so because he loves us, and wanted us back in communion with him. All this happened while the religious leaders worried about the physical world, material possessions, and power.

This is the word that Jesus was born into, and when the people asked John if he was the one they were looking for. His response was correct. He wasn’t the one they were looking for. Instead, he was the one who was sent to prepare the way.

They were looking for a battle chief, a general, and what they got was a baby in a manger, who later became a sacrificial lamb.

John 1:29-32 Jesus Is The Lamb Of God

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ ³¹ I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”

³² Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. ³³ I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”

John 1:29-34

The Lamb Of God

Here is where John states Who Jesus is, and how God shared with him how he’d know. In the book of Mark what happened to John and Jesus during the baptism is described a bit more. Check out the link to read the whole story.

God built up the ministry of John to transform the people of Israel. He wanted to change their hearts and get them ready for the coming Messiah. While people were waiting for the Messiah, they had the wrong idea of what he was coming to do.

This happens to a lot of us in life. We believe God is going to act in a certain way. So we strive after our thoughts and beliefs. While this happens, a longing in our hearts grows and intensifies. Then a huge letdown happens. And when everything is said and done disappointment sets in, totally destroying who we believe in.

In my own life, this has happened often, but I wonder how much pain this caused them.

This is why we should focus on Christ, and not on things on this earth. Yes work your job, pay your bills, and raise your family. but we need to stop clinging to things and beliefs that aren’t part of what God Is leading us to do.

That cause might be good, but is it where God wants you to be? Think about that for a second.

John 1:35-50 Disciples Assemble.

³⁵ The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. ³⁶ As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.

³⁸ Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.

They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

³⁹ “Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.

John 1:35-39

Knowing The Real Jesus Will Force You To Share Him

⁴⁰ Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. ⁴¹ Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”).

⁴² Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”).

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” ⁴⁴ Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.

⁴⁵ Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

⁴⁶ “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.

⁴⁷ As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”

⁴⁸ “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”

⁴⁹ Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”

⁵⁰ Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” ⁵¹ Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”

John 1:40-51

The Disciples Assemble:

I’m pretty sure a biblical scholar would be able to tear these verses apart in Greek. I’m not that type of person, and I really don’t have the desire to be.

Instead, I always view these verses like it’s the start of a movie. Here we have Jesus getting ready to start his earthly ministry. However, he needs some people with him. In the end, Jesus knows that he’s going to leave this earth. However, to keep the message going he has to teach/train others.

This is the message Jesus gives us at the beginning of Acts when he goes up to heaven.

he’s forming his team meticulously and planning what he needs to do. I don’t think he ran into people and decided what to do. In fact, later in the book of John, it states that he knew their hearts and would not let them have power over them.

What Does All This Mean For You, And Me?

I think there’s quite a bit to unpack from John 1. Most of it is pretty straightforward.

• Jesus Is The Son Of God
• He’s The Way To Heaven.
• John the Baptist Gave His Testimony About It
• Jesus Gathered A Team To Teach And Train His Earthly Ministry
• He Was The Word
• The Life
• And The Light Of Men

This 1st chapter of John sets the stage for the rest of the book. In the book, he proclaims that Jesus is the Son of God and shows why that statement is true. Furthermore, he shows us how much Jesus loves each and every one of us, and how we must transform our lives to be more like him.

John 1 In Conclusion:

I’ve spent a week reading John 1 and meditating on it. The reason I did this was to give you my thoughts and write about what God was telling me through these verses. My prayer is that it changes your life, and touches your soul. In addition, I hope that you find a place for Jesus in your heart. He truly loves you.

Keep in mind that his love isn’t dependent on anything you’ve done or can do. He loves you because you’re His creation, and everything He went through in the Bible, was because of His love for you, and for me.

Jesus is the truth, and he is the way. Allow him into your life. To Read More Check Out All Of My Posts Here.

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