Day 749: Life and light - John 1 vs 1 - 5

1-2 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4-5 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5 English Standard Version.

I wonder if, like me, you have only seen something more fully after the event has passed. While it was all happening we may have been puzzled and had many questions, but when we had time later to reflect on things the picture became a lot more clear. The first chapter of John is a bit like that. He was writing after the man he'd known as 'Jesus of Nazareth' had lived, died, and ascended to heaven. This chapter sums up the conclusions he (and the other disciples who'd followed Jesus so closely) reached. What was his stunning conviction about Jesus that he tells us of in vs 1-2?

Jesus existed long before He came into the world. In fact, He was there from the very beginning of all things. Those who are familiar with the first book of the Bible will know that it starts with the same words we read here. It says “In the beginning . . .” (Genesis 1:1) It then goes on to describe how God 'spoke', and things came into existence. And the first thing God said was “Let there be light.” Later on in the Bible Psalm 33:6 says: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” One can understand why the Bible translators use a capital 'W' for the Word that John was speaking of. John himself says of the Word that “He was with God, and He was God.”

That was a stunning conclusion. As a Jew John would have known the important words Moses spoke to the nation when he said: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) So John knew there were not many Gods. What he says can only be understood as the Word possessing the divine nature of God.

The apostle Paul came to the same conclusion. Writing to Christians in Colossae about Jesus he said: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:15-17) The word ‘firstborn’ there doesn't mean Jesus was created first, but is explained by the phrase “for by Him all things were created . . . through Him and for Him.” And that's what John clearly says in vs 3 of today's reading.

What is the picture John then uses to describe the effect Jesus had on the world He made? (vs 4-5)

He speaks of life that gives light. That was certainly true at the beginning of creation. In Genesis we read: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light', and there was light.” (Genesis 1:2-3) Later in that Chapter God said “Let US make man in our image, after our likeness.” So we see the activity of the Father, Son, and Spirit in the physical creation of the world and the life given to mankind.

But I suspect John was also thinking of the spiritual light that came into the world through Jesus. He goes on later in this gospel to develop that more fully. But look at how Paul put it in that letter to the Colossians. He says: “May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:11-14) Just as God brought physical light into the world through Christ, so He brings spiritual light to men and women through His beloved Son. And with that light comes eternal life through the forgiveness of sins.