Jesus: The Word Of God

JESUS: THE WORD OF GOD

John 1:1-5;14

Today we will consider the first 5 verses of John's Gospel. This amazing Book of the Bible is like none other. John's Gospel is all about Jesus and His saving work. It focuses on the last three years of Jesus’ life. In this Gospel account, John the Apostle goes into great detail concerning Christ's Death and Resurrection. He states the ultimate purpose of this book in Chapter 20:31. It is written to help people believe on Christ and have eternal life. John 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 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.

John was an eye witness of the life of Jesus. He mentions this in the opening of 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;

John knew Jesus personally, he was chosen, called and commissioned by Him. This man lived with Jesus, he laughed and cried with Jesus and he walked with Him daily for a period of three years. Along with James & Peter, John was part of Jesus' inner circle. John is the man who laid his head on Jesus' shoulder at the last supper, he is the only disciple seen at the Cross, he was one of the first to witness the empty tomb and the resurrected Christ. Throughout this Gospel, John refers to himself as "the Disciple whom Jesus loved".

As you read this amazing book you will see Who Jesus is. In order for us to be more like Jesus, we need to grow closer to Jesus. To grow closer to Jesus, we must seek to know Him better. I believe that you can learn more about Jesus from John's Gospel, than in any other book in the Bible. We learn much about the personality of our Savior in John's Gospel. We see the passion of Jesus as He gets angry and casts the money changers from the Temple. We see the boldness of Jesus when He tells the unbelieving Jews that Satan was their father. We see the humanity of Jesus in the fact that He got tired and hungry. We see compassion of Jesus as He reached out to the outcasts of society. We see the emotional side of Jesus as He wept at the grave of Lazarus. We see the humbleness of Jesus as He bows and washes the feet of His disciple. We see the forgiveness of Jesus as He forgives and restores Peter for his denial.

The Gospel of John also records what Jesus had to say Himself about who He is.

- I am the bread of life. (John 6:48)

- I am the light of the world. (John 8:12)

- I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)

- I am the good shepherd (John 10:11)

- I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. (John 11:25)

- I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

- I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. (John 15:1)

There are many names and titles of Jesus recorded in the Book of John, but in the very first verse of this Gospel, John refers to Jesus as "The Word". The reason for this is that Jesus existed before He was born. "God the Son" existed long before His incarnation there in Bethlehem. The name 'Jesus' was only given to Him when He was born as a human being. Matthew 1:21 ...thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Here, John uses the Greek word 'Logos' or "The Word" to describe Him. If you want to express yourself to someone how do you do it? You use "words". God used "The Word" (Jesus Christ) to express Himself to mankind. As "The Word" Jesus was God's message to mankind. When Jesus walked the earth as a man He expressed what was going on in the mind of God. Jesus revealed the thoughts of God to mankind. This is just one more of the evidences of God's love toward us! Through "The Word" God sent us a message of love, hope, forgiveness, salvation and so much more. I would like to take some time and consider the importance of "The Word". So let's walk through the first 5 verses of the Gospel of John and examine "Jesus: The Word Of God"