Sermon: It’s Jesus
Series: The Gospel of John Part 1
Slide Introduction
Welcome! We're so glad you are joining us this morning.
We’re in a series where we are walking through the Gospel of John. And last week we laid the foundation for this series. We talked a little bit about who John is and his reason for writing this gospel.
And the whole reason why John wrote his Gospel is that we would believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah (the promised one), that He is the Son of God (that Jesus is God with some skin) and that when we place our trust, our belief in Him, we can have life.
Matter of fact, this was the verse we camped out on all last week:
Slide The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book.
Basically, the disciples seen and heard Jesus do a lot of other amazing things, but John only included certain stories, certain miracles, and certain conversations so that we could believe.
Believe what? Look at the next verse…
Slide But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name. John 20:30-31 (NLT)
By believing in these two truths, that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah and that He is the Son of God, you will have life. And not just life in this present moment, but an eternal life with Him and all those that have placed their faith in Jesus Christ.
That was last week, that was the foundation we started on, and today we’re going to open the book of John and start in John 1. If you have your Bible or Bible App open them up to John 1
Today, we’re going to look at who Jesus is, and why did He come?
And so, let me give you a little background information on these verses…
These words that we read in John 1 are very beautiful and poetic in nature. In fact, some scholars believe that this prologue/intro right here might have been a poem or a hymn that early believers would have sung or recited.
And so, while this may be very poetic in nature, understand that it’s a very complex set of scripture.
John is going to show us that Jesus was fully human but He was also fully God. That even though Jesus took on humanity and lived like an ordinary man, he never stopped being God, he never stopped being the creator and sustainer of all things.
And here’s the thing, Jesus didn’t take advantage of those divine rights. He lived like an ordinary man, he faced the same kind of temptation that we face day in and day out.
He faced dishonesty, He faced doubt and pain, He faced greed and lust, He faced betrayal and unforgiveness, and yet He didn’t sin.
And so, yeah, he was God but he was also human. And so, Jesus can relate to us. He knows what you and I face day and day out, the only difference is He didn’t give in and He didn’t sin.
Which is a good thing, right? If Jesus had just given in one time, if He would have caved and crossed that line, then there would be no need for Him to go to the cross because He wouldn’t have been spotless. He would not have been the perfect sacrifice to take the sin of humanity.
And this is why John wrote this Gospel-to build our faith and confidence in Jesus Christ.
And so, let’s look at verse 1 of John 1…
Slide In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God.
John is having this back to the future moment, where he is echoing the word of Genesis 1:1, ‘In the beginning…’ stressing the fact, that the Word, the Word being Jesus, was there at creation.
But we see this shift to show that the Word had always been. That even before the creation story Jesus was there with the Father.
And what John is doing is he is laying the foundation for the deity of Christ. And this is completely different from the other three Gospel’s.
Matthew starts off with talking about the genealogy of Christ-showing that Jesus is a descendant of King David.
Mark just jumps right into the life of Jesus. He talks a little bit about John the Baptist and goes right into the ministry of Jesus. Mark doesn’t mess around.
Luke starts off with the Christmas story telling about the birth of the Savior.
And yet, John takes you way back before the beginning of time to tell us that Jesus was there.
Matter of fact, he backs up this claim in verse 3…
Slide God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
And here’s what’s so incredible about this verse, is that everything came into being through Christ. Everything around us and everything we see came into being through Christ and everything is dependent on Him.
Slide Verse 4: The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.
That word ‘light,’ means understanding and moral insight, it means a spiritual vision.
But more than just shining or reflecting, the light of Jesus penetrates and enlightens hearts and minds. Everyone who comes into contact with Christ can be enlightened.
Slide The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. John 1:1-5 (NLT)
Jesus Christ is that light shining in the darkness. And that darkness, that evil, will never ever overcome the light. And we see that Christ is the creator of life, and his life brings light into mankind.
Slide 1. And so, let’s spend a few minutes talking about: Who is Jesus?
Seems like a simple question with a simple answer but let’s dive into it for a moment.
Slide In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 (NLT)
This week I kept rolling this idea in my head, ‘Why in the world would John keep using ‘the Word,’ why doesn’t he just come right out and say, ‘Jesus?’
Well, we have to remember the reason why John is writing this. John is wanting everyone to know, both Jew and Gentile, to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
And so, the Word was a term that was used by both Jews and Greeks, by philosophers and theologians, and it was used in a variety of different ways
In Hebrew Scripture, the Old Testament, the Word was an agent of creation, the source of God’s message through the prophets, and God’s law, his standard of holiness and living.
And for Greek philosophy, the Word was the principle of reason, and it governed the world.
And we can see from this section of Scripture that John is convinced that Jesus is the Word-that Jesus was this human being that he knew and loved. That he was willing to follow and do life with.
But at the sometime John knew He was the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, that He was a living example of what the Father was like, and John knew Jesus was human but He also realized Jesus was much more, that He was divine.
And realize this is some bold teaching on John’s part because to the Jewish audience this would have been blasphemous, John could have lost his life for saying Jesus was God.
At the same time the Greek philosophers and the gentile world, would have thought this was crazy talk, that John was a crazy man for suggestion that THE WORD was this living and breathing human life. This would have been completely unheard of…
But to John this whole idea of the WORD becoming flesh was a huge deal, it was a whole new understanding for HIm.
Slide Let’s look again at verses 2 and 3: He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. John 1:2-3 (NLT)
Like we talked about before, John is connecting Jesus Christ with creation. John is claiming Jesus existed before creation. Jesus existed before the world began. Jesus existed before there was time.
If we were to hit the rewind button on his story, we could take it back to the very beginning when God created something out of nothing, and Jesus was there.
Matter of fact, if we could hop into the DeLorean and go back to the future before God was even speaking things into existence, Jesus was there.
Slide Look at what Jesus said, ‘And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.’ John 17:5 (NIV)
Genesis 1:1 contains no hint of the creation of God, and guess what? John 1:1 also contains no hint of the creation of Jesus, why? Because He’s always been.
This is what separates Jesus from your other gods and prophets because He’s always been.
Slide Look at what Paul said, ‘Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.’
Slide ‘He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.’
‘He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.’ Colossians 1:15-17 (NLT)
And so, who is Jesus? Jesus is eternal, He’s always been. He shares the same nature as the Father. He has the same character qualities as the Father. Everything that we can say about God, we can say about Jesus because He’s always been. Him and the Father are one.
Slide 2. And so, Why did Jesus come?
Too many of us the answer to this question is obvious, right? I mean we have the complete book that tells us ‘why?’
But for John’s audience they didn’t have the complete book. So, they might have asked, ‘If this guy is really God then why is he here? I mean why is He walking around as a man? And what in the world is the point in all of this?’
And some of you might be listening to this and asking the same question, ‘What’s the point in all of this?’
Slide John gives us the answer in verse 4: The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. John 1:4 (NLT)
And so, why did Jesus come? John tells us to give life and to give light.
You see, life was a part of the original plan, when God created mankind He gave us life by breathing the breath of life into us…
Slide Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. Genesis 2:7 (NLT)
And yet, in the very next chapter we see the fall of man. We see sin and darkness enter the Garden of Eden.
Slide Eve saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. [Eve desired it, she wanted it, she craved it…]
Slide So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.
Slide At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. Genesis 3:6-7 (NLT)
Darkness was already here because we see this with the serpent, but in this moment, sin entered the garden. And not only did it enter but we see it spreading from Eve to Adam. And we’ll continue to see the spread and the effect of sin throughout Scripture. Separating the Father from His creation, because a holy God cannot dwell with sinful man
And yet, in that same chapter we see the redemptive work of the Father, we see how the Father cares for His creation, and how he takes care of Adam and Eve…
Slide And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. Genesis 3:21 (NLT)
Why? Not only to cover up their shame and guilt, but to show them there is a price to pay for their disobedience.
And what you’re going to notice as you read through the rest of the Bible is God’s mission to redeem mankind, to bring His creation back to Him, and not only give them NEW LIFE but a LIGHT that is going to lead them.
And so, through Jesus humanity would have this new life…
Slide But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. John 1:12-13 (NLT)
And so, for all of those that have placed faith in Jesus Christ-that have put their belief in Him they are reborn spiritually, and they receive this new life from the Father.
And what’s amazing about this rebirth is that the Father will slowly start to change you from the inside out. He’ll start to rearrange somethings in our lives.
And everyone is different, this isn’t a one size fits all, but the Father will start with our attitudes, He’ll work on our desires, and at times expose out motives. We’ll spend the rest of our lives working toward Godliness never really achieving it on this side of heaven, and that’s ok. We’re all a work in progress.
And so, not only do we get this new LIFE but we get this LIGHT
Slide Look at what Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12 (NLT)
Jesus called himself the light of the world, and what’s amazing about this claim is that in the Old Testament there was this pillar of fire that would lead the people of Israel. And this pillar of fire represented God’s presence, it represented his protection, and guidance, and likewise Jesus is bringing this light into our lives.
The very presence of God is living in us through the gift of the Holy Spirit, it’s guiding us and protecting us as we are living out our days here on earth.
And so why did Jesus come? So that we wouldn’t have to be separated from the Father. Jesus came to redeem and bring us back to the Father. Jesus came so that we could have life in Him
And why is this important because at one point we were separated from the Father, and the truth is that some of us are still separated from the Father. Some of us are still walking around in the dark and we don’t even realize it.
Slide Paul said this, For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
It doesn’t matter who you are: rich, poor, upper class, lower class, even middle class, educated, uneducated, male, female, Republican, Democrat, American, foreigner, religious, non religious or no religion… none of those things matter because each and every one of us has sinned against the Father. We all fall short of that glorious standard, that is sinless
Slide Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they [do good things, when they are religious, when they give and they give, when they try to keep the rules. No people are made right when they] believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.
Slide This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time.
Slide God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. Romans 3:23-26 (NLT)
Jesus Christ died for us. He took the spot we deserved and instead of us feeling the wrath of God and being eternally separated from Him, Jesus took our spot, He paid the penalty for our sin, so that we can have life with the Father when we believe.
Like Paul said this is a free gift that the Father gives. And when we know this, when we get this, and when we have an understanding of this. It makes verse 5 in John chapter 1 so powerful…
Slide The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. John 1:5 (NLT)
I love that last part, ‘the darkness can never extinguish it,’ translated the darkness of evil never has and never will overcome God’s light.
Slide Jesus Christ is the Creator of life, and his life brings light to mankind.
In his light, we see ourselves as we really are, a sinner in need of a Savior. When we follow Jesus, the true light, we can avoid walking blindly and falling into sin. He lights the path ahead of us so we can see how to live. He removes the darkness of sin from our lives.
And so, let Christ guide your life, let Christ be your guide…
Who is Jesus? Why did he come? Jesus is God with some skin, and he can to give us life and deliver us from the darkness and bring us into the light when we believe
