John 1:1-14 Christmas 1931
“In the beginning was the Word”. With these words the Apostle John connects the beginning of the Bible and the world with Christ, for as Scripture says, “All things were created by Him and for Him and to Him.” Jesus as the Word is the revelation of God. We know God through Christ as Jesus said to Thomas, “Whosoever hath seen me hath seen the Father.” The Father and I are one.” We would have no Bible and there would be no need of the Bible, nor church, nor preaching, if it were not for Christ. What benefit would the preaching of law be to us sinners, if Christ had not come to redeem. God would not even deign to talk with this evening, if Christ were not.
“And the Word was with God”. No other had control of that mighty word than God Himself though there be scientists and what not who think, that man is the great motivating power of this world, yet none of them has even been able to raise a worm to life. That mighty Word which created the world and brought all things into being and life was with God.
And the Word was God.” What good would idle words be, if God’s power were not in the words yea the Word itself. When God gave speech to man, He gave man what He Himself possesses, mad man in His own image and likeness. But when John speaks of the Word here it is evident, that he means Christ, the Son of God as verse 14 plainly tells us. Jesus was God. Jesus was with God in the beginning. Jesus is the only man who ever lived in this earth and saw the earth when it was created. To Job God said, “ Where wast thou when I created the earth?” But to Jesus He could not speak thus, for Jesus was there at the foundation of the earth and when He speaks to us, We know what He is talking about.
“The same was in the beginning with God.” John seems to repeat here needlessly, still we know that the Lord makes no vain repetitions. John is declaring a truth here which has been attacked severely ever since Christ came to earth, namely the truth, that Jesus is the true God. The Pharisees would not accept this truth and crucified Jesus for it. Later a man broke with the church, Arius by name, who attacked this truth, and today we have our so called modernists who continue to attack the Sonship of God. It is the devil’s own weapon to destroy faith in this gospel and Christ’s work. Where Jesus was tempted and the devil, this was his first sword to cast against Christ, “If thou be the Son of God.” We are still being assaulted with this temptation and therefore the Spirit of God has given us therefore more evidence of Christ’s Sonship, so that we may have the time and everlasting evidence of Scripture itself to answer these doubts with. John being inspired by the Holy Ghost therefore starts his history of Christ’s life on earth with this witness of the eternal Godhead of Christ. No one can truly know Christ or understand His work on earth or His life or anything else in Christianity, if he has not received this knowledge and accepted it by faith, that Christ is the Son of God and God Himself. Therefore this is not needless repetition, but a very much needed sentence of a truth which is much attacked from without and within the visible church on earth.
“All things were made by Him.” In the First Article of our creed we confess: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,” from which we are liable to conclude according to our human reason, that the Son of God had nothing to do with the creation, but John says: In Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” and also says “By him was all things created, that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible.” Jesus having created all things and all things belonging to Him, He is therefore also highly concerned about the things which He created. You are not so concerned about other peoples property and losses as you are about your own. Jesus has every reason to be concerned about this world going lost, because He created I. Therefore He was willing to sacrifice His life to save it. Therefore He says: I am the Shepherd. A hireling is not so concerned about the sheep or the house. Jesus being our owner and creator is very much concerned about our welfare.
“Without him was not anything made that is made.” First John states this truth in the positive and repeats it in the negative, so that there may be no question as to his meaning. There is not a thing which is made, that is made with Christ, except such things that are not made or created and that would be God Himself. Everything that is created and did not come into existence of its own power is made by Him. This Paul also says: Of Him and to Him and through Him are all things.
“In him was life.” If we were to describe an ordinary man this way meaning his bodily life it would sound peculiar, for when we speak of men of this world and wish to describe their life, we do not speak of their life on earth or refer to it in this way: In him was life. If this meant merely our natural bodily life, then it would be useless in describing a character. For if we write the history of a man, then he surely must have lived here, otherwise there would be no history of him to relate. Therefore it is evident that John means a different life than what we ordinarily call life. Life flowed from Jesus as water from a fountain, as he said to the woman of Samaria: Whosoever shall drink of the water which I give unto him shall never thirst.” Jesus had words of life, as Peter said, “ Thou has the words of eternal life.” Even when Jesus rehearsed the law it had a different meaning and power to it than when others rehearsed it., for when He had finished the sermon on the mount the people were astonished at His doctrines, for He spoke as one having authority and not as the scribes. But there was life especially in that message which he brought of a Savior and the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. This message brought new hope and life into this world and to all who received His Word. In Him was life, in that by a word or touch of the hand He could heal the sick, open the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, yea raise the dead. Life went from Him to such an extent, that if they but touched the hem of His garment in with healing and life went forth from Him.
“And the life was the light of men”. What is light without life to enjoy it? Though Jesus came to die, yet He speaks of life and brings life to us. The life He brings is our light. Without this life we grovel in darkness. This darkness is apparent in all who have not received Christ and the life that is in Christ. The heathen who bows to idols and superstitious is in darkness, though the sun shines overhead, for he cannot see, that his worship is being poured upon a lifeless image and that his superstitions have no real foundation. The man who puts his trust in the treasures, pleasures, honor, and glory of this present world, is in darkness also, for he does not see that all these things shall crumble to ruin as a house of cards. He who think that death of the body ends all and is man’s final destiny is also in darkness, for he cannot see beyond the grave. Jesus came to dispel this darkness. Therefore He appeared in the midst of night. As Isaiah prophesied: They that dwell in darkness have seen a great light. When we sit down and begin the reason about the happenings of this world and its problems, we eget into such deep water that we suffocate from the conclusions of our own mind and reason. We find no answer to our many questions. Why this and why that? But when we go to Christ we find an answer to it all, for in Him is life and this life is our light.
“And the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.” Jesus came to bring life and light to all men without favor or condition the light shineth in the darkness even to this day and continues to shine, for the death of Jesus did not extinguish the life and light which He brought unto men, but rather enhanced it and made it spread and grow. The light He brings cannot be extinguished, as He says, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. It shineth even today in the preaching of the gospel, but the darkness comprehended it not. Comprehend means to understand. The darkness did not understand or see what this Light is for. Jesus came into the world and the world goes on as though nothing important is happening. Tacitus is sitting at home writing a history of the Roman emperors and the empire, but he does not see nor understand the happenings at Bethlehem. His eyes are turned only to the throne and the doings of their wicked Caesar and to the army and its ruthless wars of oppression and unrighteousness. These things he finds worthy to write down in a record, but the happenings in far off Bethlehem are Greek to him. He does not comprehend this light. It is the same today. The whole world knows something about Christmas (?): The light shineth still in the darkness and shineth more brightly than ever. We might excuse Tacitus for not knowing what was going on in Bethlehem far away at his time. But who can excuse our present generation when the whole world celebrates Christmas or knows something about it? Still people live in the very midst of it all and do not comprehend Christmas is merely a time of vocations and good eats and good times and giving of presents and great business of them. The Jew scoffs at the name of Christ and still makes much money out of Christmas sales. Light to him is gold and silver. The darkness comprehended it not. So many today are not happy at Christmas, because of this depression, by which they also show that their happiness does not depend on Christ but on this earthly welfare. The darkness comprehended it not. The poor shepherds in the field who had not better place to sleep than with the sheep, they understood and came to Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary who had to sleep in the barn with Jesus, they understood. But because the great majority are blind to the value of this life and light brought by Christ, therefore they do not receive Him. Comprehend means also to take hold of and to receive. Jesus is a gift of God to us and all we are asked to do is to receive him. Men are not want to cast other presents into the garbage cane, but receive them gladly. Here they are given this gift of life and light and John truthfully says: The darkness comprehended it not. They cast it aside and despise the gift, yea even persecute it, as though the Lord God in heaven had sent them poison instead of life and light.
“John came for a witness” - marturia is the root of our word martyr, but when we call somebody a martyr we signify that he gave his life for a cause, although the original Greek meaning is merely witness. John did not only witness of Christ, but gave His life for this cause. He was a true martyr in every sense of the word. The meaning that witness has taken on shows us that true witness is not with the mouth only but with our life and being.
