"Who Is This Jesus? He Is The "Word".

In Jesus Holy Name December 5, 2012

Mid Week Advent I Redeemer

“Who Is This Jesus? He Is the Word”

I love the opening three words: “In the beginning…” Wait! When was the beginning? Wait. Was there a beginning? Our solar system contains a star. We call it the sun. Our solar system has comets, planets. It is part of a larger galaxy we call the Milky Way. A beautiful sight, at night, when there is no city lights to obscure the sight.

The Hubble telescope provides wonderful photos of a never-ending, expanding universe. Unnamed spinning galaxy’s with black holes, about which we have little knowledge. One of the popular theories about the “origin of the universe” is the “big bang” theory. But science is still baffled by the question…. “What happened before the ‘big bang’? Where did the original matter and gases come to from?” From nothing? From a Creator?

“In the beginning was the Word”, John writes. With these few words John takes us back to Genesis chapter 1. In the beginning was God….. nothing existed except God. Can your mind grasp that concept? Nothing. No air. No light. No stars. No life. No matter. No galaxies.

What did exist was a spoken “word” of God. Martin Luther along with many other theologians explains that this “word” was His power to think, his rationality, his ability to create. Your spoken word gives reality to who you are and what is inside your being.

In Genesis 1 the Hebrew word that our English has translated “God” is “Elohim”. It is a plural word without the English “s”. It was God who spoke words & “light was created.” Light did not exist before the “word” was spoken. It was God who spoke words and the “universe, including our galaxy was created. It was Elohim who spoke words and the earth was filled with plants and rivers. Animals filled the earth. Fish filled the seas. Birds filled the air.

In history past the children of Israel and Moses were terrified at the vision of God's glory at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:16-21; Hebrews 12:18-21). The prophet Isaiah was struck with fear when he saw the glory of God in the Temple (Isaiah 6:1-5). Adam and Eve were hiding from the glory of God in the garden…yet He came seeking them out of love.

But there is no fear in the visible presence of God's glory seen in Jesus.

“In the beginning the Word was with God and the Word was God.” This “Word” of Elohim, took upon Himself flesh and bone and made His dwelling amongst humanity. His name was Jesus. Paul writes in Colossians: “God was pleased to his fullness dwell in Christ….”

Magnificent words! At Bethlehem God stopped speaking to us as an invisible voice. The Word became a Person whom people could see and touch. The timeless God becomes a little baby-all to show us His grace and truth, to give us a glimpse of His own glory.

He came as a baby born in Bethlehem and placed in a manger where cattle lately fed. As Paul writes: He was the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation, for by Him all things were created. This holy “Word” in the beginning, has become one of us so that we might again know of his love.

The question must be asked. “How can this baby be the “light of the world?” How can a baby overcome the power of evil in the world?

Would it not have been easier for “this Word” of God, this Jesus to just arrive as an adult and begin his teaching, and work his miracles? It is a good question. But surely just as people are asking for the “beginning” of the universe, would they not also ask… ‘did this man Jesus have a beginning?’ ‘Where does he come from?’ Even Nathaniel asked: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

John writes: “This “Word” was in the world, and even though the world was made through His spoken ‘word’, the world did not recognize its own creator. He came to the human race that He, Himself created, but they did not welcome Him. The light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not understood it.

God’s initial historic purpose is introduced in the creation when God delegated to Adam the right to rule the earth and take care of it. This was God’s initial purpose for mankind. In Adam the role of human responsibility as God’s stewards, God’s managers, was introduced. (2:15-17)

Adam’s management and God’s ownership were quickly challenged by Satan. The serpent emerged as the enemy of God when he questioned and then denied God’s Word (Gen. 3:1-5). The serpent proposed that Adam and Eve rebel instead of obeying God’s command, for in that way they themselves could be “like gods.”