Jewels from John: Part 1
Most of my articles lean towards analysis rather than reflection, so I am starting a new series entitled ‘Jewels from John’. In each article, I will present insights and reflections on four different passages from the Gospel of John.
John 1:14 says “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” NIV
The Word, the mysterious and humanly incomprehensible second personage of the triune God became a man here on planet Earth. He spent thirty-three and a half years among us. He ‘tabernacled’ (dwelt) right in the middle of the known world, as the tent of Moses had been set up in the centre of the camp of Israel. Moses merely reflected the glory of God when he exited the Tent of Meeting (the Tabernacle), but Jesus constantly displayed this glory before all people who came into his presence. Those who encountered him probably did not see a shining radiance around him, but they knew that he was unlike any other they had ever met. “Who is this man?” they said, “For I sense the presence of Almighty God in and through who he is and what he says and does.” They couldn’t understand what exactly it was, and one of his disciples, trying to comprehend what he felt, asked him to “Show us the Father”, meaning God. The Lord’s answer was, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”
When I consider this, I marvel that God, the creator of all that is, came to Earth to meet with us. In days gone by he had sent messengers on his behalf and had even made brief angel-like appearances. But in the year 3BC this Lord of All incarnated as a Jewish man. He didn’t temporarily use a human body, or possess the mind of a baby, he became fully human. As such, he could move among all types of people displaying the nature and character of the eternal God they had long heard of. And that nature was one of grace and truth. Not judgment and domination, but the purest love and the absolute truth.
Here is the thing though; if we truly believe what the Apostle John writes about Jesus, then how can we relegate him to any other place than the centre of our lives? How is this possible?
John 1:16-17 reads “Indeed, every one of us has shared in his riches – there is a grace in our lives because of his grace. For while the Law was given by Moses, love and truth came through Jesus Christ.” J.B.Phillips
Whether we acknowledge it or not, every person born on Earth for the last two thousand years has benefited from Jesus Christ’s influence. His gracious words and deeds did not only affect his disciples or the people of his day. Indeed, individuals and civilisations over the ages have benefited from his influence. The laws of civilised society are rooted in the precepts and commands of the Law of Moses. However, these laws would be empty were it not for the copious grace that Jesus brought to them. Believers and unbelievers alike benefit from his grace and even the most cynical atheists grudgingly admit that Jesus was, and still is, the epitome of goodness and truth.
His influence goes even further. Jesus is the overflowing wellspring of grace, but he is also the source and interpreter of truth.
Pilate asked him “What is truth” and twenty-first thinkers of all persuasions still ask the same question. Jesus answered this question with “I tell you the truth” and said this not once, but seventy-eight times! If we want to know the truth then we need to recall what the Word of Truth said.
He said, “when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come”. When speaking of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said: “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you”.
Of course, the Lord’s overflowing grace affects us in the ways I have mentioned, but it also determines everlasting life or death. Only in and through him can a human being continue to live on in a relationship with God after this earthly existence Without faith in Jesus, men and women simply continue to live in separation from the source of eternal life. Truly, from the fullness of his grace, we have all received one blessing after another.
It is no wonder that the Lord Jesus called himself the way, and the truth, and the life, for that is just what he is.
John 2:24 says “Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men.” NIV
The people that Jesus would not entrust himself to were not just the Pharisees, but the many who believed in him because they saw the miracles he performed. Many people profess belief because they have witnessed or experienced a significant spiritual event in his name. However, what demands my focus in this verse is that Jesus did not entrust himself to them. As a Jesus-follower we perhaps have the idea that we should be transparent to everyone and freely share our inner lives with all who profess to be Christian. It appears that this is not the example Jesus set.
John 3:27 notes that “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.” NIV
This was John the Baptist’s response to the complaint that Jesus was also baptising people (although it was his disciples doing this). Perhaps John was saying that a messenger of God can only function in what he has been appointed to. This is why the NLT translates this verse as ‘God in heaven appoints each person’s work’. However, I believe that there is a more general principle here.
In every aspect of our lives, we can only receive what God either indirectly allows or directly gives. It is tempting to attribute the good things in our lives to luck or hard work, and bad things to someone else’s fault. However, James made it clear when he wrote: ‘Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above.’
So, I have developed a reflex of responding to good things with a spoken “Thank you Lord”. I don’t thank God for bad things, but I try to realise that they facilitate learning, maturity, and spiritual growth. I believe that life does not end in the grave, and that the primary purpose in life is to know Jesus, become like him, and to help others do likewise. Therefore anything that serves this purpose is ultimately good for me. Easy to accept intellectually but not as easy to live through, I know. This is why I ‘try to realise’ the value of troublesome things when they manifest in my life.
Be blessed dear readers.
Jewels from John: Part 1 Read More »
