John 1:1-18: Who is Jesus?

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word

was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1

In the prologue of John's gospel (1:1-18), he lays out for us perhaps the greatest statement of Christology (that is, the study of the person and work of Christ) in the entire Bible. Although the wording and the phrasing of the entire section is quite ordinary, the depth of the theology in these simple words plunges deeper than we could ever explore. Nevertheless, let us attempt to scratch the surface of John's wise words here in John 1:1-18 and in order to understand who Jesus is.

In the first portion of the prologue (1-4), we find three terms that all refer to Jesus: Logos (the greek word translated "Word" in your ESV*), Life, and Light. However, at least in this section of scripture, John equates Jesus being (or having) Life as Jesus being (or having) Light (see verse 4). Thus, for sake of brevity, we will combine the ideas of Jesus' Life and Light and simply refer to Jesus as the Light, as that seems to be the dominant image of Christ in verses 4-13.

First, let us look at Jesus as the Logos, or the Word. Many theologians over the years have argued (with good reason) on what John is trying to say here when he refers to Jesus as Logos. Although these discussions are good, they often take us away from what the Bible expressly says. Notice that in verses 1-3 and 14-18, John defines for us exactly what he means by Jesus as Logos. First, Jesus as Logos refers to his eternal coexistence with the Father. The Logos was in the beginning, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God (verse 1). Thus, the Logos must be Jesus, that is, someone who is separate yet equal to the Father. Second, Jesus as Logos refers to his creative agency. John points out that through this Logos the entire world was created. Thus, the Logos is the creative power and agency behind creation. We see this again in verse 10, when John mentions how Jesus came to that which he created. Third, Jesus as Logos refers to his divine expression, that is, his manifestation of the Father. In verses 14-18, we see that the Logos "dwelt" (lit. "tabernacled") among us, and that we have seen his glory. Although the presence and glory of God in the Old Testament would kill those who came near it, in the person of Jesus, the presence and glory of God was perfectly displayed, yet God now called his people to come near (see Matthew 5:1). In summary, Jesus as Logos refers to his eternal coexistence, creative agency, and divine expression.*

Second, let us look at Jesus as the Light. First, we must notice that John closely relates Jesus' Light with Jesus' Life, so much that he says that the Life that Jesus had was in fact his Light that shines and overcomes the darkness. From other passages of scripture (such as 1 John 1), we see that darkness is a reference to evil, and light is a reference to holiness. Thus, we could say that Jesus as Light first and foremost refers to his power over darkness and evil. Second, we see Jesus as Light tied to the goal of people believing in him (7, 9-13). Because John the Baptist bore witness about the Light, people were supposed to believe in Jesus (7). Furthermore, because Jesus was the true Light that was coming into the world, those who received and believed in him could have the "right to become children of God" (9-13). Thus, Jesus as Light not only speaks of his power over darkness but his possibility of salvation for all those who received and believed.

Oof! That's a lot of stuff is it not? Do you feel like you just took a seminary class? I sure do. But these are the things we find in scripture. So often, we skip past passages like these and do not plunge into their depths and find the eternal truths that lie in them. Nevertheless, we ought to stop and pause at scripture and be awed by its truths. Furthermore, we ought to apply them...

So, if Jesus is the Logos and the Light, what does that have to do with our life today? First, realize that there is an eternal God who calls you to believe in him. The one who created you came to live among you (well maybe not you specifically, but the people that lived 2000 years ago) and died on a cross to save you if you receive him and believe in him. The eternal Logos Light has an opportunity of salvation for you, have you received it? Second, behold Christ's person, and live accordingly. He is the coexisting, eternal, divine, perfect, darkness-conquering, salvation-offering, humble, graceful, and true GOD, and if you call yourself a Christian, this God lives inside you, and you are one with him. Yet, we so often fear. We so often sin. We so often give up. Why? Because we do not trust in the person of Christ. If we truly believed Jesus was who he said he was, we would not fall. Thus, we ought to believe that Jesus is truly the Logos and the Light, that we might trust in his power to save and deliver from darkness. Amen.

*If you don't read the ESV, I'm sorry for excluding you.

*I must reinforce here that this one-paragraph description of Jesus as Logos barely scratches the surface. The insights of theologians and commentators of the Old Testament, Jewish background as well as the Greek philosophy behind the term Logos is extremely helpful and in fact needed for faithful exposition. However, I'm not preaching a sermon here, I'm writing a devotional. Here, I'm merely interpreting Jesus as Logos in its direct context, which is the first step of all faithful exposition.