Day One: A Magnificent Prologue
As we open the Gospel of John to begin reading through the narrative of the life of Jesus, we encounter the introduction to his story, John’s magnificent prologue.
These 18 verses are more than just an introduction, but a passage of poetry, woven together by a tapestry of rich theology and biblical history. The opening words draw us back in time, deep into the pages of Scripture. John’s message of hope, his good news, did not begin at the birth of Christ but rather had beginnings far more ancient.
“In the beginning,” points us to Genesis 1:1, where we read in the first sentence of the Bible, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth.” It is there in the creation narrative where the roots of the good news of our salvation story begin.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).” What a strange yet magnificent reality. It is almost as if John is concealing the heart of his entire narrative in these first few words. What is the identity of this Word who is both God and with God simultaneously? What is the identity of this Word through whom all things were made (John 1:3)? What is the identity of this Word who is both the life and the light of men (John 1:4)?
In verse 14, we receive our answer: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” We must not move into John’s account of the life of Christ without soaking in the precious treasure of this prologue.
In these verses, we have insight into the very trinitarian nature of God. The ancient Church fathers developed the word Trinity to describe God’s ontological reality revealed to us in passages like these. Jesus is the Word who is God and is with God simultaneously. As the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God is eternal and equal with the Father, yet he willingly chose to enter into the human story to experience all of the frailty associated with human life, yet without sin.
The life of Christ is no ordinary life. The life of Christ is worthy of our time and our effort to read and reflect upon because in doing so, we are reflecting on God himself. However, we must do more than just reflect; we must also receive.
In the center of this passage we read, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12).” To engage with the life of Christ is to be forced to make a decision: We can choose to receive Christ by faith, or we can choose to reject Christ by faith. There is no middle ground.-
These 18 verses are more than just an introduction, but a passage of poetry, woven together by a tapestry of rich theology and biblical history. The opening words draw us back in time, deep into the pages of Scripture. John’s message of hope, his good news, did not begin at the birth of Christ but rather had beginnings far more ancient.
“In the beginning,” points us to Genesis 1:1, where we read in the first sentence of the Bible, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth.” It is there in the creation narrative where the roots of the good news of our salvation story begin.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).” What a strange yet magnificent reality. It is almost as if John is concealing the heart of his entire narrative in these first few words. What is the identity of this Word who is both God and with God simultaneously? What is the identity of this Word through whom all things were made (John 1:3)? What is the identity of this Word who is both the life and the light of men (John 1:4)?
In verse 14, we receive our answer: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” We must not move into John’s account of the life of Christ without soaking in the precious treasure of this prologue.
In these verses, we have insight into the very trinitarian nature of God. The ancient Church fathers developed the word Trinity to describe God’s ontological reality revealed to us in passages like these. Jesus is the Word who is God and is with God simultaneously. As the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God is eternal and equal with the Father, yet he willingly chose to enter into the human story to experience all of the frailty associated with human life, yet without sin.
The life of Christ is no ordinary life. The life of Christ is worthy of our time and our effort to read and reflect upon because in doing so, we are reflecting on God himself. However, we must do more than just reflect; we must also receive.
In the center of this passage we read, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12).” To engage with the life of Christ is to be forced to make a decision: We can choose to receive Christ by faith, or we can choose to reject Christ by faith. There is no middle ground.-
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