In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1
We are about to embark on an extended journey through the Book of John, and I have the privilege of being the Day One author. As I considered just how to start, I realized that the place for departure ought to begin by clarifying just who John was. While he never names himself in his Gospel, he does make sure we know he is NOT John the Baptist. So who was he?
John was the youngest of the disciples, and outlived all the others. He is conjectured to have been the only one of the disciples to die of natural causes. We will have to wait until heaven to confirm that. John was the younger brother of James, and they, in turn, were the sons of Zebedee. Like their father, they were both fishermen. Along with Simon Peter and Andrew, they were among the first disciples chosen by Jesus. But John was his own guy. Approaching a fork in the road, John was likely to be the disciple who turned left as the others all went right. And we are the better for his uniquity. Up to the very end, Peter was never quite able to figure him out.
Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” John 21:20-22
That was John.
It is intriguing just how much John’s first words parallel the very first words in the Old Testament.
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
As Jesus died on the cross, that first journey, a journey predicated on adherence to the Law, came to an end. With the resurrection of Jesus, a second journey began, one predicated on Grace.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:14
I want to finish Day One with something near and dear to my heart.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. John 1:1-2
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
The book we call the Bible, God’s Word, is not simply a collection of letters, black, white, and sometimes red. It is not simply a great book. It is immeasurably more.
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
When we open God’s Word, we need to realize that we are literally beginning a dialogue with our heavenly father. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” It is one of the mediums that God uses to interact with us. Because it is living and active, I can read the same verse a hundred times, and the hundred and first time I can see something new, something I never saw before. It is my heavenly father telling me something fresh, and that should be my mindset every time I read.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Happy John’ing
by Bruce Hanson
