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Lesson 3 - Jesus:, God with Us, John 1:1-18
Who is Jesus? (To help you answer the questions see the Notes below and the Profile of John the Baptist)
Some suggest that he was merely a great teacher. But as C. S. Lewis wrote, any serious look at the Gospels rules out that option. In fact, Lewis reduced our options to three words: liar, lunatic or Lord.
If Jesus knew he was not God but chose to deceive others anyway, then he was a liar. If he truly thought he was God but was self-deluded, then he was a lunatic. However, if Jesus was neither a liar nor a lunatic then the third option is inescapable-he is Lord and has the right to be believed and obeyed. In his opening chapter, John explores the question of who Jesus is.
What are some common opinions that people express about Jesus?
Read John 1:1-18. What important facts do we learn about the Word in these verses?
The opening words about the Word are not easy to comprehend (John 1:1-2). How do you respond to the idea that the Word is both God and with God?
John refers to Jesus as the Word, the life and the light (John 1:1-9). What do these images reveal about who Jesus is?
How did John the Baptist function like a key witness in a trial (John 1:6-8, 15)?
How have you been encouraged to believe through the testimony of others?
According to John 1:9-11, what have many people failed to recognize about Jesus?
What benefits does Jesus bring when we believe in him (John 1:12-13)?
How has the Word's becoming flesh (John 1:14) made it easier for us to know God (see also John 1:18)?
How does the author describe their experience of living with Jesus (John 1:14, 16-18)?
John claims that they all received "one blessing after another" from Jesus (John 1:16). What are some of the blessings you have received from your relationship with God through Jesus?
Why is it important that Jesus' ministry brings both grace and truth together (John 1:14, 17)?
Christianity is incurably evangelistic. What is there about Jesus in this passage that makes you want to tell others about him?
In this Gospel, John provides clear evidence that Jesus is the Son of God and that by believing in him we may have eternal life. John also provides unique material about Jesus' birth. He did not come into being when he was born, because he is eternal.
1:1 What Jesus taught and what he did are tied inseparably to who he is. John shows Jesus as fully human and fully God. Although Jesus took upon himself full humanity and lived as a man, he never ceased to be the eternal God who has always existed, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and the source of eternal life. This is the truth about Jesus, and the foundation of all truth. If we cannot or do not believe this basic truth, we will not have enough faith to trust our eternal destiny to him. That is why John wrote this Gospel-to build faith and confidence in Jesus Christ so that we may believe that he truly was and is the Son of God (John 20:30-31).
1:1 John wrote to believers everywhere, both Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles). As one of Jesus' 12 disciples, John was an eyewitness, so his story is accurate. His book is not a biography (like the book of Luke); it is a thematic presentation of Jesus' life. Many in John's original audience had a Greek background. Greek culture encouraged worship of many mythological gods, whose supernatural characteristics were as important to Greeks as genealogies were to Jews. John shows that Jesus is not only different from but superior to these gods of mythology.
1:1ff What does John mean by the Word? The Word was a term used by theologians and philosophers, both Jews and Greeks, in many different ways.
In Hebrew Scripture, the Word was an agent of creation (Psalm 33:6), the source of God's message to his people through the prophets (Hosea 1:2), and God's law, his standard of holiness (Psalm 119:11). In Greek philosophy, the Word was the principle of reason that governed the world, or the thought still in the mind, while in Hebrew thought, the Word was another expression for God.
John's description shows clearly that he is speaking of Jesus (see especially John 1:14)-a human being he knew and loved, but at the same time the Creator of the universe, the ultimate revelation of God, the living picture of God's holiness, the One in whom "all things hold together" (Colossians 1:17). To Jewish readers, "the Word was God" was blasphemous. To Greek readers, "the Word became flesh" (John 1:14) was unthinkable. To John, this new understanding of the Word was gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ.
John 1:3-5
1:3 When God created, he made something from nothing. Because we are created beings, we have no basis for pride. Remember that you exist only because God made you, and you have special gifts only because God gave them to you. With God you are something valuable and unique; apart from God you are nothing, and if you try to live without him, you will be abandoning the purpose for which you were made.
1:3-5 Do you ever feel that your life is too complex for God to understand? Remember, God created the entire universe, and nothing is too difficult for him. God created you; he is alive today, and his love is bigger than any problem you may face.
1:4-5 "The darkness has not understood it" means the darkness of evil never has and never will overcome or extinguish God's light. Jesus Christ is the Creator of life, and his life brings light to mankind. In his light, we see ourselves as we really are (sinners in need of a Savior). When we follow Jesus, the true Light, we can avoid walking blindly and falling into sin. He lights the path ahead of us so we can see how to live. He removes the darkness of sin from our lives. Have you allowed the light of Christ to shine into your life? Let Christ guide your life, and you'll never need to stumble in darkness.
John 1:6-8
1:6-8 In this book, the name John refers to John the Baptist. For more information on John the Baptist, see his Profile at the end of these notes.
1:8 We, like John the Baptist, are not the source of God's light; we merely reflect that light. Jesus Christ is the true Light; he helps us see our way to God and shows us how to walk along that way. But Christ has chosen to reflect his light through his followers to an unbelieving world, perhaps because unbelievers are not able to bear the full blazing glory of his light firsthand. The word witness indicates our role as reflectors of Christ's light. We are never to present ourselves as the light to others, but are always to point them to Christ, the Light.
John 1:10-11
1:10-11 Although Christ created the world, the people he created didn't recognize him (John 1:10). Even the people chosen by God to prepare the rest of the world for the Messiah rejected him (John 1:11), although the entire Old Testament pointed to his coming.
John 1:12-13
1:12-13 All who welcome Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives are reborn spiritually, receiving new life from God. Through faith in Christ, this new birth changes us from the inside out-rearranging our attitudes, desires, and motives. Being born makes you physically alive and places you in your parents' family (John 1:13). Being born of God makes you spiritually alive and puts you in God's family (John 1:12). Have you asked Christ to make you a new person? This fresh start in life is available to all who believe in Christ.
John 1:14
1:14 "The Word became flesh" means becoming human. By doing so, Christ became (1) the perfect teacher-in Jesus' life we see how God thinks and therefore how we should think (Phil. 2:5-11); (2) the perfect example-as a model of what we are to become, he shows us how to live and gives us the power to live that way (1 Peter 2:21); (3) the perfect sacrifice-Jesus came as a sacrifice for all sins, and his death satisfied God's requirements for the removal of sin (Col. 1:15-23).
1:14 "The One and Only, who came from the Father" means Jesus is God's only and unique Son. The emphasis is on unique. Jesus is one of a kind and enjoys a relationship with God unlike all believers who are called "children" and said to be "born of God."
1:14 When Christ was born, God became a man. He was not part man and part God; he was completely human and completely divine (Col. 2:9). Before Christ came, people could know God partially. After Christ came, people could know God fully because he became visible and tangible in Christ. Christ is the perfect expression of God in human form. The two most common errors people make about Jesus are to minimize his humanity or to minimize his divinity. Jesus is both God and man.
John 1:17
1:17 Law and grace are both aspects of God's nature that he uses in dealing with us. Moses emphasized God's law and justice, while Jesus Christ came to highlight God's mercy, love, and forgiveness. Moses could only be the giver of the law, while Christ came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17). The nature and will of God were revealed in the law; now the nature and will of God are revealed in Jesus Christ. Rather than coming through cold stone tablets, God's revelation ("truth") now comes through a person's life. As we get to know Christ better, our understanding of God will increase.
John 1:18
1:18 God communicated through various people in the Old Testament, usually prophets who were told to give specific messages. But no one ever saw God. "God the One and Only" is a title showing that Jesus is both God and the Father's unique Son. In Christ, God revealed his nature and essence in a way that could be seen and touched. In Christ, God became a man who lived on earth.
There's no getting around it--John the Baptist was unique. He wore odd clothes and ate strange food and preached an unusual message to the Judeans who went out to the wastelands to see him.
But John did not aim at uniqueness for its own sake. Instead, he aimed at obedience. He knew he had a specific role to play in the world--announcing the coming of the Savior--and he put all his energies into this task. Luke tells us that John was in the desert when God's word of direction came to him. John was ready and waiting. The angel who had announced John's birth to Zechariah had made it clear this child was to be a Nazirite--one set apart for God's service. John remained faithful to that calling.
This wild-looking man had no power or position in the Jewish political system, but he spoke with almost irresistible authority. People were moved by his words because he spoke the truth, challenging them to turn from their sins and baptizing them as a symbol of their repentance. They responded by the hundreds. But even as people crowded to him, he pointed beyond himself, never forgetting that his main role was to announce the coming of the Savior.
The words of truth that moved many to repentance goaded others to resistance and resentment. John even challenged Herod to admit his sin. Herodias, the woman Herod had married illegally, decided to get rid of this desert preacher. Although she was able to have him killed, she was not able to stop his message. The One John had announced was already on the move. John had accomplished his mission.
God has given each of us a purpose for living, and we can trust him to guide us. John did not have the complete Bible as we know it today, but he focused his life on the truth he knew from the available Old Testament Scriptures. Likewise we can discover in God's Word the truths he wants us to know. And as these truths work in us, others will be drawn to him. God can use you in a way he can use no one else. Let him know your willingness to follow him today.
Strengths and accomplishments:
Lessons from his life:
Vital statistics:
Key verse:
"I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Matthew 11:11).
John's story is told in all four Gospels. His coming was predicted in Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 4:5; and he is mentioned in Acts 1:5, 22; Acts 10:37; Acts 11:16; Acts 13:24-25; Acts 18:25; Acts 19:3-4.
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