Please explain John, chapter 1.
The Gospel of John is different than the other three Gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called ‘Synoptic Gospels’, which means they give a similar account of the life of Christ and use similar wording. John tells very little of the life of Christ, concentrating more on His teachings. Most of the Gospel of John is taken up with the last week of the Lord’s life on earth.
We have four Gospels to present four distinct characteristics of the Lord Jesus.
- Matthew presents Christ as the King and includes his genealogy through Joseph to show that He was of the tribe of Judah. His lineage is shown to go through David all the way to Abraham.
- Mark presents Christ as a servant. A servant needs no credentials, so no genealogy is given.
- Luke presents Christ as the perfect man and His genealogy, through his mother Mary, goes all the way back to Adam.
- John presents Christ as the Son of God. There no genealogy. John presents Him as the ever-existent One. Both John 1:1 and Genesis 1:1 start with the same words, “In the beginning…”
John 1:1 is critical to us in understanding who Christ is. That says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Notice that “in the beginning” the Word “was”. It’s not that the Word ‘BEGAN’, but in the beginning, the Word already ‘WAS.’ This shows that He always existed. The Word was said to be ‘with God’ and ‘was God’. Who exactly is this Word? John 1:14 leaves us with no doubt. That says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” The Word is Jesus!
Verse 3 of our chapter shows us the Jesus is the Creator. That says, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Genesis 1:1 tells us that God created the heavens and the earth. We have the words of Jehovah in Isaiah 45:12 saying, “I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.” So, Genesis 1:1 says that God created the world. Isaiah 45:12 tells us that Jehovah created the world. John 1:3 tells us that the Lord Jesus created the world. Isn’t that proof enough that Jesus is God; that Jesus is Jehovah?
Most of us are familiar with the account of Abraham taking his son Isaac into the land of Moriah to offer him as a sacrifice to the Lord in Genesis 22. As Abraham and Isaac walked along, we read in Genesis 22:7-8, “And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.” Now let’s consider the words of John the Baptist as he spoke of the Lord Jesus in John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Jesus is that lamb of God that Abraham told Isaac that God would provide. Jesus is the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world by sacrificing Himself as payment of our sin debt.
John 1 is so rich in truth about the Lord Jesus. I’ve only made a couple of comments about this chapter, but I hope I have help lay the groundwork so you can further study this chapter and book to learn more about our blessed Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.
I’ll close by quoting two very important verses from this chapter. John 1:11-12 says, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Are you a child of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? (176.1)