Sermon Central
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Who Is Jesus? Series
Contributed by Craig Cramblet on Mar 1, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: A message dealing with John’s introduction to his Gospel.
“The Jesus Files”
Who is Jesus (John 1:1-9)
Quote: “In Jesus we discover all of God we can know.”
Who is Jesus?
Who is Jesus– that a woman would give her life to care for the sick and dying in India in His Name?
Who is Jesus– that some of the most gifted musicians in human history would compose music to bring Him glory?
Who is Jesus– that some of the world’s greatest architecture is dedicated to Him?
Who is Jesus– that TODAY, hundreds of millions will meet openly (and secretly) to worship Him?
Who is Jesus– That people will testify (2,000 years after He physically left the earth) that He has released them from the chains of addiction, hatred, fear and every destructive behavior, and given them a brand-new life?
Who is Jesus– that in His Name, people forsake personal gain to feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked, and comfort the dying…believing that there is an ETERNAL consequence…both for the one helped AND for themselves.
In “One Solitary Life” Dr. James Frances wrote: “All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that have ever reigned, PUT TOGETHER, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life of Jesus Christ.”
Introduction:
John’s Gospel is focused on Jesus’ DEITY.
The intended audience was “GENTILE”.
Not exclusively…but living in Ephesus as he wrote this, John was surrounded by citizens of Rome, and immersed in Greek philosophy and mythology.
Key verse: JOHN 20:31
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
1.) Jesus is THE WORD (the “LOGOS”). V.1-2
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
***There are a couple of IMPORTANT things in the first verse:
John is clearly referencing the CREATION ACCOUNT.
In our review we said the PRIMARY AUDIENCE for this Gospel was GENTILE…but there were Gentiles reading Jewish literature (including the Old Testament) looking for information about the Origin of the universe…and there would be Jews who would read John’s Gospel to see what HE HAD TO SAY about Jesus.
“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.”
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
***remember in the Genesis account, how did God CREATE things??? “And God SAID…let there be LIGHT and let there be WATER and DRY GROUND and PLANTS and ANIMALS…and let US make MAN in OUR IMAGE.
And God SAID it…and it happened. His WORD.
He is also addressing the Greek QUESTIONS and PHILOSOPHY about the origin of the universe.
***The Greek philosopher Aristotle (and Hericlitus) used “LOGOS” to explain the INTELLECT that was behind the order he saw in the universe. He called it “the divine logic”. The Stoics took his thoughts and expanded on them and said that when men were LOGICAL and RATIONAL…they were most “spiritual”, and when they were PASSIONATE and EMOTIONAL, they had turned away from the LOGOS.
***Think about what John is doing: He is entering into the Greek arena of ideas…and using THEIR terminology…to show them something about God that wasn’t a part of their thinking.
Greek MYTHOLOGY had “gods” that were powerful but flawed…prone to deceit, jealousy, lust, pride, and so on. Their “gods” were MANY…were not PERFECT…and were not SOVEREIGN.
Greek PHILOSOPHY viewed “the divine” as an IMPERSONAL FORCE…mostly intellect and logic, but with no INVOLVEMENT or INTEREST in humanity. Certainly not CONCERNED or LOVING.
John will ENLIGHTEN and CLARIFY as he presents God as POWERFUL, PERFECT and PERSONAL!!!
Jesus is the complete EXPRESSION of who God is.
I think Dr. Warren Wiersbe said it very clearly:
“Just as our words reveal our mind and heart, so Christ reveals the mind and heart of God to men. A word is composed of letters; and Christ is the Alpha and Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), who spells out God’s love to us. While God can be known in part through nature and history, He is known in full through Jesus Christ, the living, incarnate Word of God.”
At the beginning of time, the Logos was ALREADY THERE!
A literal translation of these first 2 verses could read: “BEFORE there was a beginning of time, the Word had been.” He always was…He was not created.
- “With” speaks of RELATIONSHIP not proximity. Some people get caught up in the way the English translations read. They reason that “IF the word is WITH God…he must be something OTHER than God.” But the word “with” is actually the Greek word “PROS” with means “toward” and indicates UNITY or INTIMACY. So- “The Word was UNITED with God…”
