Christ the Word of God and the Light of men
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📚In the beginning 📖 was the Word, and the Word was with 📖 God, and the Word was God. 2 This same One was in the beginning with God. 3 📚All things were made through him, and without him not one thing was made that was made.4 📚In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
1:4 The “Word” was not a mere idea in the mind of God, not some principle of God’s action. The Word was a living person through whom all life in the universe came into being. See John 5:26; 6:57; 1 Cor 8:6; Col 1:15-16. And it is through Him now that men can receive new spiritual, eternal life – vs 12,13; John 3:16; 5:24; 17:2; John 20:31. Life is a constant theme of John’s gospel, used 36 times. Light is another word often found in John. Here “light” means truth, spiritual reality. The Lord Jesus is the one who brings God’s light to men (John 8:12; 9:5; 12:36, 46). He enables us to see the truth about God, about ourselves, about salvation, about all the important things relating to spiritual life.⚜
5 📚And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not comprehended it.
1:5 God’s light continually shines. The reason why men do not understand it is given in John 3:19; Rom 1:18-21; 2 Cor 4:4.⚜
6 📚There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 📚He came as a witness to testify about the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 📚He was not that Light, but was sent to testify about that Light.
1:7-8 Verses 15-36; John 5:33.⚜
9 📚That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
1:9 Verse 4 – the Lord Jesus was the “true” light in contrast to false lights – those who claimed to be the light or whom others regarded to be the light and who were not. Jesus is the true light because He enables men to see the truth about God, about salvation, etc. He sheds His light on all, to the whole world (John 8:12), though all will not receive it.⚜
10 📚He was in the world 📖, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. 11 📚He came to his own 📖, and his own did not receive him.
12 📚But as many as received him, to those who believed 📖 in his name, to them he gave the right 📖 to become the sons of God,
1:12 Here is one of the great promises of the whole Bible. It includes certain very important truths. Men are not the children of God by nature – they must “become” His children. Compare John 3:6; 8:44; Eph 2:1-2. By nature they are created beings who, by their own choice, are in rebellion against their Creator and separated from God (Jer 17:9; Gen 8:21; Isa 24:5; 59:1-2; Rom 3:9-19). They can become God’s children only by receiving the Lord Jesus Who is the Word and Who is the Light God has sent to men, the Lord through Whom the worlds were made (which is the emphasis in the preceding verses), and the Saviour He has appointed (Matt 1:21; Acts 4:12). Receiving Him means believing Him. ⚜
13 📚who were born 📖, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 📚And the Word 📖 became flesh 📖, and lived 📖 among us, and we saw his glory, the glory 📖 as of the only begotten 📖 of the Father, full of grace 📖 and truth 📖.
15 📚John testified about him, and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is superior to me, for he was before me.’ ”
1:15 Verses 6,30. John was born before Jesus and his ministry came before that of Jesus. John is here speaking of the existence of Jesus before He came to earth.⚜
16 📚And from his fulness we all have received, and grace upon grace.
1:16 The Greek of this verse indicates grace continually flowing, one act of grace following another like the waves of the sea. And the one and only channel of this grace of God is the Lord Jesus.⚜
17 📚For the Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
1:17 Law refers to the old covenant given at Sinai through Moses. It is the foundation of nearly all of the Old Testament. See notes at Exodus chapter 19. John does not mean there was no revelation of God’s grace and truth in the writings of Moses. He means that in Moses’ writings there is an emphasis on law, and in Christ we have the embodiment of grace and truth, the full blaze of spiritual light, the perfect display of grace. He is contrasting two ways – the law of Moses and the gospel of Christ. The law could not save men and it did not reveal all the truth men needed.⚜
18 📚No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father 📖, has revealed him.
1:18 Individuals sometimes saw a manifestation of God’s glory, or His appearance in human form (Ex 24:9-11; 33:22-23; Isa 6:1). But no one ever saw God as He is in spirit, in His overwhelmingly glorious and holy essence (1 Tim 6:16).⚜
The testimony of John the Baptist
19 📚And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites 📖 from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
1:19 John was becoming very famous and the religious leaders of Israel wanted to know what was happening. Note on priests at Ex 28:1.⚜
20 📚And he declared, and did not refuse to say, but declared, “I am not the Christ”.
1:20 Note on “Christ” at Matt 1:1. John knew he was not that person and he did not try to claim such an honor for himself (unlike some today who try to make out they are great ones and accept men’s honor as so-called godmen and whatnot).⚜
21 📚And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not”. “Are you that prophet 📖?” And he answered, “No”.
1:21 The Jews believed that Elijah would come again before Christ appeared (Mal 4:5). See notes at Matt 11:14; 17:10-12.⚜
22 📚Then they said to him, “Who are you? So that we can give an answer to those who sent us, what do you say about yourself?”
23 📚He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way for the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said”.
1:23 Isa 40:3; Matt 3:3. John’s aim was not to call attention to himself or make any claims of greatness. He was willing to be a mere voice which prepared the way for the Lord Jesus. He was glad to be nothing if Jesus could be everything to men (v 27; John 3:30). In this he was an example to us all. It is humility God wants to see in us and not a desire to be famous or great or a craving to receive honor from fellow men.⚜
24 📚And they who were sent were of the Pharisees.
1:24 Note on Pharisees at Matt 3:7.⚜
25 📚And they asked him, saying, “Why do you baptize then, if you are not the Christ, or Elijah, or that prophet?”
1:25 Note on baptism at Matt 3:6.⚜
26 📚John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but one is standing among you whom you do not know.
1:26 He meant the Lord Jesus. As yet no one had recognized Him as the Messiah, the Son of God. Compare vs 10,11.⚜
27 📚He it is, who coming after me, is superior to me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to loosen”.
28 📚These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 📚The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “See the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
1:29 The word “lamb” brings to mind the sacrifices described in the Old Testament. See Lev 1:2, 10-14; 3:6-8; 14:12, 21, 24; Ex 12:3-13; Gen 22:7-14. John meant that God the Father would make the Lord Jesus a sacrifice to take away sin. Compare Rom 3:25; 1 Cor 5:7; Eph 5:2; Heb 9:26; 10:12; 1 Pet 1:19. This sacrifice would not be merely for individuals in Israel or for the whole nation, as some of the sacrifices of the Old Testament were. It would be for all who believe in Israel's Messiah from every tribe, language and nation. It means that the way of salvation and perfect forgiveness has been opened to all men.⚜
30 📚This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is superior to me; for he was before me.’
1:30 Verse 15.⚜
31 📚And I did not know him, but I have come baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel”.
1:31 John did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah until God revealed it to him. But he knew what his work was – v 23.⚜
32 📚And John testified, saying, “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and remain on him.
33 📚And I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit 📖.’
1:33 The one who sent John was God.⚜
34 📚And I saw, and testify that this is the Son of God”.
Christ’s first disciples
35 📚Again the next day after this John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 📚and looking at Jesus as he walked by, he said, “See the Lamb of God!”
37 📚And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
1:35-37 John did not want to make disciples for himself. He wanted men to be Jesus’ disciples. See John 3:26-30. In this too he is an example for us to follow. The word translated “disciples” means “learners”. See note at Matt 10:1.⚜
38 📚Then Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” They said to him, “Rabbi 📖 (which means, being translated, Teacher), where do you live?”
1:38 The Lord Jesus does not want anyone to follow Him without good reason. Idle curiosity is not enough to make a disciple. Compare Luke 9:57-62; 14:25-27.⚜
39 📚He said to them, “Come and see”. They went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him that day, for it was about four in the afternoon.
1:39 This gracious invitation to those two men is now given to everyone in different words (John 7:37; Matt 11:28; Rev 22:17). By accepting His invitation we will see that His eternal home is by the side of the Father (v 18), and we shall live there with Him forever.⚜
40 📚One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Jesus, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 📚He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means, being translated, the Christ).
1:41 The way the truth still spreads on earth is by one telling it to another from person to person. Compare v 45; John 4:28-30; 15:27. Note on “Messiah” at Matt 1:1.⚜
42 📚And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You will be called Cephas” 📖 (which by translation means, A stone).
43 📚The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and found Philip and said to him, “Follow me”.
44 📚Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.
1:44 Bethsaida was a town north of the Sea of Galilee.⚜
45 📚Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one about whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph”.
1:45 This showed some good knowledge of the Old Testament. Compare Luke 24:27, 44. He calls Joseph the father of Jesus. God was His real Father (John 5:17-18; Luke 1:35); Joseph was His legal father while He was on earth.⚜
46 📚And Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see 📖”.
1:46 Nathaniel’s question reveals that the town of Nazareth was a place of no reputation, and completely insignificant.⚜
47 📚Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “See an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
1:47 An Israelite indeed was one who was what a man of Israel should be in heart and life – without insincerity and hypocrisy. Compare Rom 2:28-29; Matt 3:9-10.⚜
48 📚Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you”.
49 📚Nathanael answered and said to him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel 📖”.
1:48-49 Apparently the fig tree was far enough away that Jesus could not have seen Nathaniel or heard his words except by supernatural means. Nathaniel immediately understood this and called Jesus God’s Son.⚜
50 📚Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these”.
1:50 Observe that the Lord Jesus accepts these words of Nathaniel as true and says that He will give much greater evidence of their truth. Compare John 20:28-29.⚜
51 📚And he said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, hereafter you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man”.
1:51 Jesus used this expression “truly, truly” 25 times in John’s Gospel. In Greek the words are “amen, amen”. Amen is a Hebrew word sometimes used by the writers of the New Testament. It comes from a verb meaning to sustain, to support, to be firm, stable, to be faithful, trustworthy, true, sure, certain, to be something one can lean on. Amen, if used as an adjective, means “firm, faithful”. As an adverb it means truly. Doubled is emphatic – indicating something absolutely true, beyond doubting. Only in John’s Gospel is the word found doubled. It is a very solemn and emphatic way of speaking. It seems Jesus used it when He uttered truth that might seem to people strange and difficult to believe.
Here Jesus is referring to Jacob’s dream recorded in Gen 29:12. In the dream there was a ladder between heaven and earth. Jesus is saying He Himself is that ladder. He is the way God’s communication and God’s blessings come down to men, the way men can rise to God’s presence. Nathaniel (and all of Christ’s disciples) would see this in due course. Note on angels at Gen 16:7. Note on Son of man at Matt 8:20.⚜