Jesus at the Beginning from Jesus as Seen by John

Who is Jesus? Really, who is he? Was he a good teacher, or a prophet? Did he really exist? The Gospel of John gives us a vivid picture of the identity of Jesus as the Son of God. The first part of the Gospel starts with these powerful words:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.(John 1:1-5 NIV)

The other Gospels give a more straightforward description of the life of Jesus. Since they are so alike, the are called the Synoptic (seeing together in Greek) Gospels. But John is different. It is more "theological". It is also more picturesque. The metaphors are such things as light, life, lamb of God, the vine etc. It also gives the cosmic picture of Jesus. In the few verses quoted above we have Jesus at the beginning before anything else came to be -- not just a poor person born in a stable. The birth in the stable is true -- but John gives us a much bigger picture.

The beginning of the Bible, Genesis states, "In the beginning God . . ." Here we have the Word. The Word was there with God when everything began -- in fact the Word was God. Here we not only have the Son of God unmasked in the very beginning, but we begin to see the mystery of the Trinity unveiled. We see the other member of the trinity present in the Genesis account where the Holy Spirit is hovering over creation like a mother bird hovering over her nest.


A question that occurs to me is, "Why the Word?" The Greek word used for Word is Logos which had a certain significance philosophically in the Greek word. It was a divine concept of wisdom and knowledge. To me, the use of Word is much more simple and down to earth. What does a word do? It names something, describes something or tells of an action. It reveals something. When I write the word "apple" people who speak English immediately picture a red, roundish fruit -- unless they are Mac users. Jesus came to reveal the Father. He actually says later in the Gospel that if you have seen me, you have seen the Father.


The Son of God was not only present in the beginning, but he was part of the creation process. God created through a word -- through The Word. This Word was willing to become like us. He took on flesh -- the incarnation. The word incarnation sounds so theological, but it is a very earthy word describing what happened to the Son, the Word as he was born as Jesus of Nazareth. This passage further states that he came to bring life. He was also the light of the world. Both of these metaphors will figure large in the Gospel. They speak of abundant living, having direction and being truth.

Is this little passage of scripture which is jam packed with theological import only theology. Certainly if it was, it would be enough. Having these theological truths is very important. But, there are also very practical implications because of the theological truths. First, it is so important to understand who Jesus is; of course he is savior, he is friend, he is brother. He is also the one who was with the Father in the beginning at creation; He is God; He is Lord.  This is how much God loves us. He came to be like us and we can be close to him. But, we must never forget that this friend of ours is indeed the King of Kings.