Thank God for the Gospel of John

John 1:16-18, CEB

From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace;

     as the Law was given through Moses,

    so grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God.

    God the only Son,

        who is at the Father’s side,

        has made God known.

Zechariah 2:10, CEB

Rejoice and be glad, Daughter Zion,

        because I am about to come and dwell among you, says the Lord.

                About 400 years before Christ was born, the Prophet Zechariah describes a vison that includes the statement above.  Whether or not Zechariah’s vision was describing Jesus’s incarnation is debated by scholars.  Regardless, John’s gospel asserts that in Jesus, we have indeed seen God come to “dwell among” us.  Furthermore, this incarnation of God is the completion of the revelation of God’s law given to Moses thousands of years before.

                While the revelation of the law was a momentous gift of God, it is an incomplete revelation of who God is.  The law, John asserts, is incomplete without grace and truth.  And Jesus is the grace and truth of God.  Like all the other important concepts introduced in this prologue to John, we will learn much more about the specific nature of grace and truth as we work our way through the gospel. 

                So to review, John’s prologue signals the main themes that will be developed throughout the gospel –the Word, light/darkness, grace/truth, glory, and the law.  These themes are also talked about in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but John defines and develops them more fully than his synoptic colleagues and because of that, helps us understand the life, ministry, and significance in a way we would not if we only had the other three.  I’m looking forward to this deeper understanding and I hope you are too.

Questions:  Do you have a “favorite” gospel?  Why or why not?

Prayer:  Jesus, as I experience the witness of the fourth evangelist John, help me grow in my understanding of and love for Jesus.  Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for thousands of government workers who are losing their jobs because of government cut-backs.

Song:  Here With Us – Joy Williams