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John 3:16-17
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"The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don't write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid's burnt socks lying on the road." This is excellent writing advice from the novelist Richard Price. But John blows it up with the grandest opening in all of literature: In the beginning was the Word. He wants us to look at Jesus first.
John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
I remember looking at a tired Nativity scene in a mall and thinking, "How can a Cabbage Patch doll save us?" Baby Jesus in a manger is a classic Christmas sermon. The humility of his entrance into the world reveals God's love for the overlooked. But John risks the opposite question: "How could the Word become flesh?" If this were a movie, we wouldn't start in a manger. We would start in absolute silence before time began. Imagine cosmic stop-motion as galaxies form, fields of flowers bloom, and babies gasp for air. The sullen eyes of broken people would fill with light. It's like an epic Terrence Malick film about the Wise and Loving Creator. John starts here because a tame Jesus can't do anything about burnt socks. If Jesus is only a good teacher or a comforting friend, he can offer sympathy, but that's it. The only light capable of overcoming the midnight darkness of our world comes from above and beyond. The light of Jesus is eternal, pure goodness. If you're familiar with the story of Jesus, feel the strangeness of the text. John wants us to see Jesus as infinitely worthy before he shows us Jesus as intimately close. The Word who made everything is about to move into the neighborhood. But first, look up. Behold his glory.
What stands out to you about how John introduces Jesus?
John starts cosmic before he goes personal. When you think about Jesus, do you tend to start with his humanity or his divinity?
What would change if you saw Jesus as the Eternal God before you thought of him as a baby in a manger?
Go outside and look up. Birds, skyscrapers, stars, whatever you can see. John says Jesus made all of it. Take it all in. Then text your friend one word that describes how John 1 helps you see Jesus.
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