sermonsonjohn

John 1:6-9

Having written about the relationship between the Word and God and then the Word and creation, John here tells us something about the Word and John (the Baptist).

1. John: a man made and sent by God
John introduces the other John in a very interesting way and for a reason. He says that "there came a man". The word 'came' is the same word used in v.3 translated as 'made'. Straight away we see that there is a profound difference between John and Jesus: John was made; Jesus just was.

John is quite clearly inferior to Jesus. That isn't doing him down, it s simply affirming the greatness of Jesus. And it is something that John wasn't going to hide: see 1:27.

Although inferior to Jesus, John is accorded real status here in that he was "a man who was sent from God". He didn't create his own ministry; he wasn't a self-made man but was formed and fashioned by God - and very clearly for a purpose.

2. John: a man made for a purpose
The fact that God made John and sent him also implies that there was a purpose in his coming. God is not in the business of acting randomly.

That purpose is elaborated for us in v.7. There are 2 things to notice here:

i) John "came as a witness to testify concerning that light". His purpose was bound up with Jesus the Light and in particular with bearing witness to him. As you read about John, in this and the other gospels, you can see just how well he did his work. Continually, he pointed people away from himself and towards Jesus.

It must have been tempting for him to bask in this reflected glory or to try to take some of it for himself. But he refused to do that. John knew his calling and rejoiced in it - see 3:27-30.

We do not share John's specific calling but his example is certainly one for us to emulate: 'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world'. Pointing away from ourselves and to Jesus. Bearing witness to that light.

But we also need to notice in terms of witness just how prominent the whole idea is in this gospel of John's. Of all 4 gospel writers, he uses the term witness/testify far, far more than the others. It is crucial to what he is presenting here about Jesus.

And in this gospel, it isn't only John who bears witness to Jesus. Those who bear witness to him are the Father; Jesus himself; the Spirit; the people; his works and the scriptures.

It is clear that this is a major topic for John the gospel writer. To give testimony about something is serious; it has a legal ring to it. John wants us to know that what he is presenting to us about Jesus has been verified, it is the truth, it can be relied upon.

Here is encouragement to us. We live in a world that denies absolute truth. Listening to such voices can knock us off balance. How good then to come back to the gospel of John and read over and again this testimony to Jesus!

And here is challenge for us. The truth is to sanctify us and set us free. And when it has done that, we are to join the ranks of those who testify concerning Jesus. This world is adrift is a sea of subjectivism and emotionalism. It needs to hear the authentic truth about Jesus, the Word of God, the Life & Light. If we don't bear witness to him, who will?

ii) Which leads us to the second aspect of the purpose for which God made John and sent him. He was to act as a witness to that light "so that through him all men might believe".

His work was not concerned with establishing truth in an abstract, detached sense. Truth is personal. And the great purpose here is that, through John, all sorts of people might come to believe in Jesus.

That is to be the great end in view in all our own witness to Jesus - as we proclaim him through meetings & events, as we speak of him in the home and at work. So that people might believe. We're not to be interested in winning arguments so much as winning hearts and minds to Jesus.

Maybe sometimes we feel inadequate for the task because we feel we lack intellectual gifts. Perhaps we feel that we haven't got the gift of the gab and clam up so easily. Take a look at John again. His ministry wasn't sophisticated; he hadn't gained a PhD before setting out on his ministry. He simply pointed people to Jesus and God's way for dealing with sin, as God's way of bringing life & light into this world.

In all sorts of ways we can do the same. By our words and by our actions we can point to the one whose love and power has saved us.

3. Jesus: the true light
John has a definite function: to testify concerning the light. And just in case we haven't got it yet, we're told emphatically in verse 8 that "he himself was not the light". A great man, a man to respect, a bright shining example to us. But set aside the true light, his own flame pales and darkens.

And so we're brought in verse 9 to the true light. The word true combines the ideas of 'real/genuine' and 'ultimate'.

It is true there had been others before who had shed some light on the plan and purpose of God (see Heb. 1:1) and John was perhaps the greatest of these. But they were not the true light. The real and ultimate light, we're told, was coming into the world.

In the following verses, John will explain what happened when he came into the world and how he came, but for now he simply speaks of the fact that he was coming into the world. Having shed some light, God was planning to blaze forth and John was a witness to that and prepared the way for him.

This is something we need to hold onto, rejoice in and proclaim: Jesus is the true light, the real and ultimate light. Whatever of God's truth is perceived in other places in this world, the full and complete and entirely trustworthy revelation has been made in Jesus.

He was coming into 'the world'. The light shone, not in a place conducive to him, but in the realm of darkness and opposition to God ('world' is another keyword for John). We'll see next time how the world responded to his light.

But notice that he "gives light to every man". That is a bit of a tricky phrase but I think it can be best explained this way. Just as God sends his sun and rain upon all people and all have the choice of responding in thanks and praise or to ignore and so reject him, so too with Jesus. He gives light to all, he offers to all the truth about God and a life with God which is real and eternal. But mankind has a choice to make: to accept, with joy and wonder, or to reject and take the bitter consequences.

That is the subject for our next study but it is worth thinking now: have you responded to the light of Jesus, the eternal world who came into the world to bring the light and life of God?

posted by minternational @ 2:39 AM