Inconceivable!

December 18, 2021 (Saturday)

 

For those who have been tracking my blogs this Christmas season, you might have noticed that I have been highlighting the role of probable Gentiles (shepherds and wise men). Let me draw your attention to John 1:11, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” [ESV]

 

To catch the significance of this statement, we need to understand who Jesus is through John’s eyes. Mirroring Genesis 1:1, John declares, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” [John 1:1 ESV] The “Word” is John’s image of Jesus. In John’s culture, the spoken word was the expression of a person.

 

If we want to parse the ideas in the verse, we need to reflect back to Genesis 1:1 and understand Hebrew poetry. Instead of rhyming words, Hebrew poetry rhymed ideas. So, the three parts of the verse are all explanations of each other and reflect on each other. Genesis 1:1 states, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” [ESV] I think John is clearly identify Jesus, the Word, with the God who created. The formula in Genesis 1 is “And God said… and there was” [v 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24]. The one instance where this pattern is broken is verse 26.

 

At the beginning of the known universe Jesus was there. The second section declares that “the Word was with God.” This distinguishes Jesus from “God the Father.” The third section then declares that “the Word was God.” This defines Jesus’ divinity. John doubles down on the idea of Jesus as the Creator by stating, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” [John 1:3 ESV]

 

Explaining the physical reality and sliding into the spiritual reality, John affirms, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” [John 1:4 ESV] The dichotomy between light and darkness is one that threads its way through John’s Gospel. Our relationship with Jesus, John is claiming, describes the reality of our spiritual state.

 

Here is the state of humanity, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” [John 1:10 ESV] While this verse, and the one we started with may seem disastrous, it emphasizes why Jesus entered the world. Let’s face it, we are damned to Hell without the work of Jesus.

 

That’s the point, light has invaded the darkness. Or has John expressed, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” [John 1:5 ESV] The invasion theme is reinforced by the “heavenly host” announcing Jesus’ birth to the shepherds. Hint: “host” is a mistranslation of “stratia” meaning “army.” Hey, who would throw a baby shower with an army?

 

Christmas is all around improbable. Let’s add it all up: virgin birth, army announcing the birth to shepherds (probable Gentiles), wise men/Magi (probable Gentiles) falling down to worship, the religious elite not understanding the significance of what was happening. Either this is true or those who believe it are stark raving lunatics.

 

There’s an annoying English word, “but.” This word flips the script. It changes perspective. John uses the Greek equivalent to challenge our utter darkness, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” [John 1:12 ESV]

 

You don’t have to spend another Christmas in the darkness of ignorance, rebellion, and sin. As the song says, “bring your wounded heart to the manger.” As another song implores, “fall on your knees.” Receive, believe, and become a child of God. Now.