The Word became flesh (John 1:14)

Scripture reading:
(14) The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the father, full of grace and truth.

Observations:
I would like to break this passage down into five parts and deal with each part separately.


Part A - “The word became flesh.”

One of the most misused phrases in the bible.

Robert Kiyosak, in his series “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” series, quotes this passage in support of his view about self-talk – that your self-talk helps to determine your destiny.

This is an absolutely ludicrous interpretation of the passage. The passage has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with self-talk. To quote this passage in support of self-talk is to take the passage way, way, way out of it’s proper context.

Leaving aside such ridiculous quotations, what does it mean that the word became flesh? I must acknowledge that I do not fully understand this passage, so I cannot explain it fully.

Nevertheless, I’ll make some suggestions based upon what I think.

The passage is literally referring to Jesus coming in the flesh and body of a man, and living among us. The ‘word’ here (also referred to in John 1:1) probably refers to both the Old
Testament and to Jesus.

The Old Testament prophesized a savior. When Jesus was born, the prophesy came true.

Accordingly, the prophesy became flesh both literally and figuratively – literally, as in Jesus was born in the physical body of a man, and figuratively as in it came to pass.

‘The word’ here also refers specifically to Jesus. It was, after all, Jesus, who literally came in the flesh.

Jesus claims that the scriptures point to him. I believe, therefore, that the expression ‘the word became flesh’ refers to what was foretold in the scriptures becoming literally true in terms of

Jesus, the savior, being literally born in the flesh.


Part 2 – And made his dwelling among us

It can be tempting to view god as being detached from human life.

Under this view, he sits on his high horse in heaven all day long. He does not know or care what it’s like to have to confront the challenges of life on earth.

But the scripture does not support this view.

The scripture says that Jesus – the son of god (and himself fully god) – came down from the father, took on the physical body of a man and actually lived among us. He confronted (and overcame) all of the temptations and challenges of living a real human life in a real human body amongst real people. He was fully god, but he also experienced first hand the trials of living as a man on earth.

Therefore, we cannot say that he is indifferent toward our lives on earth. He isn’t. Jesus came in a very deliberate manner from the father lived a full life with us on earth as one of us.

Nor can we say that he does not understand human struggles or pain. He does, through first hand experience.


Part 3 - “We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only”

In this statement, I think that John is referring to the whole and complete event of Jesus’s birth, death and resurrection.

Jesus did not hold back. He displayed the full extent of the glory of god – his great power, understanding, perfection and love. He did this both through the perfect life he lived and the great sacrifice of his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection. God’s sheer power of was on full display through the miracles which Jesus performed. His all-surpassing knowledge, wisdom and understanding of god was fully demonstrated through his groundbreaking teaching of scripture. The absolute perfection of god almighty was displayed through the pure and faultless way in which Jesus lived – fulfilling god’s law completely with absolutely no sin in any way. Finally, the perfect love of god, which surpasses all knowledge and understanding, was demonstrated through the death of Jesus on the cross, as payment for the forgiveness of our sins.

If we want to know about the absolute glory of god the father, we need only look at the life, death and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ. There, god’s full glory – his power, understanding, perfection, justice and love, were on full display.


Part 4: “Who came from the father”

I have spent the last two years of my life living and working in a foreign country. I am from Australia and I am now living in rural South Korea.

The Koreans have been very kind to me and have welcomed me into their country. But I will never be one of them. I am different to them in many ways. Koreans observe very strict social rules. Whilst I try to respect Korean customs, but am prepared to break them if there is a good enough reason to do so. Koreans operate under a clearly defined social hierarchy – and will never question someone above them. I do not care as much about social hierarchy. Koreans are good at sitting cross legged whilst eating dinner. I simply can’t do it.

I see the world differently to Koreans. My beliefs, thoughts, mannerisms and actions are different to theirs. I love them and their way of life, but I am not one of them. I am different and I always will be.

The same is true with all foreigners who I meet in Korea, whether from England, New Zealand,
Scotland Australia, America, Canada, or other parts of the world. We are all different to Koreans.
Why am I different? I am different because of where I came from. I came from a different place.

Throughout the gospel, it is clear that Jesus is completely unlike anyone else in any way. He told oceans to be calm and they obeyed – no human could do that. He displayed unlimited understanding and wisdom, far beyond that of any other human. He lived a perfect, completely sinless life – no other person has ever done that. He laid down his life for the lord – few people have done that.

Why was Jesus so different? He was different because of where he came from. He lived a sinless life because he came from the father, who is sinless. He had complete control over science and nature because he came from the father, the creator of the earth. He had unlimited knowledge and wisdom because he came from the father, who has unlimited knowledge and wisdom. He spoke the truth boldly because he came from the father, who is full of nothing but truth. He had mercy on tax collectors and sinners because he came from the father, who is full of mercy and grace.

Finally, he demonstrated perfect love on the cross, because he came from the father, whose justice and love are perfect and unlimited.


Part D: “Full of grace and truth”

These words, used to describe the fundamental nature of Jesus and how he lived on earth, speak volumes about the character of god the father.

Jesus came from the father. His character and nature perfectly reflect that of god our heavenly father. Jesus came full of truth and grace and those traits came directly from the father. This means that the character of god the father is absolutely full of truth and also of grace.

Throughout his life on earth, Jesus spoke the truth boldly. Now this is easy when the truth is easy to accept. But when the truth is difficult to accept, then it’s all too easy to water it down.

The gospel contains some fairly difficult truths as it is. It is difficult for people to accept that they have failed god and are in need of salvation. It is also difficult to accept that a loving god would ever punish people for their sins.

But add to this what Jesus had to say – that he was the savior – that he was the son of god – and that all who believed in him would have their sins forgiven, and the truth gets harder still to tell.

But Jesus never once backed away from the full truth. Not once did he water down or sugar coat the truth.

Not only this, but Jesus lived the truth as well. During his lifetime, he fulfilled everything which had previously been prophesized about the savior. Moreover, he lived a perfect life and perfectly fulfilled the requirements of god’s law.

Jesus not only spoke and lived the truth in full, he also spoke and lived a life full of grace and mercy.

There is no better illustration of this than on the cross. Jesus had been crucified, severely beaten and nailed to the cross without doing anything wrong. At that point, Jesus would feel entitled to be at least a little angry. But his response: “Forgive them father, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Those words speak for themselves about the extent of Jesus’s grace and love.


Prayer:
Thank you, lord Jesus.

You were up there in heaven, in marvel and glorious majesty. We were down here. Little people, sinful man. Completely underserving of your grace.

Yet you, though you were everything, came from heaven to earth and took on the form of literal human flesh. You know what it is like, lord, to be one of us. You have literally lived on this earth amongst us as one of us.

Yet, though you lived in human flesh, you did not hold back in showing the wonderful glory of god the father. You demonstrated the full extent of his power through the many miracles you performed. You also demonstrated his purity and truthfulness by the perfect way in which you lived on earth. Finally, lord Jesus, you demonstrated everything about the lord – power, truthfulness, justice and mercy – through your death on the cross and resurrection.

You were able to demonstrate all of this because you came from the father, full of grace, love, glory and truth. And then, at the resurrection, you went back to the father, after all had been accomplished.

Jesus, I am lost for words when I think about you. Your greatness is just beyond comprehension. I can only fall down on my knees and say “Thank you, lord. Thank you.” When we turned away from you, you never disowned us. You paid an amazing price to allow sinful men and women to be included amongst your glorious family.

I can only thank you and praise you.

Amen.