Social media is filled with fantastic stories about people from the past. The articles are written in a way that draws you in and won’t let you go until you have finished the entire story. One such story was about the young, crippled daughter of a plantation owner who was rejected by twelve suitors because of her physical condition. The story says that her father finally had her secretly married to one of his slaves who was seven feet eleven inches tall and who had taught himself to read. Their relationship blossomed despite what was then considered to be an inappropriate relationship. The story was good, but after investigating it, it seems to have been embellished by whomever posted it.
Some people have the same feeling about what the Bible says about Jesus. They think that the Bible is just a collection of tall tales about someone who lived long ago. But is that the case? No, what is written about Jesus in the four gospels was verified by people who actually knew Him. They saw, heard, and rubbed shoulders with him. One such person was the disciple, John. After traveling with Jesus and learning from Him, John wrote his own account of the life of Jesus from his own eyewitness viewpoint but also under the direction of God’s Holy Spirit. So, what we are about to read will give us an accurate view of who Jesus is.
- What does it say? (John 1:1-13)
In the beginning, the Word was, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life and the life was the light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. A man named John arrived who was sent from God. He came as a witness to testify about the Light so that all might believe through him. He was not that Light, but he came that he might testify about the Light. This was the true Light which illuminates every man who comes into the world. He was in the world, and even though the world came into being through Him, the world did not know Him. He came to His own and they did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, He gave to them the right1 to become children of God; this was given to those who believe in His name. These were born not of blood, nor of what the flesh wants, nor of what man wants, but of God. - What does it mean?
Jesus is the Word (John 1:1-3).
Surprisingly, John does not give a detailed account of the birth of Jesus. You will find the account of His birth in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Instead of talking about Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, he goes back even further to the very beginning of Creation. John says that when everything began, the Word was there, was with God, and was God. This Word was there in the beginning with God because He made everything that exists. In fact, there is no part of Creation that came into being without the Word.
Since we have already read the rest of the passage, we know that this is talking about Jesus. However, we don’t yet know why He is referred to as the Word. What does that mean? Word in English refers to part of our spoken and written language. When you see or hear a word, you immediately think of what it represents. When John originally wrote about Jesus, he referred to Him as the Word because Jesus is what God has said, declared, thought, and taught.2 He is the outward expression of God Himself.
Think back to the Book of Genesis. That book begins with similar words. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. But how did God create everything. In Genesis 1:3, God spoke and there was light. In verse 6, God spoke and the atmosphere was formed. In verse 9, God spoke and the land and water were separated. In verse 11, God spoke and plants and trees were created. In verse 14, God spoke and the sun, moon, and stars appeared. In verse 20, God spoke and fish and birds came into being. In verse 24, God spoke and animals were created. You get the point. God spoke and each item was created.
John tells us here that Jesus is the Word of God that created everything. He was there. He did it. He was God. As the Word, before He became a man, Jesus spoke and created everything that exists. He could do this because He is God Himself. That gives us an entirely different picture of who Jesus is. He is more than a man. He is God who created everything by simply speaking. And He is also the One who came to declare the truth about God to the world. Jesus is the Word.
Jesus is the Light (John 1:4-9).
When Jesus came to earth, he came as a human being. His life was a light to the people who met Him. However, the world was full of darkness. It was dark because people had chosen to love their sin instead of God. So, when Jesus arrived, His life was like a light shining in the darkness. His life revealed their sin but … they did not understand what was happening. So God sent a man to prepare them for the light of Jesus’ life. His name was John the Baptist. He came to prepare people to believe in Jesus. He was a witness to the Light that illuminates everyone in the world.3 How did he do that?
Remember how Jesus’ life lit up the darkness? John was sent to prepare people to believe in Jesus. But if the darkness was having trouble understanding the Light of Jesus, how could John prepare the people to receive Him? The people who read John’s Gospel would have remembered John the Baptist. He was the man who preached about repenting from sin. You can read about him in Matthew 3:1-12. In that passage, he told people to repent because God’s kingdom was close by. In other words, they needed to change their mind about their sin and get right with God. He told them that the Lord was coming and they needed to be ready. Many people responded to John’s preaching by repenting of sin and being baptized.
But why did God send John the Baptist? He was sent to get people ready for when the light of Jesus’ life began to shine on the earth. As John preached, the people repented. As he talked about the coming Light, the people readied themselves for Jesus’ arrival. Then, when Jesus came, He was unlike any other. His perfect life was a contrast to everyone else. His clear teaching made God’s truths accessible to all who would listen. His compassion was seen in His interactions with sinful people. Not all people would appreciate the Light that shined in the darkness. But those who received John the Baptist’s preaching, prepared their hearts to see the light of Jesus’ life.
Jesus is the Way (John 1:10-13).
In the previous verses, John revealed that people were in darkness when Jesus came to earth. Their love for sin kept them in the darkness and kept them from seeing the truth about God. So, how did people respond when Jesus came to earth as a man? John says that the world did not recognize Him for who He is. He was in the world that He created but they didn’t know Him. He even came to His own (the Jewish people) but the majority of them did not receive Him. That seems so strange that the Jewish people would not receive Jesus. These were the people whom God had chosen as His own special people. They, of all people on earth, should have been expecting Him to come. But they didn’t receive Him.
However, there were some who did. Those who received Him and believed on His name were given the right to become children of God. The first thing to notice is how these people responded. When they received Him and believed in His name,4 they were accepting that He was who He claimed to be. Jesus is God. Jesus is the perfect life that shines in the darkness. Jesus is everything He claimed to be. The second thing is what Jesus did for those who received Him. He gave them the right to become children of God. This is special. Why would Jesus give sinful people the right to become God’s children? It doesn’t say why, just that He graciously did.
The last thing to notice is that those who became children of God didn’t do it on their own. Many of the Israelites thought that they were automatically blessed by God simply because they were born into a Jewish family. While the Jewish people were given special promises and were blessed to know about God, all of that meant nothing unless they received Jesus for themselves. John tells us that God caused these believers to be born into God’s family. It wasn’t the result of their bloodline or someone’s will. It was all because God caused it to happen. - How does it apply?
Who do you think Jesus is?
The Bible presents to us who Jesus is. He is the Word who is God and who spoke the universe into existence. This means that Jesus is not just a good man who lived a long time ago. He is the eternal God who made everything and that holds everything together. Jesus left heaven to come to earth as a man. His goal as the Word was to talk to us and to reveal the truth about God and what He desires. The Bible clearly states that Jesus is God. Who do you think Jesus is?
What has the Light of Jesus revealed about you?
The Bible also presents Jesus as the Light of the world. When He came to earth, he never did anything wrong (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:22). His sinless life shone in the darkness and revealed our sinfulness. Oftentimes, people compare themselves with really bad people and feel better about themselves. But is that God’s standard? No, Jesus is the standard that we should compare ourselves to. And when we do that, our sinfulness shows up like the glare of a bright headlight at night. At the moment, you may not see that. John said that the darkness didn’t comprehend it when Jesus was on earth. But the more that you compare your life to Jesus, the more you will understand your own sinfulness from God’s perspective. Do you understand that?
What is your response to Jesus?
When Jesus became a man, the world didn’t recognize Him. His own people who had been told to expect Him, didn’t receive Him. But there were a few who did. And when they believed in who He was, they became God’s children. God gave them new life through faith in Jesus. What about you? Whether this is your first time hearing about Jesus or not, you have to respond at some point. Will you receive Jesus? Will you believe in Him? Or will you continue down the same road of sin without Him? If you receive Him, He will change your life. You will become a child of God with a new heart. What is your response to Jesus?
Conclusion
The Gospel of John is a special book. It was written by a disciple of Jesus, who knew Him well. The book records the miracles of Jesus, His interactions with various people, and much of His teaching. In the weeks ahead, we will be studying select passages from this book. For those of you who have already believed in Jesus, it will be a good reminder of who Jesus is and what He said. For those of you who have not yet believed, this will be a good way of finding out exactly what the Bible says about Jesus. I hope that as we study this book together, all of us will come to the same conclusion—that Jesus is God who became a man to reveal the truth to all who believe.
Bibliography
Blum, Edwin A., “John” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary New Testament, USA: SP Publications, 1983.
Kent, Homer A., Light in the Darkness, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1986, orig. 1974.
Laney, J. Carl, John, Chicago: Moody Press, 1992.
Plummer, A., The Gospel According to St. John, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1923, orig. 1880.
Footnotes
- “Greek: exousian. The word denotes right, authority, or permission, as distinct from dunamis which denotes intrinsic ability.” Kent 32. ↩︎
- Thayer’s Lexicon as viewed at https://biblehub.com/greek/3056.htm on 4/18/2026. ↩︎
- “Christ gives light to every man. This does not mean universal salvation or general revelation or even inner illumination. Instead, it means that Christ as the Light shines (photizei) on each person either in salvation or in illuminating him with regard to his sin and coming judgment.” Blum 272. ↩︎
- “‘Name’ is a common expression to denote the entire person, including what he stands for and represents (see John 15:21; 17:26; Acts 4:12).” Kent 32. ↩︎