John 1

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0:00 For the rest of us, I'm going to look at another Christmas story. Lots of people look at Mark's story, if you remember. And this week we're going to look at John's early story about Jesus. Like Mark, he doesn't have a great Christmas story. He just kind of gets to the gospel. But that's why we're not being John last for doing John. But there's so much to learn from the way John presents the beginning of the story of

0:32 Jesus. And there's a lot of intention and reasons in the way that he starts it and the fact that he doesn't start it with the birth and the manger. Remember that John's tradition tells us that the John that wrote John's gospel is one of the original twelve disciples? All of Jesus' original disciples, expect for Jesus as scared of course, were martyred. John, we think John maybe lived the longer.

1:02 There's tradition that tells us he got exiled onto an island with his eyes, poked out. And that's as he wrote the his version of the apocalypse of John, the revelation of John. And she's sent to all the churches in Asia and Miami or down in Beijing at what the end of all things might look like. A lot of people think that this gospel that John wrote, his account at the time of Jesus is the last thing he wrote. A lot of people think it might be the last book written in the New Testament.

1:37 So it's late at 90, A.B. Which is found the Baptist were a teenager at the time of Jesus and Jesus died in the mid or is that ascended in the mid-3rd and then that puts him in his 70s. It's pretty old for the first century world. If you read John's letters per second and third John, he always refers to everyone's little children because he is quite old, right? A little children. And he always glows at him and then gowns and listens to him and says, love one moment

2:09 for heaven's sake. And one of my favorite little traits about the gospel of John is he, he's a little kid and he never refers to himself by name. He always refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus went. And I have said it before but I really, if we're saying again, I don't think he's trying to be arrogant when he says that and maybe he is, I'm the one that Jesus loves. But I think by the time he's that old and he's bet everything on the person of Jesus,

2:42 he just can't believe that Jesus loves him so well. And so this, this notion that he is one who is loved by Jesus has become his chief identity. So he'd rather refer himself in the gospel of Jesus as his person who is loved by Jesus than even by his name. And so John, the gospel of John, we think was, he wrote it because he was hearing this

3:12 idea that Jesus wasn't fully divine or wasn't fully human. So the gospel of John is like massing his two days together all of the time. Massing together the divinity and the humanity built around the miracles, I am statement. It's like the one that wrote the story of the passing in the sacrifice of the sacrifice of the land of Passover to show the way that Jesus fulfills it.

3:44 But when he starts out his gospel of John, he starts it at the super macro level. I mean, we get basically a creation story after the beginning of John's gospel. He starts it as loomed out as he came, right? And so, famously in John chapter one verse one, it says, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was gone.

4:15 He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him and without him nothing has not anything been made that was made. In him was the life and the life was the light of men, the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. This idea right here of it's capitalized in my copy and our publication, the capital W word of God, the primordial and original, the uncreated word of God through this God

4:54 is significant. For me, it's one of the core ideas about the character and nature of our God, our God, the creator and life-giver, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Christ and the Holy Spirit, is this notion that God worked in the world through his word. When God has in mind to call forth the matter and universe out of nothing, to do it through

5:26 utterance, he announces that world will exist and they do. He announces that life will exist and it does. He announces that water and land will separate and they do. He announces that land and sky will be different. He announces there will be a sun and a moon and there is. The Psalm itself says that he calls forth all the stars by name and they come according

6:00 to his command. The word of God is the active force in the world, this creative, generative force in the world. The original beginnings, so he says nothing was made, nothing exists that was not made through the word of God. That this wisdom, logic, even vocalization, this like speaking of the God, called forth

6:33 forces, brings out dolls and holds earth together so that when God wants to create the speech and when he wants to assemble Israel rather than whispering silently into all their hearts, he finds some way to give a special dispensation of his spirit onto one person so that with vibration and sound they speak his word out into the world so that it will

7:08 cost the ears of the people whether they might get or not. That God is working his dynamic and forceful, his physical and spiritual, he is creative and substantial. God says that in the beginning, un-created was this word of God and this word of God made everything that is and through this word everything that ever was came into existence

7:38 and this word was life for humanity. This interaction with the physical and spiritual doll, this connection that's running up against the intense and forethought of the creator of the world was what brought life to humanity. Indeed life, if they would see what were true in the world, if they would see what was actually

8:08 happening, it was because this force of God's will, this logic, this vocalization of speaking of God, Cain and told them. So why the men, it's the life of the world, this forethought and intense of God, this word of God uncreated existing for all of them. Right? So then verse 9, the true light within life is everyone that's coming into the world.

8:41 He is in the world and the world is made through him because he goes down to verse 14 and says and the word became flesh and dwelt among us but you can't kind of reverse it here, he's saying the same thing over a couple of times because it's so kind of mind-blowing. He wants to group a different, omnipotent creator, originator, alpha-omega guy and physical flesh, Bethlehem.

9:14 Same. So the true light, which in life is everyone that's coming into the world and he's in the world and the world is made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own and his own people did not receive him but to all he did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God who were going out of blood, nor the real flesh, nor the real man, but he got a glorified flesh and dwelt among us and we have to take the glory of the only son of the fallen, full granted food.

9:49 I was reading this how I was like, I love the capital W Word God, the whole idea that God would work in the world through things that come up against us that would hit your ear drumming, that God would do, would work through physical reality though he is so above and beyond the physical reality, I love him so I love in the beginning what's the world and that word was the life of man and the life in the darkness. What I don't understand is why he comes to his own and his own do not

10:26 receive him, why he's the right king of the world but he was not recognized. I want to know what is his name? Word of God that bellows out of the void and calls university into existence. The Word of God that when it stands in the person of Christ has dispelled storms and sickness and death out its own command. The word about that calls for a start and they hang into existence

11:02 while those sneaky, why in Nazareth and Bethlehem, why in Mary and Joseph, why in a dream at night, why come and they can't recognize you? You know when Megan and I went to Epchop for a whole day and a day and I made her on the way out right to face the birth because I, Disney is mostly nostalgic for me more than anything else and

11:35 I learned again having faced the birth that there was a time when Rome had all groves pointing to it, right? The time Jesus was there. The Lord, why not put the manger, wait, that's the center of all the Rome, I will seek you, right? I don't know. I don't know why.

12:08 I don't know why God did it that way, why he was just making it. Why he did it in ways where his own people didn't recognize him. I don't know why he walked around and there are times when he's hearing people and he tells them I don't know why when they want to make him king he like hurts his wrist, seeks out the back of the room. I don't know why when he talks to Pilate and Pilate says let's get this straight,

12:41 he's quiet. I don't know why he doesn't put his arm around Pilate and they redirect the Roman empire instead of all up to run from Jerusalem and make the temple the high point of the known world. I don't know why he's so but this is one of the points of Christmas. I'm not God.

13:14 One of the key, the best way I like to think about Pilate's systems, I really like thinking about Pilate's systems. I like I tried the major in philosophy in college and when I got to the metaphysics class and the like how do we know we exist when we're sleeping and not dreaming? But theology felt like Pilate was a point. I love thinking about Pilate's systems and the way I love to think about the other people's systems, the moment it's a balance of like pare that's hard to balance them out but they're both true. And one of them is the first thing I think about being a little bit more than the first thing I think about. I think about the first thing I think about is the first thing I think about the first thing I think about is the first thing I think about the first thing I think about is the first thing I think about

13:50 is pulling against each other that's hard to balance them out but they're both true. And one of them that is this nature of God where there is a hidden God and a revealed God and this tension between God I mean to us and revealing in practice that hidden God and never revealed God is a tension that plays out with the whole story of scripture. Think about it very beginning when God says hey I'm going to give you everything. I'm going to call you for that. Nothing I'm going to say if you

14:22 have a plan to breathe the original breath of life into you. I'm going to be my image bearer. My countenance will be upon you. It will be over all the whole garden. Take care of the whole place. Pilate and seduce. Name them all whatever you want. This is your place and I made it for you. Oh and one thing leave this one true alone. Why Lord? Because I'm God and you're not. Don't get to

14:55 none. That is hard for humans to leave hidden God hidden. Of course this is the problem at Babel again. Remember Babel? We'll build a tower so the whole world can see we don't need a God. We can get to heaven on our own. This is the problem of humanity over and over and over again.

15:28 Even she says no one can know the day of the return. Would it be nice if we knew the day of his return? I mean so many things would be clear. Right? It was like we know look it's going to be a while but when the numbers on the dial hit zero done we could show that we've been right all along.

15:59 All our hard work will take off. All our doubts will be resolved. Wouldn't it be nice to know when he comes back? You don't get to know. You don't get to know why there was a three-knowledge good legal. You don't get to know why he's hosting you from incoming. You don't get to know when he'll return. There is a hidden God and a real God. You don't know why he gets to allow pain and self-

16:58 God it is not me. I thought the end of the sentence. There is also a revealed God. There is a God. It is not me. Oh God is good. How do I know? He has revealed it. I don't know why God is so sneaky coming quietly in the night to marry, unmarried, young, in a living, in a novel. So unnoticed that she can just flee and go to her cousin Elizabeth for the length of her pregnancy and come back and get married and nobody's paying attention. It's fine.

17:34 Those of you can still marry her in the pregnant before she's supposed to be. That they can make their way to Bethlehem and nobody even puts them up for a place that the Savior of the world caught up in the machinations of a Roman emperor who you can't remember his name but for the fact that he's listed in the scriptures. If you want more money and so he organizes all these people around the known world to walk over the place and he's moving the Savior of the world around and doesn't even know and God doesn't care to point it out. He doesn't care.

18:05 We learned that at least this unbounded infinite God the Paul Fourth universe is into existence with the powers of words that hangs stars out on the preparations of his mind on the things that come out of his mouth. It's at least really humble. Worried about getting the job done. We learned that at least.

18:37 And then we also learned from what's revealed. So God revealed in this thing. So speaking that at least he's humble and not afraid of lonely. This is nice because you and I are no Jesus. Yes, art. To the degree that you think you are.

19:10 He likes to take a step away from the story folk that the God is looking at in the story. You got a creation and life. The God of Christ and the church is often found often revealed among the gentle and the loaded. You don't need to be poor. You identify with the ways in which you are poor.

19:42 You don't need to be unimportant or insignificant. In fact, you cannot be. But you need to identify with the ways in which to just perfect your humility, your loneliness. Because God works with the lowly and the humble. Leaves the seizures and the hairs and the pilots to figure out and build your powers.

20:13 That's how. And they miss the revealed God altogether. Gentle and lowly, but also good heavens. Said and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Oh, I don't know how you do that. I wouldn't even come up with it.

20:44 I have good ideas. You can ask my friends. My course, I will talk about just the other day. Some good ideas, not that good. Unbounded, infinite, creative force of the universe somehow limited down in the flesh. You can see that that John walked right up to declaring the trititarian nature of God here. He talks about the intent and the forethought of God the Father,

21:16 the created force of the word of God and the collaborative movement of the spirit of God. When they describe the incarnation in the womb of Mary, it says that God the Father has found favor. The spirit will over-travel her and the sun will be constituted in the womb. The only other time we get a story like that aligned in scripture is at creation, where God the Father wields it. The spirit covers over the darkness and the voice

21:46 bellows out and creates that what God is doing over young Mary is a whole second creation. The incarnation of the word in the person of Jesus of Nazareth is a work that only God can do and even God can't undo that wherever Jesus of Nazareth is now ascended and at the right hand of God he sits in flesh. The word will never be separated from the flesh of Jesus against its ten apsies, that the word is always embodied on eyes, hearts, mouth, ready to embrace and

22:20 and cry and speak well done good and faithful servants to all those who come to him at the end. That our God is lowly and humble but good-heavened, mighty. Ah, the bind unbounded infinite word in the womb of a one. And the gentle and lowly, strong and mighty and distant.

22:59 He is. That is his little making, losing. That those he had tried with creation and Eden for heaven's sake and could not contain the hubris of humanity. So he separates them out and lets them move and he starts them over, right?

23:30 They build Babylon and starts them over with this new Noah and yet still again their hubris will not be contained. And so it sets up a nature and a sacrifice and it brings his presence down among them and still their hubris will not be contained. Rather than serve, they are exclusive. They peer to the hidden God, they believe they can't be God. And he does not give up yet. The hundreds of years ago, nations come and go quietly in address he found a way to do it

24:06 against that God is a persistent and creative. That the Christian story tells us that our God is gentle and lowly, mighty and strong, persistent and creative. What should God do you need? I don't know everything about this God, but the pieces that this God has revealed have captured me in a praise God. He the God who is lowly and gentle, who is mighty and strong and

24:43 is Christian and creative because my frailty and frail Europe is need a God like that. Christmas tells you that is the soul of the woman that he has. That on Christmas he found some way the world at the end. The second creation Jesus is the first form of all creation. The first

25:15 form, the fourth case of the peace to come. The four bearer of new heavens and new earth of resurrected body and life eternal. That Jesus of Nazareth masses together God and then in order to start again and invites all of us to go along. Listen, as we'll start of here, gentle and lowly, mighty and strong, persistent and creative. And for all those John is that giant says, what did he say?

25:49 And he was in the world and the world and he came to his own people exactly. But first of all, all his bigger students who believed in his name gave the right to become children of God who were born out of blood, nor the will of flesh or the will of hand. I think he aided mighty, all gentle and lowly, the God made, almost holy made for people like that.

26:26 Christmas is your revelation, the character of them, you know that you might be captured by his true nature. Oh, again, rather than the prayer. Hey, Lord, thank you for the gift of Christmas. I'll pass her up with the revelation of your character and identity, both pumping you in a and then good Lord comes with me. So that we've had experience forever with you.

27:00 Is this name your prayer?