1:6-8
The Witness of John
These verses seem to be a parenthesis, inserted to talk about John the Baptist in the midst of a prologue about Jesus. It shows us, though, that John and his witness were very important. The first thing we see is that John was sent by God. This puts him on the same footing as the Old Testament prophets.
Moses was sent by God to Pharaoh to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. (Exodus 3:10) Isaiah was sent by God to speak to Israel of coming judgment. (Isaiah 6:8-9) Jeremiah was also sent by God to speak his word to Israel. (Jeremiah 1:7)
As God appointed Jeremiah to be a prophet before he was born, he also appointed John before his birth to go before the Lord and prepare the way for the coming of Jesus. An angel appeared to John’s father, Zechariah, and told him this. (Luke 1:13-17) The angel used the words of Malachi 4:6 in telling Zechariah the role of his future son. John’s coming was prophesied by Malachi.
John was prophesied, he was appointed before his birth, and he was sent. He was indeed most significant to redemptive history.
John’s purpose was to be a witness to Jesus, who is referred to as the light. (7) John was to bear witness so that all might believe in Jesus. We will see him do that in later verses.
1:9-11
Christ Rejected
Jesus, the true light, was coming into the world he created, but the world did not know him. The creation did not know the creator. Romans 1 explains this to us in detail. The creation testifies to the creator’s eternal power and divine nature. (Romans 1:20) But mankind did not honor God and became futile in its thinking as their minds became darkened. John used the word “world” here to mean sinful humanity.
In contrast to the world, John mentions the Jews, Jesus’ own people. (11) As opposed to the world, or the nations, the Jews were supposed to know God and be ready to receive the Messiah. Yet, John tells us that Jesus’ own people did not receive him.
Although there were some Jews who received Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, most did not and the religious leadership did not. This was despite the witness of John the Baptist.
1:12-13
Children of God
Although many rejected Jesus, some received him. What does it mean to receive Jesus. It means you believe he is who he says he is (“who believed in his name) and you act accordingly. John has given us a great description of who Jesus is, the eternal, creating, second person of the Godhead, the Son of God.
If you believe this, you see Jesus as the Lord entitled to worship, obedience, and trust. That is why Paul, in Romans 10:9-10 says we must confess that Jesus is Lord and believe God raised him from the dead in order to be saved. “Confess” means to agree or acknowledge that Jesus is Lord.
For example, suppose you are the leader of your country. A person comes to you and presents himself to you as the ambassador of another country. But you say, I will receive you as a guest, but not as an ambassador. I do not agree you are an ambassador. You have not received that person, because you have not acknowledged his title and his role.
Similarly, you cannot say you have received Jesus if you deny he is the divine Son of God and Savior who died for sins and was raised from the dead. If you claim to have received Jesus in any other way, you have not received him as who he is and have not received from him what he has to give.
What does Jesus have to give to those who receive him? He gives the right to become children of God, born of God. You must be born of God to become a child of God. It is not the same as physician birth, which is brought about by the will of the flesh. Physical birth does not accomplish salvation or membership in God’s family.
This was a difficult concept for the Jews, many of whom believed they were in God’s family because they were descended from Abraham. But Jesus will later in this book reject that notion, as does Paul in Galatians, and explain that it is those who receive him, who believe in his name, that gain entrance into God’s family.
1:14-18
Incarnation
Jesus, the Word, became flesh. This is the doctrine of incarnation. Jesus took on human flesh. Matthew and Luke describe Jesus’ birth. Paul tells us that Jesus was born in the likeness of men and was found in human form. (Philippians 2:7-8)
In real human flesh, Jesus dwelt among his disciples. The Greek word translated “dwelt” literally means “pitched his tent” among them. Greek speaking Jews, or Gentiles well versed in the Old Testament, would see this as a reference to God’s presence dwelling in the Tabernacle, in the middle of the tribes of Israel as they traversed the desert. Now, God chooses to live among his people in a more personal way.
He ate with them, walked with them, slept with them, and did every thing they, as men, did, except sin. He was fully man.
But Jesus did not give up his divinity. He was fully God. And because he was God, he had glory. John said “we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father”, full of grace and truth.” “Glory” is a visible manifestation of God where he reveals something about himself.
For example, when the Israelites were to leave Sinai and begin their journey through the wilderness, Moses asked God to show his glory to Moses. The Lord passed before Moses and spoke of his mercy and grace, his stead fast love and faithfulness. (Exodus 33-34) John may be referring to this when he says the Son’s glory if full of grace and truth.
Jesus demonstrated this through the “signs”, what we call miracles, that showed his divinity and his glory, particularly to his disciples. John specifically notes this in the story of the wedding at Cana, when Jesus changed water into wine. John said that Jesus “manifested his glory” and the disciples believed in him. (2:11)
Some believe there is a reference here to Jesus’ transfiguration. He also showed his glory to three disciples. However, John did not record the event as the Synoptic Gospels did, so it seems unlikely he would refer to that event.
Jesus’s glory was that of the only Son from the Father. (14) He was not a son in the sense of physical birth from someone, but in the sense of being being the only one who is exactly like the Father in his attributes.
John’s gospel establishes the uniqueness and exclusiveness of Jesus as Savior, Son, and Revealer of the Father. If you want to know the Father, you must know the Son.
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