“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, ESV)
The opening verses of John’s gospel take us back before the book of Genesis. Before God created anything, He existed. The Word that John writes of is Jesus. He has come to speak the truth and to bring the light of God into the sin-darkened world. He is the Messiah who was promised to the Jews, yet He existed always; He created all things; He holds all things together by His power. And yet He is God incarnate, in the flesh.
So if anyone wants to know what God is like, they must look at Jesus who is the fullness of God’s revelation to man. He is full of mercy, truth and peace. The Law of Moses is God’s Word but truth but it revealed that was that all men needed a savior. God for the Law though holy and good was an onerous burden which was impossible to keep. The good news is that though we cannot keep the Law Jesus came to do this by becoming the Lamb of God, the sacrifice which would atone for the sins of all mankind.
Jesus is God, but many people in our modern world would disagree, sometimes violently. Jesus was born 2000 years ago to reconcile all human beings to Himself and so bring peace to all. But His way to peace and love is rejected by humanity resulting in the chaos, turmoil, selfishness, and brutality that assaults us in these days. People say they want an end to violence. They claim that they want an end to hatred and bigotry. Yet they refuse to do things God’s way. They refuse to forsake their sins, repent, and come to faith in Him because they think they know better. But they do lack wisdom for they not know Jesus.
This was true of the rulers of the Jews, who held religious authority in the time Jesus was born. Though they claimed to walk in the light they were dwelling in spiritual darkness. While it was true that they looked for the Messiah, Jesus was not who they expected. They looked for a warrior King who would throw off the yoke of Roman oppression, not a baby born in a manger, not a suffering servant who would be executed like a criminal. Those who were oppressed by sin and Satan, those despised by the religious rulers and the elites, these would accept Jesus. They would no longer dwell in darkness, but in the light of God’s truth revealed in the Word. Today they share that light with all humanity so that all may enter into the peace of God’s Kingdom.