Sermon | John 1:1-18 | Four More Truths About Jesus
INTRODUCTION
The title of this sermon is “Four More Truths About Jesus.”
On one occasion Jesus His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Mt 16:13-20) “The Son of Man” was His favorite title for Himself. It is the title that the prophet Daniel used to refer to the coming Messiah. His disciples said, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Then Jesus asked them personally. “But you, who do you say that I am?”
Who do you think Jesus is? This is the most important question in all the world. It is the most important question that you will ever have to answer for yourself. Who is Jesus? Who is Jesus to you?
Right now we are starting a new study through the gospel of John. John was Jesus’ best friend. He spent over three years with Jesus, 24/7. He saw Jesus perform all the miracles, and preach sermons, and cast out demons, and die on the cross, and rise from the dead. This is the best place to go to learn about Jesus.
Also, for the first few weeks of this study we are looking the prologue, or the introduction, the first 18 verses of the gospel of John. John’s prologue may be the best place in the entire Bible to learn who Jesus really is.
TEXT: John 1:1-18
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, 13 who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified concerning him and exclaimed, “This was the one of whom I said, ‘The one coming after me ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’”) 16 Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness, 17 for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.
RECAP
Last week we made it through the first nine verses and learned SEVEN TRUTHS ABOUT JESUS. Let’s do a quick review.
- Jesus is eternal. He always was. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word”
- Jesus is the Word. He reveals God to mankind. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word”
- Jesus is with God. He is the second person of the Trinity. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God”
- Jesus is God. John 1:1-2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.”
- Jesus is the Creator. John 1:3 “All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.”
- Jesus is the source and sustainer of life. John 1:4 “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
- Jesus seeks believers. John 1:4 “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
Today we are going to continue our study of the prologue and learn four more truths about Jesus.
FOUR MORE TRUTHS ABOUT JESUS
1) Jesus was rejected.
John 1:10-11 “10 He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”
Jesus was mostly misunderstood and rejected by the people whom He encountered:
Some thought He was a good man. John 7:12
Some thought He was a great religious leader, or a prophet. Mt 21:11; Lk 7:16
Some thought He was John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets come back to life. Mt 16:14
Most who believed in Him misunderstood Him. They thought He came to be an earthly king to redeem the Jews from the Romans and restore Israel to its former glory. After He fed the five thousand people, the people tried to force him to be their king. Jn 6:14-15
- Some said that He was deceiving the people. John 7:12
- Some said that He was misleading the nation. Lk 23:2
- Some said that he was possessed by a demon. Jn 10:20
- Some said that he was a lunatic. Jn 10:20
- Some said that he was a Samaritan. Jn 8:48
- His own family thought He was crazy. Mk 3:21
- Some said He was empowered by Satan. Mt 12:24
- The Jewish leaders ultimately demanded His crucifixion. John 19:15 They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your king?” “We have no king but Caesar!” the chief priests answered.
Let this sink in. God came to earth and revealed Himself to people. They heard Him, saw Him, and touched Him, but still rejected Him. No amount of evidence can overcome the refusal to believe. Many people claim to reject Christ or God because of a lack of evidence. That’s not true. There is plenty of evidence for God.
The Cosmological Argument: Something cannot come from nothing. If there is no God, then where did all of this come from. Psalm 19:1-2 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands. Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge.”
The teleological Argument: Design is proof of a designer. Earth has been finely tuned to allow for life. It is just the right distance from the sun. It has just the right size moon. The earth’s crust is just the right thickness. It has just the right magnetic field. It is in exactly the right place among the other planets in our solar system. What are the chances of all these factors coming together on accident? Impossible. Romans 1:18-20 “18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.”
The moral argument: The moral law in our hearts is proof of a moral law giver. Human beings have always had the same basic concept of right and wrong, good and bad. People say that morality is relative until they are victimized; then they cry out being “wronged.” Romans 1:14-15 “So, when Gentiles, who do not by nature have the law, do what the law demands, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts. Their consciences confirm this. Their competing thoughts either accuse or even excuse them”
There is plenty of evidence for Jesus. Even secular historians acknowledge that he existed. But when you do an honest evaluation of his resurrection, you cannot help but conclude that He rose from the grave, proving Himself to be the Son of God. Billy Graham “There is more historical evidence that Jesus rose from the dead than there is that Julius Caesar ever existed or that Alexander the Great died at age 33, two “historical facts” that are taught boldly and without dispute in schools all across the world. After Jesus’ resurrection he was seen more than twelve times by over 500 eye-witnesses.”
Don’t be deceived. You do not need more evidence to believe in Jesus. Neither do your friends. If He was rejected by people who saw Him with their own eyes, then do not be surprised by those who reject Him today. The problem is not a lack of evidence, but willful disbelief. People do not believe in Jesus because they do not want Jesus to exist and be accountable to Him.
2) Jesus is the Savior of those who believe.
John 1:12-13 “12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, 13 who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.”
Although most rejected Jesus, many believed in Him, and received eternal life. Specifically, those who believed in Christ…
Became children of God. “he gave them the right to be children of God.” When you believe in Jesus, God adopts you into His family. You go from being an enemy of God to a child of God. God goes from being against you, to being for you.
Experienced regeneration. “who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.” When you believe in Jesus, you experience the new birth – a new heart, with the desire and power to please God. An inner transformation. You get a new “want-to.” You go from being God-hater, to a God-lover. You change from being a self-worshiper, to a God-worshiper. You go from living for yourself to living as a slave of Jesus Christ.
I remember when I got saved like it was yesterday. I was just a kid – eleven years old. I was at a Christian summer camp. The preacher was a ventriloquist. And one night during worship the Lord saved me. I went to camp one kid, and returned home from camp a completely different kid. Everything about me changed.
John gives us a good definition of what it means to believe in Christ. “But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name.”
To believe is to receive: To believe in Jesus for salvation is not just to believe that certain facts are true about Him. It is to receive Him.
“Receive” (Gk lambano) can be translated “to take hold of,” “to obtain,” “to grasp.”
One commentary: Receive “implies not merely intellectual agreement with some facts about Jesus but also welcoming and submitting to him in a person relationship.”
KJV Study Bible: Receive “emphasizes appropriating Jesus Christ, taking him as savior.”
Biblical Theology Study Bible: Receive “includes personally welcoming, trusting, and submitting to Jesus.”
To believe is to trust in His name. “But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name.”
In the Bible, God’s name refers to His character of even Himself. It refers to all that is true about Him; the totality of His person.
John MacArthur “His name refers to the totality of Christ’s being, all that He is and does. Thus, it is not possible to separate His deity from His humanity, His being Savior from His being Lord, or His person from His redemptive work. Saving faith accepts Jesus Christ in all that Scripture reveals concerning Him.”
To trust in Christ’s name is to believe in everything the Bible teaches about Him: He is the Son of God; coeternal, coequal with God the Father; sinless; fully God and fully man; the Savior who died for the sins of the world and rose again; the King of kings and Lord of lords who deserves all our adoration and allegiance.
3) Jesus is human.
John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
The word “flesh” refers to our physical body.
“Dwelt among us” is an interesting word. It literally means “dwelt in a tent,” or “pitched His tent among us,” or “tabernacled among us.” It points back to ancient Israel, when the presence and glory of God was manifested in the tabernacle, and then the temple. But when Jesus took on flesh and came to earth, God’s presence and glory were manifested in Jesus Christ.
This verse is about the incarnation about Jesus. Incarnation means “in-fleshed.” Comes from the Latin, en carne, meaning “in the flesh.” Christ is fully God, but also came to earth and became fully human. Theologians call this the hypostatic union – the union of the divine and human natures of Christ.
John MacArthur “Verse 14 is the most concise biblical statement of the Incarnation, and therefore one of Scriptures most significant verses. The four words with which it begins, the Word became flesh, express the reality that in the incarnation, God took on humanity; the infinite became finite; eternity entered time; the invisible became visible; the creator entered His creation. God revealed Himself to man in the creation, the OT Scriptures, and supremely and most clearly in Jesus Christ.”
ESV Study Bible “This is the most amazing event in all of history: the eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, infinitely holy Son of God took on a human nature and lived among humanity as one who was both God and man at the same time, in one person.”
We see Christ’s humanity in several places in the Gospel of John:
- John 4:6 – Jesus is weary.
- John 4:7 – Jesus is thirsty.
- John 11:33 – Jesus groaned within.
- John 11:35 – Jesus wept.
- John 19:28 – Jesus thirsted on the cross.
- John 19:30 – Jesus died.
- John 19:34 – Jesus bled.
But it is important to remember that in becoming human Jesus did not leave behind His divinity. He was fully human and fully man.
Philippians 2:5-8 “Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.”
Christ retained His deity, but did not exploit it – use it for personal benefits. He experienced the same hardships as other human beings.
He did not empty himself by losing His deity, but by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity, and humbling himself by dying on the cross for our sins.
4) Jesus was observed by the disciples.
John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John moves from the facts about Jesus to the evidence for Jesus. He was observed the disciples.
Jesus “dwelt among us.” Us? The disciples. Jesus lived 24/7 with twelve men for over three years. Among these eyewitnesses is the author of this book, the apostle John.
“We observed his glory.” John and the disciples saw Jesus’ glory firsthand.
The glory of His sinless character. 2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
The glory of His miracles. In John His miracles are often called “signs,” because the point to His divinity. As we study the gospel of John, I want you to be on the lookout for the Seven Signs of John’s Gospel:
- Changing water into wine. 2:1-11
- Healing an official’s son. 4:43-54
- Healing a disabled man at the Bethesda pool. 5:1-15
- Feeding the 5,000. 6:1-14
- Walking on water. 6:16-21
- Healing the man born bilind. 9:1-12
- Raising Lazarus from the dead. 11:1-44
- Epilogue sign: the miraculous catch of fish. 21:1-14
The glory of His teachings. After the Sermon on the Mount, “the crowds were astonished at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.” Mt 7:28-29
The glory of His transfiguration. John was one of three disciples (also Peter and James) who accompanied Jesus to the top of a mountain where they witnessed Jesus’ pre-incarnate glory. “He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun; his clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him.” Mt 17:1-3
The glory of His death. Consider how Jesus died. He predicted His death on multiple occasions. He was wrongly accused and convicted. He did not try to obtain His freedom. He did not get angry and retaliate against the Jewish leaders or the Roman soldiers. He prayed for God to forgive His murderers and all those who mocked Him while He was on the cross. From noon until three pm, darkness came over the whole land. When He died, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, and the rocks were split. The tombs were also opened and many bodies of the saints who had died came back to life, entered the city, and appeared to many. Matthew 27:14 54 When the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
The glory of His resurrection. The disciples saw Jesus come back to life. They saw the empty tomb. They spoke with Jesus. They touched Him. They ate with Him. Acts 1:3 “After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”
The glory of His ascension. After those last forty days, the disciples watched as Jesus ascended into heaven. Acts 1:9 “After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight.”
It seems that John’s point is that this gospel about Jesus is not hearsay. John is giving us firsthand knowledge about Jesus; eyewitness testimony. Jesus was a real person in history, and people who knew Him very closely wrote biographies about His life for us.
CONCLUSION
Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “John the Baptist, or Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” But then Jesus asked them, “But you, who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Mt 16:16).”
Who is Jesus? Peter got it right. Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Savior. The only way to eternal life.
Who is Jesus to you?
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