John 1:1-18
The Word Becomes Flesh
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 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”)16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
In the Gospel of John we learn that Jesus was with God from the very beginning...He was with God in the beginning...Through Jesus all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made...In Jesus is life, an abundant life...His life is the Light of all mankind...He is the Bread of Life...He is the Good Shepherd...He is our Life and our Resurrection...He is full of Grace and Truth...
This Light shines even today in the darkness, and the darkness has not and will never overcome it...As we read about His Life in the Gospels we can see that He is the Light of the World, and He really is full of Grace and Truth...He is the Human of the Invisible God...He is the ultimate revelation of God and therefore this makes Him the Absolute Truth and the Grace of our LORD...
All of the Four Gospels give us an account of what Jesus did when He left His home and family to start His three year ministry...And it’s very important we study the last three years of His life...There is not a lot of information about Him before He started His ministry...His importance is this...When He said His Words in the Gospel will never pass, they have not, and that was two thousand years ago...
What is interesting is that in the thirty three years of His life the majority of His life is not written or recorded...We do know His father Joseph died, so He would have had to help take care of His family after that...And we know He was a Carpenter so Jesus may have spent many more years as a Carpenter versus being a Traveling Rabbi in His ministry...And as followers of Jesus we know that in these years there would have been no wasted time or years...He lived the Perfect Life...He did the things that really mattered...He probably had a work routine doing what most of us do in our work, and repeating the getting up today and then the next day, going back to work, and coming home to His family, learning and doing the routine daily tasks of His life, so they would have a place to live and something to eat...And we can believe all these early years He would have been focused on His Father and doing His Will...And this LOVE of God and others would surround Him...
When Jesus started His Ministry He only chose Twelve Disciples to follow Him...He could have easily chose seventy five to one hundred if He wanted to...But He wanted only a few to help Him in His three year ministry...So let us ask God to give us a few friends whom can help us and we can help them when we have troubles and when they are troubled...Let us grow in Him, knowing He has given us these few close friends to help us and love us...
And speaking of few in number, Jesus could have started His ministry at the age of twenty four or any age, but He started around the age of thirty...His ministry at age twenty four would have been eleven years instead of three...Imagine what He might have done in eleven years...But knowing God, three years was the right and Perfect number for man to be with Him...
Jesus never wasted anything, including His time on earth...Jesus is our Great Teacher of how we should use our time in the best way, and who we are and should be spending our time and life's experiences with...Jesus was never rushed with the three years He taught in His Ministry and with the few and Perfect Number of Disciples, and yet He changed the world in these three years...At the very heart of His Ministry was God...And by aways doing God's Will, He was able to accomplish everything He needed to do in His shortened life...
Jesus work actions and carpentry work might be little in significance compared to His Ministry...But when one adds LOVE to His life, something happens in a very Universal and Spiritual Way...Jesus would discover in His Teachings connecting to the world and the needy...Connecting to the universe with ordinary and needy people in a repeating and common way may have seemed quite commonplace...And I am sure Jesus would tell us there are no ordinary people, created by His Father...He would have had experiences probably similar to this in His work life...But let us add LOVE to His life...All His life, all His work, and importantly all His Ministry LOVE was there...In each and every one He touched, every one of His signs, every one of His acts, every one of His miracles, LOVE was there...Grace was there...All LOVE is from God and for God–His LOVE is never wasted...
Jesus is our Great Example of how we are to use our time, with God's help...He was never impatient and rushed, but helped everyone that He met and needed His help...Let us be full of Grace and Truth...