John 1:1-51
The Word Becomes Flesh
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 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. 19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added,“Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
John 20:24-29
My LORD and My God
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Some say the the Gospel of John does not write about Jesus as a Baby...But He does...Jesus is the Word and the Word becomes flesh...And St. John uses the Word and relates it to the Logos...Logos, the purpose of life, a link to creation and in the beginning...We can believe that creation was done in an orderly way by the Two, who by Their very nature are Complete Understanding...Creation of the universe by God, and Jesus was there as all things are made and were created through Him...And the One who is a part of creation, has now been born, and is a Baby, and will soon become a Man...The wisdom of Jesus, who was at God's right hand and by His side, has become flesh...And the Word is this eternal wisdom and this infinite understanding of all things...
We celebrate Christmas the day the Word becomes Flesh...That day gives us hope, redemption, and joy...Jesus became this flesh, this flesh as a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and sleeping in a manger...When Jesus was born, He became this flesh and blood, just like us...Or maybe sort of like us...He dwelt among us as a Baby, a Young Boy, and then a Man (if it is fair to call Him a Baby, a Young Boy, and a Man)...
But St. John does not spend much, if any, time on Jesus' early years...St. John plunges into the life of Jesus and into John the Baptizer who recognizes Jesus for who He is...He is Divine...And then we are on to starting His ministry, with His talking to and choosing His Disciples...So by the end of chapter one St. John has John the Baptist giving testimony to Jesus, and then Jesus choosing His Twelve Disciples, and we feel Him being Divine...
By St. John jumping into the Word becoming flesh, we immediately feel the significance of the Birth of Jesus...We feel the importance of Him dwelling with us...St. John has given us his account of being a Disciple, and St. John clearly sees Jesus as being the Divine One...John was an eyewitness to Him...As we read, we can believe that Jesus is the Anointed One, the One Who was to come and is to come again...He is our Messiah, our Savior...Jesus is the One who fulfills the Old Testament Prophecy, and the One who the entire Bible is written for and about...We feel this power and authority of Jesus right away in the Gospel of John...
As one reads through the Gospel According to John and all the other gospels, we fee this power and authority...We feel Jesus' power and authority and this wisdom...We can see the Author of Life...And one might wonder where all this wisdom came from, why we call Him Master, and why we would call Him "My LORD and my God?"...Was He educated into this type of wisdom?...We never really read that He was educated at all...We are not even sure He read any books other than the Bible...Did He read the Bible or is He the Bible?...Jesus has gained eternal wisdom from above...He has gained this wisdom from the time He has been with His Father...This is why we call Him Master and He had no servants...This is why we call Him, My LORD and my God, because He complete understands everything and everything about us...He dwelt with us, so we could see Him and learn about Him...And we can learn about Him in John's writings and the other gospels...He wants this...