Church Sermon - January 2, 2005

Rev. Bernt P. Tweit

Epistle Lesson; Ephesians 1:3-18
Old Testament Lesson; Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Sermon Text; John 1:1-18

Today for our sermon, as we close out this Christmas Season, we are brought to the words of John, in his first chapter. The verses that I am going to be focusing on are the last five verses of our text, from 15 – 18. But, in order to know the whole context, I would like us to read through all 18 verses.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming to the world.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’" From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

The words, which we have before us today, were written by John about 60 years after Jesus died. In those 60 years, there were some false teaching and false doctrine that had arisen in the church. There were some groups of people who said Jesus was not God. There were other groups of people who said Jesus was not a man. God raised up the Gospel writer John to write these words, for us to know that Jesus is God, and that Jesus is Man. Near the end of John’s gospel, he tells us the reason why he wrote the words of his text, the words of his gospel. He said, "These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And that by believing you may have life in His name."

In the very first verse that we read for today, we see how John hammers home the point that Jesus is true God. He starts out by saying, "In the beginning was the Word."

That reminds of that other book of the Bible in scripture that starts out with those same three words, "In the beginning…" That is how the book of Geneses starts. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."

Well, John says, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." There, saying that Jesus is God. Jesus is with God. And, that Jesus is eternal. Jesus is God.

I. Jesus who is God, became a man

But, now today, as we get to those last five verses, from 14 – 18, we see how John is talking about the Christmas story, really, where he talks about Jesus becoming flesh. "The Word became flesh." The first point he brings out, starting at verse 14, is that Jesus is a man. Jesus came in the flesh.

An 18^th century Danish theologian, a gentleman by the name Soren Kierkegaard, once told this story. He talked about a prince who, on orders from his father, was told to go into the village to run some errands. While he was in that village, he met this beautiful, young, peasant girl. He fell in love with her. Day after day he would go back in the village, just to get a glimpse of that beautiful, young, peasant woman. It was his desire to fall in love with her. It was his desire to marry her. But, he knew that there were some obstacles that he needed to jump over. Here, he was of royalty, and she was a peasant.

At first he thought, "I can order her to marry me. After all, I am the prince. And, she would have to marry me."

But, then he said, "You know, how would I know if she really loved me? Maybe she would just marry me, because she was ordered to marry me."

He said, "I could show off my wealth to her. I could come up to her house in a chariot drawn by six horses. I could wear my princely robe, and show her my money and my jewels in my crown."

But then he said, "How would I know if she really loved me, or if she would simply be impressed with what I showed her?"

You can probably guess what he chose to do. He chose to leave behind his princely robe. He chose to go and live in that village. He chose to dress like the people. He chose to eat like the people, talk like the people, and be like the people. He got to know that young, peasant, girl and they fell in love with one another.

Doesn’t that really share with us today what it is that Jesus came to do for us?

Jesus could have ordered us to love Him, but He did not. He could have impressed us, to love Him, but He did not. But instead Jesus became one of us. The Word became flesh.

I love the next phrase in our text, when John says, "He made His dwelling among us". In English, we just can’t quite grasp what that Greek word is saying there. The Greek word is eskano. It is saying that Jesus tented among us. When we go camping, we stay in a tent, for maybe a night or two, don’t we? But our real dwelling place is our home. Again, to think that Jesus left the comforts of Heaven, in order to tent among us, to live among us!

That should remind us of how God dwelt with the people of the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, it was the Tabernacle, that tent of a meeting place that they could pack up and move to a new location. That is where God’s presence was in the Holy of Holies.

Well, God, when He came in the flesh, was a more visible sign to the people, of God’s presence. To think that people could see the face of God, when they saw Jesus walking around! And so, John today in our text, in this part at least, really hammers home, that Jesus is a man.

II. John the Baptist testifies about Jesus (the God/Man)

These aren’t just words that the Gospel writer John made up on his own. Rather, they are things that he is saying that is in keeping with what the Old Testament prophets had said, and also what John the Baptist had said. In our text for today it is John the Baptist who testified who Jesus is. He is true God. He is true Man. John said, "He who has come after me has surpassed me, because He was before me." There, John was admitting that Jesus was a man. He was born after John the Baptist. But, Jesus is far greater than John the Baptist is, because He was around before John the Baptist. Jesus is true Man. He is eternal and He is also true God.

There are still people today, who are just like people in John’s day, either denying that Jesus is true God, or denying that Jesus is true Man. There is an example of that in our local newspaper from yesterday. The writer of the article was talking about the tsunami that had hit over in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Somalia. He was saying, "Yes, Jesus did become one of us." But, then he talked about how God is limited in His power. Just hear what he said in this article. He said, "We cannot give God a pass on this and, because the tsunami was a force of nature ordained at the founding of the earth, we can’t blame God, either. God, in a sense, becomes one of us, helpless to prevent the devastation, but mourning alongside those who suffer."

He goes on to say, "That’s a powerful image. But it is an image of a limited God, one who, like the rest of us is powerless over events of the world."

How easy it would be for us to believe everything that we read. If we were to believe what this writer wrote, we would be denying that Jesus, who is true God and true Man, is limited in his power.

Certainly today, we are sorry because that tsunami took place. And, our heart goes out to all of the people over there. Inside of our bulletin, we have an example of the WELS missionary workers who are over there, how God had been with them, and spared them.

And yet, Jesus tells us today that we are living in the end times. Jesus tells us, "Don’t let anyone deceive you. There will be famines. And there will be earthquakes in various places." And, that earthquake that just took place should remind us that we are living in the end times. We don’t know when the end of the world is going to come, but how that should prepare our hearts and our minds, as we look to God, who came in the flesh for us.

III. In Jesus, the God/Man, we see God the Father

As John the Baptist testified, and as the Gospel writer John testified, it is now through Jesus the God-Man, which we get to see a glimpse of the face of God, the Father. You know, in the Old Testament, there is not a person who would have asked to see the face of God, because if they would have, they would have died. An example of that is with Moses. After Moses had received the Ten Commandments, he came down from Mt. Sinai and saw how the people were worshiping that golden calf. He threw those stone tablets down on the ground. A little bit later, God reassured Moses that He wanted him to be His leader. Moses said, "God I need for you to assure me. I need for you to show me your presence. I need for you to show me your glory."

God said, "You can’t see my face Moses, and live. But, here is what I will do. I will put you in the cleft of a rock and I will put my hand in front of you so that you cannot see my face, but so that you can see my back – you can see my glory, and you can see my presence."

To think that the people living in Jesus’ day, were able to see God, and His face and live!

Today we come to the end of the Christmas season, the Christmas Season, in which we were so happy about decorating for, and preparing for the birth of our Savior Jesus (that gift that keeps on giving). We are reminded, again, that as God came in the flesh for us, He came to live a perfect life for us. He came to suffer on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven, so that we don’t have just a temporary tent like dwelling here on this earth, but we have an eternal home in Heaven.

May the fullness of God’s grace continue to be with you, those blessings that come to us, as Christians here in American, one after another. Martin Luther talked about those blessings that came to us. It is like the light of the sun. The light of the sun comes to us and the light never ever goes out. May those blessings continue to be with you in this New Year.

And now receive the blessing. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you His peace.

Amen.

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