John 1:6-13

Scripture John 1:6-13

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. ⁸He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light.

⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. ^[1]

Devotion

            The first section introduces us to John the Baptist. Unlike Jesus no claim of being in the beginning with God is made for John. Instead John is sent into the world. “Although John certainly was sent to baptize (1:31–33), if the fourth evangelist’s writing is any test, then he may have preferred another designation—John the Witness (1:7, 15, 23, 26–27, 29, 32–34, 36, 40; 3:26–30; 5:33). Given the importance of the theme “to bear witness” in this Gospel (the verb marturein itself appears thirty-three times), the designation of John as a witness is no small affirmation of him.“^[2] The theme of witness like the theme of light, and life will appear over and over again as themes in this Gospel.

            John then goes back to the theme of light. First, he tells us that John the Baptist was not the light but came to bear witness to the light. Jesus was the one who would shine the light on the wonders of God’s love for his human creation. Even though Jesus was present at the creation of the world those in the world would not recognize him. “We have created virtually every kind of artificial light possible for special effects on television and films. But nothing can compare with watching God’s sunrise or sunset, or perhaps staring from the blackness of an Arizona desert into the night sky at stars and planets God has made. Jesus is the true light, not some imitation.”^[3]

            Now we get introduced to another one of John the Apostle’s favorite words, “world”. Which appears in his writing some 77 times. Used here to describe the worlds apathy toward Jesus who comes as the light of the world. Indeed, John here shows the apathy and rejection that Jesus will feel as he comes into the world he helped to create.

            Like most things in life, there is a right way and a wrong way to respond to God. The right way (and the only meaningful way) is to believe the gospel, receive the Savior and accept new birth as a result. The wrong way somehow links a relationship to God with human qualities such as physical birth, self-determination, or the choice of another person. In John’s theological vocabulary, believed and received are synonymous when it comes to the gospel. Patrick Henry once said, “The most cherished possession I wish I could leave you is my faith in Jesus Christ, for with Him and nothing else you can be happy, but without Him and with all else, you’ll never be happy” (cited in Detzler, p. 39).^[4]

            So, we must choose what to do with the light that has come into the world and shines so brightly around us. Reject him and be content to play in the caves of our own making with lesser lights, or accept him and be able to truly see the creation all around us in all of its glory.

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^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 1:6–13.

^[2] Gerald L. Borchert, John 1–11, vol. 25A, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 111.

^[3] Kenneth O. Gangel, John, vol. 4, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 11–12.

^[4] Kenneth O. Gangel, John, vol. 4, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 12–13.