“In the beginning was the Word….”
John declares that Jesus was there at creation and was God with us.
Some began to follow Jesus including Nathaniel who Jesus knew had been praying under a fig tree before they ever met in person.
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Message Notes:
“In the beginning was the Word….”
John begins with a phrase all the Jews reading his Gospel account would know by referencing the opening phrase of Genesis.
He then uses the word “logos” which would be something all educated Gentiles would understand as a philosophical idea describing what gives purpose to our universe.
To John, the divine purpose can be found in a person rather than through a philosophy because Jesus has always existed before the creation of the universe and “tabernacled with us” which is often translated as “dwelled with us” (John 1:14). Just as God was with the people of Israel in the tabernacle, now He came to be with us in the form of a person named Jesus.
“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind… [and] to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” (John 1:4, 12 NIV)
John the Baptist comes to prepare the way for the Messiah and points towards Jesus as the Son of God and “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NIV)
Several of John’s disciples begin following Jesus and they invite others to follow Him with them. Nathaniel experiences a miraculous moment as Jesus mentions he saw him at the fig tree where perhaps he was spending time with God in prayer or reading the Torah. Nathaniel who is amazed is then told by Jesus, “you will see many more moments where heaven comes to earth.”
When reading this passage what stood out to you?
How do you sense God may want you to apply what you discovered?
