What it all meant

When John wrote Jesus’ story, he focused on the event’s profound spiritual meaning rather than on the physical facts of Jesus’ birth. Yet the key elements came through in John as much as in Matthew and Luke. In Matthew, the magi followed a star in the darkness (Matthew 2:10). In Luke, the glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds at night (Luke 2:9). John described Jesus’ coming with the words, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

• “In the beginning,” in any language, carries us back to mysterious realms of which even today’s science is just scratching the surface. John didn’t say the Word “began” in the beginning; he said the Word “was.” That meant Jesus has always been here, and will always be here. He is eternal; he is God. In what ways does it matter to your faith that Jesus is more than just a good man?
• John’s prologue daringly linked Greek and Hebrew thought. Greek philosophers said “the Word” (Greek logos) was “the divine reason that orders the universe.”* The Hebrew Bible’s first three words were “in the beginning,” and said God spoke everything into being. John chose words and ideas to draw cultures and world views closer, not pitted against each other. Do you believe that continues to be part of the mission of Christ followers, at their best, as they live in Jesus’ power?