In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him,
and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
-John 1:1-5
“In the beginning” - where it all began. Before time, before man, before everything - He was. The Uncreated One who was "before the mountains were born" and before birth was given to the earth (Psalm 90:2). Speaking, creating, breathing out stars; He "spoke and it came to be." He "commanded and it stood firm (Psalm 33:9)." His words shaped galaxies and formed glaciers. They carved out oceans and filled the sky with light. His words made something out of nothing, revealing His power but also revealing His heart.
Out of the heart, the mouth speaks.
-Luke 6:45
The Bible Project states that words are "the embodiment of (the speaker's) mind and will.” The Jews knew this. They knew from a very early age that if they wanted to know God, they would find Him in the written Word. Until...
"...The Word became flesh."
Jesus was the embodiment and the personification of God’s mind, God’s will, God’s heart towards mankind - His words revealing His heart. . When He took on flesh, He embraced the frailty of humanity and dwelt among us to reveal the Father to us.
In a message, Chuck Pierce once stated: When they looked at Jesus, they were looking at God. When they touched Jesus they were touching God. When they heard Jesus weeping they were hearing God weep. When they saw His love for children, they saw the Father’s love. When they heard Him speak - the voice of God. When His hands were laid on suffering humanity, they saw His compassion for the needy. He is a God of love, tender, compassionate, touchable, forgiving. "Full of grace and truth." The Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”
A Father once distant had now come close. The untouchable had become... touchable.
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
-Matthew 1:23
Jesus, in Verses 19-51, is given seven different titles: Lamb of God, Son of God, Rabbi, Son of Man, Messiah, King of Israel, and Jesus of Nazareth. Each title reveals a glimpse into who Jesus is. And as we glimpse who Jesus is, we also glimpse who our Father is.
He is the kind of Father who reaches out to touch the leper (Mark 8) and always has time for someone (Luke 8); the kind that wraps small children into His safe arms (Mark 10) and picks up broken women off the ground where they fell, clearing their slate and offering them a way out (John 8). He is a Father worth our love, our life, our all. And Jesus reveals that to us as "the Word made flesh."
In Verse 29, John the Baptist declares, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” This title speaks of the role of the sacrificial lamb in the forgiveness of sin. Sacrifices made up to the time of the book of John's authorship could only “cover” sin and would need to be repeated over and over again. Jesus would not just “cover” sin…He would take it away. Maclaren (a Bible theologian) writes: “John does not say ‘the sins,’ …But he says, ‘the sin of the world,’ as if the whole mass of human transgression was bound together, in one black and awful bundle, and laid upon the unshrinking shoulders of this better Atlas who can bear it all, and bear it all away.”
The sacrifice of this Lamb of God has all the capacity to forgive every sin and cleanse every sinner. It is big enough for the whole world.
And as Jesus died on the cross, He revealed the Father's love to us in a way that can never be forgotten. He embodied His mercy, forgiveness, and grace. He told a story of a Father who would pay the ultimate price to restore His children and bring them home again, a Father who fights for those He loves, a Father worth our hearts.
What else does Jesus reveal to us about the Father? I encourage you to find out! Read one chapter of the Bible at a time. Write down any words that stand out to you or details you find interesting. Once you are done, ask yourself the following questions:
a. What does this teach me about Jesus?
b. If Jesus is a reflection of my Father God, what does this teach me about the Father?