Always Was, Always Is, Always Will Be

I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your principles.

“I’ll be back soon”, a soldier told his wife before leaving her and their infant son. Months turned into years of war and fighting. The mother didn’t know what to expect. She would show her boy a picture of his father in uniform and say, “See, that’s your father. One day he’s going to come home.” One morning the boy said, “Mum, wouldn’t it be great if Dad would just step out of the picture frame?”

It’s a bit like looking at a photo of a much-loved deceased relative. Sometimes we look longingly at the person in the picture and just wish they could step out of it and spend some time with us. In a sense that’s what God did thousands of years ago. When He came to this planet as Jesus of Nazareth, He stepped out of heaven and became a man so you and I could look at Jesus and say, “That’s what God looks like!”

Portrayed in the OT the evidence of God being in the world was demonstrated by things like “the pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud by day” (Ex.13:21); and by His presence with the Ark of the Covenant going ahead of Israel’s armies, giving victory to His people as they moved into the promised land; and by the Temple with its Holy of Holies where His Spirit dwelt. Rabbis would also have pointed to the Law, the Scriptures and prophets as well as Creation as all evidence of divine presence.

“In the beginning” – It’s so significant that John begins his gospel with the same words as Genesis. First of all he grabs the attention of the people of his day and links the Word, Jesus Christ, with the two main cultural groups of the ancient world – Jews & Greeks (Gentiles). Imagine him today playing the theme tunes to Eastenders and Neighbours, linking Jesus across continents; one body in Christ. That’s John’s explicit purpose in writing, to show Jesus as Son of God and the Saviour of the entire world. Tndhe world He created! Jewish people would recognise this, as it would remind them of the Word being the agent of creation. The Greek idea of “word” was “the mind of God” – John is saying to them that, “Jesus is the mind of God in human form” far superior to their mythological gods. So behind the opening two sentences, the evangelist declares Jesus’ identity – He is God and He was here before anything else was created, and as the spoken Word He brought everything into existence. He spoke words of awesome, unlimited power and galaxies whirled into place. His hands “flung stars into space” and He unleashed light to penetrate the hostile darkness.

Professor Brian Cox’s “Star Gazing Live” is a popular TV programme. We love gazing at the stars. We can download an app onto our iPads, point it at the sky and map the heavens! Our universe consists of millions of galaxies each containing millions of stars. Whether we are looking at the vastness of the universe, or the microscopic electrons and protons of the atom – Jesus is the Creator of everything. However, sin has abused His Creation and we have offended our Creator because of it. We must understand the spread of sin before we can accept Jesus as sin-bearing Saviour – for those hands that flung stars into space were also to cruel nails surrendered. Yet sin and evil can’t defeat or restrict Jesus in any way. Evil never has and never will overcome “The light that shines in the darkness because the darkness can never extinguish it.” (1:5). The tiniest bit of light on a dark night makes all the difference. There’s a story of ramblers on a midnight walk. It was a beautifully clear night and a great number of stars could be seen in the sky. As they approached a hill it appeared that one of them had fallen out of the sky onto the path in front of them. They hurried forward and discovered a glow-worm. Scooping it up they found they could actually read their maps by the light the tiny creature provided. All the deep darkness of space couldn’t extinguish the light of one small glow-worm.

With light comes life. Darkness goes away. Christ’s true light reveals who we really are, sinners in need of a Saviour. When we follow Jesus we can avoid walking blindly and falling into sin. He lights the path ahead of us so we can see how to live. We’ve just celebrated Christmas. God has stepped out of heaven – as Jesus came to reveal to us what God is like, what His plans are, and how we can be transformed into members of His family – for to all who understand He “gives them the right to become children of God.” (1:12).

Every year the Queen hands out New Year honours, not just to the rich and famous and she doesn’t actually have the power and authority to decide who will get them – it’s an honour’s committee who decide (which is probably why David Cameron’s barber got his MBE- cronyism!!). Yet John isn’t talking about a monarch here who rules a country, he is speaking of the King of kings the one who rules the universe and who clearly has all power. Thus “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” (1:16). What an honour to become children of God. The reality of Jesus being born meant that people could now know God fully because He became visible and tangible. If we travelled back to the first century, to see with our own eyes, we would see a human being. But there would be no halo about His head. He became like us so we could see how to be like Him and as we get to know Him better, our understanding of God and His indescribable gift of salvation will increase. Just as the sun gives light to the planets so you can light many candles from one candle without the original losing any of its brilliance. That’s why the church is said to be like a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. It’s a symbol of Christians being together; bearing witness to the Gospel; believing and having abundant eternal life.

In Rome there is a ceiling painting by an artist called Reni depicting Biblical stories (like the Sistine Chapel). Somewhere up there is a fresco entitled “The Dawn”; it depicts creation. Because it is so high up, it was very difficult to study until a mirror was placed on a table below the ceiling. Now the details of the picture can seen clearly. History is littered with examples of men who would become gods, but only one example of God becoming man. If we want to see what God is like, we don’t need to stare into heaven. We can look down at Jesus in the NT and see in Him the perfect revelation of God: “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.” (Col.2:9). John says the Word became flesh meaning Jesus didn’t just put on an overcoat of human skin but that He entered right into the heart of our bodily experience and therefore has intimate knowledge of all the problems we face. Let me use this illustration as a case in point:-

There’s a Guinness TV advert – part of the “Made of More” campaign that features a group of men engaged in a passionate and enthusiastic game of wheelchair basketball. The advert follows the course of the game, as players are smashed out of their chairs onto the floor, wheelchairs collide into one another, accompanied by a rousing orchestral track. As the game ends, a twist is revealed as all but one of the men stand up from their wheelchairs and head to the pub for a post-match pint. What I like about it is the suggestion that the able-bodied friends use wheelchairs in order to deepen their understanding of the true feelings and frustrations of the disabled man. You can imagine him saying, “Finally, you can feel what it’s like for me…you’re now like me!  How vividly this illustrates why Jesus was willing to become “one of us” by being “made of more” and taking upon Himself a fragile body! By becoming human, He showed us that he can fully identify with us. What a Saviour!

Often, I find that events of everyday life remind me of the incredible fact that Jesus came into the world in this way. Seven years ago I visited Calcutta and saw one of the biggest rubbish tips I’ve ever seen! Hundreds of people make their homes around it, scavenging for food and anything that can be recycled to earn them a few rupees. It’s an astonishing thing. But right next to it is a Mission House and Mother Teresa’s Hospital. If there was ever a woman who imitated Christ it was she!  Like any missionary she chose to leave her own country and communicate the love of Jesus Christ to people who otherwise would never hear it. She lived the life the untouchables lived. She put her arms around them, campaigned for social change and shared the Gospel. God brings His character to life through us. It’s amazing, but not as amazing as the journey from heaven to earth. If there are any remaining doubts just study the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus – it’s the testimony of the beloved disciple.

John’s Gospel has been compared to a magic pool in which small children can wade up to their ankles, while at the same time large elephants can dive right into it! Meaning that it can be understood by everyone and we can choose the tragedy of rejecting, or the blessing of receiving Jesus the God-man full of grace and truth. So does He dwell in your life in a way that has personal meaning for you, that changes the way you feel and behave? Have you allowed His Light to shine into your life? Covenants, prophets, Scripture have revealed God, but Jesus had the ability to fully reveal God perfectly because in the full 33 years He spent on this earth, He was the total glory of God.

Make a resolution this year to have real saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Love in the Messiah. Blessed be the Word.