December 15, 1999

EXPLORE THE BIBLE:
God met man's greatest
need by sending Jesus
___ John 1:1-18
___By Ellis Orozco
___Calvary Baptist Church, McAllen
___Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people.
___One time, dressed in the clothes of a beggar, he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity. The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn't. Instead he said: "You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!"
___According to John, that's exactly what God has done for us. John gives us a step-by-step glimpse of the king who left his eternal throne to be with his children.
___ Jesus as deity (John 1:1-5). John draws from the book of Genesis and Jesus' words to explain the mystery of Jesus' birth. "In the beginning" is a direct reference to the opening passages of Genesis making it clear Jesus existed before creation.
___Matthew writes, "'I tell you the truth,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I am!'" (John 8:58). Jesus' deity encompasses four important characteristics: (1) He co-exists with God, (2) he created all things, (3) he sustains life, (4) he is the source of light.
___ John as witness (John 1:6-9). John now turns to the prototype for every one who has ever witnessed for Christ. John the Baptist was the one prophesied about in Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3. Jesus said of John the Baptist, "Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist" (Matthew 11:11).
___Certainly, Jesus was referring to John's unique and important place in history, but he also could have been speaking of John as the model of Christian witness. There is none greater than the Christian who is willing to cry out the name of Jesus in the middle of a spiritual wilderness.
___ Jesus as Savior (John 1:10-13). Next, John paints the sad portrait of the world's sickness. The world has rejected its own Creator (John 1:10-11). The world did not recognize its own Savior (John 1:11). But John quickly moves from the bad news to the good news. Although many have rejected him, anyone who receives him inherits eternal life and a heavenly family (John 1:12-13).
___ Jesus as man (John 1:14-18). John ends his prologue with one of the most comforting aspects to Jesus' arrival. Jesus did not come as a supernatural being or a cataclysmic power. Jesus came as a man. He was born as a baby in a manger. Because of his humanity, the God of the universe has experienced everything we experience.
___As the writer of Hebrews explains, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses ..." (Hebrews 4:15). No one has ever seen God, but Jesus fulfills our greatest and deepest need by making God real to us (John 1:18).
___If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator.
___If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
___If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
___But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.

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