There’s Only One Answer

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. — John 1:1

So we will spend a few days unpacking this verse because it is so critical to the entire book.

What John accomplishes in this one verse is mindblowing. The three first words, "In the beginning...," are his way of backing the story of Jesus way up. Instead of backing it up to his birth, inception, or genealogy, he backs it all the way up to the Genesis story. And in doing so, he establishes some distinguishing factors about Jesus. Here are three. First, he establishes that the life of Jesus is not a new story. It's an old one, or better, a story revealed. Second, he establishes that Jesus was not just a human being but a divine being. Third, he establishes that Jesus existed before time, space, man, and even sin broke the world. So, in conclusion, the story that John will tell about Jesus is the greatest story ever told about God's plan to send a divine man into the human world.

It is very hard for our finite minds to grasp what John is talking about here. This is because our minds are limited to time and space, and comprehending things that are eternal and divine is challenging. We bump into this reality all the time. Usually, in moments we are confronted with issues that are beyond our ability to reason. Like those moments, evil people prosper. Or those moments something unjust happens to the innocent. Or those moments our team loses in the National Championship game. Too soon?

Yet, God does not keep us in the dark in our search for understanding. He is going to reveal the story. He wants us to see, hear, and experience the story because we are a part of the story. But for us to know the story, God has to reveal it to us. Because our minds cannot possibly understand, he will have to put flesh on the story, and the Word (Jesus) will have to be made human.

And this is what John saw. He saw the living Word. And he wants us to see. But he does not want us to be mesmerized by Jesus's human life and miss his divinity because it's the best part of the story. To bypass these details would be to miss the ultimate point of the story told by God.

So as we read this story, remember God in Jesus is revealing his divine story and plan. It's the one that resolves all the big questions you have ever asked and is answered in one word — Jesus.

ASK THIS: Are you ready to have all your questions answered?

DO THIS: Seek and know the revealed Son of God — Jesus.

PRAY THIS: God, if your Son is the answer. Show me his life.

PLAY THIS: The Way.