Thank you, musicians. Let's pray. Living Word, speak to us now by the revelation you gave to the apostles. Transform us by it. Amen. Well, I hope you had a wonderful and enjoyable Christmas celebration. But have you ever stopped to wonder why we celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th? and not some other day. If you've ever looked into the question, you've probably encountered the claim that Christmas, our Christmas December 25th celebration actually has pagan origins. That early Christians simply took a pagan festival on December 25th and Christianized it. Now it is true, there were two ancient Roman holidays that took place around our present Christmas time. One was the Saturnalia celebration, celebrated from December 17th to December 23rd. It was a very popular festival dedicated to the god Saturn. It included feasting, gambling, role reversal, gift giving, and general revelry. Obviously our Christmas celebrations include some of that, but Saturnalia is a little too early to be the direct origin of our December 25th celebration. The other Roman holiday was the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, or the birthday of the unconquered sun. And it was observed on December 25th. Sol was the sun god of the Roman pantheon, and Sol Invictus young conquered son was a popular aspect of that deity in the fourth century AD. It's unclear in history what commemoration of Sol Invictus looked like on December 25th, but certainly it would have been a day for honoring the sun god. So then, did early Christians take the birthday of Sol Invictus and dress it Christian? Many people assume so. They speculate that an early bishop or pope created this Christian alternative to the pagan holiday in order to attract new converts to Christianity or to prevent converts that were already made from going back into paganism. A lot of people say this, assume this, but actually, there's no hard evidence of this. No evidence from the early centuries that Christians ever consciously tried to Christianize pagan holiday. In fact, some argue that the opposite is actually what took place. You see, already in the early 200s AD, certain Christian theologians had published their conclusions regarding the actual date of Jesus' birth. And they concluded it was December 25th. This is the early 200s. Their argument was, since God must have made the world at the beginning of spring, because spring is the beginning, right? He must have made the world at the beginning of spring, March 25th to be exact, Jesus must have been conceived on that same date and then born nine months later. And when would that be? Well, December 25th. Now I'm not sure if I totally buy that argument. You must understand that some of these early theologians were really into symbolism and they assumed that God was too. But whatever their reasoning, their published conclusion of Christ's birth on December 25th is significant. because it comes before the birthday of Sol Invictus was ever celebrated. Sol Invictus was only made an official cult in Rome in AD 274, so the second half of the 200s. That was by Emperor Aurelian. So was the inauguration of the birthday of Sol Invictus, in fact, a move by a Roman emperor to stifle and co-opt an early the celebration of Jesus' birth by an increasingly prevalent Christian population. Something to think about. But there is a third and, I think, more likely possibility to explain why we celebrate Christmas on December 25th. And the reason is, Christians and pagans, they both chose the same celebration date independently from one another, but for the same reason. What's so special about December 25th? Well, in the Roman calendar, it's the winter solstice. Our winter solstice is on December 21st, but theirs was on December 25th. What's the winter solstice? In the Northern Hemisphere, it's the day in which the darkness reaches its peak, but from which time the days get gradually longer and longer. There's more and more light in the world. We can understand why the pagans would celebrate the birthday of the sun, the actual ball of fire in the sky on such a day. But we can also understand why Christians, whether because they thought it was the real birthday of Christ or just an appropriate day, we can understand why they would celebrate the birthday of a different sun, the arrival of a different sun to Earth, and that is because what the scriptures declare again and again about the Son of God. His coming is the coming of what? Light. It is the coming of light, true light, greater, more ultimate light than even the light of our own star. It is the coming of true light into the world. We hear this truth told to us by Isaiah, by Malachi, by Luke, but the biblical author who probably meditates the most and gives us the most sustained look at Jesus as light, must be the Apostle John, even in the first chapter of his book. Let's return to that introductory section of John this morning as we seek to appreciate all the more the greatness of our Savior and the salvation he's delivered once and for all for his people. Open your Bibles, please, to John 1. In John 1, we're looking again at verses 1 to 18. This is part two of the message, The Word Became Flesh. John 1, 1 to 18, let's read the passage again. 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 came into being through Him. And apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life. And the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. There was the true light which coming into the world enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own, and those who were his own did not receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name. who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we saw his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about him and cried out, saying, this was he of whom I said, he who comes after me has a higher rank than I. for he existed before me. For of his fullness, we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has explained him. We began our examination of this profound and majestic passage last time. We noted that this prologue is concerned with introducing and clarifying for us the identity of Jesus as the Word, or in New Testament Greek, the Logos of God. John is the only biblical writer to use this title of Jesus, and he does so very purposefully. In John 1, 1 to 18, John gives four vital clarifications regarding the identity of the incarnate word so that you will not miss who he is, but instead behold and believe. We looked at the first of the four clarifications last time in verses one to five, where we saw number one, the word is the wise and powerful creator. The Word is the wise and powerful Creator. In verses 1 to 2, John showed us the Word before creation. He was existing eternally as God in triune fellowship with God. And in verse 3, John showed us the Word in creation, that all was created and is still being sustained by God through the Word, through the wisdom and power of His Son. And then in verses 4 and 5, John showed us the Word in new creation. Just as the Son of God literally brought life and light into the world as creator, so the Son also brings spiritual life and light into the world by His very self and by His message of salvation. As in creation, the light of the incarnate Word cannot ultimately be overcome by darkness. But the light can be temporarily resisted, and it was and it will be misunderstood. It is this truth about Jesus as the true but rejected light that John will draw our attention to next as he directs us to consider three further clarifications about the identity of Jesus as the Word. The Word is the wise and powerful creator, but what else? Who else is the Word? We see the second vital clarification in verses six to eight. Number two, the Word is the true and ultimate light. The word is the true and ultimate light. And we'll actually read these verses all together, verses six to eight. There came a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. At first, we might feel a little jolted, moving from the cosmic themes of verses 1 to 5 to this very concrete earthly reality of verses 6 to 8. But remember, the Apostle John, in this prologue, he seeks to take us from before time and eternity to very real circumstances, the arrival of Jesus in Judea and Galilee. The man introduced in verses 6 to 8 is the key to that transition. Who is that man? verse six tells us that this man was specifically sent by God and his name was John. The apostle here, of course, means John the Baptist, as is abundantly clarified later in this chapter. John the Baptist was a great prophet, the greatest of all Old Testament prophets according to Matthew 11, 11, Jesus speaking there. He was a forerunner to the Messiah. Notice in verses seven to eight that John was not sent by God to be the light, but to be a testimony for him who is the true light, Jesus Christ. As great as John the Baptist was, he repeatedly clarified to those around him that he was not the Christ, and in fact was nowhere near worthy of being compared to Christ. Not fit even to untie the Christ sandals. John just wanted to point people to Jesus and see them believe in Jesus through John's words. Now commentators have wondered if John the Apostle includes these verses here about John the Baptist, because some people in John the Apostle's day held up John the Baptist too highly. They were embracing the baptizer, but they were not embracing Jesus. Don't really know if that's the case. Can't say for sure. But certainly, John the Baptist's own attitude was always self-effacing, Christ-exalting. And we should be that way, too. Listen to what John the Baptist says in John 3, verses 29 to 30, when some disciples told him that people were going to Christ instead of John. Listen to what John the Baptist says. He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease. The Apostle Paul echoes John the Baptist's attitude. In 2 Corinthians 4, 5, Paul writes, for we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants, slaves, for Jesus' sake. Brethren, you and I are not the light Therefore, we dare not preach ourselves. We don't want to evangelize people with our own ideas, our own opinions, even our own supposed revelations from God. That's what false teachers do. That's what cult leaders do. That's what proud men and women do. If we're thinking rightly, we know that you and I, in and of ourselves, we have nothing to offer the people of this world. Nothing truly helpful. We are not the light, but we have the privilege to be witnesses to him who is true light. We can point people to Jesus. I sometimes wonder how distraught various godly men and women of the past would be if they were around today and learned that people were venerating them, worshiping them, praying to them instead of Jesus. I can imagine Moses and Mary and various other saints crying out in distress, what are you doing? We are not the light. Go to him who is the light. We're just witnesses of him. Now Jesus also repeatedly claimed and demonstrated that he is the true light. But he did not receive the welcome that true light deserves. This is what the apostle John clarifies next in verses nine to 13. Moving to our third vital clarification regarding the identity of the incarnate word. Number three, the word is the rejected yet received Lord. Number three, the word is the rejected yet received Lord. Look just at verse nine. There was the true light which coming into the world enlightens every man. Thematically, the Apostle John continues here with what he was just saying about light, but he highlights a new idea. Notice how John calls Jesus here, explicitly, the true light. Not that previous witnesses to God were false, But Jesus is the ultimate light, the light to which all other lights were pointing. In that sense, the true light. And this light, John says, was coming into the world. The light of life and glory did not merely stay at the Father's side, but came down to where you and I live. And notice this is the first time John uses the word world in our passage. We are probably used to this word being a largely neutral term. probably brings to our minds just the Earth, the dwelling place of mankind, the universe in which we live, you know, the world. But you have to understand the word world is a largely negative word. It has a negative connotation in John's writings. To John, the world is not simply the created order, though it includes that. It is, in fact, the realm of darkness. the realm of ignorance, the realm of sin, the dwelling place of a race that lives in total rebellion against God. That's the world. And it is into this world, it is into such a world that the true light came. In doing so, John writes at the end of verse nine, enlightening every man. Now here's a phrase that's difficult to interpret. How does Jesus, the Word, by his coming into the world, shine on, illuminate, or enlighten every person? Well, we can quickly rule out a few interpretations. Jesus does not enlighten every man, every person, with automatic universal salvation. Such an assertion is contradicted by many scriptures. Only those who repent and believe will be saved. So he didn't shine on them in that way. Jesus also does not enlighten every man with the knowledge of how to be saved. You now all know, because I've come, you now all know to be saved. Well, this assertion is contradicted both by scripture and experience. It is evident that there are those who have died without ever hearing the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. They never knew the way of salvation. So He does not shine on every man in that sense either. So in what sense does Jesus coming into a dark world light up every person? I think the best way to answer this question is to just keep reading the Gospel of John. Because only a few chapters later we get a very illuminating passage. John 3, John 3 verses 19 to 21. This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God. How does the word's light illuminate every person? By fundamentally showing each person for what he really is, exposing who each of us really are. Not everyone in Jesus' day had a personal encounter with him or his teaching. But those that did are illustrative of all people everywhere. And we can see from the reaction of people to the light in Jesus' own day that we are children of darkness who do not want the light because we want evil. We reject the light. Humanity rejects the light. We hide from it. We want to kill even the bringers of it. This is a sobering truth. Even though the eternal word was the true light, is the true light, is beautiful and good and right and holy, we in ourselves don't want him. We don't want him. We don't want his salvation because we love evil. We love to hate. We love to lust. We love to lie. We love to covet. We love to boast. We love to complain. We love to worship false gods of our own making and choosing, but we don't want to be exposed. We know this is evil. We know this is dark deep down, but we don't want to be exposed. And we hate how Jesus calls us to account and makes us feel guilty about how we have not loved him as God, and we have not loved our fellow man as made in the image of God. We want to keep deluding ourselves that we are gods. We can live the way that we want, and we can find our satisfaction in whatever way we deem best, without reference to God, our creator. The coming of Jesus, the divine light himself into the world, clearly illuminates the wrongness and foolishness of our way, even of our hearts. and we humans hate him for it. But not all of us. John 3.21 says that the coming of the light into the world also manifests those who practice the truth. These don't run from the light. They come to the light. And why? So they can pat themselves on the back, yeah, I came to the light. John says, rather, so that they may testify that all their good deeds were wrought in God. That is to say, God was the one who changed them, made them into new creations, who love the light, who want to walk with the light, and do the deeds of light. I think John 1.9 is alluding to this reality because verses 10 to 13 go on to say essentially the same thing look at verse 10 again he was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him the eternal word the logos he did indeed create the universe and amazingly he entered into it but shockingly the people of that world he created warped and twisted as they were by their love of sin, they did not know, they did not recognize, they did not acknowledge their own creator. Verse 11, he came to his own and those who were his own did not receive him. Jesus Word the son of God he came into the creation that was all made by him and for him He's the owner of it it belongs to him he's the master he's the Lord of all creation But how did the created people within that creation? Respond to their owner and Lord John says the master's own people did not receive him They did not accept him, unacceptable. Jesus offered himself as the light and life and the people of the world rejected him. Now, this phrase, those who were his own in verse 11, it certainly applies to mankind in general. In one sense, all people are the Lord's own creation and people. But John probably has in mind the Jews specifically when he uses this phrase. The godless people of the world may reject their creator, but surely the people of Israel, God's chosen possession, his special inheritance, surely they would recognize their master when he came? Well, if you read on in the Gospel of John, you'll find out that that is not true. John is emphatic. that even the Jews, even the flesh and blood of Jesus did not receive Him, but were in fact the most vicious in opposing Him. So brothers and sisters, what do verses 9 to 11 reveal to us about God? That His character is incredible. I read to you last week that well-known promise from John 3.16 about how, because God loved the world, He sent His Son. But what kind of world are we talking about? We're talking about a neutral world? We're talking about a world that would welcome God? No! We're talking about a world of darkness that hates God and doesn't want anything to do with Him! That's us! For us, for our dark world, God sends his only begotten son, the true light to save us. So that whoever believes in him might no longer experience eternal death under the holy wrath of God, but might instead know God's abundant and eternal life. We often greatly underestimate just how loving God is. But we see it when we consider that Jesus is as the word of the rejected light. But God was determined he would not be rejected by all. But look at verse 12. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name. Not all the Jews rejected Jesus when he walked on the earth. Not all the Gentiles rejected and refused to acknowledge their creator and Lord when the apostles were sent out in Jesus' name. A remnant repented and believed. A holy portion, just as is so today. Some received the Word Incarnate and they believed in His name. That is to say, they believed in Him and everything that He is and claimed to be. And what did God grant to them? John says, to become children of God, beloved of the Father, fellow inheritors with Christ of His everlasting kingdom. Brethren, if you've come to believe in Jesus, that's you. You are a child of God. You have been brought into the family of God. We have been brought together as the family of God. Saved, safe, beloved, because of Jesus. Yet how did this happen? Why should we be different from the rest of wicked humanity? Well, you may say, it's because I believed in Jesus. And verse 12 affirms that statement. If you believed, you were given the right to become a child of God. For all those who do repent and believe in Jesus, who turn from themselves and their sin to embrace Jesus as the only Lord and Savior, the Bible says they will be saved. Not that they might be saved. They will be. It's a promise. You may say, I believed. But why did you believe? How were you able to repent when you were so in love with the darkness before? When your heart was black with slavery to sin? When you were bathed in self-righteousness, how possibly could you repent and believe? Look at verse 13. Verse 13. were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. You know why you believed if you believed? It's because the Lord of life, the eternal word, gave life to your spirit. He gave you a second birth so that your eyes were opened, your ears were unclogged, your hard heart was softened, And you beheld the glory of the sun, not the light in the sky, but he who is the true light. And you believed. He caused you to believe. He caused you to realize the emptiness of your idols. He caused you to be disgusted with your sin, convicted of your great crimes against your creator. And he gave you the faith to embrace the Savior. Just as John will go on to explain via Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus in John chapter 3, your salvation was just like birth, in the sense you contributed nothing to it except the sin that made new birth necessary. You were born of God, not by any human means or contribution. Verse 12 says, God gave you the right to become a child of God. You did not and could not ever earn it or choose it for yourself. It was God's undeserved and unsought gift. He intervened in the way you needed so that you would believe. It's like Ephesians 2, 8, and 9 says, Ephesians 2, 8, and 9, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Truly, our salvation is a wondrous mystery. The fact that the light would come into a dark world to rescue those who didn't even want the light. But now that God has opened our eyes, we do Come to the light, as John 3 says, and testify that all that we do, even our faith, even the good works that are fruit of faith, they have been wrought in God. He did it all. Therefore, may the incarnate word, the true light, receive all the glory. We are not the light, but we gladly give testimony to him who is the light and who saved us. so that others might believe. He must increase. We must decrease. Now already this passage has unfolded wonder upon wonder for us. And if it just stopped here, it would be very glorious. But there's one more vital clarification that we must see, that you and I must not miss in who the incarnate word truly is so that we might behold and believe. This last clarification, I believe, is the main reason why John uses the phrase, the Word, to describe Jesus to us. We have seen, number one, the Word is the wise and powerful creator. We've seen, number two, the Word is the true and ultimate light. We've seen, number three, the Word is the rejected yet received Lord. And now, finally, in verses 14 to 18, we see, number four, the Word is the glorious and gracious revelator. The word is the glorious and gracious revelator. What's a revelator? It's a one who brings revelation, one who reveals. Look at the first part of verse 14, just the first few phrases. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. The beginning of verse 14 is a forceful affirmation of the true humanity of Jesus. John the Apostle doesn't say the word dwelt in flesh, he put on flesh, or he appeared in flesh, which would all be true, but might be easily twisted by some to mean that the divine incarnate word wasn't really human, he just temporarily lived that way or appeared that way, but that's not who he is. There were some early Christian heresies, even in John the Apostle's day, that denied the full humanity of Jesus. But John will have none of that. He says, the word became flesh. That is to say, the eternal creator became human, truly and fully human, and not just temporarily, but for all time and eternity. Brothers and sisters, in the Lord's incarnation, a person of the Trinity took human flesh into his being forever. He is that now. On the earth, he had every experience of human limitation and weakness aside from sin. But even in his resurrection and glorification, our God, our Lord Jesus, remains in our same flesh. He's still human, just as human as we are. There is no word to describe the wonder of that. We are dust, yet we have such a God? But the word did not become flesh merely to save us. He did not dwell among us, that is, live with us, pitch his tent with us in a dark world. He didn't do it simply to relate to us, but to do something more. And what is that something more? To give us revelation. To give us revelation. Look at the next phrase in verse 14. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory." Note the we here. The Apostle John is reporting the direct experience of the Apostles and the other eyewitnesses of Jesus. They saw His glory. But what John describes also indirectly captures the experience of all believers. Even though Jesus is not on the earth today, we see His glory as well when we read the Gospels. What did he, what do we witness in the word becoming flesh? One way to describe it is glory. A word that means brightness, splendor, radiance. We see the glory of God. And ancient Israelites sometimes got to behold the radiance of God's glorious presence, even in a visible fashion. Remember, they had a glory cloud that led them in the wilderness and also settled on the tabernacle and the temple. In the tabernacling of the Word with man on the earth, though, in the Word's incarnation, God's people beheld an even greater glory. Notice two ways John describes the glory here, continuing on in verse 14. He first says, Glory as of the only begotten from the Father. The word translated only begotten here is monogenes. It is a word that doesn't necessarily include the idea of birth or generation, but it certainly means one of a kind, unique, one and only. A monogenes son is a special and especially beloved son. And it was the monogamous son of God who displayed his unique loveliness and glory to the world by becoming flesh. Furthermore, this glory is said to be full of grace and truth. End of verse 14 there. This phrase may be an allusion to a famous description of God in the Torah. Actually, There are a number of connections in verses 14 to 18 here to the books of Moses. And we'll see more of that in just a second. But recall that in Exodus 33, Moses asked to see God's glory. Lord, show me your glory. And he said this after God graciously forgave the people of Israel for their rebellion in creating and worshiping a golden calf. He asked to see God's glory and God granted Moses' request and told Moses that God would pass by and declare his name to Moses. I won't read the whole section of the Lord's name, but one of the phrases right in the middle of that declared name from God as his glory passed by Moses in Exodus 34, six and seven is this phrase, abounding in loving kindness and truth. abounding and loving kindness and truth. This description of God became something of a favorite among the Israelites. You actually see it all over the Old Testament, abounding and loving kindness and truth. The phrase that we see here in John, full of grace and truth, is not exactly the same, but very similar in meaning. It may be a purposeful allusion. Jesus, the Son, the Word, He is the full revelation of the grace and truth of God. And we, like the first disciples, we see God's grace and truth in the Bible, in the record of Jesus' life. We can behold it as well. Now before explaining this matter further, John will, the apostle gives another mention of John the Baptist in verse 15. Look over there. John testified about him and cried out saying, this was he of whom I said, he who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for he existed before me. Why this interruption here about John the Baptist? Well, in some ways, this verse is part of the poetic symmetry of this passage. We heard John the Baptist's testimony earlier. We hear it again. But in other ways, it's a progression. It's part of, as I shared with you before, the author bringing us closer and closer to Jesus' actual physical appearance in Galilee and Judea. It's in the moment, even, where John the Baptist and Jesus meet, because that's the official beginning of Jesus' ministry. So he brings up John again. Notice how the testimony, though, has progressed. In verses 6 to 8, the words about John were indirect, just kind of generally descriptive of his ministry. Here in verse 15, we have a direct quotation from John. John, though dead, still speaks. Even to us, he still cries out about the Word's true identity. And what does John the Baptist affirm? What was said before, Jesus is greater than John. Though Jesus appeared on the scene after John, Jesus is actually the first one John clarifies. He's first both in true chronology because he existed before me. He's the eternal one and Due to his place in hierarchy He is the supreme one. He's the first the chief the primary one. He's the ruler of all Don't look at me. Look at him John tested John's testimony affirms this again, but notice something else The placement of John the Baptist words here in between verses 14 and 16 results in another poignant affirmation. Namely this, that the word incarnated and manifesting full grace and truth is the same divine word who once manifested loving kindness and truth to Israel. Here's a new person on the scene, the new word John's words essentially affirm this is the same as the old word. He existed before me. The God you know from the Old Testament, He's that same God. God doesn't change. If the Son, the Word, existed before John as the Eternal One, He is God of the Old Testament. He's not a different God, not a new God. Same God, same glory that the Trinity always has enjoyed from all eternity. But does that mean that there is nothing new about the manifestation of divine glory in the incarnation? Well, no, because now look at verse 16. For of his fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. Notice the for at the beginning of verse 16. This is a word that indicates the author is supplying a reason for what was just said, even in verses 14 and 15. He's supplying a reason in response to the truth that Jesus is the unique and full revelation of God's glory, but also the same God whose glory existed before and was put on display in the Old Testament. Same God, but unique, full glory now. Wait a second, how can those things both be true? How can it be the same God as the God of the Old Testament who displayed his glory, but also this is a fuller and superior Revelation of glory how can that be true? John affirms John the Apostle affirms at the beginning of verse 16 When he uses the word we again First Christian believers and all those saints we have received the fullness of the word we've all received the full glory of his revelation and What is the essence of that revelation? John describes it Notice that last phrase in verse 16 as grace upon grace. Grace upon grace. Now this is a very interesting phrase in Greek. More literally translated, grace after grace, or grace instead of grace. What? How are we to understand those words? Well, many translators go with the sense that we see in the New American Standard here. as the idea of grace upon grace, an overflowing amount of grace. Jesus' coming resulted in a superabundance experience of grace for God's people. And that is theologically true. But I think a better understanding of this phrase, in its context, sees both an idea of contrast and progression. You see, John is setting up a comparison between the grace of God revealed in the Old Testament and the grace of God revealed in Christ's incarnation. For did God manifest His grace and truth in the Old Testament? He did. And the New Testament writers talk specifically about the goodness and the glory of God's Old Testament law and His powerful appearing on Mount Sinai and His mighty works, etc. This was a manifestation of grace and truth. The grace of God manifest in Jesus in the New Testament is the same grace, but as many New Testament writers also affirm, it is a better grace, a fuller grace, a superior grace. This new revelation of grace or favor is after and in replacement of the previous grace. And isn't this exactly what verse 17 says? Look at verse 17. For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. John's not saying there was no glory, no grace, no truth in the law of Moses. No, there clearly were. But the grace and truth of God displayed in the word, becoming flesh, is so much greater that it's like grace and truth weren't even visible before. It's such an increase. Grace and truth were realized, or more literally translated, grace and truth came about or came into being through Jesus Christ. We have a big difference. But you might be asking, why? Why is Jesus coming, the Word made flesh, so much better in revealing God's grace and truth? I think verse 18 will help us put together a good answer. Look at the last verse now, verse 18. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. This is an amazing verse. Notice how the first phrase again pushes us to think about Moses and God's revelation in the Old Testament. It says, no one has seen God at any time. Wait a second. Didn't Moses see God? Even in Exodus 33-34? Didn't the people of Israel see God? Well, yes and no. They did see some visible manifestation of God's glory, but not the fullness. Why not? Because they couldn't handle it. Even in Exodus 33-34, the passage that was just brought to our minds by the beginning of this section, Moses says, show me your glory. God says, yes, but you cannot see my face. For no man can see my face and live. Moses saw God, but he also couldn't see God. And it was the same for the prophets. In certain prophets, we get visions of God in heaven. We see this in Isaiah and Ezekiel. And these visions of God are amazing, it's glorious. But again, the prophets cannot bear to look at God's face. They can only look at God, as it were, via their peripheral vision. Isaiah is looking at God's robe. Ezekiel is looking at the outline of his form. And even that overwhelms them. They can't look at God's face. The fact is that the revelation of God's full glory is too much for us. We need it mediated to us somehow. Oh, we want to see God's glory, we need to see God's glory, but we can't. If only God could explain himself in a way that we humans could handle and understand. If only there was some way that God could bend down to our level and show himself, while at the same time losing none of the essential grace and truth that make him so glorious. If only, but guess what? That is exactly what happened in the incarnation. The word became flesh. You see, our problem wasn't simply before Jesus came. Our problem wasn't simply our need for light and life, but for someone to explain to us and show us God. None of us could sufficiently find it out. And the law and the Old Testament were good, but they were not enough. We can only go so far with it. But the monogenes God, who in a mysterious triune way is always dwelling in the bosom of the Father, who has this intimate love and knowledge of the Father, this unique one, this beloved one, He, and only He, is able to explain the father to us. That's what he came to do. Notice the word explain in verse 18. Explained him. The Greek word for explain here is exegetimi. It means to report, to explain, to expound, to make known. And it's from this word that we get the English word exegesis. We talk about in terms of understanding the scripture and preaching the scripture John says Jesus the son he's able to exegete the father for us To show us and to explain to us God And how How is he able to do that when we couldn't have it before? He did it by coming in a form that is familiar to us, that is the same as us, a human being. By the Word becoming flesh, we humans can now be in God's presence, His very presence. We can listen to His words. We can feel His touch. We can even look at His face without being consumed. I mean John the Apostle himself is reported to have laid back on the bosom of Jesus. On the bosom of God. What? Of course then. Of course then Jesus is the superior and supreme revelation of God. He's able to explain the Lord's glory, show the Lord's glory in a fullness that we never could have known before. And what's even more astonishing about this revelation, not only the fact that it's there, God in human flesh, but that the revelation is so incredibly gracious. We see clearly in Jesus that God's heart is so gracious. I mean, consider again some of the scenes reported to us about Jesus in the Gospels. Jesus, God, reaches out with his own hand to touch an outcast leper. Jesus, God, patiently teaches boneheaded disciples with firm but kind words. Jesus, God, he welcomes the most notorious sinners of that time, tax collectors and prostitutes. He welcomes them into his presence and he shares with them the message of God about how they can be forgiven and saved. And of course, Jesus, God himself, he silently submits to mistrial, to slander, to mocking, to spitting, to scourging, and crucifixion by his own creation. By rebellious and unworthy sinners. Mind-bogglingly. in his incarnation, Jesus was not standoffish toward us. He was not simply full of wrath like we might expect. I mean, if we were to imagine God coming to the world, I think what we'd probably imagine is just him blowing people up. You're a sinner, you're unholy, you're corrupted. That's the end of you. But that's not the way it was. He was full of grace and truth. God has always been this way. It's not as if God changed. And it is! His loving kindness, His grace and truth, they were on display in the Old Testament in striking ways, but it was kind of hard for us to see it. In God's necessary schooling of Israel and of us, and the proper fear of Him, God so often appeared terrifying and unapproachable. But how magnificent is the revelation of God in the life and the words and the works of Jesus Christ. Our God truly is a loving and gentle Savior Shepherd to his people. We know it. We can be sure of it. Why? Because we've seen it in the flesh. We've seen it in the flesh. Brethren, by God's amazing plan, the Son of God became the glorious and gracious revelator of God to us. Thus is not the Word a perfectly appropriate title for Him? The Word! After all, what is a Word? It's a message. It's a communication. It's revelation. This is fundamentally who Jesus is. As the Word, Jesus is not merely God's powerful and wise agent of creation. It was the Word who created all things. He is not merely the messenger of the way of salvation. He does not merely bring a word about how to be saved. But He Himself is the Word. He is the supreme communication of who God is in a way that we can understand. Not exhaustively, of course, but sufficiently, truly, adequately. We'll be growing in that knowledge forever. Because of the living Word sent to us, we can know God. We can actually know God. And why should that be a big deal to us? Because as the prophets, the apostles, and Jesus himself said, what is the essence of life? I got to quote it to you again, John 17, 3. This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. You know, there was a time in my Christian walk when I was really afraid of death. Now, this is after I'd become a Christian. I was afraid of death. Not because I feared the experience of dying or that somehow God wouldn't let me into his kingdom. I was afraid to meet God. God is holy. God is awesome. God is all sorts of things that I want to praise and worship, but God is scary. He's so different. He's so transcendent. He's so glorious. How's he gonna regard me? If he looks at me, I think I'm just gonna melt. How can I endure the glance of his eyes? This troubled me very much. But then someone reminded me, you don't have to worry about how God will regard you. You already know. Because you see it in Jesus Christ. You see it in the love and gentleness of your Savior toward his own. You don't have to be afraid. You know how he will regard you. He's shown you. Brethren, besides the cross and the resurrection, the incarnation is the most amazing happening in the history of the world. John has clarified for us the identity of the word made flesh so that you and I might behold and believe. So you need to ask yourselves, do you behold and do you believe? Do you do, as John says at the end of his gospel, do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that in believing in him, you have life in his name? This is too great a salvation to be ignored or overlooked. Too kind of a word. You dare not. I dare not. Because if we do, there is another revelation coming. The word, the living word, will bring another revelation of God, but will no longer be a revelation of grace, but a revelation of wrath. It's what we read earlier in Revelation 19, isn't it? It's the only other time in the book of Revelation that the word The word, the phrase, the word is applied to Jesus. And it's when he comes back in wrath. We could not believe the grace that was put on display in Jesus' life. No one would have expected it to be in that measure. And it will be the same with the wrath of God one day. You think you know the wrath of God? You don't know it. You don't know the holiness of God. You don't know the justice of God. We haven't seen it. But one day, the world will. And for all those who are Still looking to live their own way. Who have not repented of their sins, who have not believed in Jesus, it will be the most terrifying revelation. And it will be the same if any of us die before then, outside of Christ. He said as much in the Bible. Even if you call him Lord, Lord. If you don't really know him, he'll say, depart from me, I never knew you. Into eternal darkness. That is a fearful word. So let's not neglect the word of kindness, the revelation of kindness, the grace of God. It was not only in displaying the life of Jesus on the earth, but has been captured for us and reported to us by a faithful witness, John the Apostle. God Jesus speaks to us through John, through this word in this passage today. So let us not neglect it. Let us behold and believe. Let us embrace this kind word. Let us get to know God. You say, OK, I'm hearing certain things, but I don't really know Jesus, the word yet. Well, get to know him. This is just the introduction into the gospel after all. Continue to read the gospel of John. Continue to read the scriptures. Get to know this God. Believe in Jesus. Love him. Trust in him. And then follow after him the rest of your life until you meet him, until he comes. And we do that together. Do that together as a church, even as we wonder and worship at this time of year about his incarnation. Let's pray. Great Lord, you are astounding. Your grace is magnificent. And it's been given to us. Truly a greater grace than we can imagine. Oh, Lord Jesus, it is realized in your coming. Lord God, we are ashamed. We are ashamed in light of who you are and what you've done of all the times that we are apathetic towards you or we even disobey you. We say, I want something else instead of you. We turn to sin. Lord, how can we do that? How can we do that when you are so gracious and have been so gracious to us? Lord, let this word today, for those that know you, be something that drives them to the discipline of sanctification. Say, my Lord is too great for me to continue in this sinful and foolish way. And for those that don't know you, God, I pray that they would be moved, moved by the beauty of your grace, by your truth, to repent and believe today. Lord Jesus, you are mighty. Let your mighty revelation do its work. even in this service, even with those who are listening now. In Jesus' name, amen.