People have all sorts of conditions these days. For example, I was reading about people who have a condition called “face blindness.” Imagine waking up in bed, next to your spouse, but they are a complete stranger! Or picking your kids up after school, “Nope, not mine!” Or what about going to your family reunion and saying to everyone you meet, “Please tell me were not related?” This could become your excuse when don’t recognize someone at church. “Hello, are you new here? Oh, you’re the pastor. Must be face blindness!”
In the opening verses of the Apostle John’s Gospel, we find this spectacular introduction of Jesus. First, John tell us Jesus is Only Begotten One of God. John 1:1. In the beginning of creation the Word [Jesus] was “with God”, yet also “was God.” All things were created for Him and by Him. Apart from Him not one thing was created that has been made. In him was life, and that life was light to all men!
Second, John tells us this Jesus is God Tabernacling Among Us. In Old Testament days God camped out, or “tabernacled” among his people in an elaborate tent. Later, Jesus dwelt in Solomon’s temple, even later in the temple rebuilt by Ezra and Zerubbabel. But now God was tabernacling (dwelling) among his people in human flesh and blood, in Jesus. John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt [tabernacled] among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Third, John tell us that Jesus is the Perfect Exegesis of the Father. John 1:18, “No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son (the only begotten Son), who is himself God and is at the Father side—he has revealed (exegeted) Him!” This idea is echoed through Scripture. Colossians 1:15, “Jesus is the image of the invisible God.” Hebrews 1:3, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
Allow me to share a couple of profound sayings of Jesus from John’s gospel. John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” John 14:6-7, “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’” John 14:9, “The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” What an extraordinary thing to claim to perfectly exegete, reveal, make clear, make known. . . to perfectly embody the full glory of God Almighty!
What a grand introduction indeed! But as the Apostle John tells us, humankind has a chronic case of Face Blindness. John 1:9, “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world!” But tragically John 1:10-11, “He was in the world, and yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own but his own people did not receive him.” Later in John 3:19-20 we read these words, “This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed.”
When it comes to Spiritual Blindness, it's not that people “couldn’t” recognize God. It’s that they “didn’t receive him.” They refused because they were doing evil, and didn’t want to be exposed. They were atheists by convenience. They were agnostics by convenience. They weren’t sincerely seeking God’s face—they loved their sins, they loved their vices, they loved their darkness.
From a human perspective its really hard to gage a person’s sincerity. Is it that you don’t love God? Really? Is it that you don’t understand or know him? Romans 1:18-20, “For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.”
The true affections of your heart are the root cause of spiritual blindness. Your lust for sexual impurity, for degrading your body. Your lust to wrap your whole life around material things, personal consumption. Your toxic preoccupation with envy, murderous thoughts, quarrels, deceit, malice, gossip, slander, arrogance, pride, boastfulness, vengefulness.
At the root of our human condition is misplaced affection. We don’t love God with all our heart, mind, body, soul. We don’t love our neighbor. We love our sin. We have a vested interest in darkness. We don’t want to see God for fear that our true self (true affections) will be exposed.
I’ll tell you what I find fascinating about John 1. God delivered the entire nation of Israel (million people) out of slavery in Egypt through mighty acts of deliverance. The purpose of the mighty acts of deliverance is repeatedly stated through Exodus—its so that God’s beloved son Israel, and Pharaoh himself, would know the God of Israel as the One True God. The Israelites were literally delivered from Egypt to go out into the wilderness where they could freely worship their God. They were commanded to obey the Ten Commandments (Exodus). To build a holy tabernacle for God to dwell among them (Leviticus).
But what was God’s chief complaint? Do you remember? They journeyed out and they didn’t have water, then they didn’t have bread, then they didn’t have meat. This goes on and on. In Numbers 11:1-2 we read, “Now the people began complaining openly before the Lord about hardship. When the Lord heard, his anger burned, and fire from the Lord blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down.”
Moses got so angry and provoked he himself cries out to the Lord! Numbers 11:11-14, “Why have you brought such trouble on your servant? Why are you angry with me, and why do you burden me with all these people? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth so you should tell me, ‘Carry them at your breast, as a nursing mother carries a baby,’ to the land that you swore to give their ancestors? 13 Where can I get meat to give all these people? For they are weeping to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I can’t carry all these people by myself. They are too much for me. 15 If you are going to treat me like this, please kill me right now if I have found favor with you, and don’t let me see my misery anymore.”
It doesn’t get any better. When the people come to the promise land in Numbers 14:2 it says, “All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness!” In Numbers 14:4, “So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”
In Deuteronomy 1, Moses openly accuses God’s people and rehearses their stubbornness. You were unwilling. You rebelled. You grumbled. You were terrified. You were afraid. You did not trust the Lord though he did might deeds, though he carried you as a man carries his tried son, though he appeared before you as a pillar of fire by night and cloud of presence by day.
Here in John 1 we have an Exodus, Wilderness parallel, but it's not Moses crying out, now it’s John the Baptist. The God of the Universe. The Word who is with God and is God. He’s coming into the world! He’s going to tabernacle among us in the flesh and blood human form. The glory of the Living God is going be on full display, in all his truth and grace, right among us. Brace yourselves. Repent of your stubbornness, arrogance, and pride. Renounce the evil affections of your heart.
In John 1:23, John the Baptist says, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord—just as Isaiah the prophet said!” How many times did Israel find herself estranged from God in some wilderness?
The Pharisees, of course, demand John the Baptist explain himself. Just who do you think you are? Are you the Messiah? Are you some prophet? Are you Elijah? It doesn’t matter who I am. It matters who HE IS! He must become greater, I must become less. In John 1:26-27 John Baptist says, “I baptize you with water. Someone stands among you, but you don’t know him. He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
It's pretty amazing that those who should have most known God, the religious leaders, the Pharisees… didn’t know God at all… they were blind. The very next day this happens: John 1:29-34, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ 31 I didn’t know him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he rested on him. 33 I didn’t know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The one you see the Spirit descending and resting on—he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
When the Israelites were baptized into Moses at the Red Sea, and found themselves in the wilderness, they hardened their hearts, because of their sin. But now John’s pleading with them… he’s crying out. Look! Not only is God Almighty, Jesus. Not only is Jesus, God tabernacling in flesh. Not only is Jesus displaying the full glory of God… this Jesus is coming to be the lamb that forever takes our sin and guilt before God. You see, through Moses’ baptism at the Red Sea, God hoped to show his glory to his people and win over their love. But now through John’s baptism God was again revealing his glory. This is my son, whom I love, with whom I’m well pleased! Here is my testimony. Here is my Holy Spirit. Here is my lamb who has come to die, whose blood will atone for sin for all time. Will you love him? Will you worship him? Will you turn to him and repent and find life? No you weren’t in the wilderness back then, your ancestors were. But you are in a wilderness all your own now, so to whom will you now turn?
In Ezekiel 18:23-34 God has this to say. “23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “Instead, don’t I take pleasure when he turns from his ways and lives? 24 But when a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, committing the same detestable acts that the wicked do, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. He will die because of the treachery he has engaged in and the sin he has committed.
25 “But you say, ‘The Lord’s way isn’t fair.’ Now listen, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair? Instead, isn’t it your ways that are unfair? 26 When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, he will die for this. He will die because of the injustice he has committed. 27 But if a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life. 28 He will certainly live because he thought it over and turned from all the transgressions he had committed; he will not die. 29 But the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s way isn’t fair.’ Is it my ways that are unfair, house of Israel? Instead, isn’t it your ways that are unfair?
30 “Therefore, house of Israel, I will judge each one of you according to his ways.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “Repent and turn from all your rebellious acts, so they will not become a sinful stumbling block to you. 31 Throw off all the transgressions you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “So repent and live!”
I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, says the Lord. John 3:16-21, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son [to be a lamb!], so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. 19 This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. 21 But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.”
What are you going to do with Jesus? You can pretend to recognize him, you can remain in the wilderness, dead in your sins. Or, may I suggest a different response. John 1:11-13, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, 13 who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.”
If you would receive Jesus, he would give you the right to be a child of God. He’d take away your sin and by his own shed blood, by his powerful Holy Spirit do for you what you cannot do for yourself. Will you come and recognize who this Jesus is, and what he’s done for you?