“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Is there a more sublime sentence ever written than the opening line of the Gospel of John?
John’s Gospel is different from the Gospels of Luke, Mark, and Matthew in several ways. Among these differences is that John seems to have had the closest relationship to Jesus of the four Gospel writers as he was he was referred to as “the beloved disciple.” And because of that deeper relationship, John discerns the true purpose of Jesus Christ.
When John writes the opening line of his Gospel, he is being absolutely literal in stating that Jesus is the Word of God. It was because God wanted His voice heard to the people of this world that He sent Jesus. John reveals this in a simple sentence:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14)
Jesus is God’s Word. Through him, we know what God wants for us. And what he wants for us is to fulfill the sacred covenant he tells Jesus to share with us:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
And Jesus reinforces that message further when he says:
“This is indeed the will of my Father that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.” (John 6:40)
Jesus then tells us what we have to do in order to to fulfill our part of this sacred covenant:
“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. (John 15:9 – 10)
And when his life on earth was over and he was resurrected from death, Jesus tells us it’s now up to each of us to be true to his Words, the Words of God:
“Peace be with you. As God the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (John 20:21)