john 1:1-5

So here is the dilemma for modern man (and oh, by the way, it’s the same one the ancients faced): either Jesus is a fraud, in which case we are under no obligation to pay him any special attention, or he is who he said he is. In that case, the responsibility is on us.
Let’s consider the possibility that Jesus was, indeed, a fraud. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve heard of someone who claimed to have the mind of God when we knew for certain that they didn’t. Remember Jim Jones? Most of the time, people who claim to be the Messiah or the son of God have a malfunctioning neuron somewhere, don’t they? Ready for the funny farm, you think?

So how would one know? How would you know for certain that someone who claimed to be on a direct mission from the Almighty really was who they said they were? More to the point, how do we know that John’s claim about Jesus being from God is a true one?

1:1-5
Here’s what I know: If you are going to make a ridiculous claim, you had better be prepared to back it up. For instance, you might doubt that I can dunk a basketball from a flat-footed position. We could argue about it all day long, but there is only one way to settle our argument – get a ball and head to the courts. Either I do it or I don’t. If I do it, my claim is validated and the matter is settled.

The truth is I wouldn’t make a claim like that. Even in my younger and not-so-gravitationally-challenged days, I could barely touch the rim. For me to boast that I had the were-with-all to dunk a basketball would defy credibility. I simply can’t do it. Never could, never will. Maybe in the resurrection but not in this life.

John’s claim about Jesus in an even more incredible one – he asserts that Jesus was not only present with God in the beginning, and that he had been an agent of creation, but that Jesus himself was God. Insane asylums are full of poor misguided souls who firmly believe they are divinity. So what separates Jesus from them?

John’s case for the divinity of Christ builds as the gospel narrative unfolds. Miracle follows miracle until the final miracle of Jesus’ own resurrection from his grave. Taken in their entirety, they make an almost unassailable body of evidence that Jesus’ claim of divinity is a true one. We don’t blame the Jewish leaders for their skepticism, but we do wonder how they could be witness to the laws of nature being violated and not wonder how it could have been done without an intervention on God’s part.

Personally, I would have written of Jesus’ life from the reverse. I would have first proved his divinity by delineating all of the miracles Jesus ever performed. And I would have used bullets (as in Microsoft Word) to do it too. Then when I had them all lined out for the unbelieving world to see, I would have lowered the hammer – “Now, for the rest of the story; the guy who performed all these miracles, these undeniable wonders, well…, he’s is the son of God, so repent or perish!”

Not John. He made his claim then backed it up. Not at all like a used car salesman, is it? As with all the New Testament witnesses, John give full disclosure right off the bat.

So when John says that Jesus is the light of the world, it too is a significant affirmation because it signifies that he represents the exact opposite of what the world is. This is a flawed world. The planet is inhabited by flawed humans who, left to their own devices, would choose evil over righteousness. It is a dark place where societies and individuals devolve into lawlessness without the illumination of light. And if it seems that the world is getting darker, you might be right. The sexual abuse of children is a multi-billion dollar industry. Can you imagine: people pay money to see others having sex with children? Half of all marriages end in divorce. We have seen so many people assassinated in urban malls, schools, and churches that it is now commonplace.

Yes, this is a dark world, but here comes Jesus – the Light of the World. Without fault. I know we always say that about people when they die - I never heard her say an unkind word about anyone, but we don't really mean it. But it's true about Jesus. He shines on the place because of who he is (the son of God) and what he is (spotless).

It is true that by contrast, he shines light on our sin and condemnation. Like cockroaches we scurry for cover when someone hits the switch. Standing next to him, we all look pretty guilty. That's why I always picked ugly guys to hang around with in high school. I wanted to be handsome by comparison. If you stand next to another flawed human being, you might think you look fairly innocent, but next to Jesus..., well, that's another matter.

But that is not all that the Light of the World does. In fact, that's not the most important job he set out to accomplish. More importantly than illuminating our obvious condemntation, he illuminates our path. More specifically, he shines his light on the path. Later on, John will quote Jesus as saying, “I am the way…no man comes to the Father but by me.” Apparently, that is his purpose in coming – to lead us to the father. We know, in fact, that condemnation was not his purpose because he said plainly, “I did not come into the world to condemn the world but to save it.”

I sure am glad of that because I already felt pretty bad about myself. And knowing that his purpose was to eradicate my guilt rather than to heap it up on me sure makes me have a different attitude about him.