The Word Made Flesh

The Bible is God’s Word to the world. It is the number one selling book. A copy is found in almost every American home. In many other countries, the Bible is scarce. When Russia collapsed, the country was in physical, emotional, and spiritual turmoil. Religion had been restricted to such an extent that it barely existed. The people were hungry for food, that is... spiritual food. Christians began taking the Bible over to Russia and people came out by the masses to get a copy of the Bible. They were spiritual hungry and were grabbing at the Bibles as if it was a lifeline that was going to save their life. They were not taking them to keep to themselves, but to read and to pass on to others. The scene captured on videos is foreign to most Americans who can easily go to a store and purchase a copy. Christians often forget that the Bible DOES save lives! I mentioned that the Bible is the best selling book, but the cold reality is that it is the LEAST read book. A Lutheran Brotherhood research study was conducted about 10 years ago and the result was disturbing. I converted the statistics from a percentage to a group of 100 Lutherans. Out of 100 Lutherans, around 72 never open their Bible at home. Only 3 out of 100 read the Bible 3 or more times a week. The other 25 Lutherans fell into categories such as they open the Bible at least 1 time a year, 1 time a month, or maybe 1 time a week. This statistic is not just isolated to Lutherans, but is pretty much mirrored in all denominations. The Bible is God’s Word to the world and it is being neglected. Even pastors are neglecting His Word. Another study I read stated that 9 out of 10 pastors do not set aside some time each day to have their own "independent" time to read God’s Word. It is safe to say that even within the Christian community, the Holy Scriptures are being neglected. God’s Word has been neglected ever since Adam and Eve. Are you reading God’s Word? Are you sharing it with others? There is power in the Word. It is life changing! It is life SAVING! Most denominations today have stripped the Bible as being the Inspired Word of God, that it is INERRANT and INFALLIBLE. They say that the Bible is a good guide, but not everything is true. Well, I glad to say that the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod still holds that the Bible is the Inspired Word of God, that it is Inerrant, and Infallible.

Now I ask, should we trust the Bible... or Jesus Christ? John addresses this question in today’s Gospel lesson by telling us "the Word was God". John begins his gospel with these words:

John 1:1-2

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.

John begins his gospel account by saying "In the beginning". These words are the same words used in the introduction of Genesis by Moses. God, who is the creator of all things, began His creation through the spoken Word. God did not think about creation, or wish it, but instead... He spoke it. God said, "Let there be light" and there was light! The creation came through God’s spoken Word. John is now addressing this Word and states that the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word that John is speaking of is Jesus Christ. John states that Jesus was with God in the beginning. This is very important to believers and hard to understand for nonbelievers. In this Christmas season, you can ask "What is the meaning of Christmas?", and you will get a wide range of answers. Many will give answers that Christmas is about peace and joy... and this is true, but this is a by-product of what Christmas is all about. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ, who brings peace and joy to believers. There is no true peace and joy outside of faith in Jesus Christ.

John is stating that Jesus Christ was present at the very beginning of the world, that He existed before He was born in a manger, but that He existed in the beginning! This concept is foreign to many Christians and to most unbelievers. Young Christians, and I don’t mean young in age, but Christians that are new to the faith, often see Christ’s life beginning when He was born in the manger on Christmas Day. John says, no! He who was born, has always existed, even before He was born. The Scriptures clearly support what John was saying. In Genesis, note that Scripture uses a plural form of God when it reads "us". Listen to the verse: "Then God said, "Let ‘us’ make man in ‘our’ image, in our likeness, and let them rule over fish of the sea ..." The Word, that is, Jesus Christ, existed "in the beginning". Scripture clearly points out that there is a Trinity, but we will never be able to fully understand this concept until we are with the Father in heaven. Today, we can only accept this by faith, faith that Christ has given us.

Jesus Christ is the Word! The Scriptures continue:

3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

John clearly identifies Jesus Christ as the creator when he writes "through him all things were made." Jesus is God’s Word made flesh and He was born in a manger, as a human, to come and personally tell us and to show us that He is life! John writes:

4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

He is the life and He is the light of the world. We use lights to help us see in darkness. Flashlights help us to keep from stumbling when out in the woods and bring you safely home. Light, however, can also bring confusion. When a deer sees the headlights of a car, the deer freezes! Light can bring confusion and this is also displayed when people reject Jesus Christ. He brings a message of forgiveness and eternal life, but many reject Christ. Lights can also be a guide. If you are lost in the woods at night and you see a light in the distance, that light delivers you from being lost. You go to the light and there you will find help. Jesus Christ is the Word, He is the Light, and He is the Life! He is the one that delivers you from Satan’s darkness and gives eternal life.

Scripture continues:

6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

God often worked through prophets to announce what His plans were and what He was going to do. God uses John in the same way. John came as a witness to testify about that light. John’s message still applies to us today. In modern times, John may have been saying that the light you will see will be coming from a lighthouse to guide you, not a car that is going to run over you. The light brings life, not confusion and death.

In this Christmas season, we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child, who brings us a guiding light. Through His Word and His life, he brings salvation, yet people are still rejecting His message 2,000 years later. Scripture reads:

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Not everyone recognized Jesus as the Son of God when He was born. Not everyone recognized Jesus as the Son of God when he healed the sick, made the lame walk, the blind see, and the dead live again. Not everyone recognized Jesus as the Son of God when he fed the 5,000, walked on water, and calmed the storms. God’s chosen people, the keepers of God’s Word, did not recognize Him and they nailed Him to the Cross. The world still did not recognize Jesus as the Son of God when He rose from the dead three days later or when he ascended into heaven. But for those who did recognize Him and believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

Jesus is the Holy Scriptures made flesh. He comes to us today through His Word and Sacraments. John writes:

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Holy Scriptures, from beginning to end, testify that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who comes in person to rescue you from sin and the devil. He brings you the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He is the Word made flesh and he dwells among us today through the Church. Today, you are here to receive Jesus Christ through His Word and Sacraments. Jesus message, His light, and His life is full of grace and truth. God’s grace, brought to you through the Word made Flesh, is God’s undeserved love and the Word made Flesh, Jesus, is the revelation of our Salvation... He is THE TRUTH. I don’t care what you have done in this life; nothing really shocks me anymore. Whatever you have done, Jesus brings you forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and Salvation.

We are all sinners and break God’s law. The Scriptures promised a Redeemer, a rescuer to save you. John the Baptist comes crying out that Jesus Christ is God. Scripture states:

15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’" 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

John points out that the Law was given through Moses. The law shows us that we are sinners. Then John says that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. When you look at the Bible, you are looking at Jesus. When you are looking at Jesus, you are looking at the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is His grace to you. He did this for you. We rejoice in this truth as we celebrate the birth of Christ, the Word made flesh! He brings you today the same blessings, the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and Salvation. Amen!