The Word Became Flesh and Dwelt Among Us: Part 2

John 1:14-23
February 13, 2022
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

When I think about our church, when I think about you all, there are many reasons for me to feel happy. All the babies and children make me feel happy. All the fellowship and food and fun makes me feel happy. I feel happy as I see everyone’s resilience and patience during this pandemic. I feel happy as I see our fifth graders join us in our worship services. I feel happy as I see members strike up conversations with one another. There is so much to be happy about when I think about the past, the present, and the future of our church.

But there is one reason above all else that makes me feel the most happy. I am most happy because you believe in Jesus. Because you believe in who he is and what he did. There is nothing more important than believing in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

And there is nothing more important to your belief in Jesus than God’s Word, the Bible, and the written witness of certain people who saw Jesus. You believe because of the written witness and history and truth of people who saw who Jesus was and what Jesus did.

And one important witness was John.

In the opening chapter of his book, John tells us that people saw Jesus. John, writes these words starting in verse 14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John was a witness. He and others with him saw who Jesus was and what Jesus did. And so he declares in writing: “We have seen his glory.”

What does he mean when he says, “We have seen his glory”? This means that John and many others saw how Jesus, the Son of God, Jesus, the second person of the Triune God, took on human nature and became flesh. Jesus had a real human body. And Jesus was physically with them. Jesus walked with them and talked with them. Jesus ate meals with them. Jesus was with them. The Word became flesh and dwelt among them. And they saw all of this. They were there. They witnessed this. They saw Jesus and how he loved them. They saw how Jesus was God. They saw his glory.

And in addition to this, John and many others saw Jesus live a perfect life of obedience and righteousness and fulfillment of the law. They saw Jesus in his humiliation and suffering. They saw Jesus die on the cross for our sins. They saw Jesus resurrect from the dead. They saw Jesus ascend into heaven. The Word became flesh and dwelt among them and the Word saved them. And they saw all of this. They were there. They witnessed this. They saw Jesus and how he loved us and how he saved us from sin and death. They saw how Jesus was God. They saw his glory.

You were not there. But when you read the Bible, when you read about how our friends of old saw Jesus’ glory, you see Jesus’ glory as well. And just like them, you believe in who Jesus is and what Jesus did. That is amazing. If you wonder if you can really trust who Jesus is and what Jesus did, you can. Because people witnessed Jesus. And the Bible is God’s evidence of the truth.

After Jesus returns and after you meet him face-to-face in the kingdom of the new heavens and new earth, there are going to be a lot of people that you are going to want to meet and thank. Why? Because of their witness of Jesus and how they wrote everything down in the Bible so that you - you who were not there when they were - could also believe in Jesus.

And one brother in Christ whom you should definitely meet and thank later… and listen carefully to right now… is John the Baptist (by the way, John the Baptist is not to be confused with John the son of Zebedee and brother of James who was one of the twelve disciples and the human author of this book).

John the Baptist gave testimony about Jesus. People asked him who he was. They thought that he was a special prophet, like a Moses 2.0 (who was promised in Deuteronomy 18). They thought that he was Elijah who came back (remember Elijah was taken up to heaven without dying in 2 Kings 2). John the Baptist said that he was not Elijah, he was not a prophet, and, most importantly, he was not promised savior. “I am not the Christ.”

Instead, John the Baptist declared these glorious and humble words: “He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.”

And John the Baptist declared these glorious and urgent words: “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

Dear Highland, Jesus is the eternal Son of God who eternally existed before John or anything in creation existed. Because Jesus created all things. Jesus outranks all. There is no comparison. May you bow down to the one who ranks before you, because he was before you. Humble yourselves before the King. May you decrease. And may Jesus increase. “He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.”

And dear Highland, Jesus is the Lord. He is the sovereign King over all. And as we prepare for his return in the wilderness of this world, we must make straight the way of the Lord. “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

Dear Highland, be ready. Be prepared. One of the worst feelings in the world is when you think you are ready and prepared for a school test or for a job interview or for something really important in life. But when you show up for it, you go through it and you find out that you were not at all ready or prepared. It’s like a nightmare. How much more terrible would it be if you were not ready or prepared for Jesus.

Dear Highland, if you have not yet repented of your sins and if you have not yet believed in Jesus for your salvation, then I urge you to do so today, right now, before it is too late for you. You are not ready. You are not prepared. The Lord will one day stop showing mercy and grace to sinners and on that day he will bring judgment and justice and eternal death. If you are not sure if you are ready and prepared for the return of the Lord, then I urge you to talk to me today, right after this worship service, before it is too late for you. Dear Highland, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus saved us. Make straight the way of the Lord.

Dear Highland, if you have already repented of your sins and if you have already believed in Jesus for your salvation, then I urge you to be more ready and more prepared in other ways: by reading your Bibles more and praying more and being less worldly and growing more in godly character and doing more evangelism and witnessing to others. You have a lot of catching up to do. You have a lot of good works to do. You have a lot of sin to take off and a lot of self to deny. You have a lot of cross to carry. You have a lot of love to give. I urge you to live this week as if it were your last, before it is too late for you. Dear Highland, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus saved us. Make straight the way of the Lord.

Soli Deo Gloria