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The Word was with God

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in John, What’s new?.

What does it mean that the Word was with God (John 1:1)?

The opening verses of John’s gospel are perhaps the most theologically packed writings in all the Bible: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1–2). These words and the concepts they express form the foundation for John’s entire gospel, which was written to prove that Jesus Christ is God’s incarnate Son.

The term translated “Word” is Logos in the Greek language. John uses it here as an unmistakable reference to Jesus Christ. The Hebrews often referred to God in terms of His powerful word (Psalm 33:6; 107:20). With a few simple statements, John declares that Jesus, like His heavenly Father, has always existed since the beginning of time. Jesus was with God in the beginning because He is God, and He always has been.

Right out of the gate, John presents the doctrine of the deity of Christ and affirms His co-eternal nature with God as Creator of the universe (John 1:3). To his first-century, Greek-speaking audience, John communicates straightforward truths that don’t require explanation. But for current-day Bible readers, the expression the Word was with God hides a vital truth about the relationship between God and Jesus. No single English equivalent exists to better express the full meaning of the word with in the phrase.

In English, we typically understand the preposition with to mean “near” or “beside.” But the original Greek term expresses a living, active union in the closest, most intimate sense. When John said, “The Word was with God,” he meant that the divine Word—Jesus Christ—was not only present alongside God from all eternity but was in a living, dynamic, co-equal relationship of close communion with Him. The Holman New Testament Commentary explains, “The Greek word is pros which literally means ‘toward,’ implying a face-to-face relationship” (Gangel, K., Broadman & Holman, 2000, Vol. 4, p. 9).

The relationship between God and Jesus is eternal and intimately personal. The works of Christ are the works of God. The words of Jesus are the words of His heavenly Father. Because they are one, Jesus reveals the heart and mind of God to us (John 14:9–10). The author of Hebrews explains: “In these last days he [God the Father] has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:2–3, ESV).

Jesus, who is the Word, was with God in every sense of the word. Not only is Christ the image of the invisible God (2 Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15), but He and the Father are one nature and essence (John 10:30). Jesus prayed for His followers to share in this same inseparable, face-to-face union: “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one” (John 17:21–22, NLT).

When Jesus said, “Before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58), He was claiming to be God. There was no doubt among the Jewish people that these words were a declaration of deity, for they reacted by picking up rocks to stone Jesus for blasphemy according to Mosaic Law (Leviticus 24:16).

English readers may have to dig under the surface to understand the apostle’s statement that “the Word was with God” expresses the deity of Jesus Christ and His inseparable oneness with God the Father. But in John’s first epistle, his meaning couldn’t be more evident: “And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life” (1 John 5:20, NLT).

Credits To: Got Questions Ministries

In the beginning was the Word

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in John, What’s new?.

What does it mean that the Word was in the beginning (John 1:1)?

John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Gospel of John begins much like Genesis, the “book of beginnings.” The account of creation in Genesis begins with the phrase In the beginning (Genesis 1:1), which is translated from the Hebrew word bereshit. In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament), which shares the same language as the Gospel of John, the words used in Genesis 1:1a are identical with John 1:1a: en arche, or “in the beginning.”

“In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1). To the audience receiving the gospel, John’s intentions in this statement would be clear—“the Word” is connected with the God of Israel, the Creator of all things. John further explains this idea two verses later in John 1:3, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (NASB). “The Word” is the sole means by which reality finds its existence—He is the Creator of all things, and without Him no created thing would exist. Before anything was created, “the Word” existed.

“The Word” is used within the first chapter of John four times. The context for each occurrence is used to

  • describe the eternality of “the Word” (1:1a)
  • describe the distinction of “the Word” from God (1:1b)
  • describe the identity of “the Word” as God (1:1c)
  • identify the person described by the phrase the Word (1:14)

Jesus Christ is “the Word” that was in the beginning (see John 1:14–18). “Word” comes from the Greek term logos. Logos would have been a familiar concept for both the Jews (Psalm 33:6) and the Greeks. The Jew would understand the word of God to point to creative and communicative acts of their personal God. Greek philosophers utilized the concept to identify the reason, thinking, or mind of divine authority as words were utilized to explain the thinking of the one using them. To both potential groups receiving John’s writing, the emphasis on the object behind “the Word” was clear.

Interestingly, John utilizes Logos in the first verse of his prologue (John 1:1–18) while explaining it in the last verse of the prologue. Much like Paul explains Jesus as revelatory (Hebrews 1:1–3; Colossians 1:15–20), John shows that Jesus is the complete revelation of God when he states, “He [Jesus] has explained Him [the Father]” (John 1:18, NASB).

“The Word” also finds connection with the Hebrew word dabar, which means “word, matter, word of God.” This Hebrew word, in connection with God’s name, Yahweh, appears 261 times in the Hebrew Old Testament and is translated most typically as “the word of the Lord.” The repeated usage of the phrase establishes a foundational connection between God and His personal interaction with His creation. Not only was everything created through the use of words (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26), but God continues to interact with that creation through the use of words (2 Timothy 3:16–17) and the Word (John 14:6).

The statement “In the beginning was the Word” encapsulates the eternality of the Word, the creating power of the Word, and the revelatory nature of the Word. As John later defines the Word as being Jesus (John 1:14–18), the purpose of the Gospel of John becomes clear—“that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). Jesus is the revelatory and actual eternal Creator—the object of the Christian’s faith. He is not simply a representation of God, but He is God, and He has always been so: “In the beginning was the Word.” The remaining chapters of the Gospel of John endeavor to show this statement to be true.

Sheep in the midst of wolves

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Matthew, What’s new?.

What does it mean to be sheep in the midst of wolves (Matthew 10:16)?

As Jesus readied His twelve disciples to go out and minister, first He gave detailed guidelines for their early mission (Matthew 10:5–15), and then He prepared them for opposition and persecution: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16, ESV).

Jesus knew that His messengers would encounter fierce resistance, so He immediately dismissed any idealistic notion of what it meant to be His servant. He told them that persecution and betrayal would come from unexpected places and all kinds of people, even family and friends (Matthew 10:21–22, 34–36). Jesus also knew that many would respond to the disciples’ message, so they had to go. To be as “sheep amidst the wolves” is the Lord’s fitting imagery portraying how we obey His call and take the message of salvation to receptive souls scattered amid a crowd of hostile challengers.

Reflecting the character of meek and gentle sheep, our message is one of love and compassion. Luke 10:3 uses the language of “lambs among wolves,” emphasizing the dedicated vulnerability that ought to exemplify Christ’s servants, messengers, missionaries, and evangelists. We are to go out clothed with grace, mercy, kindness, and humility—“innocent as doves”—but also with wisdom, truth, and integrity—“wise as serpents.” We keep our attitude and actions pure and harmless and our eyes wide open, “alert and of sober mind” because our “enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

The future peaceful reality of sheep and wolves living together in harmony (Isaiah 11:6; 65:25) is not yet our reality. The apostle Paul testified to church leaders, “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock” (Acts 20:29). To His disciple Timothy, Paul wrote, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

Jesus desires that we be fully prepared to be hated and treated poorly just as He was (Matthew 10:25). Yet we can find comfort and encouragement in our struggles, knowing such ill-treatment is a sign of our close fellowship with Jesus (Acts 5:41; 2 Corinthians 11:16–33; 12:1–10; Philippians 3:10–11).

Sheep are defenseless animals. Unless they stay near their shepherd, these animals have no hope of surviving against a pack of wolves. Jesus, who is “the great Shepherd of the sheep” (Hebrews 13:20), assured His disciples repeatedly that He would care for His sheep, leading, guiding, protecting, and laying down His life for them (John 10:1–16, 26–30).

Even though we will face persecution in our mission to follow and obey Christ, He encourages us not to fear: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:28–31).

Matthew 10:16 was not the disciples’ first exhortation to expect persecution as servants of God’s kingdom. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10–12). Honor in God’s kingdom is a blessing reserved for those who actively seek to advance His righteousness and serve the King.

Initially, the “wolves” in Jesus’ analogy included the Pharisees and Jewish religious teachers who violently persecuted the early church. But the caution to be like sheep amidst the wolves is relevant to believers in every age who must live as Christ’s ambassadors in a dark and unreceptive world. Without our Shepherd, we are defenseless and in danger. But with Jesus, we are promised protection and peace (John 14:27; 16:33; Psalm 3:5–6; Matthew 6:25–34; 11:28; Romans 8:28, 35–39).

Sheep without a shepherd

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Matthew, What’s new?.

What is the significance of sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36)?

The role of a shepherd is to watch over, feed, protect, guide, comfort, and sustain the flock under his care. Spiritual leaders have a similar responsibility toward the people entrusted to their oversight. While Jesus traveled the countryside ministering to the crowds, He felt deep concern for the people because they lacked spiritual guidance and pastoral care from their leaders: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).

A shepherd theme twines throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament, the Lord’s people, the Israelites, are portrayed as a flock of sheep, and God is their loving, caring Shepherd (Psalm 23; 100:3; Jeremiah 23:3; 31:10). God expected Israel’s leaders to be spiritual under-shepherds to His flock (2 Samuel 5:2; Numbers 27:17). Sadly, they failed at their duty (see Ezekiel 34). The prophets declared, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master’” (Kings 22:17; see also Isaiah 56:11; Jeremiah 10:21).

The shepherd theme continues in the New Testament, with Jesus portrayed as the “Good Shepherd” (John 10:11; cf. Isaiah 40:11) and the “Great Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4). The people swarming toward Jesus are like sheep without a shepherd because their spiritual overseers, Israel’s religious leaders, have harassed and abandoned them. In Matthew 9:36, the verb translated as “harassed” (skyllomai in the original Greek) means “to be afflicted, troubled, grieved, bothered, annoyed.” “Helpless” comes from a verb that means “to be thrown down, rejected; thrown away, cast off.” This word speaks of the utterness of the people’s abandonment by their leaders and its thoroughly damaging effect. Jesus was profoundly moved when He looked into their faces because He saw people who were wholly disheartened, demoralized, and discouraged.

In Matthew 9:36, Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Ezekiel 34:2–6: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. . . . You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty. So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal. They have wandered through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them” (NLT).

Sheep without a shepherd scatter easily, wander into dangerous territory, and become lost (Isaiah 53:6; Zechariah 10:2; 13:7; Matthew 26:31; John 10:12). Like sheep, we all need a shepherd to guide us along the right path (Psalm 23:3). Without a shepherd we will eventually starve and die. Therefore, a truly good shepherd never leaves his flock unattended (John 21:15–19). And if even one of his sheep goes astray, he will “leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost” (see Matthew 18:12–14). Jesus, the perfect Shepherd, lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:15).

In sharp contrast with the biblical depiction of a good shepherd, Israel’s leaders received this scathing indictment from Jesus: “They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. Everything they do is for show. . . . And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues” (Matthew 23:4–6, NLT). Jesus goes on to call them “hypocrites” who “shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces” (Matthew 23:13, NLT). Instead of shepherds, they are “blind guides” only looking out for themselves (Matthew 23:16).

The apostle Paul instructs church leaders: “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). Instead of leaving people as sheep without a shepherd, God’s Word calls true spiritual leaders to “care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example” (1 Peter 5:2–3, NLT).

Shepherds patterned after the example of Jesus Christ are self-sacrificing servants, willing to lay down their lives for the sheep (John 15:13; 1 John 3:16). They provide spiritual nourishment and guidance and rule people justly and with love.

Harvest is plentiful

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Matthew, What’s new?.

What does it mean that the harvest is plentiful (Matthew 9:37)?

Matthew 9 lists a number in incidents, in somewhat “rapid fire” fashion, that involve Jesus ministering while the Pharisees are being critical:

verses 1–8 — Jesus heals a paralytic.

verses 9–13 — Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collector, and is chided by the Pharisees for spending time with “sinners.”

verses 14–17 — The Pharisees criticize Jesus and His disciples for not fasting enough. Apparently, Jesus’ followers are too social.

verses 18–26 — A woman with chronic bleeding is healed, and Jesus raises a young girl back to life.

verses 27–31 — Jesus heals two blind men.

verses 32–34 — Jesus heals a man unable to speak, but the Pharisees say He heals by demonic power.

All of these incidents lead to the final section of Matthew chapter 9, verses 35–38: “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’”

Jesus could have spent every waking hour healing and teaching. There was no shortage of people who needed the gospel of the kingdom proclaimed to them. In His earthly existence, He was limited by His human body. He could not be everywhere at once, nor could He meet every need. He grew tired and hungry. Practically speaking, He needed others to go out and preach the gospel. People are the harvest—lost souls waiting to be saved and brought into God’s kingdom. The problem was not that there were not enough people to harvest, but that there were not enough laborers to do the work.

If a man owned a farm, there are two problems he might encounter when it came time to harvest. The first is that he might hire a lot of people to work in the fields but there would not be enough work to keep them busy. The second might be that there is so much to harvest that he just can’t find enough people to do the work.

The same set of problems could be evident in any church or Christian ministry. There might be so many volunteers and donors that the needs are fully met and many of the helpers just stand around with nothing to do. On the other hand, there might be so many needs that everyone who turns out to work is stretched to the max, with many needs remaining unmet. In reality, the second scenario is far more common, and the first is virtually unheard of.

In Matthew 10, Jesus sends out the disciples to begin the harvest. That pattern continues with the “Great Commission” in Matthew 28. All Christians are supposed to be working in the harvest. The problem is not that there are not enough needs to meet and souls to harvest but that there are too few workers to do all that needs to be done.

In Christian ministry, we need to pray for more workers to go out into the harvest fields to work. Practically speaking, instead of praying for more people to be saved, we should pray that more people actively share the gospel. When praying for a lost loved one, we should pray for him or her to encounter more believers who will reach out with truth and love. If we are dissatisfied with the way things are, we need to pray that God will send us out to make a difference. If any Christian is not involved in gospel ministry, it is not because there is nothing for him to do; rather, is that he has chosen to sit on the sidelines instead of joining in the work that surrounds him. The harvest is plentiful.

May God use this small article to motivate Christians to join the harvest workforce!

I never knew you: depart from me

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Matthew, What’s new?.

What did Jesus mean when He said, “I never knew you. Depart from me”?

Jesus said, “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:23). KJV: And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. It seems strange to hear our all-knowing Lord say there’s something—or someone—He doesn’t know. Jesus refers not to an intellectual knowledge here but to a relational knowledge.

To understand a verse, always start with the context. Jesus is wrapping up His Sermon on the Mount with a final warning about true faith. Jesus predicts that false Christian prophets will be coming as wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). They may use all the right “God talk” and even make impressive displays of power, but they will not belong to the Lord:

“, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21–23).

In Jesus’ words on Judgment Day, we see several important truths: it’s not a verbal claim that one follows Jesus that saves (Matthew 7:21). Nominal Christianity cannot save. Also, it’s not a demonstration of spiritual insight or power that saves (verse 22). A person can seem like a Christian in the eyes of other people, yet still be an “evildoer” in God’s sight and sent away from His presence (verse 23). Only those who do the Father’s will and who are known of God will enter heaven.

So, what is the Father’s will? Some men came to Jesus once with a question about what God required of them: “They asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent’” (John 6:28–29). God wants us to have faith in His Son: “This is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 3:23). Those who are born again by faith in Christ will produce good works to the glory of God (Ephesians 2:10).

When Jesus said, “I never knew you,” to the feigned disciples, He meant that He never recognized them as His true disciples or His friends. He never had anything in common with them nor approved of them. They were no relations of His (Mark 3:34–35). Christ did not dwell in their hearts (Ephesians 3:17), nor did they have His mind (1 Corinthians 2:16). In all these ways and more, Jesus never knew them. Note that Jesus is not breaking off the relationship here—there was never a relationship to break off. Despite their high-sounding words and showy displays of religious fervor, they had no intimacy with Christ.

So it turns out that what matters isn’t so much that we know God on some level, but that God knows us. As Paul explained, “Whoever loves God is known by God” (1 Corinthians 8:3; also see Galatians 4:9). The Lord “tends His flock like a shepherd” (Isaiah 40:11), and He knows who are His sheep (John 10:14).

Those somber words “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” in Matthew 7:23 (KJV) show that Jesus is indeed omniscient. He did not “know” them in the sense He would if they were His followers, but He knew their hearts—they were full of iniquity! Isaiah’s condemnation of hypocrisy fits this group well: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Isaiah 29:13). The evildoers whom Jesus does not know are fake Christians, false teachers, and nominal adherents of religion.

Those who are bid depart from the presence of the Lord will not partake of the blessings of the kingdom: “Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (Revelation 22:15). They will be cast “into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12). Those fake Christians whom Jesus says He never knew will not produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23); rather, they will produce the opposite, the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19–21).

Jesus warns that one day He will tell a group of religious practitioners, “I never knew you.” God takes no delight in sending people to hell (2 Peter 3:9). But those who are told to depart have rejected God’s eternal purpose and plan for their lives (Luke 7:30). They have spurned the light of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4), choosing the darkness instead, because their deeds were evil (John 3:19). At the judgment, they try to justify themselves as worthy of heaven on the basis of their works (prophecies, exorcisms, miracles, etc.), but no one will be justified by his own works (Galatians 2:16). While claiming to do all these good works in Christ’s name, they failed to do the only work of God that counts: “to have faith in the one he sent” (John 6:29, CEV). And so Jesus, the Righteous Judge, condemns them to eternal separation from Him.