I love the apostolic statement in John 1:6, “There was a man sent from God whose name was Yohannan.”
John’s name means God is gracious. A man sent from God, called “God Is Gracious.”
And John came as a witness to the Light. His assigned purpose was, “That all might believe through him.”
In the Text, John makes it clear, that he himself is not the light. Meaning that John had no Messianic complex, but rather, he knew his purpose and calling: to bear witness to the light of Christ.
The true light was coming. The world was made through Him, yet the world did not know him. Consider that!
Here we find that the division from Genesis 1 is still present in the new creation account.
And it’s very good.
Because before you can get multiplication you have to deal with division.
If you want to multiply the things of God and see an increase of the Kingdom of Heaven in your life, you must first rightly divide the wheat from the chaff. The gold from the dross. The living from the dead.
And when you divide things rightly you get beautiful and healthy and redemptive multiplication.
It happens in John Chapter 1.
The author divides a line between the friends and followers of Christ, and the fraudulent Pharisees.
John 1:11, He came to his own and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
There’s your line in the sand. You’re either a stranger to the Maker of Heaven or you’re HIS ACTUAL CHILD!
When the Word became flesh He dwelt among us. The Logos, or Word, spoken in Genesis Chapter 1, became flesh. God the invisible manifested Himself as Emmanuel.
We were so lost for so long. And God in His grace to us, became one of us. Although found in this fragile form of human flesh, Christ was without sin.
There’s the dividing line again.
And as a sinner yourself, you and I both know all too well how titanic that line in the sand actually is. Oh, to be Sinless! Christ became like us but He is altogether not like us!
He’s divine, we are not. He’s perfect, we are flawed. He’s holy, we were once separated.
John the Baptist makes a point of emphasizing this division, and John the apostle records it prominently.
Christ later called John the Baptist, “the greatest man ever born of woman.” Yet, John did not perceive equality with God even within the slightest bit of his own grasp. He even states in John 1:27, “I am not even worthy to untie the sandals…” on His disgustingly sweaty, desert-sun-burnt feet.
The sweat and dirt on the earthly Christ were too holy for the HOLIEST PROPHET WHO EVER WALKED THIS EARTH.
Can you see the dividing line?
John 1 reveals, once again, the division that we witnessed in Genesis Chapter 1 in last week’s post.
What God the Most High and most Holy does, is totally untouchable for you and I. But then (where’s the drum roll when you need it?) Light. Came. Down. The Word became Flesh.
Yahshua arrives. And even then, when God has come to earth, there is division before there is multiplication. This is both a warning for us and an encouragement.
Let’s look at it briefly. The Pharisees would seem like the ideal candidates to spot and know the Christ. But they clearly not only do not know him, but they even think the prophet baptizing is Him, and when they realize he’s not Messiah, they’re offended by John.
They are divided. Separated like chaff from the wheat. Because the Gospel, or good news, is not for the religious-minded Pharisees. It’s not for the well put-together self-righteous soul. It’s for the lost, destitute, savagely broken and forgotten sinner.
In other words, it’s for you and for me.
In many ways, the Pharisees missing the point on page one of John’s Gospel is a sign of separation or division between light and darkness.
It’s also a stark entry point for the modern reader, who realizes (if the Spirit is hovering upon them) that the Kingdom Of God is UP-SIDE-DOWN.
Because the ones who should be ready to meet Him, don’t even recognize Him. And then the fishermen and rejects and wandering everyman’s are the ones who begin to follow Christ.
That is when the multiplication begins. John 1:35-50 is about multiplication. See if you can spot it.
35The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples,36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
There are many dividing lines in the Genesis 1 and John 1 accounts. But as the Holy Spirit begins to reveal the Messiah to the true followers, undeniable multiplication begins.
John the Baptist was literally alone. A voice crying in the desert. Cut off from the civilized world. He was eating locusts and honey and dressed in goatskins. But the power of Yahweh’s Spirit began to draw people, by the thousands or even tens of thousands, to hear his cracking voice in the desert near modern-day Jordan.
One faithful “Sent one,” began to minister to many, and repentance began to transform hearts back to the Heavenly Father.
And then, preparing the way for Christ, The Messiah appeared in that desert wasteland. The Word spoken in Genesis One became flesh and dwelt among His own people.
And when the Light Who appeared on page one in Genesis was pointed out by John the Baptist to be the Lamb and Emmanuel, Jesus began to multiply the saved followers, by translating many from darkness into light.
John 1:37 Two of John’s disciples followed Jesus.
John 1:41 He found his brother. And how simply Andrew, the first disciple of Jesus shared the gospel with his brother.
He simply said, We have found the MESSIAH.
Oh that we would preach so simply to our own families today. For we have found Him, too.
John 1:43 The next day Jesus found Philip.
John 1:45 Philip found Nathanael. He said to him, “We have found the one Moses and the prophets wrote about, YAHSHUA, the son of Joseph.”
Catch this: In the passage of 24 hours, the writer clearly shows us in John 1: there was evening and there was morning - a single day.
Another Genesis One reference, in ONE DAY of God Almighty’s creativity, FIVE of the greatest saints we know of, were set apart forever for God’s Kingdom!
Some of the most famous men in the entire Bible became lifelong followers of Jesus on that day. They were cut out, divided from the others, separated and made holy by Christ.
Andrew, Peter, Philip, an unnamed member of the twelve and Nathanael. Five precious souls, who in following Christ Jesus their Messiah, collectively brought millions of souls into the Kingdom of God just by speaking about Him, and choosing to walk with Him.
And you will never see or hear of multiplication like that apart from Christ. When you encounter The Word for yourself, when you actually see Him, you’ll never be the same.
Turn from the darkness, and step into the dawn of His all-powerful Light.
Keep Breathing,
Daniel Kooman
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Thank you Daniel! I so want my brother and his wife to be saved! I have shared the gospel with them, showed them I love them and have prayed for them. I will wait on the Lord as maybe I am simply to share with them that I have found the Messiah to be all that I could ever want or need!