faith for faith

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light (John 1:6-8).

It is interesting how the apostle John interjects this short snippet on John the Baptist into the theology of Christ, especially when he gives a fuller account of John’s ministry in the latter part of the chapter. What is its purpose? Why here, why at this point?

The point can be gathered, I believe, by looking at the verbal emphasis of these few verses. Of John the Baptist, the apostle writes, “[John] came as a witness, to bear witness about the Light … [John] was not the Light, but he came to bear witness about the Light.” The term “witness” is used three times, whether in its noun or verb form, and it is an important part of the apostle’s discourse.

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In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:4, 5).

There are few things in creation that are as beautiful as a sunrise. At its beginning, a faint glow emanates on the eastern horizon so that that which was unseen starts to take a faint shape and form by the new light. Colors burst forth in the east, revealing an array of reds, blues, and purples. It is a most beautiful sight to behold, but, more than that , it is a foretelling of that which is to come—the sun. And once the sun breaks through and is fully revealed in the sky, the colors that marked its coming disappear, and we are left with a light that is so bright and powerful that we can scarcely look upon it, yet by it the rest of world is shown in a vivacity and clarity not known to us in the night.

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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3).

Each of the Gospel accounts has its beginning. Matthew finds its beginning at the birth of Jesus Christ, Mark at the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry and the proclamation of the Kingdom, and Luke at the beginning of Christ’s forerunner, John the Baptist. For John, however, his beginning is the Beginning. Through John and its language we are taken back to the creation account of Genesis 1 and given a glance not only of the beginning of all things created but also of the purpose for their creation.

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