JESUS BECAME MAN AND DWELT AMONG US
Lemah Putro, Sunday, February 2, 2020
Shalom,
We are sure of God's promises that say where two or three people gather in His Name, He is in their midst (Matthew 18:20). Has he been present in our married life, family and business work? And do we really long for the fresh water of God's Word to quench our spiritual thirst? Jesus offers those who are thirsty to come to Him, they will be satisfied with the water of the Holy Spirit who becomes a fountain in them that continually springs up to eternal life (John 4:14).
The Gospel of John is literally specific in the writing which is not found in the other three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke). This does not mean that the other three gospels are less important because, as a matter of fact, each chapter and verse from Genesis to Revelation is the Word of God and the very Person of God Himself.
We have learned that the purpose of the writer of the Gospel of John is that we may believe that Jesus, the Son of God, is the Messiah and that by faith we can live in His Name (John 20:31). He also explained that the world He created could not contain all the writings about the activities done by Jesus one by one (John 21:25).
What message does the Apostle John want to convey to us this time? John 1: 14,18 write, "The Word became flesh and dwelt (dwelt, tabernacled) among us and we have seen His glory that is the glory given to Him as the Only Begotten of the Father full of grace and truth ... Nobody has ever seen God; but the only begotten Son of God who is in the bosom of the Father, He is the one who revealed Him. "
From the verses above, there are three points that we will ponder together, namely about:
♦ The Word
We know Heavenly Father through Jesus (John 14: 6). Who is this Jesus? He is the Word that gives grace and truth (John 1:17). If the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke write about the Angel Gabriel who tells that (the virgin) Mary will conceive a baby boy and must be named Jesus (Matthew 1: 20-21; Luke 1: 26-31) while the Gospel of Mark writes the beginning of the Gospel about Jesus Christ, Son of God (Mark 1: 1), John's Gospel immediately begins and ends with the Person of Jesus and His increasing and worldwide activities (John 21:25).
The Gospel of John 1: 1 writes that the Word is God while the Book of Psalms states that His Word remains firm in Heaven (Psalm 119: 89). So, how big is the Word? The Word of God goes far beyond the universe He created.
♦ Man
Is God – the Word – only in Heaven? The great God "shrank" to become a man, Jesus, like us who could be angry, sad, hungry, etc. Even in human condition He was rejected by His people (John 1:11). Obviously, He came not in His greatness but in a very simple human condition.
♦ Dwelt among us
Indeed, as God, He is omnipresent but when He became human / flesh, He had a place to stay while on this earth. What’s the proof? Two of John's disciples asked Jesus where He lived, He invited them to His place and they stayed together with Him (John 1:35-39).
Jesus was conceived by Mary and was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. At the age of 12, He was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem to join in celebrating Easter (Luke 2: 41-42). Here began the thought of Heavenly Father.
Until the age of 30, Jesus lived with His parents and brothers (James, Joseph, Simon, Judas) as well as His sisters. His father, Joseph, was a carpenter (Matthew 13: 53-56).
Not only His father (Joseph) the carpenter, but Jesus Himself was also a carpenter. When Jesus taught with wisdom in the synagogue in Nazareth where He came from, the people who heard Him were disappointed and rejected Him when they found out that He was a carpenter and they knew His family (Mark 6: 1-3). Understandably they were disappointed because many of them were Pharisees and experts in the Law. They thought a preacher was certainly a great person and highly educated. It turned out that Jesus' background was not a teacher or preacher but a carpenter. Are we still willing to accept Him, the one who was in wooden-smell robe with rough hands and the house full with wooden tools?
The work of carpenters is to repair, remodel, strengthen/confirm, make elements of the house (doors, windows, etc.), build houses. Jesus was a reliable "carpenter" who was able to remodel and restore the place where He dwelt or tabernacle.
Wasn't the Tabernacle furniture made by carpenters? Example: the Altar of Burnt Offering was made of acacia wood overlaid with bronze (Exodus 27: 1-2); The Table of Showbread was made of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold (Exodus 25: 23-24), the Altar of Incense was made of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold (Exodus 30: 1-3); The Ark of the Covenant in the Most Holy Place was also made of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold (Exodus 25: 10-11). Aholiab and Bezaleel were given expertise, understanding and knowledge in all kinds of work so that the Tabernacle could stand firmly in the wilderness and God was present in the midst of the Israelites.
Now, the Word became flesh and tabernacled in our midst, not only when we attend the service in church.
In Moses' time, the Tabernacle was not permanent, it could be dismantled. The "Jesus Tabernacle" was also mobile – He did not stay in one place but also at other places. Example: Jesus performed the first miracle at Cana, then went to Capernaum and stayed a few days there (John 2: 11-12). He and His disciples went to the land of Judea and stayed there to baptize (John 3:22). He stayed in Samaria for two days and more people believed in His words (John 4: 39-41). Wherever Jesus went and lived, there were teaching, evangelism, forgiveness and miracles that made many people believe in Him. Of course Jesus faced different cases in different places.
Introspection: How many people believe in our testimonies wherever we go and stay? Do family members who live with us believe in Jesus? Are we willing to go out (from the comfort zone) to introduce Jesus to those who haven’t / don't believe in Him? Note that the same Word is able to solve different cases from the personal life, household, and marriage of different people. Remember, without Jesus our lives will be chaotic and in ruins. Didn't Jesus restore the married life in Cana (John 2: 1-10) and also heal the nobleman's son who was about to die (John 4: 46-53)?
We should follow Jesus’ movement and know where it ends. He comforts us so that we needn’t be anxious as He is preparing many dwelling-places for us (John 14: 1-2). However, Thomas didn’t know the way to those places; then Jesus told him, "I am the way and the truth and the life." (v. 6). Philip also did not know who the Father was. Jesus explained that whoever saw Him had seen the Father because Jesus did not speak from Himself but the Father dwelling in Him who did His work (vv. 8-10). It turned out that Jesus' disciples were only happy to see physical things, but the fact is He brought them to the end – to stay in the Father's house.
Before Jesus spoke of the many dwellings in His Father's house, He washed the feet of His disciples including Judas Iscariot’s. Unfortunately, he used his clean feet to walk to dirty place where he sold his Teacher (John 13:2-5).
God provided a home for us and He wants to tabernacle in our midst. That is the New Jerusalem that descends from Heaven (Revelation 21: 1-3).
We ought to be present where the Tabernacle is. The Tabernacle is not just a worshipping ceremony. Starting from the Gate – the Holy Place – the Most Holy Place, Jesus also begins by saying "I am the way – the truth – life".
Let Jesus tabernacle/dwell in us so that when we face problems, He is ready to help and provide us with victory. And when we are blessed, He is ready to receive praises.
Jesus (the Word) became a perfect example in humility by being human. The Word (God) created Adam and Eve in His image but they fell into sin, so Jesus – the last Adam – came to become man to restore us so that we can be in glory again with Him forever in the New Jerusalem. Amen.