Fr.
Dale Matson
Jesus Christ Son Of God And
Son Of Mary
[Today is also the feast day of the Holy Innocents commemorating the
massacre of the children by King Herod in his attempt to kill the infant Jesus]
The
readings for this year, year B, are appointed for the first Sunday after
Christmas for years A and C as well. That is how important these readings are
that they are used for the entire 3-year lectionary cycle on the first Sunday
after Christmas. The Prologue to the Gospel of John is not just an Anthem. It
serves as core doctrine in the Christian faith. The Prologue describes both the
human and divine natures of Christ. The doctrine of the two natures of Christ
in one person is as important as the doctrine of the Trinity. What the
Athanasian Creed is to the doctrine of the Trinity, the Council of Chalcedon is
to the divine and human natures of Christ. Let’s take a closer look at the
Prologue.
Let me
unpack the Prologue further
Verses 1-3 tell of the Deity and Eternity
of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of John begins the same as the
book of Genesis begins.
“In
the beginning”
From
the very beginning Jesus Christ the Word of God was with the Father and the
Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the Word of
God and is God. He is not just a god He
is God. He is the Word of God meaning;
He is God’s expression of Himself. To
the Greeks He is the logos; the rational principle that governs all things in
the universe. To the Jews He is the
logos that comes from God to fulfill his purpose in and for the world. The logos was the word God used to create and
govern the universe. God spoke the universe into existence. (And God said…)
Although
Christ is primarily seen as redeemer and savior of humankind, He also
participated in the work of the Father as a co-creator. Christ can offer life because He is life. He is perfect life and He offered that life
as a ransom for many including you and me.
For the Jews of the Old Testament the law of God, the word of God and
life are essentially the same thing.
Verses 4-13 tell us Jesus Christ is the
light of the world.
He is the spiritual illumination for a world
in darkness. Darkness cannot overcome
the light. He reveals God’s plan of
salvation, the meaning of human existence and the destiny of humankind. He
reveals the truth and it makes us free.
He reveals our own heart to us so that we may know ourselves as we are
known by Him. He is the light at the end
of the tunnel. He is our hope. We cling to his precious name for ultimately
that is the only name and the only hope we have.
John
the Baptist was sent ahead by God to prepare the way of Salvation. He was a prophet and he was a light. We were to believe in Jesus Christ through
the witness of John but John was not the light of the world. He was a
light in the world. We too like
John the Baptist can be a light in the world.
Christ
came into the world that He had made and His creation did not recognize its own
creator. He came to His own people and
they rejected Him. He comes to us and
like Peter, we also at times deny Him.
Forgive us Lord.
We who
believe in his name are born both of water and from above. We are given eternal life in Him. To say that we believe in his name is to say
that Jesus the Christ is who he says he is.
He is the Son of man and the only begotten Son of God. He is the Lamb of God slain from the
foundation of the world, and the Alpha and Omega. He is the eternal “I AM” and we have given
ourselves completely to Him. He is all
and in all. Praise God, we are His!
Verses 14-18 tell us He is the
Incarnation.
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We
have seen his glory, the glory of the One and only, who came from the Father,
full of grace and truth. This verse
expresses the mystery and the fact that Jesus Christ was both God and man. He was God in the flesh.
The biggest mystery
in Christianity is the Incarnation. How and why did God become a man? How could
Christ be fully God and fully human? To be fully human, the genetic material that
made up Jesus had to come from Mary also. Mary was chosen by God not just to
contain and deliver Jesus into this world, but also to contribute genetically
and behaviorally to who Jesus would become. Jesus would be the Son of God but
He would also be his mother’s Son. And, I would say to know the human nature of
Jesus better, look at Mary’s attributes. I believe that God chose her not only
because she was a virgin but it would also mean both a miraculous birth and one
that was prophesied in the Old Testament. She also had the disposition and
characteristics that would help Jesus, as he developed into a man. Only Mary had the ‘right stuff’ as we would
say today. Son of God and Son of Mary. Jesus Christ is not ‘like’ God He is
God. Jesus Christ is not ‘like’ humans He is human. In fact, while Eve was our
biological mother, Mary is our spiritual mother. Mary would become the new Eve.
Eve was the mother of all humans after the flesh but Mary is the spiritual
mother of all those who are in Christ. Revelations, states, “Then the dragon
was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her
offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to
Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.” (12:17). Christ was a human without sin. He was a
perfect human.
We say in the Nicene Creed,
“We believe in
one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.”
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.”
Much
of the Christology that we confess in the creed came from John’s Gospel.
John
the Baptist said that Christ ranked ahead of him because he existed before
him. Indeed Jesus Himself claimed he
existed even before Abraham. “The Jews
therefore said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen
Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before
Abraham was born, I am." Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him;
but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple. (John 8:57-59).
The Jews
knew that Jesus was saying that he was God.
"Christ
was so full of Grace that we have received one blessing piled upon
another. Although Moses gave us the Law,
Christ the new Moses gave us grace and truth."
Here John is saying that the Law told us what we must do to measure up
to God’s standards. This was a task that
was impossible for any and all humans. Christ through grace by faith has satisfied
the Law for us and put us right with God.
Although
no one has seen God, Christ, through his life, death and resurrection has shown
us the Father. Jesus said to Phillip,
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father,
but through Me. If you had known me, you would have known My Father also; from
now on you know Him, and have seen Him." Philip said to Him, "Lord,
show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him,
"Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me,
Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the
Father'?" (John 14:6-9). In
Christ, God has revealed Himself to the world.
In
Genesis (2:7) it states, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living being.
St.
John tells us later on in his gospel why he recorded the events. “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the
presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life
(Zoe) in his name.” ((20:31-32).
The nations shall see your vindication,
And all the kings your glory;
And you shall be called by a new name
That the mouth of the LORD
will give.
(Isaiah 61)
In the Book of Acts it states, “Then know this, you and all the
people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom
you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before
you healed. He is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.' Salvation is found in no one else, for there
is no other name under heaven given to men by whom we must be saved."
(Acts 4:10-12).
So why is it so important that Christ be both God and man. We
could not trust in the glorious promises
of Christ the man that He would come and live with us and that we would live
forever with Him in eternity if He were not God. We could not identify with and model our lives after a God who was not also a man? He suffered,
died and was buried and we shall all experience this too. He arose from the
grave ascended to the Father in Heaven and this is our hope as we live by faith
in Him. Amen