1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2He was in the beginning with God.

3All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The Witness John
6There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.

8He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

9There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

10He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

11He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.

12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’”

16For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

17For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

18No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

This has always been one of my favorite passages of scripture. It’s always so cool how it mirrors Genisis 1:1 by starting with “In the beginning,”. That first verse alone says so much, calling Jesus God and pointing toward the idea that we call The Trinity. It’s a beautiful setup for the rest of the chapter. Of course, the first John talked about is not the John that wrote the gospel of John, but John the Baptist. But then of course he starts talking about Jesus again, refering to him as “the light”. The image of “the Word becoming flesh” really excites me. I often read part of this at Christmas. That’s what Christmas is all about, of course. That’s what John is about, really; The Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. You get a little thrill, don’t you?