Made Him Known

Day Twenty Four                   

Made Him Known                 

John 1:15-18

Let’s say that you have a piece of information. It doesn’t really matter how it came into your possession. Perhaps you just happened to be in a certain place at a certain time and you saw something. You were just getting out of your car when you saw an envelope being exchanged between a known criminal and a respected official. Or, you were helping out at an election when you saw something that made you pay attention. It need not have been a bad thing. Maybe you saw a situation that could have turned ugly that was redeemed by a selfless act. Whatever it was, you saw something; you now possess important information. You must decide what you are going to do with it.

John tells us that we have seen something absolutely priceless in Jesus. We have been given insight into the nature of God. It wasn’t something that we saw by accident, either. God deliberately revealed His glory to us in the person of His Son. When the Word became flesh and we “beheld” His glory, we came into information that changed us. Now, we must decide what we are going to do with it.

In verses 17-18, John explains, further, that though the Law had been given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. He goes on to say that the unseen God has finally been revealed in God’s only Son, that God has “made Him known.” The word he uses is well known to every serious student of the Bible. “Exegesis” means the method by which the text is amplified and explained. Every good Bible study involves exegesis. The teacher “opens” the Word in such a way as to make it relevant and intelligible. As we study the Bible, through exegesis its truths are “made known.”

John says that Jesus came in order to make the Father known. Jesus is the exegesis of the Father; He is the exposition of the hidden truth about God. As we read about Jesus, our eyes are opened to the mysteries that once evaded us. As we look at Him, we see the nature and name of God. This should not surprise us. Jesus is the only Son of God; He has been at the Father’s side from the beginning; He has unique authority to reveal the Father. We have seen His glory.

Now, just as Christ, the Word, made known His Father’s heart, we have the responsibility to make Him known. We have seen something. We cannot “unsee” what has been revealed to us. We have a responsibility. We must share what we have seen. We cannot keep it to ourselves. This was not a private revelation intended for us alone. If the Child in the manger is who He claims to be, we dare not stay silent.

Lord God, You have opened my eyes. I’m dazzled by the light, but I’m grateful for it. I am no longer blind; at last I can see. But, having seen, I know that I must speak. Open my lips, just as You have opened my eyes. May I live to speak Your praise and to bear faithful witness to Your Son. For His name’s sake. Amen.