A Study of John's Gospel

John 1:9-11: The True Light Rejected by the World

A study of John 1:9-11

"The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him."

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-True: "alēthinos", "ἀληθινός"; adjective - opposed to what is imperfect, defective, frail, uncertain, used without adjunct of Jesus as the true Messiah.

-Light: "phōs", "φῶς"; neuter noun - is used to denote truth and its knowledge, together with the spiritual purity congruous with it; especially the saving truth embodied in Christ and by his love and effort imparted to mankind; in a pre-eminent sense is Jesus the Messiah called φῶς (light).

-World: "kosmos", "κόσμος"; masculine noun - particularly the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human race; to make its appearance or come into existence among men, spoken of the light which in Christ shone upon men, to dwell among men.

-Gives Light (enlightens): "phōtizō", "φωτίζω"; verb - by a use only Biblical and ecclesiastical, to enlighten spiritually, imbue with saving knowledge.

-Know: "ginōskō", "γινώσκω"; According to John's usage, denotes to come to know, to know, his Messianic dignity (John 17:3; John 6:69); his divinity (1 John 2:13f cf. John 1:10), his consummate kindness toward us, and the benefits redounding to us from fellowship with him.

-His Own: "idios", "ἴδιος"; adjective - of what pertains to one's property, family, dwelling, country, etc.; one's own people, one's fellow-countrymen, associates

-Receive: "paralambanō", "παραλαμβάνω"; verb - Metaphorically, equivalent to "to accept or acknowledge one to be such as he professes to be; not to reject, not to withhold obedience".

Observation/Summary(short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

Jesus Christ, the "True Light," and creator of all things, came into the world. We might expect His arrival to have been met with the pomp and fanfare due the King of creation, but the world, that is, those who inhabit the world, did not know Him. All people are His, and especially Israel who were His chosen people are His, but they did not know or recognize Him as Lord when He came. His own people did not "receive" Him.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

In verses 6-8 of this chapter, John the apostle and writer of this gospel wrote of God sending John the Baptist ahead of Jesus to tell people of His imminent arrival. Many had heard or heard of the teaching of John the Baptist, and John the apostle wanted to make clear what John the Baptist (J the B ) wanted to make clear, which is that he was not the "Light," but came as a witness to bear witness about the Light. To use the words of John 5:35, J the B was merely a lamp, and Jesus is the Light. For emphasis, John writes here that Jesus, the Word, is the "true light, which gives light to everyone." In saying this, John is not saying that Jesus gives light to all in an ultimate saving sense, but that He is the reason anyone at all is born into this world with any knowledge or experience of love, joy, a sense of right and wrong, or consciousness and the ability to reason. Jesus, the Word (verse 1), is the one and only True Light and source of life, goodness, and wisdom, and He gives light to everyone. True light in the ultimate saving sense is available to everyone because He paid the penalty for the sin of the whole world (1 John 2:2), but having been given the light by which we are enabled to reason and make our own choices, many have and will reject Him and His free gift of salvation.

To complete the work required for His free gift of salvation and to make it known, Jesus came into the world as fully God and fully man. He came into the world which He made, but the world did not know Him. This is presented in the text as odd. How is it that the creatures did not recognize their Creator? John tells us this to show how far mankind has fallen. The spiritual sight of mankind has been darkened. Under the curse of sin, darkness clouds the hearts and minds of mankind to the point where we all reject God and rebel, and even deny His very existence unless He shines His light on us in a fresh way to open the eyes of our heart to see Him and behold His glory and majesty. We are all born with a sinful nature, but we are also complicit in this rejection and we will be held accountable unless God Himself enters into our world right now, today, to illuminate our souls in the midst of the darkness of sin's curse, and lead us into the Light.

Verse 11 expands on verse 10 by saying, "He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him." This can also be translated as "His own home." This is likely said to distinguish the nation and people of Israel from the "world" of verse 10. As His chosen people, Israel knew Him, YAHWEH, in a way the other nations of the world did not. God chose to reveal Himself to Israel in a special way, showing love and care to them in a way no other nation had known. Because of this knowledge of God they should have received Him when He came, but they did not. In saying they did not "receive" Him, John is not saying they simply did not "know" Him. "Did not receive" is stronger. The world did not "know" Him, but His people did not "receive" Him. Over the course of His life and ministry His own people, with few exceptions, chose to reject Him even as they came to see who He really was. We know this because in speaking to the Pharisees, the Jewish religious leaders who saw all the evidence of Jesus' Divinity and still handed Him to the Romans to be crucified, Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would have no guilt, but now that you say, 'We see,' your guilt remains." (John 9:35).

His people, certainly the leaders of His people who knew and studied the Old Testament law and prophecies, had every opportunity to see and acknowledge Him as God. They had the prophets and could have honestly admitted that Jesus fulfilled hundreds of prophecies, given hundreds of years or more before His coming, but instead they chose to cover their eyes and ears and reject Him. They knew Him when He came, revealed Himself and performed many miraculous signs, but they chose to reject Him and hand Him over to be murdered. He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him as their promised Messiah. Instead they despised Him and sent Him to the cross. This was not done out of ignorance, but rather, willful rebellion.

There is a somber tone to the writing of John here, and it has been increasing in severity with each statement. First we read of the eternally existent "Word," and the "Light" who created and breathed life into all things. Then we read of how He entered the world, but the world did not know Him. Next, moving on from the cold world that knew Him not, He came to "His own", but even His own people did not receive Him. We may have expected coldness from the world, but even in going to His own people He received none of the warmth and love due Him. This is a tragedy John is describing. How did mankind fall from the lofty height from which it was first created? To have been made and enlightened by the Creator, but then to fall so far as to either not even recognize Him or willfully reject Him is tragic.

Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

From this passage we learn of the tendency of mankind to either not recognize God for who He is, or to willfully reject Him even when He has been identified because of our sinful nature. For this reason we need to rely on God to give us the ability and desire to know Him and receive Him. It is only by a work of His Holy Spirit that minds and hearts darkened by sin can be illuminated with His light to know and receive Him. This should cause us to witness faithfully and graciously as witnesses who carry the light of Christ within us. As we do so we must also pray for God the Holy Spirit to show Himself to those we witness to and grant them repentance and belief in Him. More than that, knowing that in our sinful nature we are not capable of knowing or receiving God, we should give thanks to God everyday for shining His light on us, saving us, and forgiving us for our rejection of Him. We are born into darkness, but by God's grace, through faith, we can all be brought from darkness to Light.

Self Reflection:

Have I received Jesus?

Have I failed to welcome Jesus into any part of my heart?

How can I grow in living as one of God's redeemed people?

#TheTrueLight #receivejesus #peace #love #faith