The Feasts of John

Chapter 1

In the Beginning

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

and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him;

and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and

the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the

darkness comprehended it not.” (John 1:1–5 KJV)

John begins his gospel with what I consider to be the most beautiful language ever written. This short passage spans centuries as John blends the beginning of creation into the days in which he lived. In these words are stored vast amounts of the knowledge and the wisdom of God. The very first words in John’s gospel are “In the beginning,” (John 1:1). These are also the first words of the book of Genesis. It is apparent that John was not comparing the Word to Jesus but saying that Jesus is the Word. The Word was with God, but at the same time, the Word was God from the beginning. We know John is writing about Jesus because he also says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).This is the way John introduces Jesus to the reader and is only one of the mysteries of God addressed in John’s gospel.

The concept that Jesus is God, or that Jesus and God are separate, has been debated for centuries. They are separate yet inseparable, not one or the other but both. It is impossible to comprehend this truth from the natural; it must be spiritually discerned. Jesus sheds light on this subject several times in John’s gospel.

In the beginning, it was the Word that created all things by the will of the Father. It was Jesus who brought the will of the Father to Earth and performed it for all to see and hear, one Word and one body. Paul said it like this: “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9 KJV).

John said, in Him was life, and the light shined in the darkness (John 1:4–5). Jesus said, “I am the light” (John 8:12). He also said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). In these verses there are mysteries unfolding, which must be spiritually discerned. John doesn’t leave us to figure this out on our own. Jesus explains these mysteries later in John’s gospel, and He does so at the feast times. After we get a better understanding of what these feasts mean, the truths in God’s Word become clearer, and we can see that the entire Bible is focused on Jesus.

The major theme of this book will coincide with the three feast seasons, which contain seven separate feasts. These feast seasons are mentioned throughout John’s gospel for a reason, and in this first chapter, John prepares the reader for what is to come.

6 “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light,

that all men through him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness

of that Light.” (John 1:6–8 KJV)

In these verses, the apostle John was writing about John the Baptist, the one who came before Jesus to prepare the way for Him. John said that he was not the Light but that the one who was the Light would come shortly, and that He (Jesus) would be the one who people should believe in.

9 “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him,

and the world knew him not.

11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the

sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of

the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:9–13 KJV)

Jesus came as the true Light of God. He walked the earth bringing a message to humanity that would shed light on the will of God. He came in the form of a Jewish man who fulfilled all the prophecies of the Messiah from the old covenant, and although many Jewish people did believe, the nation of Israel as a whole did not.

John’s first reference of the born-again experience is found in verse thirteen. God’s children are not born by blood, or flesh, or the will of man, but by God. God is a Spirit; therefore His children are born of the Spirit. This is the will of God. People of any race or nationality are children of God when they believe in the Son of God.

14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,

(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of

the Father,) full of grace and truth.

15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying,

This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred

before me: for he was before me.

16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

17 For the law was given by Moses,

but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son,

which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

(John 1:14–18 KJV)

The Word, the Life and the Light of God was made flesh, and He lived with glory and grace among men. The mystery concerning who Jesus is begins to unfold when the apostle John describes Jesus as the only begotten of the Father. This phrase is only used to describe Jesus, for He is the only person ever born in this manner.

“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come

upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:

therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be

called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35 KJV)