Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
SOLEMNITY OF THE CHRIST MASS (Cycles ABC)
Readings:
Isaiah 52:7-10
Psalm 98:1-6
Hebrews 1:1-6
John 1:1-18
Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), RSVCE (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh).
The two Testaments reveal God's divine plan for humanity, which is why we read and relive the events of salvation history contained in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of Readings ~ Share the Good News with Great Joy
Our God is not a distant "watchmaker" type of god, nor is He
an impersonal "super-ego" that permeates the universe. Our LORD is righteous
and just with a divine plan for humanity's salvation, and He wants a personal
relationship with each of us. God possesses a powerful name that He revealed to
our first parents (Gen 4:1), to Abraham (Gen 15:1), and the prophets like Moses
when He told him, YHWH, "I AM WHO I AM" (Ex 3:14-15). God ordained the ritual
of divine worship for His people in the desert Tabernacle and later the Jerusalem
Temple. He accomplished this through an ordained priesthood with vestments, the
burning of incense, an altar for offering sacrifice in atonement and sanctification,
and establishing communion with Him in a sacred meal of thanksgiving. All of
these are part of His self-expression to create a unique bond with His covenant
people that culminates in the appearance of the Davidic Messiah, Jesus son of
Mary and Son of God; He who is "the greater and more perfect tabernacle"
(Heb 9:11).
In celebrating the Feast of the Christ-Mass, we remember the hinge upon which all of salvation history turns when God revealed Himself in Jesus of Nazareth. He came to us fully human and divine, bearing the exact imprint of God's divine nature (Heb 8:5, 13). CCC 464 tells us: "The unique and altogether singular event of the Incarnation of the Son of God does not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part men, nor does it imply that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and the human. He became truly man while remaining truly God. Jesus Christ is true God and true man. During the first centuries, the Church had to defend and clarify this truth of faith against the heresies that falsified it." He came to humanity in need of salvation from sin and death, longing for a loving, sacred union with humanity. He demonstrated His love in His willingness to offer Himself as a sacrifice so that we might be forgiven our sins to live with God for eternity.
In the First Reading, the 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah proclaimed a prophecy of salvation and restoration for the covenant people after enduring seventy years of captivity in Babylon. The prophet foretold the return of the Jews from exile, but he also spoke in the prophetic sense of a greater salvation event. Isaiah prophetically described the future coming of Jesus Christ the King into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, proclaiming the "good news" of His Gospel of salvation. Jesus is the Lord coming as the King of kings, heralded by God's divine messenger St. John the Baptist. The liberation would not be from the oppression of foreign governments but a victory over sin and death!
The Responsorial Psalm presents a picture of God as a warrior king whose marvelous deeds have brought His people victory. Just as He saved His people during the Exodus liberation, He will rescue them back from the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles, where they were God's "lost sheep," scattered among the Gentile nations. In addition, the psalmist also foretells the coming of universal salvation. It was an event not realized in the ages of the Old Testament but promised and brought about through the marvelous works of Jesus, the Messiah, and the Davidic King.
In anticipation of this promise of universal salvation, the people of God are encouraged to sing "a new song" that St. John heard when he entered the heavenly Sanctuary in the Book of Revelation. In his vision, St. John saw the saints and angels worshiping at the throne of God, and he heard a "new song" amid the heavenly liturgy of worship. We sing the "new song" in our New Covenant liturgy of worship with hymns announcing that Christ the King redeems the earth and extends the gift of salvation to all people who believe in His name. We joyously sing the "new song" in today's liturgy during the feast commemorating the birth of the King of kings.
The Second Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews announces the pre-existence of Jesus before creation and affirms that He is the eternal Son, the "Firstborn" begotten in the image of God. Our reading is similar to what St. John wrote in his Gospel prologue about the pre-existence of Christ. It also recalls what St. Paul wrote in his Letter to the Colossians concerning the eternal Son begotten before the beginning of time in the image of God the Father: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth (Col 1:15-16).
Our Gospel Reading is from the beautiful hymn that comprises the opening 18 verses of the prologue of John's Gospel and introduces the main themes of the 4th Gospel, much like an overture sets the musical theme for a symphony. St. John's Prologue tells us we can only receive the revelation of God the Father from God the Son. The Roman Catholic Church affirms this revelation in the Vatican II document Dei Verbum 2: "The most intimate truth which this revelation gives us about God and the salvation of man shines forth in Christ, who is himself both the mediator and the sum of Divine Revelation." There is no greater revelation God could give us of Himself than the Incarnation of the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ!
In his Letter to the Romans, St. Paul urged Christians to continue the work of Jesus Christ in preaching the "good news" of salvation to fallen humanity. St. Paul wrote: And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!" But not everyone has heeded the good news; for Isaiah says, "Lord, who had believed what was heard from us?" Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ" (Rom 11:14B-17). Today we remember the coming of Christ the King into the world. However, we must also not forget that His mission of salvation is ongoing. We, His disciples of the present generation, are His messengers of salvation to the world in this final Age between His First and Second Advent!
The First Reading Isaiah 52:7-10 ~ Your God is King!
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him
who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation,
and saying to Zion, "Your God is King!" 8 Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry,
together they shout for joy, for they see directly, before their eyes, the LORD
restoring Zion. 9 Break out together in song, O ruins of Jerusalem! For the
LORD comforts his people, he redeems Jerusalem. 10 The LORD has bared his holy
arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will behold the
salvation of our God.
The 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah proclaimed a prophecy of salvation and restoration for the people of God after they endured seventy years of captivity in Babylon. He told them that their freedom was coming (verses 1-2), just as God previously set the Israelites free from Egyptian bondage. In their liberation, they would acknowledge no other god but Yahweh (verses 3-6). In verses 7-10, the prophet told the covenant people that their salvation was so near that it had reached the gates of Zion (Jerusalem), and its herald was the messenger "who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion, 'Your God is King!'" The promised messenger would proclaim that the Lord is returning to His holy city like a victorious king. When the Divine King and His people enter Jerusalem, there will be a procession where the people sing songs of joy, extolling the salvation and spiritual restoration Yahweh brings, a future event that all nations will witness (verse 10).
The prophet Isaiah was foretelling the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC; however, he was also speaking in the prophetic sense of a future, greater liberation, and salvation event. He prophetically described the coming of Jesus Christ the Redeemer-Messiah and Davidic King into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday as He proclaimed the "good news" of His Gospel of salvation. Isaiah foretold the King of kings future coming in the 1st century AD to His holy city, heralded by God's divine messenger St. John the Baptist. However, the liberation would not be from the oppression of foreign governments but freedom from humanity's greater enemy: sin and death!
St. Paul would quote Isaiah 52:7 from this reading and Isaiah 53:1 in Romans 10:15 as he urged Christians to continue the work of Jesus Christ in preaching the "good news" of salvation to fallen humanity. St. Paul wrote: And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!" But not everyone has heeded the good news; for Isaiah says, "Lord, who had believed what was heard from us?" Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ (Rom 11:14-17). Today we celebrate the coming of Christ the King into the world at His birth, but we must also remember that His salvation mission is ongoing. We, His disciples of the present generation, are His messengers of salvation to the world in this Final Age between His First and Second Advent!
Responsorial Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6 ~ Sing a New Song
to the LORD Our King
The response is: "All the ends of the earth have seen the
saving power of God."
1 Sing to the LORD a new song, for he had done wondrous
deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm.
Response:
2 The LORD has made his salvation known: in the sight of
the nations, he has revealed his justice. 3 He has remembered his kindness and
his faithfulness toward the house of Israel.
Response:
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our
God. 4 Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; break into song; sing praise.
Response:
5 Sing praise to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and
melodious song. 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn, sing joyfully before
the King, the LORD.
Response:
Psalm 98 presents Yahweh [LORD] as a warrior king whose marvelous deeds have brought victory to His people. He saved them during the Exodus liberation and promised to bring them back from the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles, where they were God's "lost sheep" scattered among the Gentile nations. The power of God's "arm" (verse 1) is a poetic way of expressing God's awesome power, imagery that appears in the Book of Exodus and is repeated by the prophets (i.e., Ex 6:6; 15:16; Dt 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 9:28; Is 40:10; 51:5, 9, etc.). God remains faithful to His covenant with Israel (verse 3), and all the nations witnessed His good deeds for His people (verse 2).
In verses 2-6, the psalmist refers to the promise of universal salvation, which was not realized in the Old Testament but promised and brought about through Christ the King's marvelous works. In anticipation of this promise of universal salvation, the people of God are encouraged to sing "a new song." St. John heard the "new song" when, in a vision, he entered into the heavenly Sanctuary in the Book of Revelation. St. John saw the saints and angels worshiping at the throne of God: Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones. They sang a new hymn (Rev 5:9). Later, John heard that They were singing what seemed to be a new hymn before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders (Rev 14:3); it was a "new song" amid the heavenly liturgy of worship. We sing the "new song" in our New Covenant liturgy of worship when the community of the faithful proclaims in one voice that Christ the King redeems the earth and extends the gift of salvation to all people who believe in His name. We sing the "new song" in today's liturgy on the remembrance feast of the Nativity of the King of kings.
The Second Reading Hebrews 1:1-6 ~ God Speaks to Us
Through Jesus the Christ
1 In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to
our ancestors through the prophets; 2 in these last days, he has spoken to us through
the Son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe,
3 who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being, and who
sustains all things by his mighty word. When he had accomplished purification
from sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 as far superior
to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For
to which of the angels did God ever say: You are my son; this day I have
begotten you? Or again: I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to
me? 6 And again, when he leads the firstborn into the world, he says: Let all
the angels of God worship him.
The introductory verses to the Letter to the Hebrews begin with no greeting or expression of thanksgiving typically found in the other New Testament letters. Like the Gospel of John prologue, the opening verses of the Letter to the Hebrews immediately address the main subject of the letter/discourse: God the Son's eternal sonship, His pre-existence before creation, and His role as the promised Redeemer. The inspired writer's opening compares God's interaction with humanity in "times past" with His interaction in "these last days," referring to the present Messianic Age.
In our Gospel reading, St. John moves from the pre-existence of Christ before creation to the writer's present (or near past) time with the introduction of John the Baptist, whose mission was to announce the coming of the Messiah. However, the Letter to the Hebrews moves from the writer's present time, expressed as "the final days," to the startling announcement of the pre-existence of God the Son through whom the cosmos came into being.
Verses 1-4 reveal the mission, divine nature, and power of God the Son. The Letter to the Hebrews not only proclaims the pre-existence of Jesus before creation but also affirms that He is the eternal Son, the "Firstborn" begotten in the image of God. The letter's text does not identify the writer, but many ancient and modern scholars believe he is St. Paul. On his last visit to Jerusalem, he delivered a homily to the church that was probably copied and sent to Jewish-Christian faith communities throughout the Middle East. This passage is similar to what St. Paul wrote about the pre-existence of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, before the beginning of time, begotten in the image of God the Father, in his letter to the Colossians: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth (Col 1:15-16).
3 who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of
his being, and who sustains all things by his mighty word. When he had
accomplished purification from sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the
Majesty on high, 4 as
far superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than
theirs.
In the first sentence of the address (the first four verses
in the English translation), the inspired writer establishes the superiority of
God the Son:
Because of His superiority, God the Father exalted God the Son as an offering for purifying the sins of humanity and conquering death's power over members of the human family.
Having announced God the Son's superiority over the angels, the inspired writer continues by offering proof from passages of Old Testament Sacred Scripture. He illustrates the continuity between God's revelation in the past and the climax of God's revelation to humanity in the Son. Because of His victories over sin and death, the Son has taken His place "at the right hand" of God (verse 3), the position of power and authority and from where the Son rules as King of all the nations of the earth. Notice that the inspired writer has not mentioned Jesus's name in his opening remarks but only identifies Him by the title "Son." The writer of Hebrews will not mention the human name of God enfleshed until Hebrews 2:9, but the writer does not doubt that his audience has identified "the Son" as Jesus of Nazareth. The content suggests that the inspired writer delivered this homily to those already instructed or made aware of the doctrine of salvation of the New Covenant in Christ Jesus.
In declaring that the Son enjoys the privilege of being seated at the "right hand" of God, the inspired writer evokes in his audience the connection to the Messianic psalm of King David in Psalm 110. It is the basis of one of the central themes of the Letter to the Hebrews discourse: The LORD [YHWH] declared to my Lord (Adonai), "Take your throne at my right hand, while I make your enemies your footstool. The scepter of your sovereign might the LORD [YHWH] will extend from Zion. The LORD [YHWH] says: "Rule over your enemies! Yours is princely power from the day of your birth. In holy splendor before the daystar, like the dew I begot you." The LORD [YHWH] has sworn and will not waver: "Like Melchizedek, you are a priest forever" (Ps 110:1-4; brackets indicate the Hebrew text from the Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English, Vol. III). Jesus announced that David wrote prophetically about Him and not about a human son in the Gospel of Luke 20:41-44. St. Peter also identified David as a prophet (Acts 2:29-31).
Hebrews 1:4 mentions Christ's superiority over the angles: 4 as far superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. Jesus is called the "Son of God," and angels were called "sons of God" (see Ps 29:1; 82:1; 89:6; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7), as were the kings of Israel/Judah of the line of David (2 Sam 7:14; 1 Chr 17:13) as part of God's covenant promise to David. Jesus ranks above all these other "sons" who are creatures of God's Creation. He ranks above the angels, who are God's "messengers" (angelos = "messenger" in Greek, and malach or mal'ak in Hebrew). Angels are spirits created by God who serve Him, but the Son is superior to the angels in their sonship as spirits because He is the only begotten (not created) "firstborn" Son. The "firstborn" was a title indicating the heir who received the double portion of his father's inheritance.
In his dissertation entitled Kinship by Covenant: A Biblical Theological Study of Covenant Types and Texts in the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Scott Hahn wrote on page 498: "The distinctive meaning of the 'Name,' as well as the singularity of Christ's divine sonship are thus clearly specified in terms of his divine primogeniture: i.e., as the younger sons are under the firstborn, so are the angels subordinate (vv. 5-6) and inferior (vv. 7-12) to Christ." In the cultural laws of primogeniture, the firstborn son received a "double portion" of the inheritance both materially and spiritually in the form of the father's blessing (see Gen 27:18-36). The younger sons were bound to acknowledge the firstborn son's status and authority over the extended family. The "younger" sons served the "firstborn" son, just as the angels serve Christ.
Angels were intimately involved in the Annunciation, Incarnation, birth of Jesus Christ, and the formation of the New Covenant:
Hebrews 1:4 also announces a connection between the Son of God's superiority and His name. The introduction of the theme of the superiority of the name of Jesus over the angels in Hebrews 1:4 leads us to ask the significance of His name and how it certifies His authority over the angels. The intent in evoking the superiority of Jesus's name cannot be limited to His title as "Son" since angels and men, like the children of Israel and the Davidic kings, were also called "sons." Whenever there is a mention of one's "name" in Scripture, the reference is to the entire person: to the very essence of what that person is in thought, word, deed, and desire. To "believe in the name of Jesus" is to believe everything He taught, to believe everything He did, and to be willing to obey everything He commanded.
Our salvation depends on our willingness to "believe in His name," as St. Peter preached in Acts 4:12 when he said: There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved. The human name which Jesus bears, as commanded by the angel Gabriel in Luke 1:31-32 when announcing the exalted status of Mary's child, is in Aramaic Yehoshua (Joshua) or proto-Hebrew, Yah'shua/Yahshua, which means "God saves/God is salvation" or more literally "I save" (Jesus is the English rendering of the Greek Iesous). His name reflects His mission and destiny, as an angel told Joseph: "She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1:21).
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say: You are my
son; this day I have begotten you? Or again: I will be a father to him, and he
shall be a son to me? 6 And again, when he leads the firstborn into the world,
he says: Let all the angels of God worship him.
Jesus's designation as "Firstborn Son" is why the angels
must worship Him. In Hebrews 1:5-13, the inspired writer offers proof
from Sacred Scripture, which in his time was the Old Testament, to support his
identification of the Son as God's divine heir and the claims he has made that
it is the divine Son who ranks above the angels.
There are seven passages with eight Old Testament quotes in Hebrews 1:5-13. However, only three Old Testament references are included in our reading (bold type indicates the portion of the passage quoted in Hebrews).
| LXX Old Testament Passages Quoted in Hebrews 1:5-6 |
| 1. Psalm 2:7-8 ~ I will proclaim the decree of Yahweh: He said to me, 'You are my son, today have I begotten you. Ask of me, and I shall give you the nations as your birthright, the whole wide world as your possession. |
| 2. 2 Samuel 7:14-16a ~ I shall be a father to him and h a son to me; if he does wrong, I shall punish him with a rod such as men use, with blows such as mankind gives. But my faithful love will never be withdrawn from him as I withdrew it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your throne and your sovereignty will ever stand firm before me, and your throne be forever secure. |
| 3. Deuteronomy 32:43 ~ Exult with him, you heavens, all you sons of God worship him; for he avenges the blood of his servants and purifies his people's land. |
All the Scripture passages quoted in the Letter to the Hebrews are from the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint. In the lesson, these quotations from the Greek translation of the Old Testament are designated by the symbol LXX. All eight quotes in Hebrews 1:5-13 are from the LXX.
In quoting each of these passages as part of the rhetorical question: to which of the angels did God ever say, the inspired writer expects his audience to answer in the negative. He expects them to recall the context of these Biblical passages, affirming that God never called any of His ministering spirits His "son." Scripture uses the title "sons of God" for:
However, more importantly, the expression "sons of God" for angels only appears collectively. A single angel is never referred to as "a son of God" in the singular.
This designation "son/sons of God" refers to the line of Davidic heirs (2 Sam 7:14). It also refers collectively to those who lived within God's covenant family as the children of Israel and "sons of God" as the elect blessed with the intimacy of a relationship with (see Hos 1:10/2:2; Wis 5:5; Rom 8:14, 19).
Hebrews 1:5b quotes Psalms 2:7, You are my Son, this day I have begotten you (LXX). The context of the quote from Psalm 2:7 from the Greek Septuagint is God's Son inheriting authority over the nations of the earth. The Apostles and disciples of the New Covenant faith community in Jerusalem quoted Psalm 2:1-2 in Acts 4:25-26 and proclaimed the fulfillment of this psalm's prophecy in Jesus. The Christian community prayed: This is what has come true: in this very city Herod and Pontius Pilate plotted together with the Gentile nations and the peoples of Israel, against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, to bring about the very thing that you in your strength and your wisdom had predetermined should happen (Acts 4:27-28). The Book of Acts records, As they prayed, the house where they were assembled rocked, and from that time forward, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God fearlessly (4:31).
Later in Acts 13:32-37, St. Paul, in preaching to the Jews in the Synagogue in Antioch, Pisidia, quotes from this same Psalm 2 LXX passage and couples it with Psalm 16:10 LXX, saying: We have come here to tell you the good news that the promise made to our ancestors has come about. God has fulfilled it to their children by raising Jesus from the dead. As Scripture says in the psalms: You are my son, today I have fathered you. The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to return to corruption, is no more than what he had declared: "To you I shall give the holy things promised to David which can be relied upon." The claim made by the inspired writer in Hebrews 1:2 supports the quotation from Psalms 2:7, which declares the Son to be the "heir" of all things in creation, which includes the nations of the earth.
None of David's descendants who were kings of Israel (or Judah) ever attained a universal reign over all the Gentile nations. This prophecy was only fulfilled in David's descendant Jesus of Nazareth, who, upon His Ascension to the heavenly Kingdom, assumed kingship over all nations of the earth and rightly received the title "King of kings and Lord of lords." St. Paul affirmed this in his letter to St. Timothy, charging him to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ that the blessed and only ruler will make manifest at the proper time, the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim 6:14-15). We must not miss the point that Jesus's sonship is eternal and not dateable within human history. The central theme of St. John's Gospel is that Jesus is the eternal Son begotten by God the Father. However, the inspired writer of Hebrews uses the Greek word gennao, "begotten," or "fathered," while St. John uses the more specific Greek word "only-begotten," monogene.
The writer of Hebrews quotes 2 Samuel 7:14 in Hebrews 1:5c ~ I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. The context of this LXX translation of Sacred Scripture from 2 Samuel 7:14 is the prophet Nathan's prophecy given to King David. In that prophecy, Yahweh formed an unconditional covenant with David that promised his dynasty would be established and his throne secure forever! This eternal covenant is similar to the unconditional covenant made with David's ancestor Abraham in which God promised Abraham descendants, a kingdom, and a worldwide blessing. These were covenantal blessings that were ultimately fulfilled in David's descendant Jesus of Nazareth (see Gen 12:1-3; Lk 1:32-33; Jn 7:42; Acts 13:23; etc.), and in the inheritance that all New Covenant believers receive as co-heirs with Christ (see 2 Cor 6:18; Rev 21:7).
Notice that the Scripture quotations that the inspired writer used as proofs of what he introduced in the first four verses also follow the structure of those verses:
He completes the structure with the Old Testament quotations that support that claim in 1:7b-13.
Deuteronomy 32:43 quoted in Hebrews 1:6b ~ Let all
the angels of God worship him (give him worship)
The quote in Hebrews 1:6 corresponds exactly to Deuteronomy 32:43
in the LXX, except verse 6 has "angels of God" instead of "sons of God." The
inspired writer may have been using a translation of the Old Testament that had
"angels of God," or he may have interpreted the passage in Deuteronomy to mean
"angels" and used that translation to support his argument. Introducing the third
quote from Deuteronomy 32:43 (and a possible connection also to the LXX in
Psalm 96:7, which is 97:7 in the NAB and NJB Old Testament), the inspired
writer puts the Scripture passage into the context he wants his audience to
connect with by prefacing the quote with the statement in Hebrews 1:6 ~ And
again, when he [God] leads the firstborn into the world he [God] says:
"Let all the angels of God worship him [Jesus]." It is a statement that
develops the theme of divine begetting and Christ's exalted status as the
divine Firstborn. This status came with special prerogatives in the culture of
the times and, in Jesus's case, as the Resurrected "firstborn" from the dead
assured His exalted position above men and angels.
When did God bring Jesus, the only begotten firstborn Son, "into the world"? What is the significance of the title "firstborn" in His relationship with God the Father and His status as a descendant of King David? Jesus came into the world at the Incarnation when God became enfleshed in the womb of the Virgin Mary (see Lk 1:26-38). As the only-begotten, firstborn Son, Jesus is not only the divine heir but the Davidic heir promised by prophets like Ezekiel:
These prophecies were written four hundred after David's death. As testified to by Matthew and Luke in their genealogies of Jesus of Nazareth, they trace His lineage to King David and farther back in salvation history to Abraham. Abraham's unconditional covenant also finds fulfillment in Jesus through whom all nations of the world are blessed: all the clans of the earth will bless themselves by you (Gen 12:3b; 18:18; 22:18; Gal 3:14; Eph 1:3 NJB).
And then, in driving home his argument that the Son is superior to the angels, the inspired writer asks: Are not all ministering spirits sent to serve, for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? (Heb 1:14, not in our passage). The inspired writer defines the role of angels as ministering or servant status. They are messengers of God, meant to assist Jesus Christ, the Firstborn Son, in His mission to bring salvation to humanity.
The Gospel of John 1:1-18 ~ The Word of God is the True
Light
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things
came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be 4 through
him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; 5 the light shines
in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 A man named John was
sent from God. 7 He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all
might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.
9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He
was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not
know him. 11 He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept
him. 12 But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of
God, to those who believed in his name, 13 who were born not by natural
generation nor by human choice nor by man's decision but of God. 14 And the
Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory
as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified to him
and cried out, saying, "This is he of whom I said, 'The one who is coming after
me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.'" 16 From his fullness we have
all received grace in place of grace, 17 because while the law was given
through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever
seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father's side, has revealed him.
The beautiful hymn comprising the opening 18 verses of the prologue of John's Gospel introduces the main themes of the 4th Gospel, much like an overture sets the musical theme for a symphony. Verses 1-18 reveal seven themes John will develop as the Gospel message unfolds in subsequent chapters:
This series of "sevens" is the first of many in the fourth Gospel. The sum of these seven themes is expressed in Jesus, "the Word," logos in Greek (John 1:1, 9, & 14). Writing in Greek, the international language of his age, St. John defined Jesus as the divine Logos, "the Word." This significant Greek term appears 330 times in the New Testament. However, when specifically applied to the Second Person of the Divine Trinity, it appears only seven times in the New Testament and four times in John's Gospel (Jn 1:1 three times, and 1:14; also 2 Tim 4:2; 1 Jn 1:1; Rev 9:13).
In the 1st century AD, when St. John wrote his Gospel, the word logos was associated with the order and the design of the universe and with the intelligible expression of the Greek gods as they interacted with and governed humans and creation. But, as so often happens in the New Testament, the inspired New Testament writers, who came from the cultural, ritual, and spiritual traditions of the Old Covenant people of God, used the old Sinai Covenant concepts and traditions to transform Greek words beyond their commonly understood Greek value. For example, no Greek word adequately expressed the Hebrew concept of the Messiah, the "Anointed One" of God. Christians adopted the Greek term for "one smeared (with oil)," christos, and transformed it to mean the promised "Messiah," the "Anointed One of God" who is God the Son, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Christos (Christ).
In the Old Covenant tradition of the children of Israel, the divine Logos was:
John weaves together Greek and Hebrew thought and concepts to express the Logos/Word as a Divine Person. The Word is the second person of the Most Holy Trinity. He is God the Son, the eternal Logos who was eternally with the Father from the beginning. He is the mediator of all creation and has now, through His Incarnation, become the mediator of eternal salvation:
John 1:1-2 ~ In the beginning was the Word: the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the
beginning (emphasis added).
Not only does the prologue identify Jesus as the "Divine
Logos," but St. John also provides the first and most explicit declaration of
the deity of Jesus the Messiah, Son of God. With these opening words and the significant
three times repetition of "the Word," St. John traces the origin of "the Word"
backward into eternity to where God the Son was present with God the Father
before time as we know it began. It is what Jesus expressed in His High
Priestly prayer at the Last Supper in John 17:5 when He said: "Now glorify me,
Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began."
In these opening verses of John's Gospel, he teaches the Church that
time, the universe, and the earth, created through the Word of God, will now be
renewed through the same Word who has come in the flesh: Jesus the Christ!
John 1:1 and Genesis 1:1 begin with the same wording: In (the) beginning. In the Hebrew text of Genesis and the Greek text of John's Gospel, the definite article "the" is missing. The Greek words that begin St. John's Gospel are literally "in beginning," en arche, while the first Hebrew words of the book of Genesis are also "in beginning," b'reshith in Hebrew. The LXX Old Testament Greek translation was the most popular Old Testament text at the time Jesus walked the earth, and it also begins the Book of Genesis with en arche, "in beginning."
However, the "beginning" in St. John's Gospel is not the same "beginning" described in Genesis. Genesis begins with creation as we know it with In [the] beginning God created, while John's "beginning" is before creation as we know it. The other keywords and imagery that link the Gospel of John 1:1-5 and Genesis 1:1-5 are "light" and "dark." Less obvious is the link between God said in Genesis and the Word in John's Gospel. In the creation narrative of Genesis Chapter 1, the words "God said" are repeated eight times, like the refrain of a hymn (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26).
According to Hebrew tradition, eight is the number of regeneration, redemption, and salvation. In John's Gospel, all those "sayings" of God are brought together in a single WORD: He who is the basis of creation. In linking Christ, the Incarnate Word (the Word made flesh), in John 1:1-5 to Genesis 1:1-5, St. John reveals the theological truth that God the Son was present with God the Father before time and creation began.
The Israelites of the Old Covenant Church recognized God as "Father" in the sense that He is:
However, Jesus revealed that Yahweh is God the Father in a sense hidden from the Church of the old Sinai Covenant. Through Christ, God reveals Himself as "eternally Father" by His relationship to His "only begotten Son." It is because God the Father eternally "fathers" God the Son that He is God the Father (see CCC 240). While the full mystery of the nature of the Most Holy Trinity remained hidden until the coming of the Messiah, the revelation was embedded in Sacred Scripture before the Incarnation, as shown in the connection between Genesis 1:1-3 and John 1:1-5. As the great Catholic theologian and Scripture scholar St. Augustine taught: The New [Testament] is hidden in the Old [Testament], and the Old [Testament] is fulfilled in the New [Testament]. When we study Sacred Scripture, it is important to study with this concept in mind.
and the Word was with God
The theological importance of these words is that they
distinguish God the Son from God the Father. In other words, St. John the
Apostle (who, according to the Church Fathers, is the inspired writer of this
Gospel) tells us that although the Godhead is One Holy and Eternal God, God the
Word and God the Father are not the same Divine Person, even though they
show the same nature in the Most Holy Trinity. It is a concept Jesus refers to
in His High Priestly prayer when He says: "Righteous Father, the world also
does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known
to them your name, and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved
me may be in them and I in them" (Jn 17:25-26).
and the Word was God.
In the Greek text, this phrase is, and God [Theos]
was the Word [Logos]. John only uses the Greek word Logos for the
person of Christ here and in verse 14. If this prologue is the opening "Overture"
of St. John's Gospel symphony, then this is where the cymbals clash with a
deafening sound, and the audience is startled and brought to attention. These
words are the first and most explicit declaration of the divinity of Jesus of
Nazareth in the New Testament. They are the climax of the two preceding
statements, declaring the unity and diversity of the Godhead (also see
John 5:18; 10:29-38; 20:28).
John was not contradicting his previous statement when he distinguished God from "the Word." He is not using the term logos only to signify an attribute of God. Instead, John is identifying a separate person of the Godhead who is at the same time distinct from the Father and yet so intimately related to the Father that He even shares His divine nature: the Word is one in substance [homoousios] with the Father. In 1967, Pope Paul VI designated that year the "Year of Faith." He summed up the identity of the Most Holy Trinity in what is called the Creed of the People of God: "We believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. He is the eternal Word, born of the Father before time began, and one in substance with the Father, homoousios to Patri, and through him all things were made. He was incarnate of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit and made man: equal, therefore, to the Father according to his divinity and inferior to the Father according to his humanity and himself one, not by some impossible confusion of his natures, but by the unity of his person" (Creed of the People of God, n. 11).
There are three dogmas (truths) that the Catholic Church teaches about the Most Holy Trinity:
The theology of John's statement is expressed more clearly in the Catechism in CCC 253-255 concerning the Dogma of the Holy Trinity. A dogma is a truth the Church teaches, which we must believe in order to be Catholic (emphasis added in each citation).
John 1:2 ~ He was with God in the beginning.
The Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity was not "waiting
in the wings" for the right time in salvation history to interact with humanity
and creation. He is co-eternal with the Father. Not only is "the Word"
co-eternal with the Father, but He is eternally in active communion in a
personal relation to God the Father. St. John Chrysostom taught on this unique
relationship between the Father and the Son and creation: "'In the beginning;"
what that means is that he always was and that he is eternal ... For if he is
God, as indeed he is, there is nothing prior to, him; if he is Creator of all
things, then he is the First, if he is Lord of all, then everything comes after
him, created things and time" (Homilies on the Gospel of John, 2.4).
John 1:3-5 ~ All
things came to be through him, and without him, nothing came to be. What came
to be 4 through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race; 5 the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has
not overcome it.
This passage reveals two fundamental truths about "the
Word:" He is "light," and He is "life." The prologue's opening verses show us
that "the Word" is united with and yet distinct from the Father. Now the writer
addresses His relationship with created things. The work of Creation is an
activity that is common to the three divine Persons of the Holy Trinity. The
Church teaches that the Creation is good because the Most Holy Trinity caused it
to come into being. Each part of the Creation event possesses its particular
goodness and perfection. By its nature, nothing God has created is evil (evil
is the complete absence of good). For each one of the works of God, Genesis Chapter
1 recounts that: God saw that it was good seven times (Gen 1:4, 10, 12,
18, 21, 25, and 31 (very good).
We express the belief in God as the author of a "good" Creation in the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene-Constantinople Creed (that we repeat at Mass). The Nicene-Constantinople Creed "summarizes the gift that God gives man as the Author of all that is good; as Redeemer; and as Sanctifier" (CCC 15, emphasis added). The gift that God gives us is good. Would a Father give His children a bad gift? In turn, we cooperate with that gift; for example, by working to harvest the wheat and the grapes to turn them into bread and wine. We give that gift back to Him, and He transforms and returns that gift of "nature" into "super-nature" in the Holy Eucharist. Human beings fall into heresy when they worship the "gift" and not the "Giver" and regard the gift of Creation as evil. The Church, therefore, rejects the heresy of Manichaeism and all other forms of Gnosticism, which propose that God is opposed by another god who is evil or by some element of an evil cosmos (see the document "Heresies Concerning Christ"). As the Council of Florence in the 15th century teaches: "The Church asserts that there is no such thing as a nature of evil because everything in nature insofar as it is of nature is good."
The Church teaches that Creation is an act of divine love. It is good because God created it, and He invested it with a purpose and meaning:
God's plan from before the Creation event is to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Eph 1:10). In the final analysis, Creation is good because it centers on Jesus Christ, "the Word" who came in the flesh to unite all of Creation to Himself: for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth (Col 1:16).
Returning to John 1:5 ~ the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There is a contrast symbolized in the light and darkness imagery or the good (the Light/Christ the Word) versus evil (the darkness). St. John will explain further about "light" and "darkness" (verses 9-11) and the struggle between them. Later in John 12:15-46, Jesus described evil and the powers of Satan as a darkness enveloping humanity's mind and preventing humankind from knowing God (see Jn 12:15-46 and 1 Jn 5:6). Also, do not miss that there is a promised victory at the end of John 1:5 that evil cannot overcome good. It is a promise we need to remember when the world seems full of evil, and many innocent people are suffering. We can take courage by remembering this verse and others like it, including Jesus's promise to the suffering Christians at Philadelphia in Asia Minor. Jesus said, "I will keep you safe in the time of trial which is coming for the whole world, to put the people of the world to the test. I am coming soon: hold firmly to what you already have, and let no one take your victor's crown away from you. Anyone who proves victorious I will make into a pillar in the sanctuary of my God, and it will stay there forever (Rev 3:10-12).
John 1:6-8 ~ A man named John was sent from God. 7
He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe
through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.
Notice the choice of words: "sent from God." It is the same
in Greek in which the verb "sent" is apostello, which carries the sense of
sending an envoy with a special commission and the verb form of the noun that
Jesus used to signify the twelve men who became the spiritual fathers of the
new Israel, the twelve Apostles (Apostolos in Greek). God's holy
prophets sent as God's messengers before the coming of "the Word" were not the true
Light; instead, they were His reflection. They prepared the world by
proclaiming (witnessing to) the coming of the true Light, the Messiah.
The literal translation is: he came for witness [martyria] to bear witness [martyreo]. The Greek word martyria (also spelled marturia) is a noun and means "witness-bearer," while martyreo (also spelled martureo) is a verb denoting "to bear witness." Our English word "martyr," meaning "one who bears witness by his death," comes from the root of these words, martyus /witness. The "John" who came to witness is Yehohanan ben Zechariah (John son of Zechariah), also known as John the Baptist. He was the son of a chief priest (who, with John's mother, was a descendant of Moses' brother Aaron, the first high priest; see Lk 1:5), and therefore, St. John the Baptist was a chief priest himself. St. John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets.
Does it seem strange to you that this beautiful, poetic hymn should be suddenly interrupted this way in verses 6-8? Jarring switches like this in Scripture require more attention from the reader. Luke's Gospel gives more information about John, including his birth and his relationship as a relative of Jesus. However, no other Gospel writer emphasizes John's unique role in salvation history in the way St. John's Gospel presents John the Baptist.
John 1:9-11 ~ The
true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in
the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know
him. 11 He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.
"The Word" is "the true light" because He is the light from
which all other light/revelation of God comes. He came into the world to
enlighten humankind so that all the world would be transformed through Him. Just
as in the first natural Creation event where His light brought the created
order into being, so now His coming transforms humanity and Creation.
"The Word" came into the Creation that He had created, and the world He created did not recognize Him (verses 10-11). The last phrase in verse 11 is a wrenching statement: "his own people did not accept him." In the broadest sense, all people belong to God because He created them, but there is also a narrower sense in that Israel was set aside from all the peoples of the earth as a holy nation that specially belonged to God. These were the people God chose with whom to form a covenant relationship at Sinai as His people and set aside from all other peoples of the earth. They were the people God chose to reveal Himself to humanity as a man, yet these people who shared His flesh and blood did not accept Him.
John 1:12-13 ~ But to those who did accept him he gave
power [exousia] to become children of God, to those who believed in his name, 13
who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by man's
decision but of God.
Think of the power of the statement in verse 12! To those
who believe Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel, God gave the power
of divine son/daughter-ship. 1 John 5:1 confirms this divine gift: Whoever
believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. The Greek word
translated here as "power" is exousia (or "right" in other translations).
The Greek word is often translated
as "power" or "authority," as in Jesus's controversy with the chief priests in
Matthew 21:23-24. The literal Greek meaning is "from the being of." Jesus
speaks with the very exousia/being of God. Therefore, His words bring
into being what is said. Jesus said to Jairus' daughter, "little girl get up"
(Mk 5:41-42; Lk 8:53-54), and to Lazarus, "come out!" (Jn 11:43-44). The dead
girl came back to life, and the dead man emerged alive out of his tomb. Jesus
rebuked the wind and waves and said to the sea, "Be calm!" and there was a
great calm (Mt 8:26; Mk 4:39; Lk 8:24). And the night before He gave up His
life on the cross, He took bread and a cup of wine and said, "This is my body,"
and wine and saying, "This is the cup of my blood" (Mt 26:26-28; Mk 14:22-25;
Lk 22:19-20). What He speaks comes to pass, as in the Creation event: "God said,
'Let there be light' and there was light" (Gen 1:4).
The use of exousia in this passage does not indicate only the possibility or the ability to become "children of God" but a legitimate right derived from the authority/power of Jesus, "the Word." It is only through the Word that we have received this power. That Christ gave us this unique power is the same way of saying that He gave us a gift. That gift was sanctifying grace, a supernatural infusion of grace extended to the Church through the Sacrament of Baptism. The only condition for receiving the gift is to have faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and demonstrate our faith in the Sacrament of Baptism. St. Athanasius explained it this way: "The Son of God became man so that the sons of men, the sons of Adam, might become sons of God ... He (Adam) is the son of God by nature; we, by grace" (De Incarnatione contra arrianos). Without the gift of divine son/daughter-ship, we cannot truly call ourselves "children of God" until this miracle regenerates us with "new life" into the family of God through the Sacrament of Baptism. It is what Jesus revealed to Nicodemus in John 3:3-7, and what He told His disciples before His Ascension: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mk 16:16, bold added for emphasis).
Notice that God limits this divine inheritance to those "who accept him." It is also important to understand that, for the ancients, one's name expressed the sum of the qualities that marked that person's nature, character, or true essence. To believe in the name of Jesus Christ is to accept the revelation contained in that name as true: Jesus is fully man and fully God who came to redeem the world. St. Thomas Aquinas, the great Biblical scholar and theologian, wrote concerning this passage: "those who believe in his name are those who fully hold the same of Christ not in any way lessening his divinity or his humanity" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary of St. John, 1:12-13).
John 1:13 ~ who
were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by man's decision but
of God.
The more literal translation is: were begotten not of bloods
(plural), nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but
of God himself. Notice that the Greek word for "blood" is plural, "bloods."
To the ancients, all bodily fluids were part of the life force. John defines this
supernatural birth to become divine sons and daughters of God in the negative by
listing three ways we were not born into God's Covenant Family:
This supernatural birth is not by the standards of nature expressed in three ways: not by human sperm-generating descent, not by desire or lust, and not by procreation through human power. This gift is purely a supernatural birth from above; it is a gift of faith and grace.
John 1:14 ~ And
the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the
glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.
The literal translation of verse 14 is only-begotten
from the Father. The use of the word "only- begotten" [monogene] is significant
because it only appears five times in the New Testament for Christ as the Son
of God, and only in the writings of John the Apostle (Jn 1:14; 1:18; 3:16; 3:18;
and 1 Jn 4:9).
Jesus Christ the "only-begotten Son" (monogene) of God (NJB)
| John 1:14 | the glory that he has from the Father as the only [begotten/monogene] Son of the Father... |
| John 1:18 | No one has ever seen God; it is the only [begotten/monogene] Son, who is close to the Father's heart...." |
| John 3:16 | For this is how God so loved the world: he gave his only [begotten/monogene] Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. |
| John 3:18 | No one who believes in him will be judged; but whoever does not believe is judged already because that person does not believe in the name of God's only [begotten/monogene] Son. |
| 1 John 4:9 | This is the revelation of God's love for us, that God sent his only [begotten/monogene] Son into the world that we might have life through him. |
In each case, the Greek texts use the word monogene = mono/only and gene/begotten. This word clearly signifies that Jesus is not one of many god-sons and that He comes directly from the divine Father and not from an earthly father. He is "begotten," not created.
This verse teaches us the theological truth about the nature of Jesus with the words: The Word became flesh ... the only begotten Son of the Father is the Word; God became a human being. Jesus is entirely God and entirely man. Two natures and two wills existing in perfect harmony in the one Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity (see CCC 467 & 475). This passage expresses the unfathomable fact of the Incarnation of the Son of God, as St. Paul wrote in Galatians 4:4 ~ but when the completion of the time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born of a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law, so that we could receive adoption as sons. It is what we profess in our Creed of faith: "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, one in Being with the Father" (Nicene-Constantinople Creed).
In the 5th century, the Church met in a Great Council to address the heresies that denied either Christ's true humanity or His true divinity and pronounced the Church's teaching on Christ's divinity and humanity. The council stated: "Following the holy Fathers, therefore, we all with one accord teach the profession of faith in the one identical Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We declare that he is perfect both in his divinity and in his humanity, truly God and truly man, composed of body and rational soul; that he is consubstantial with the Father in his divinity, consubstantial with us in his humanity, like us in every respect except for sin (cf Heb 4:15). We declare that in his divinity, he was begotten in this last age of Mary the Virgin, the Mother of God, for us and for our salvation" (Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, AD 451).
The Title "Son of God": As mentioned earlier, in the Old Testament, the title "son(s) of God" indicated a special relationship with the Almighty. The heavenly messengers (in Greek angelos) are called "sons" of God in Job 1:6, 2:1; 38:7. It was also a title given to a Davidic king at his enthronement (see Isaiah 9:5; Psalm 2:7; 89:27; 110:3) based on God's covenant promise to David that his heir would be a "son" of God, beginning with Solomon (see 2 Sam 7:14; 1 Chr 17:13). For this reason, Jesus deserved the title "Son" of God both in His divinity and His humanity as the Davidic heir and rightful King of Israel. However, the Israelites, as the chosen covenant people, were also designated collective "sons" and "daughters" of God. In Exodus 4:22, Hosea 11:1, and Jeremiah 31:20, the term "son" appears in the singular for Israel's collective sonship and appears in Hosea 2:1, Isaiah 1:2, and Jeremiah 3:19 in the plural.
In the New Testament, the title "Son of God" takes on a meaning not conveyed in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, the title expresses a unique relationship with God as the Father's "only begotten son," Jesus of Nazareth. From the beginning, this title characterized Jesus and His mission not only in the writings of St. John (1:14; 1:18; 3:16; 3:18 and 1 Jn 4:9) but also in the Gospel of St. Luke ( Lk 1:35) and the Gospel of St. Mark in 1:11 and 9:7, God Himself reveals the title "Son." Demon spirits also divulge Jesus's title as the divine "Son" in Mark 3:11 and 5:7. St. John declares that Jesus's title "Son of God" is the focus of the Jewish authorities' opposition to Him because it identified His claim as the promised Messiah (see Jn 5:18-20; 10:33; and 19:7). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus identified those who make peace and love so genuinely as to offer God's love to their enemies as "sons of God" (Mt 5:9 and the Sermon on the Plain in Lk 6:35).
In the Gospels, Jesus called God "My Father" (i.e., Mt 10:32-33; 12:50; 16:17; 18:10, 19, 35; 26:39, 42, 53; Mk 14:36; Lk 10:21-22; 22:29, 42; 23:34, 46; Jn 5:17; 6:32, 44; 8:19, 38, 54; 14:28; 15:15; 20:17; etc.), but He distanced Himself from the controversy surrounding the title "Son of God" until His trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin. He finally acknowledged His unique relationship to God as "Son" of the Father in the Gospels by quoting from the prophecy of the Davidic Messiah in Psalms 110:1 and Daniel 7:13-14, sending the High Priest into a rage (Mt 26:63-66; Mk 14:61-62; Lk 22:68-71), which resulted in Jesus's condemnation with the charge of blasphemy. In the end, it is ironically the Gentile Roman governor who pronounced Jesus "without fault/guilt"(Jn 18:38; 19:4, 6) and the Roman officer in charge of Jesus's crucifixion who announced to the world: Truly this man was the Son of God (Mk 15:39), a fulfillment of the prophecy that the Gentile nations would come to do homage to the promised Davidic Messiah (see Is 66:18-21; Ez 34:13)!
After Jesus's glorious Resurrection, His disciples publically recognized Him as the Davidic Messiah and the true "Son of God." For this reason, the Church primarily uses His title "Son" after Easter since it was after His Resurrection and Ascension that Jesus was enthroned in the heavenly Sanctuary as the "Son of God" and King of Kings, as we read in the Second Reading: in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe, 3 who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being, and who sustains all things by his mighty word. When he had accomplished purification from sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 as far superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs (Heb 1:2-4).
John 1:15 ~ John
testified to him and cried out, saying, "This is he of whom I said, 'The one
who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.'"
Before his birth, God chose St. John the Baptist to prepare
the covenant people for the coming of Jesus as the promised Messiah, who was born
several months later (Lk 1:5-17, 36). St. John the Baptist identified himself
as the prophetic voice that the prophet Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 40:3-5. John
quoted from this passage, applying it to himself in John 1:23. The prophet
Malachi also prophesied the one who would announce the Messiah in Malachi 3:1-2
~ Look, I shall send my messenger to clear a way before me. And suddenly the
Lord whom you seek will come to his Temple, yes, the angel of the covenant for
whom you long, is on his way, says Yahweh Sabaoth. Who will be able to resist
the day of his coming (NJB). In this passage, the inspired writer of the
fourth Gospel restates Jesus's pre-existence and His superior ranking.
John 1:16 ~ From
his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace
Another translation of this passage is: Indeed, from his fullness
we have received grace upon grace. The Fathers of the Church understood this
passage to read "grace for grace." St John Chrysostom and other Church Fathers
saw this passage as giving testimony of the Old Testament economy of salvation,
giving way to the new economy of grace through Jesus Christ. In the Greek language,
economy means "plan" or "management." When applied to God, the term refers to
the major manifestations to the world of God's universal will to offer
salvation to humanity. St. Paul summed up God's desire for universal salvation in
his letter to St. Timothy, in which he wrote that God desires all men to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). St. Peter expressed
the same teaching in his letter to the universal Church. He wrote: The Lord
is not being slow in carrying out his promises, as some people think he is;
rather is he being patient with you, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to
be brought to repentance (2 Pt 3:9). It is our destiny to receive the gift
of eternal life; however, whether or not we fulfill our destiny is entirely in
our hands. God gives us the gift of free will to accept or reject His precious
gift (see CCC 1730-32). The words "grace for grace" in verse 16 can also mean that
Jesus brings a superabundance of grace (gifts/blessings), which adds to the existing
graces of the Old Covenant. All these gifts are poured out in superabundance by
the merited grace of Christ through which the "waters of eternal life" flow
unceasingly.
John 1:17-18 ~ because while the law was given through
Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen
God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father's side, has revealed him.
For the first time in verse 17, St. John names Jesus, Yahshua
in Hebrew, and Yehoshua in Aramaic: "Yahweh saves/Yahweh is salvation" or more
literally, "I (AM) SAVES!" (see Mt 1:21). There is a difference between the Law
of Moses that directed the people on the path of salvation and the grace that
Jesus brings. The Old Covenant Law was necessary to guide the people on a path
to a holy life by identifying sin and providing a means to be reconciled with
God through the blood sacrifice of certain animals. The Law in itself was imperfect
and could not offer salvation because original sin and inadvertent sins could only
be "covered" through animal sacrifice (Num 15:27-31). It could not give the
indwelling presence of God the Holy Spirit. Even St. Paul, as an Old Covenant
Jew, struggled with the Law: So it is that I myself with my mind obey the
law of God, but in my disordered nature I obey the law of sin (Rom 7:25).
The grace brought by Jesus has the power to conquer and heal sin, restoring
the sinner to fellowship with God and offering eternal salvation to those who
receive His grace (see CCC 1963).
John 1:18 ~ No one has ever seen God
In the Old Testament, no one could see God and live (Ex 33:20). Men saw God indirectly and could contemplate God's "glory" as revealed in
the burning bush or the Glory Cloud. However, through the mystery of the
Incarnation, God reveals Himself to us, and God the Son dwells among us. "Dwells"
in Scripture has the meaning of "to tabernacle," as God tabernacled with the
children of Israel in the desert, dwelling above the Ark of the Covenant (Ex 25:22;
40:34-35). However, since the coming of the Redeemer-Messiah in the Messianic Age,
He fills and indwells our souls as His holy Tabernacle. In our "Christ-effused"
lives, we have become the Temple or Tabernacle of the Holy Spirit.
John 1:18b ~ The only Son, God, who is at the Father's
side, has revealed him.
According to verse 18, we can only receive
the revelation of God the Father from God the Son. The Vatican II document Dei
Verbum 2 expresses the truth of the revelation of God the Son: "The
most intimate truth which this revelation gives us about God and the salvation
of man shines forth in Christ, who is himself both the mediator and the sum
total of Revelation." There is no greater revelation God could give us
of Himself than the Incarnation of the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ!
God's love for us has become visible in the flesh through the words, actions, and loving human presence of the Lord Jesus. Jesus fulfilled the words of the prophets when He was born in Bethlehem of Judah, raised in Nazareth of Galilee, put to death, and then raised from the dead in the holy city of Jerusalem. The Christ event is God's final revelation to the human race!
If we focus our lives on the four dimensions of prayer, Scripture study, generosity to those in need, and evangelization in sharing the Good News of Christ's message of salvation, our souls will become humble and lowly like the Bethlehem stable and a fit dwelling place for the Redeemer-Messiah and Savior of the world.
However, the Christ event is not the end. St. Paul urged Christians to continue the work of Jesus Christ in preaching the "good news" of salvation to fallen humanity (Rom 10:15). In his Letter to the Christians in Rome, he wrote: And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!" But not everyone has heeded the good news; for Isaiah says, 'Lord, who had believed what was heard from us?' Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ (Rom 11:14-17). Today we relive the coming of Christ the King into the world. However, we must also remember that His mission of salvation must continue until His return. We, His disciples of the present generation, are His messengers of salvation to the world in this age between His First Advert and when He returns in His Second Advent at the end of the Age!
Catechism references for the Christmas Day readings (*
indicates Scripture quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Hebrews 1:1-3 (CCC 102*),
1:1-2 (65*, 69, 102, 107, 108),
1:3 (CCC 241, 320, 2502, 2777, 2795*),
1:6 (CCC 333)
John 1:1-3 (CCC 291), 1:1 (CCC 241, 454*, 2780*), 1:3 (CCC 268*), 1:4 (CCC 612*), 1:6 (CCC 717), 1:7 (CCC 719), 1:9 (CCC 1216), 1:11 (CCC 530), 1:12-18 (CCC 1996*), 1:12-13 (CCC 706*), 1:12 (CCC 526, 1692), 1:13 (CCC 496*, 505, 526), 1:14 (CCC 423, 445, 454*, 461, 594*, 705*, 2466), 1:16 (CCC 423, 504), 1:17 (CCC 2787), 1:18 (CCC 151, 454*, 473*)
Why did the Word become flesh? (CCC 456, 457*, 458*, 459*, 460*, 466)
The Incarnation (CCC 461*, 462*, *463, 470*, 471, 472*, 473*, 474*, 475, 476, 477, 478*)
Jesus is true man and true God (CCC 464)
The Christmas mystery (CCC 437*, 525*, 526*)
Jesus is the Son of David (CCC 439*, 496*, 559*, 2616*)
God has said everything in His Word (CCC 65*, 102*)
The Incarnate Christ was worshipped by the angels (CCC 333*)
The Incarnation and the images of Christ (CCC 1159, 1160, 1161*, 1162, 2131, 2502*)
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2013; revised 2022 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.