So we've already seen what the Word means and that this Word became flesh. Today we will look at John's statement that this Word dwelt among us. All of these concepts will come into play throughout this series so I figured we would hit them right off the bat. Remember the verse we are looking at:
John 1:14 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This verse is just stuffed full of allusions to the OT. We will spend three days here and not even finish getting through all of them in this verse alone. The word John chooses for "dwelt" is the Greek word skenoō. The root of this word (skene) is used in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the OT) for the tabernacle. (rereading that, that was a crazy nerdy sentence) Basically, In the minds of first century readers (John's original audience) this would bring up a lot of connections. The tabernacle was the tent where the ark of the covenant rested during the Israelite's wandering period in the wilderness. God's presence was there traveling with them as they went. It was to be located outside the camp and only Moses had access into the tent of meeting and the Levites allowed to perform the tabernacle duties. This was the precursor to the temple.
So John saying that Jesus "tabernacled" among them would imply God's divine presence following with them in this location. Jesus dwelling among us, however, was much greater than the tabernacle or the temple. He, himself, in his person, was the Word, the presence of God with us.
For the purposes of this series, the astounding fact of the incarnation is that God chose to redeem the world by coming to dwell here in the God-man, Jesus Christ. He didn't remain on his throne in heaven expecting humans to reach his standards of holiness. No, he humbled himself, came to not only visit with us for a moment, but to dwell among us and live among us. We will explore the application of this tomorrow and Friday as we seek to model Jesus' actions by going there and being there.
Additional Content
Here's the full conversation between Jon and I on the missional movement and incarnational living
Reflection
I like to imagine this concept as Jesus carrying a little temple (symbol of God's presence) around. I don't know if that helps you but it kinda helps me. Then think of it as the church being a little temple that it carries around, and you as a part of the church carrying the temple with you wherever you go. In this concept there is nowhere where you are not carrying God's presence with you. I also like to imagine God's presence as light. Imagine your neighborhood illuminated with God's presence with your home as the epicenter. Imagine your workplace illuminated with God's light with your desk as the epicenter. Imagine this light going with you to the gym, to the grocery store, to the park with your kids. Everywhere you go imagine God's presence illuminating darkness through you.
Audio
ff to 3:15 for additional content