John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
“Logos”, the Greek word used by the apostle John in his writings found in the Bible to describe Jesus Christ, is simply translated into English as “word”. On the surface, this seems a little confusing, if not underwhelming. I mean, if he was describing a savior, couldn’t he have used a Greek word that translates into “superhero” or “ultimate champion or king”? But what did John really mean by saying Jesus is the “logos”?
The word “logos” was initially used by early Greek philosophers, including Homer, to attempt to understand and answer the ultimate question: What’s the meaning of life? The term was then later used to describe the actual physical spoken word of thoughts or reasoning, of not only the human mind, but of a divine, supernatural being. “Logos” was not just a term that translates into “word”, but it was a principle that would give all humanity truth, purpose and meaning.
You see, the apostle John was making a very clear and poignant statement by using “logos” to describe Jesus. The listeners of his readings 2,000 years ago in the Roman forums would understand exactly what he meant: the meaning of life is not just a philosophy or thought or principle, but an actual person.
What would move this man to believe that Jesus of Nazareth was and is the meaning of all humanity? Was it the profound and unorthodox teachings of Jesus? Was it that he saw water turned into wine? That blind men were given miraculous sight or that crippled men could again walk?
Although those would seem enough to inspire faith, it was something more; it was what he witnessed that first Easter morning. Despite being unjustly killed just 3 days earlier (which is documented by both a Jewish and Roman historian, Josephus and Tacitus, respectively), Jesus was seen by John, not lying in a tomb, but fully alive, walking and breathing again.
This is the Easter story: that God sent Jesus to bear the sin of the world so that we, you and I, can be restored back to our Heavenly Father. Jesus loved you and I so much that he died for us so that we may have eternal life in Heaven. Thanks be to Jesus, the true and only “logos”.
John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
