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And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

John 1:14–18 (NRSV)

Reflect & Discuss

Here is the culmination of John’s prologue: “The Word became flesh and lived among us.” When the Word becomes one of us, what exactly do we receive? What does he reveal to us?
If it is Jesus who makes God known, what do we know about God? What does he show us about the Father’s heart? What does it mean for us as human beings that God became one of us?
For John, the reality of God in Jesus is something to be tangibly and personally encountered. Elsewhere he says about the Word: “what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands” (1 John 1:1). Is this how you understand God? Is it different for we who live 2000 years after Jesus’ earthly life? Why or why not?
If it is Jesus and Jesus alone who makes God known, then do we respond?

Pray

for the Son to reveal the Father through his Spirit, that we would know him more intimately and tangibly
for any and all requests we have to share.