By George Huang
Initially given as a sermon at Chinatown Church of Christ
Scripture: John 1:1-14
This sermon is built upon a sermon by Pastor Lon Wagner of Crosspoint Church in Chino, CA. What is “Word becoming flesh” and why Jesus had to come in human form to reach humanity and save us?
This sermon is designed to be followed by the Good Samaritan sermon.
Powerpoint presentation – both English and Chinese
Sermon text in English (for search engine to read). Note: the PPTs above are slightly more updated.
Word Becoming Flesh
Scripture: John 1:1-14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 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.
Sermon:
This message was inspired by a sermon from Pastor Lon Wagner and has been adapted for our context. As we prepare to celebrate Easter, let’s think about how strange this holiday is. No other major religion in the world celebrates the death of its god or gods with such fanfare. When Jesus quietly rose from the dead, He did not use that opportunity to take over the world. Instead, he taught a small group of disciples for a few weeks and then quietly left the Earth. From there, these people and their followers spread the Gospel to the world, and that continues to this day.
The four gospels were written by people at the time to tell us the story of Jesus when he was on Earth. Matthew focused on Jesus’s kingship for a Jewish audience. Mark focused on Jesus’s servanthood, aimed at Romans unfamiliar with Jewish matters. Luke focused on Jesus’s humanity, with narratives attractive to the Greek audience. John focused on Jesus’s deity and contains many teachings not found in the other three gospels. The target audience of John’s gospel is the Gentiles, influenced by Greek philosophy. John had a different focus—more on philosophy and theology than on laws or Jewish history. John was written many years after the other three gospels, possibly to correct wrong teachings. This teaches us that we need culturally appropriate outreach to reach different people.
What is the “Word”? The Greek word “Logos” meant the universal reason or truth behind the universe. It exists in this world but is above its imperfections. “Truth” or “Universal Intelligence” are common translations. In Chinese, we translate it as “tao” or “The Way,” meaning the underlying order of nature or the “flow”. Confucius said the Way is inside each one of us and we should know it. Similarly, the Bible says God put eternity in our hearts. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says He has made everything beautiful in its time and has set eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. The mysterious “Way” was gradually changed into the folk religion of Taoism, which is a mixture of legends and superstitions. However, the Bible says the universal, timeless truth is embodied in God.
The Old Testament shows the difficulty in leading people to follow an unseen deity without idols, which probably made Him harder to follow. Teachings about God were twisted over time, and symbolism became the emphasis. People used God’s teachings to benefit themselves and created new religious rules God did not intend. People became slaves to these rules, such as not being able to push elevator buttons on Saturdays, while the true emphasis—to love God and love people—was ignored. Flawed human beings needed to connect to God in a different way.
Jesus, the Word which became flesh, was God’s answer. By becoming human, he can be with us and better connect with us to show us His ways. This is like a man in a snowstorm trying to save a baby bird; he realizes that if he were also a bird, he could tell the bird he was trying to help and it might listen. Jesus is the God who turned into a human being to tell us about God and how to return to Him. He taught by living out an example for people to follow. He grew up in a poor working family and worked to support his siblings. He created new symbolisms that are easily understood: Baptism, representing His death and resurrection, and Communion, a periodic reminder of His sacrifice and forgiveness. Unlike burdensome Old Testament rituals, these represent things that can only happen to real human beings.
Incarnation did not end with Jesus; the Word continues becoming visible through believers. The Book of Acts is the only unfinished book in the Bible because we are still writing it today. Is the Word becoming flesh in you? Do you show the light of Jesus or the fruit of the Spirit?. People can see your heart indirectly through your actions. St. Francis said, “Preach the gospel always. When necessary, use words”. Most people see Jesus through Christians before they ever go to church.
In the 19th century, missionaries like George Leslie Mackay set up the first hospitals and universities in Taiwan. Even today, missionaries serve the poor there. Father Giuseppe Didone served in Taiwan for 35 years. In 2020, when he asked for donations to help his homeland of Italy during the coronavirus pandemic, 20,000 Taiwanese people donated US$4 million in one week. They donated because they saw how these missionaries loved the Taiwanese people with the sacrificial love of Christ. We are not perfect, but God can use us to let people see Jesus through our love. When we let God do that, the Word becomes flesh in us.
Matthew 5:14 says, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden”. That verse could be you. Let your light shine. May the Lord bless you all.
Sermon text in Chinese (for search engine to read):
道成肉身
經文：約翰福音 1:1-14
太初有道，道與神同在，道就是神 。這道太初與神同在。萬物是藉著他造的；凡被造的，沒有一樣不是藉著他造的 。生命在他裡頭，這生命就是人的光 。光照在黑暗裡，黑暗卻不接受光 。有一個人，是從神那裡差來的，名叫約翰 。這人來，為要作見證，就是為光作見證，叫眾人因他可以信 。他不是那光，乃是要為光作見證 。那光是真光，照亮一切生在世上的人 。他在世界，世界也是藉著他造的，世界卻不認識他 。他到自己的地方來，自己的人倒不接待他 。凡接待他的，就是信他名的人，他就賜他們權柄做神的兒女 。這等人不是從血氣生的，不是從情慾生的，也不是從人意生的，乃是從神生的 。道成了肉身，住在我們中間，充充滿滿地有恩典有真理。我們也見過他的榮光，正是父獨生子的榮光 。
Sermon:
這段訊息靈感來自朗·瓦格納牧師的一篇道，根據文化背景稍作了修改 。當我們準備慶祝復活節時，讓我們想想這個節日是多麼奇怪 。世界上沒有其他主要宗教如此大張旗鼓地慶祝他們的神的死亡 。而當耶穌悄悄地從死裡復活時，祂並沒有大大宣傳或利用這個機會來接管世界 。相反的，祂教了一小群門徒幾個星期，然後悄悄地離開了地球 。從那時起，這些人和他們的追隨者向世界傳播福音，這種情況一直持續到今天 。當時的人寫了四本福音書，告訴我們耶穌在地上時的故事 。馬太注重耶穌的王權，專注於猶太人的讀者 。馬可注重耶穌的僕人身份，針對的是不熟悉猶太事務的羅馬人 。路加注重耶穌的人性，其敘事對希臘觀眾具有吸引力 。約翰注重耶穌的神性，並有許多敘述和教導是在其他三部福音書中找不到的 。
為什麼約翰福音如此不同？約翰福音的目標讀者是具有希臘哲學影響的外邦人 。新約最初是用希臘語寫的，約翰有不同的關注點，較多的哲學和神學，而不是律法或猶太歷史 。約翰福音是在其他福音書之後許多年寫成的，詳細的神學教導可能是為了糾正錯誤的教導而寫的 。這是一個教訓：我們需要有文化上適當的調整，這樣我們才能接觸到不同的人 。
「道」是什麼？希臘文「Logos」指的是宇宙背後的普遍理性或真理 。它存在於這個世界，但凌駕於這個世界的對立和不完美之上 。「真理」是一個很好的翻譯 。在中文中，我們將其翻譯為「道」，它是自然界的基本秩序 。中國哲學關於它真的很抽象難懂，孔子說他沒有了解它，但古人知道它，而我們失去了對它的知識 。孔子說它就在我們每個人的內心，聖經說神把永生放在我們心中 。傳道書 3:11 提到，神造萬物，各按其時成為美好，又將永生安置在世人心裡，然而神從始至終的作為，人不能參透 。這神秘的「道」逐漸轉變為被稱為「道教」的民間宗教，但道教與真正的真理毫無關係，只是傳說、迷信和民間信仰的混合體 。聖經說，普世的、永恆的真理體現在神裡面 。神也是永恆的普及智慧，祂遠遠超出了我們的理解 。
舊約顯示了引領人們跟隨一個看不見的神的困難 。祂似乎與其他假神相似，只是沒有偶像，這實際上使祂更難被跟隨 。以色列人有時也追隨其他的神明，特別是當鄰居更強大時 。關於神的教導隨著時間被扭曲，象徵主義成為重點 。人們使用神的教導來使自己受益，過度解讀神的意圖，創造了新的宗教規則，並成為規則的奴隸 。例如，一些傳統猶太教徒在星期六不能開車或按電梯按鈕 。久而久之，真正的重點都被忽略了，那就是愛神和愛人 。信仰變成了需要遵守的宗教規則和履行的儀式 。所以很明顯的，我們需要以不同的方式與神建立聯繫 。
耶穌的道成肉身是神的答案 。以賽亞在 53 章預言祂是「受苦的僕人」 。但為什麼要成為肉體呢？馬太福音 1:23 說：「必有童女懷孕生子，人要稱他的名為以馬內利。」以馬內利翻出來就是「神與我們同在」 。通過成為人類，祂可以與我們同在，更好地與我們聯繫，並向人們展示他的道路 。
有一個短篇故事說明了這點：在一場暴風雪中，一名男子試圖抓住一隻掉出巢外的幼鳥以保護它，但小鳥卻不停地逃走，因為它以為人要吃掉它 。那人意識到，如果他也是一隻鳥，他就能告訴小鳥他只是想幫助牠 。耶穌是化身為人的神，祂通過祂的生活來教導人們，活出人們可以效仿的榜樣 。祂表明祂如何理解我們的掙扎 。耶穌出身貧困，辛勤工作養家 。祂也設立了更容易理解的新的禮儀，如洗禮和聖餐，這比舊約繁重且高昂的儀式更容易執行 。耶穌向我們展示了如何過敬虔的生活，如何愛別人，如何對抗假教師 。
道成肉身並未隨著耶穌的離世而終結，它繼續透過信徒的生命彰顯出來 。使徒行傳是聖經中唯一尚未完成的書卷，我們今天仍在繼續書寫它 。道在你裡面成為肉身了嗎？你向他人展示了耶穌的光嗎 ？人們可以通過你的行動來看到你的心 。聖弗朗西斯曾說：「隨時都要傳福音。必要時，使用言語。」 大多數人在決志信主之前需要在基督徒身上看到耶穌 。
在 19 世紀，傳教士在臺灣設立醫院，播下了種子 。加拿大傳教士馬偕建立了第一家醫院和大學 。義大利的呂若瑟神父在台灣服務了 35 年 。2020 年當他為受到疫情傷害的家鄉義大利請求捐款時，兩萬臺灣人在一周內捐贈了四百萬美元 。人們捐贈是因為看到了這些傳教士如此愛台灣人，展現了基督捨己的愛 。我們並不完美，但神可以使用我們，讓人們通過我們的愛來看到耶穌 。當我們願意讓神這樣做時，道就會在我們裡面成為肉身 。
馬太福音 5:14 說：「你們是世上的光。城造在山上，是不能隱藏的。」 請讓你的光芒閃耀，照亮世界 。願主保佑及祝福各位 。
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