Bible Gem 6 – He came to His own (John 1:10-11)

He came into the very world He created, but the world didn’t recognize Him. He came to His own people, and even they rejected Him.

John 1:10-11

What a hugely sad statement. Jesus, its creator, entered this world and dwelt in it and yet the creatures He created rejected him.

Verse 11 repeats the thought but adds intensity to it.

John very skillfully uses a contrastive Greek grammatical construction to shock his readers.

He says He (Jesus) came to His “ta idia” but his “hoi idioi” rejected Him. Wow. Effectively He came to his inanimate created things (neuter plural objects – puppets) [his things] and after he had given them life his (masculine plural people) [his creation] rejected him. What would you do if you were the creator and the things you made rejected you? I know what I would do. I would squash those puppet things in anger and remake them again.

He made them inanimate, He breathed life into them, then when He came to them to tell them He wanted relationship they rejected Him. And yet in His grace He ALLOWED them to reject Him.

WOW!

I have expanded that concept out a number of times during the Gems in its fullness, but the first time I wrote about it in this Gem it was brief and punchy. Think deeply about what John is saying here.

How do I sum that up in one Twitter sentence?

Sometimes I think I understand everything, and then I regain consciousness.

Ian Vail

A friend is a person who can step on your toes without messing up your shine.

Anon