John 1:9-13

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 1:9-13

We now switch back from John the Baptist to Jesus, who is the light.  He is the true light.  This is probably in contrast to John, who wasn't the true light.  Later on in this chapter, some come to ask who John is.  They suspect him to be the Christ or Elijah or the prophet.  He is not the true light.  He does bear witness about the light and he does prepare the way.  However, Jesus is the true light.

Jesus gives light to everyone.  Like the son shining on the earth, Jesus gives light to everyone.  This same light is the one who comes into the world.  How crazy is that?  It's laid out clearly here in verse 10: "He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him".  He created the world and he was in the world.  It's like a painter stepping into his own painting.  This is what Jesus did.  And yet, it says of the creator inside his own creation: "yet the world did not know him".  He created and gave life to it all, and none of them even knew him.  They didn't realize that they were with the very one who made it all.

The next verse makes it clear that they didn't know him: "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him".  Not only was he not known, he was not received.  The Pharisees, Sadducees, and lawyers opposed Jesus.  The crowd of Jews were the ones who shouted "crucify him".  His own people didn't receive him.

It's actually interesting that "he came to his own".  Yes, he came to his own creation, which is what is talked about in previous verses.  However, this verse moves more towards "his own people".  Who are God's own people?  We read from the Old Testament about the Israelites who were God's chosen people.  The Jews are God's people and yet they rejected Jesus.

It's not as if nobody received him.  The next verse goes on to talk about those who in fact did receive him.  These people "he gave the right to become children of God".  They are children of God and are welcomed into the family.  This reminds me of what Paul talks about in Galatians when he refers to "adoption as sons".

What does it mean to receive him?  It means to "believe in his name".  What is his name?  Well, he's the Word, he's the Son of God, he is Emmanuel, which means God with us.  He is "the true light, which gives light to everyone".  To receive him is to believe in his name.  This is who he is.

To become children of God is to be born of God.  This is different from the normal kind of birth that we're used to.  This is perhaps what Jesus refers to later in Chapter three when he tells Nicodemus that you must be born again.  This is not entering once again into your mother's womb.  This is being born of God.