the Unknown God.
John begins his Gospel with a poem—a poem made up of words and ideas that were deeply familiar to both Jewish and Gentile audiences. For the Jew, these words immediately point back to the beginning of creation. For the broader culture, John draws on ideas such as Logos and Light—concepts already discussed, debated, and admired. While we may not fully grasp everything logos meant in John’s time, we can understand why his culture was fascinated by such ideas and why John chose to write the way he did.
We get a clear glimpse of this cultural setting in Acts 17, when Paul enters Athens. Luke tells us that the city was filled with idols, which reveals just how religious the culture was. But being “religious” in the ancient world was not primarily about personal belief—it was about practice. James reflects this same understanding when he writes that true religion is caring for widows and orphans (James 1:27). As Paul engaged the philosophers on the Areopagus—men who loved nothing more than discussing and debating new ideas—he noticed an altar dedicated “To an Unknown God.” Paul seized the moment and declared to them the identity of the God they had been acknowledging without knowing.
This is the same kind of world John is speaking into with his Gospel. It is a highly religious culture, full of spiritual curiosity, philosophical conversation, and borrowed ideas about truth and meaning. Yet John makes a striking claim in the middle of his poem: the world does not know God (John 1:10), and even God’s own people do not fully receive Him (John 1:11).
That truth still stands today. God remains unknown and unfamiliar to much of the world. And even among those who claim to belong to Him, there is often a shallow or incomplete understanding of who He truly is. As we close the Christmas season—where we celebrate the coming of our Lord Jesus—and move into Epiphany—where we celebrate the revealing of Jesus as the Son of God to both Jew and Gentile—John’s Prologue is especially fitting. It helps carry us from birth to revelation, from incarnation to understanding, and it sets the tone for the year ahead.
John reminds us that God is not fully known on our own terms. But if we desire to know God, we must grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ, because Jesus is the one who explains God to us (John 1:18). This leads us to the simple lesson of today’s Gospel reading (John 1:1-18): if we want to grow in our relationship with God, we must learn the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That means having a steady, faithful diet of Scripture—the place where Jesus is revealed—because Jesus, in turn, reveals to us who God is and what God is like.
But this learning is not meant to happen in isolation. While personal Bible reading is a gift we should be thankful for, the Church has always grown together. From the very beginning, Christians gathered to hear the apostles’ letters read aloud, to receive teaching, and to ask questions. As Scripture was formed and passed down, the Church continued to meet, listen, study, and grow as one body. Even with printed Bibles and instant digital access today, that calling has not changed. When we study Scripture together under faithful teaching, we gain clarity we might miss on our own, avoid drifting into confusion, and remain grounded in the faith handed down through generations.
So the message is simple. It is the same message the Apostle Peter gives the Church, and the same one I often write in your birthday cards as your pastor: “Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).” As we begin another year together, may we refuse to settle for a shallow or overly familiar version of Jesus. Instead, may we welcome more of Him. As we give ourselves to God’s Word—together—we grow in maturity, deepen our faith, and learn not to reject Christ, but to embrace Him more fully with each passing year.
Peace be with you,
Pastor Bruce
