(John 1:10-14a)
We can be unwittingly passive, as believers. Even the name, “believers” says it all: we believe that God will turn up and do something. What we actually need to believe is that God has already equipped us with everything we need, so that we can get on with the assignments He gives us.
And this passivity certainly leaks into our bible translations. For example:
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. (John 1:10-14a, NIV)
What is the picture here? Poor Jesus, coming unrecognised and unappreciated. Fortunately, some people did welcome Him, and were given the right to become God’s children. We aren’t told how that right is to be exercised, but it is clearly something God does for them.
Let’s see what something closer to the original Greek sounds like. I have broken it into sentences and ‘sense groups’.
Ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἦν, καὶ ὁ κόσμος δι’ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ ὁ κόσμος αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔγνω.
“He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and the world didn’t spot Him [know by observation, as opposed to know by reflection; could equally be rendered as “didn’t point Him out” (make Him known)]“
εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἦλθεν, καὶ οἱ ἴδιοι αὐτὸν οὐ παρέλαβον.
“He came to His own, and His own did not receive from Him” [and yes, “from” is the key missing word – it is the ‘παρ’ in παρέλαβον. It could equally be rendered “didn’t receive an inheritance from Him”. ]
ὅσοι δὲ ἔλαβον αὐτόν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα θεοῦ γενέσθαι, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ,
“But to as many as laid hold of Him – those trusting in His reputation [both ‘name’ and ‘fame’] – He gave the authority over resource to become God’s children…”
οἳ οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκὸς οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρὸς ἀλλ’ ἐκ θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν.
“…those [i.e. children] brought into being not by blood nor the pleasure of flesh, nor the pleasure of a husband, but [by the pleasure] of God.”
Καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν…
“And the Word became flesh, and pitched His tent among us…”
Let me put that together for you with a little more freedom, so that it makes a coherent whole.
“He was in the world, the world was made by Him, but the world didn’t take notice. He came to His own people and they were none the wiser (they didn’t bother to receive anything from Him). But those who grasped Him – both recognised and laid hold of Him, because they believed and trusted in what they saw in Him – He gave to them authority – authority backed up by command of resources – enabling them to become children of God. Children of God, how? It was God’s pleasure that this should happen, not a rush of blood between husband and wife. (It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom, right?) And the Word of God became a flesh and blood human and pitched His camp amongst us.”
Do you see? This is a little different. This is not poor Jesus not being received by the cold and lonely world. This is the invasion that makes the Normandy Landings look like a kindergarten picnic, but with the great and the good, and especially those who should have known better, failing to notice or receive any relief or benefit as a result. BUT: those who saw and recognised something life giving, something they weren’t going to just let walk away from them, those who laid hold of Him: these He gave power to; the power, authority, resources and means they needed to exercise in order to become what God intended: God’s children. This was God’s pleasure, that they should receive all this from the Son and so become His Children, His household and His Kingdom. And lest they think for a moment that this was metaphorical or an offer of pie in the sky when they die, here is the Word; the Son; a flesh and blood human and living cheek by jowl with you, there for you to lay hold of, there to show you how you make use of His inestimable gift of the authority to become.
And there isn’t a passive thought in that passage.
As a footnote, to understand ἐξουσία you need to forget most of what you see around you, or what you may have experienced at work (“they said I had authority, but really I just have endless responsibility”). In the world of the Greek city states, which is where the language we are using comes from, ἐξουσία meant that for the good of the city you had been appointed to a role in which it was 100% your responsibility to determine what happened next AND where you had full power and discretion over the disposition of all resources. If you needed to man and equip ships to beat off the Persian fleet, then you could assign the men, and everyone’s household goods to that end. Of course, if you failed to act, or failed to win, there were consequences. But ἐξουσία is neither vapid nor empty as a term.
Authority demanded action; it had to be exercised. True for us, too.
Seeing the Kingdom 