The Word
From the Series—Jesus
October 3, 2002John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Though him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
When we hear the word “word” we tend to think of a “word"--either written or spoken. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg! The “word” in John 1 comes from the Greek word logos and it’s multidimensional. It means language--the expression of an idea. It means logic or reason. It means revelation--the sum total of everything God has ever said. And it means power. Ancient philosophers used the word logos to refer to the force that structured the universe.
Jesus is all that. His language, his logic, his revelation, and his power are unparalleled. This evotional is going to explore two dimensions of “the Word"--linguistics and physics.
The Linguistics of Faith
About a month ago, my seven-month-old son, Josiah, started saying, “Mama.” It’s the only word he knows so whenever he wants to say something that’s all he’s got to choose from. If he’s hungry, he says, “Mama.” If he’s happy, he says, “Mama.” If he’s tired, he says, “Mama.” If he wants his “Dada,” he says, “Mama.” When you only know one word, that’s pretty much the one you’re going to use. At this point in his life, he can only say one thing!
But according to audiologists, that’s about to change. By the time a baby is eighteen months old, they acquire new words at the rate of one word every two hours! By the time they reach two years of age, the average toddler has a vocabulary between 1,000 and 2,000 words. Between 2 and 2 ½ years of age, they can form simple sentences. Between 2 ½ and 3 years of age, they acquire rules for syntax and tense. And the amazing thing is that they aren’t even trying! Geoffrey Cowley says, “Picking up a new language as an adult is as simple as picking up a truck. Yet virtually every kid in the world succeeds at it-and without conscious effort.” Cowley says, “By the age of 3, most kids are generating sentences they’ve never heard spoken--and using them to alter the contents of other people’s minds.”
Language is an amazing thing. We underestimate how important and how amazing words are. Without words we don’t have any categories to comprehend or communicate. Words give meaning and structure to life.
What does all that have to do with the Jesus? Stop and think about this: there was a time when “the Word” only knew one word. Jesus had to go through the same process of language acquisition that Josiah does. He learned different phonemes because he spoke a different language, but “the Word” had to learn grammar and punctuation and syntax just like the rest of us. So what? You’ve got to understand that Jesus started from scratch to really appreciate the fact that his way with words is unparalleled in the history of humankind.
John 7 records one of those classic confrontations between Jesus and the establishment. The religious leaders send the Temple guards to arrest Jesus. The Temple guards are the Jewish equivalent of Green Berets or Navy Seals. They’re physically-fit. They’re well-trained. And they follow orders! The religious leaders send them to arrest Jesus, but they come back like a bunch of whipped pups! John 7:45 says, “Finally, the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why didn’t you bring him in’?” All the Temple Guards could say was, “No one ever spoke the way this man does.” This is absolutely amazing! They couldn’t arrest him. Why? Because there was such authority and authenticity, such conviction and courage in his words that they didn’t dare arrest him. His way with words is unparalleled.
Read the gospels and you’ll find that just about anytime Jesus said anything, the natural reaction was amazement. It starts in Luke 2. Jesus is only twelve years-old. When I was twelve I don’t think I said two intelligible things in a row, but Jesus stands toe-to-toe with some of the greatest minds in the ancient world and they are amazed at his understanding! Luke 2:46 says Mary and Joseph “found him in the Temple courts sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.”
Graham Greene says, “There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.” This is it for Jesus. It’s a sneak preview. He’s only twelve, but he already has a way with words.
Fast forward eighteen years. Jesus walks into his hometown, delivers his first “sermon” and it says the people “were amazed at his gracious words.” Matthew 7:28 says, “The crowds were amazed at his teaching because he taught as one who had authority.” In Matthew 13:54 it says, “They were amazed.” And they asked, “Where did this man get this wisdom?” John 7:15 says “the Jews were amazed.” And they asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?” I have only one explanation. Jesus is “the Word.”
In John 12:49, Jesus makes quite a claim. He says, “I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. Whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
The Physics of Faith
Linguistics is just the tip of the iceberg. Go back to John 1. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Though him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
Scientifically speaking, the human voice is simply sound waves with different frequencies traveling through space at 1,100 feet per second. The average male speaks at a frequency of about 100 hertz and the average female has a higher pitched voice of about 150 hertz. You’ve got your Barry Whites and Whitney Houstons who have lower and higher voices, but the vocal range for humans is between 55 and 880 hertz. Our voices don’t go any lower than 55 hertz or any higher than 880 hertz.
And our voices are pretty much good for one thing: we use our voices--whether we’re singing or speaking, whispering or yelling--to communicate. We have slightly different pitches and volumes and tones, but we’re all doing the same thing. We’re using sound waves to express ideas so when we talk about “sound” or “words” or “voice” we tend to think in that range between 55 and 880 hertz. But therein lies the difference between our voices and the voice of the Lord. God doesn’t just use his voice to say stuff. God uses his voice to create stuff!
Psalm 33:6 says it this way. “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made. He spoke and it came to be.” Matthew Fox says the “word” “does not mean ‘word’ as understood linguistically, but rather an irresistible creative energy exploding into voluptuous and prodigious creativity.” Genesis 1:3 says, “And God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light.” I don’t know how else to say this: God used his voice to speak the universe into existence!
This is where physics comes into play. Sound is first and foremost a form of energy! According to the science of bioacoustics, everything was once a sound wave. The Medieval mystic, Meister Eckhart, said, “Every creature is a word of God.” That is only conclusion that can be drawn from Genesis 1:3. Everything originates with the voice of the Lord. God spoke everything and everyone into existence!
The Miracle of Sound
When you get beyond our vocal range--55 to 880 hertz--and beyond our hearing range--20-20,000 hertz--sound can do some amazing things.
Ultrasound is able to track submarines, break glass, kill insects, topple buildings, clean jewelry, catalyze chemical reactions, heal damaged tissues, pasteurize milk, break up kidney stones, drill through hard material, photograph unborn babies, and of course, drive dogs crazy!
Here’s the point: there is more to sound than meets the ear! We tend to think of words and voices and sounds linguistically. And God can speak audibly. But God doesn’t just use words to communicate. God uses His voice to heal and reveal and create.
God’s ability to speak isn’t limited to our ability to hear. This week I took my son, Parker, camping for his 7th birthday. We took a walk by the ocean and listened to the ocean waves and watched the sunset. We climbed an observation tower after dark and saw an amazing moonrise. We sat by the campfire and counted stars. We even saw a shooting star. At one point, I quoted Psalm 19. I said, “Parker, the heavens declare the glory of God.”
If I asked you, “Have you ever heard the voice of God?” You’d probably say, “No.” But the truth is that while most of us have never heard the audible voice of God, all of us have heard God’s voice.
Psalm 19 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world.”
According to linguists, there are approximately 6,000 languages in the world. That means there are 6,000 language barriers. But God bypasses all of them. Romans 1:20 says, “Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.”
Our natural tendency is to think of words as written or spoken. And there is a linguistic dimension to our faith. But I Corinthians 4:20 says, “The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”
One Word
Jesus’ way with words is unparalleled, but Jesus didn’t just use words to communicate. Jesus used words to heal and deliver. Matthew 8:16 is a classic example. It says, “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirit with a word and healed all the sick.” All it took was one word.
It’s tough to comprehend that kind of power. One of the most frustrating things about parenting is having to repeat yourself over and over and over again. “Don’t make me tell you again,” “If I have to tell you one more time,” “I just told you,” “What did I just say,” “I’m not telling you again.” Sometimes our words seem so impotent. All Jesus says is “Go.”
Faith is taking Jesus at his word. In Matthew 8, a centurion asks Jesus to go heal his paralyzed servant. Jesus is willing to go, but the centurion replies, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word and my servant will be healed.” Matthew says that Jesus was astonished. If you “astonish” the Son of God, you’re doing something right! Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” The centurion took Jesus at his word. That is what faith is all about. As the old saying goes, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.”