Backwards
and these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. 1 John 1:4 NASB
Our joy – John must have been confused. I thought he wrote his gospel and letters so that the reader’s joy might be fulfilled. Don’t we automatically assume that John’s purpose is to make us feel better? But that’s not what he says. He speaks about “our joy.” That isn’t the well-being rejoicing of the reader. That is the exuberant anticipation of peace and harmony by the author on behalf of the Messianic community. John’s unusual choice of pronoun should remind us of an important apostolic presupposition—there is no “me” in the Kingdom.
John rejoices. His fellow believers rejoice. They experience the fulfillment of well-being. Why? Because they know that their witness to the truth and grace of God found in the manifestation of the Son will bring redemption and restoration to those who read these words and act upon them. The joy is in the message, not in the audience. It is the message that contains the power of resurrected living. It is the message that conveys the faithfulness of YHVH. It is the message that answers the pleas of the desperate. Rejoicing is fulfilled when the message is delivered. It doesn’t matter what personal effects result. John celebrates the good news that the Kingdom has come. What we do with that news is up to us.
Too often we read the apostles as if they are dispensing spiritual aphrodisiacs. We think that their intention is to relieve us of our guilt and make us feel accepted, washed and renewed. That version of the “good news” is myopic at best and heresy at worst. It just happens to be preached around the world because it appeals to a religious population of the self-preoccupied. But that is not John’s gospel. His good news is not that you and I will feel better because Jesus suffered. His good news is that God is faithful and after hundreds of years of waiting, He has not reneged on His promise. The Kingdom has been established on earth. The guarantee is found in the Messiah. The end of the age draws nearer. John rejoices because the real joy is for all those who are already embracing the King’s command. If you join this band of brothers and sisters, you too will discover the Kingdom of heaven on earth. That is the truly good news.
You and I may suffer because of this good news. We may be rejected, scorned, misunderstood, persecuted, even killed. But it is still good news and it is still worth rejoicing. What happens to those who follow matters not. No trials or tribulations will diminish one iota the glorious message, now cast as the cornerstone. Nothing can defeat it again since death itself has been overcome.
And that is really good news.
Rejoice. Let your joy become full.
Topical Index: joy, chara, rejoice, good news, 1 John 1:4
So . . . walking backwards in to the future, I’m headed along with the collective Torah observers to joy?
Pretty good news!
Skip, I’m not sure I am getting this: Yeshua was the manifestation of right relationship with YHVH, he was arom in the same sense that Adam and Havvah were arom before meeting the serpent (who was arum). And that (arom) is what the disciples saw demonstrated in Yeshua, and were able to partake in through His teaching, right? So what John is sharing here comes from the desire to bring that same arom communal relationship to those new to the Kingdom. That puts “walking in the light” in an entirely different perspective than what my Greek-oriented mind ever considered. Whoa. Heavy.
The version I have “The Scriptures” actually says “your joy” although I understand to a degree what you are saying. My friends that are from Israel say prayers for everyone just like our Messiah taught us, “Our Father” not my Father. It appears that this is also part of hesed. The Messiah said several times that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, which I read as now. May my greek mind be transformed.