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.
-John 1:10-11

The God who created the world was not recognized by his world. 

The only appropriate response to the Lord entering into creation would be to bow down and worship him, to behold his glory, to listen to his teaching, to bask in the glow of his light. 

But the world was so sinful that that was not what happened. 

He was despised and rejected. His teachings led many to hate him. And his teachings still do that. The world is often offended by the very words of God on earth. 

The world hates the gospel. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says: For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God

People dislike the exclusivity of Jesus. They dislike that they have to turn to him for salvation. People dislike his moral teachings which expose our sin. The world loves its darkness, and when the light of Christ shines on our darkness, many reject the light. 

everyone who does wicked things hates the light

John 1 says that the world did not know him. 

The world did not know what they had. 

Undercover Boss 

I used to enjoy a show called Undercover Boss. 

It was a reality show that would feature leaders within companies, such as founders, CEO’s, vice presidents, or other executives going undercover within their own companies. 

The show featured leaders for companies like Subway, True Value, Build-a-Bear, and even the Chicago Cubs. 

Throughout a week, they would spend a day in various entry level positions within the company. They would work alongside typical employees. They would get a sense of the work they were doing.

But for the employees, they would be working with the most powerful person in the company and they had no idea. It’s not that the undercover boss was their boss, he was everyone’s boss. He was their boss’s boss’ boss’s boss. 

And they had no idea. 

Sometimes they’d complain about corporate policies or explain ways to work around the rules, not knowing who they were talking to. They were with the head of the company and didn’t even know it. 

I think of Jesus coming into the world and I’m reminded of a similar irony in that people were interacting with the God of the universe and were mostly oblivious to that fact. 

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.

Jesus came to his world. It was his creation. And the world did not know him, the world did not respond to him as it should have, the world did not worship him. 

And it’s doubly ironic by the fact that Jesus came to the world that he made in order to die to save a world that was sinful. 

How sinful? 

So sinful that the world didn’t even accept our own creator when he came into the world. Many did not recognize Jesus for who he was. 

Thanks for reading! If you liked this, please share and subscribe. This post is part of a series on the Gospel of John.