We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

Myth Become History

Myth Become History

The Gospel of John tells of the coming of Jesus in an unusual way. John writes:

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. Everything came into existence through him. Not one thing that exists was made without him. He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity. The real light, which shines on everyone, was coming into the world… The Word became human and lived among us. We saw his glory. It was the glory that the Father shares with his only Son, a glory full of kindness and truth. —John 1:1-5; 9

Jesus is the eternal one who has been with the Father since the beginning. He is not merely a human who was born into history; he is actually the “source of life” and the glory of God. In this sermon clip, Greg connects the story of Jesus’ birth with the deep longings, the inner yearnings of our heart, for something that is greater than this world. He illustrates this by demonstrating that the great legends and myths from a variety of cultures point to Jesus. While today we often equate myths with something that is not true, in fact they often tap into very deep realities. J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, two experts on mythology and on Christianity, spoke of the coming of Christ as the myth that became history. Christ became the very thing the greatest mythological stories have pointed to.

If you are interested in the entire sermon, it can be viewed here.

Related Reading

Did Jesus Instruct Us to Arm Ourselves?

Over the past few posts, I’ve been dealing with the passages that are frequently used to argue how Jesus condoned violence. One of these takes place just after the last supper and just before Jesus and his disciples were going to travel to the Mount of Olives to pray. To prepare his disciples, Jesus tells them;…

Drum Roll Please: Greg’s Final Critique of Bart Ehrman’s Article

This is the ninth and final of several videos Greg put together to refute Bart Ehrman’s claims published in the article What Do We Really Know About Jesus? Thanks for hanging in there for this last one. I know it was a long wait, but the holidays got inordinately busy for Greg. In this segment, Greg talks…

Podcast: Why Did Jesus Need to Be Baptized?

Greg submerges himself in the topic of Jesus’ baptism. http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0078.mp3

Tags: ,

One Word

While I’ve lately been pretty distracted finishing up Benefit of the Doubt (Baker, 2013), my goal is to sprinkle in posts that comment on the distinctive commitments of ReKnew a couple of times a week. I’m presently sharing some thoughts on the second conviction of ReKnew, which is that Jesus Christ is the full and…

Seeing and Knowing God

There are many scripture passages that seem to suggest that the way people view God often says more about them than it does about God. Our perception of God, as well as other spiritual truths, is conditioned by the state of our heart. Jesus’ most important teaching on this matter is found in John’s Gospel…

A Christ-Follower’s Alternative to New Year’s Goals

tomo tang via Compfight Richard Dahlstrom over at Fibonacci Faith offered an alternative to setting New Year’s goals that can steal peace in our lives. What if we committed to attending to all the little revelations God gives us and made space to absorb these God-moments in order to respond well? Let’s all make this…