Christmas: The Memra Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Memra, and the Memra was with God, and the Memra was God. (John 1:1)

John wrote in Greek, but he was Hebrew in thought and Aramaic in speech. The Greek word for “word” is logos, a word which depicted logic and reasoning. But John uses the word to mean so much more. Consider these Old Testament Scriptures:

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

(Psalm 33:6)

He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions.

(Psalm 107:20)

Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.

(Psalm 119:105)

I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

(Psalm 138:2)

In the Septuagint, which is an ancient translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, the word for “word” in every instance is the Greek logos. It is not merely the reason or logic of God, but the very breath of God by which He created the heavens and the earth. It is the healing, life-giving power of God. It is the light of God which He manifested at Creation. It is equal to the name of God. To speak of the Word of God is to speak of God Himself.

This is exactly how the ancient Hebrew mind perceived the Word of God. The ancient targums, which were translations of the Hebrew Scriptures into Aramaic, the Word of God is often used as the name of God. The Aramaic word for “word” is memra.

• Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in His own image.” The Jerusalem Targum has, “And the memra of the LORD created man in His likeness.”
• In Genesis 9:17, God says to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.” Targum Onkelos says, “This is the sign which I established between my memra and between all flesh which are on the earth.”
• In Genesis 17:7, God says to Abraham, “I will establish My covenant between Me and you.” Targum Onkelos says, “I will establish My covenant between My memra and you.”
• In Genesis 28:21, “then the LORD shall be my God.” Targum Onkelos has, “then shall the memra of the LORD be my God.”
• In Exodus 14:31, where the Hebrew text says, “and believed the LORD,” Targum Onkelos has, “and believed in His memra .”
• Joshua 12:2, “Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD.” The ancient rabbi, Jonathan ben Uziel, has, “Now swear unto me by the memra of God.
• 1 Samuel 20:23, “And as for the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed the LORD be between you and me forever.” Targum Onkelos says, “And the thing we spoke of, you and I, this is the memra of God between you and me forever.”
• Psalm 62:8, “Trust in Him at all times your people.” Onkelos has, “Trust in the memra at all times.”
• Isaiah 45:17, “But Israel shall be saved by the LORD.” Jonathan ben Uziel has, “Israel will be redeemed by the memra of God.”
• Isaiah 45:22, “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth.” Jonathan ben Uziel has, “Turn to my memra , all dwellers on earth.”

This is in the mind of John as he opens his Gospel. He writes logos, but he thinks memra .

In the beginning was the Memra, and the Memra was with God, and the Memra was God. (John 1:1)

The startling thing is not that John equates the Memra/Logos/Word with God — that was nothing new for the Hebrew mind. The startling thing is that the Memra/Logos/Word “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) and that He is identified as Jesus the Messiah, the unique Son of God (vv. 17-18).

(See also The Word Became Flesh)

Christmas: The Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

Matthew’s Christmas story begins with a genealogy and tells of Mary and Joseph, of angels, dreams, and wise men. Mark begins with Old Testament prophecy and John the Baptist. Luke tells of Zechariah and Elizabeth, of Mary and Joseph, of census and stable and manger, of angels declaring and shepherds beholding, of Anna and Simeon.

John begins with the Word.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:1-5).

The author of Hebrews puts it this way:

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:1-3)

There is only one Word.

• This Word has always been with God.
• This Word is that which was spoken by the prophets, for their message is one.
• This Word is that by which God made the worlds—“framed” the worlds, as Hebrews 11:3 puts it. Nothing was made without this Word.
• This Word is the brilliant expression of the glory of God, the exact image of His substance.
• This Word is the power that sustains and holds all things together.
• This Word is the Son of the Father, and heir to all things.
• This Word is full of life and light. “For the Word of God is living and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12). “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

We cannot understand Christmas unless we understand this. For it is this same Word that John describes in John 1:14:

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

It was necessary, in order for the Word to purge us of our sins, that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, to bridge the gap between us and God. Having purged our sins by His death on the cross, the Word ascended to heaven and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. Because the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, all who receive Him are seated with Him at the right hand of Majesty (Ephesians 2:6).

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. This is the unique gift of the Father which we celebrate in this season. It is the glory we behold, the grace we need and the truth we seek — all given to us in abundance.

(See also The Memra Became Flesh)