Lesson 2

But the Prologue does more than just introduce us to these important themes and terms. It is a literary device that John uses to empower his readers and gently nudge them towards his conclusion: “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name” (20:31). He does this by giving us, from the very start, important information about Jesus. For example, we are told that Jesus is the preexistent and incarnate Word of God through whom everything has been made. Other characters in the narrative (such as the disciples, Jesus’ enemies, Nicodemus, and the Samaritan woman) aren’t privy to this information and therefore struggle to understand who Jesus is and what he says and does. Sharing in the narrator’s omniscience enables us to interpret the story from this perspective.

 

Scholars debate whether the Prologue was actually written by John. Those who don’t think so claim that he either adapted an existing poem taken from another religious tradition or that someone else included it later on. However, these ideas are just speculations that cannot be proven or disproven. Furthermore, the thematic unity with the rest of the gospel suggests that the Prologue was written by the same author, and even if John used another text, he reworked it to such a degree that it is impossible for us to distinguish between his adaptations and the original.

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If John has used sources in the Prologue we cannot isolate them, for they have been so thoroughly re-worked and woven into a fabric or fresh design that there are no unambiguous seams.” (D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, Apollos, 1991, p.112)

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The Structure of the Prologue

 

Scholars also discuss the organization of the Prologue and have proposed many different structures. The following are two that I find both convincing and helpful for understanding John’s message. We should regard them as complementary rather than contradictory. According to Andreas Köstenberger, the Prologue has the following chiastic structure (see Andreas Köstenberger, Encountering John, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2013, p. 44).

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A – The Word’s activity in creation (1:1–5)

B – John’s witness concerning the light (1:6–9)

C – The incarnation of the Word (1:10–14)

B – John’s witness concerning the Word’s preeminence (1:15)

A’ – The final revelation brought by Jesus Christ (1:16–18)

 

Remember, in a chiasm, the text is structured according to a A–B–C ... C’–B’–A’ pattern that the author uses to draw our attention to the most important idea found in the center. This structure highlights the Incarnation (“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”) as the key idea.  

 

The following proposal is a simplified version offered by the BibleProject in their video John 1 – The Word Becomes Human.

 

A – Image of Jesus as the Word of God (1:1–2)

B – Jesus and the new creation (1:3–13)

B’ – Jesus and the new exodus (1:14-17)

A’ – Image of Jesus as the Son in the lap of the Father (1:18)

 

The beginning and ending give us two different images that describe Jesus’ relationship with his Father: Jesus as the Word and Jesus as the Son. The body of the Prologue can be divided into two parts. In the first, John presents a summary of Jesus’ story using imagery and language taken from the creation account in Genesis. In the second, he presents another summary using imagery and language taken from the exodus. This suggests that Jesus’ coming has brought about a new creation and a new exodus.

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The Prologue’s Opening and Closing

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The lines that open and close the Prologue reveal John’s literary genius and theological depth. Their poetic beauty draws the reader into the story right from the beginning. In the original Greek, the word that ends each phrase in 1:1 is repeated at the beginning of the next phrase. This poetic device is called synthetic parallelism and was common in ancient Hebrew poetry. Unfortunately, this is obscured by translations which normally change the word order to better match our modern syntax. The following is a more literal translation that respects the original word order in Greek.

 

In the beginning was the Word,

And the Word was with God,

And God was the Word.

 

The attentive reader should also notice that this opening echoes the beginning of both Genesis and Mark’s Gospel.

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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Gn 1:1)

 

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Mk 1:1)

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This is no coincidence. John is telling us that Jesus’ story didn’t begin with either his public ministry in Galilee or creation. Its beginning is to be found in the eternity of God.

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Two Images of Jesus

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When Christians were looking for words to express their faith, they opted to use common words and images from their culture because it would be easier for people to understand and accept them. The theological vocabulary we use to express our faith in the Trinity—such as substance, person, relation, and even the word Trinity—was developed centuries later, so John couldn't use it. Instead, he used two images to help us understand Jesus’ relation to his Father: Word and Son.

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Jesus as the Word of God

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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. (1:1–2)

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The online Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “word” as “a speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolizes and communicates a meaning.” We can see by this definition that words consist of two elements: a meaning and sounds that symbolize this meaning.

 

A meaning or idea first exists inside a person’s head, but when spoken it becomes "embodied" with sound and leaves the person, becoming a separate reality. So, a word is simultaneously one with the person who thinks it (the idea in the mind) and distinct from them (the spoken word that comes out).

 

By using this image, John is telling us that Jesus is both one with God (that is, the Father) and distinct from him. He then emphasizes this idea in poetic form:

 

A - In the beginning was the Word,

B – and the Word was with God,

B’ – and the Word was God.

A’ – He was in the beginning with God.

 

The outer lines describe the Word’s eternal nature (in the beginning). The middle lines express the Word’s identity. He is one with God (the Word was God). But as the spoken Word, he is also distinct from God (the Word was with God). God and the Word are, therefore, both one and two distinct things. The theological conclusion we draw from this is that Jesus is not a mere human being, he is also a divine person who has existed from all eternity, and he is both one with the Father and distinct from him.

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Jesus as the Son of God

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No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known. (1:18)

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The online Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “bosom” as “a state of enclosing intimacy; warm closeness”. This image emphasizes the closeness and the loving relationship between the Father and the Son. Although John only mentions this relationship once at the end of the Prologue, he will develop this theme throughout the rest of his gospel. For example:

 

• “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand” (3:35).

• The Father sent him (see 5:23, 27).

• He has come in his Father’s name (see 5:43).

• Jesus lives “because of the Father” (6:57).

• No one can come to Jesus unless it is granted by the Father (see 6:65).

• “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me" (7:16).

• Jesus and the Father are one (see 10:30).

• Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in him (see 10:38).

• The Son glorifies the Father’s name (see 12:28).

• Jesus is the way to the Father (see 14:6).

• Jesus will return to the Father (see 14:12).

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The Word in the Biblical Tradition

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After the Prologue, John never speaks of Jesus as the Word of God. But this doesn’t mean that this image is not important. We will now look at why John used it and try to understand how his readers would have understood it. John used the term “word” or logos in Greek because it would have resonated with both his pagan- and Jewish-Christian readers. For the latter, the term was part of their rich biblical tradition.

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God had created the world through his Word, as we read in the Book of Genesis:

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And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. (Gn 1:3)

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This creation account repeats the phrase “And God said” 10 times. We read there how, during the first three days of creation, God overcame the original chaos by creating the necessary form or environment to sustain life and then proceeded to fill this form, during the following three days, with the creatures that he created. God did all of this through his Word, which acted as his agent.

 

We can find other places in the Bible that also connect God’s Word to his creation. For example:

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By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

    and all their host by the breath of his mouth. (Ps 33:6)

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But in addition to creating the world, God does other things as well through his Word. For example, he saves people in distress.  

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 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

    and he delivered them from their distress;

he sent forth his word, and healed them,

    and delivered them from destruction. (Ps 107:19–20)

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And he reveals his will. When God encountered Moses on Mt. Sinai, we read:

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And God spoke all these words, saying… (Ex 20:1)

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What follows are what we call the 10 commandments, but which the Bible calls the 10 words.

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And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments [“words” in the original Hebrew]. (Ex 34:28)

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Ancient rabbis noticed the parallel between the 10 words spoken by God in creation and the 10 words spoken by God in Exodus and used it to reach the conclusion that Israel’s liberation from slavery in Egypt wasn’t just a sociopolitical event, it was also a new, spiritual creation. Through it, Israel had become God’s chosen nation.

 

So, we see that God created the world, revealed his law, and saved his people through his Word. The latter books of the Old Testament begin to personify God’s Word. That is, they describe it as a personal subject, distinct from God and capable of acting on its own.

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For while gentle silence enveloped all things,

and night in its swift course was now half gone,

thy all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne,

into the midst of the land that was doomed. (Wis 18:14–15)

 

Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah. (Is 38:4)

 

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

    and return not thither but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth;

    it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

    and prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (Is 55:10-11)

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In this last passage, we can see how the Word goes out to achieve something, and once it has accomplished it, it then returns to God. This closely matches John’s description of Jesus’ mission. He was sent by the Father to carry out his work.

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For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. (3:17)

 

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.” (4:34)

 

I glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do. (17:4)

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And once he accomplishes it,

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When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (19:30)

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He then returns to the Father.

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Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father. (14:12)

 

If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. (14:28)

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The Word in Greek Philosophy

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The Greek term logos was also widely used by philosophers in the ancient Greek world. Heraclitus (VI century BC) reportedly spoke of it as guiding and ordering the universe. The Stoics developed this doctrine further. For them, the logos was the rational principle by which everything existed. They identified it with God. For Philo of Alexandria, a Hellenized Jew who lived from around 20 BC to around AD 50, the logos was an intermediary being between God and the world, which he called the demiurge.

 

For this course, it is not necessary to understand these philosophical ideas. I mention them just to highlight the importance of the term logos in the pagan world. This may have influenced John’s decision to use it to describe Jesus’ relationship with God.

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With this background information in mind, we can see that John’s choice of logos is entirely appropriate for his purpose. 

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In short, God’s ‘Word’ in the Old Testament is his powerful self-expression in creation, revelation, and salvation, and the personification of that ‘Word’ makes it suitable for John to apply it as a title to God’s ultimate self-disclosure, the person of his own Son. But is the expression would prove richest for Jewish readers, it would also resonate in the minds of some readers with entirely pagan backgrounds. (D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, Apollos, 1991, p. 116)

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The Prologue’s Body

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As we mentioned above, the Prologue’s body can be divided into two parts. This structure is based on the different images and language found in each part. The first part uses imagery from the creation account in Genesis to speak of Jesus. The second part does the same, but with imagery taken from Exodus. As we will see, each of these parts can be further divided into three sections.

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Jesus and the New Creation

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Section 1 – Creation Imagery

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All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (1:3–5)

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John wants to show us that Jesus’ coming into the world was the beginning of a new creation. We have already seen how he uses the phrase “In the beginning” and the term “Word” in the first two verses to connect Jesus to the original creation. However, these are just the tip of the iceberg. We find many other references to creation imagery in the rest of the Prologue.

 

In the third verse, he speaks openly about the Word’s role in creation: “All things were made through him”. And in the following two verses he uses the terms “life”, “light”, and “darkness” and speaks of the conflict between light and darkness. These are all taken from the creation account.

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The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. (Gn 1:2–5)

 

And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures… Let the earth bring forth living creatures.” (Gn 1:20;24)

 

Everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food (Gn 1:30)

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This use of creation imagery is intentional. Just as God’s first act of creation was to create light, now Jesus has come to bring about a new creation as the light of the world.

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We can draw several important conclusions from this. First, the original creation was oriented to Jesus’ coming. That is, God’s creation of matter, space, and time was not an isolated event. Neither did Jesus come just to save a fallen world. Creation and the incarnation are related. God’s purpose from the very beginning was to form us into his family by making us his children in Christ. Paul expresses this idea more clearly in his Letter to the Ephesians.

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He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. (Eph 1:4–5)

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Second, when God brought all things into existence, he did so through his Word, which wasn’t just an impersonal force used by God. His Word is a divine person yet distinct from the Father. And Jesus, as God’s Word, was actively involved in creating the world. We find this idea throughout the New Testament.

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He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. (Col 1:15–16)

 

In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (Heb 1:1–2)

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Perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence that Jesus was a carpenter. It seems like he enjoys building things. 

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Section 2 – John the Baptist

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There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light. (1:6–8)

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The Evangelist now introduces us to John the Baptist. He must have had good reasons for doing this because he not only interrupts his train of thought but also highlights it by switching from verse to prose.

 

The original Greek text also contains many repetitions. We read in verse 3 that all things di autou egeneto, that is, all things were made through the Word. Now, we read that there came to be (egeneto) a man sent from God, who came to bear witness so that all might believe through him (di autou). The very same words are used to refer to both the Word and John the Baptist.

 

The gospel also mentions for the first time the idea of bearing witness. As we saw above, the word appears 47 times, so it must be important for the author. The Greek word for bearing witness is martureó, from which the word martyr comes. In this sense, John the Baptist was the first Christian martyr, and he gave testimony about Jesus so that we would believe in him.

 

The motif of bearing witness is important throughout the whole Bible. In the History of Salvation, even God calls on witnesses to validate his word: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the prophets, etc. Now it is John the Baptist who gives testimony to the light.

 

The Evangelist insists that the Baptist bears witness to the light but is not the light. John the Baptist was an extremely popular figure because he was the first prophet to come in hundreds of years and was widely accepted as having been sent by God. Since some thought that he might be the Messiah, the Evangelist had to clarify that he wasn’t. He was just his precursor.           

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Section 3 – The Choice

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The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (1:9–13)

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Despite John’s testimony, many have rejected the light and chosen to remain in darkness. This is possible because God has given us all the gift of freedom. He does not want to force us into believing. But those who believe in Jesus’ name and accept his light are created anew as children of God.

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The Incarnation

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And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. (1:14)

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This verse is the center of the Prologue and, according to the chiastic structure, it is the most important idea. John is responding to the heresy of Docetism. The word “docetism” derives from the Greek dokeĩn, which means “to seem” and dókēsis, which means “apparition" or "phantom”. Although this heresy took on different forms, what they all have in common is that they deny Jesus’ true humanity. They claim that Jesus wasn’t human because he lacked a true body, that is, he only appeared to have a body. John responds to this by clearly stating: the Word became flesh. By doing so, he was emphasizing the fact that Jesus had a true, physical body and therefore was fully human.

 

The word “incarnation” comes from the Latin translation of John 1:14: et Verbum caro factum est.

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Jesus and the New Exodus

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Section 1 – Exodus Imagery

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Starting with verse 14, John retells the story of Jesus coming into the world, this time using imagery taken from the exodus. The Greek word skēnoō, translated here as “dwelt”, actually means “pitched his tabernacle (skēnē)” or “lived in his tent”. This word should remind us of the tabernacle Moses built (see Ex 26, 36, and 40). We read that as soon as he had finished consecrating it,

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The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. (Ex 40:34)

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John is telling us that Jesus is the new tabernacle. That is, just as God had come down from heaven to dwell in the original tabernacle so that he could be amongst his people, so too has he now come down to dwell among us in a more personal way, as the incarnated Word. Jesus is now the place of God’s presence among us. And just as the Israelites beheld the glory of the Lord in the form of cloud and fire upon and in the tabernacle,

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For throughout all their journeys the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel. (Ex 40:38)

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So too can we behold God’s glory in his Son Jesus Christ. In John’s gospel, Jesus reveals his glory through his signs: “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (2:11). Faith is necessary to be able to see his glory.

 

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Section 2 – John the Baptist

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John bore witness to him, and cried, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.’” (1:15)

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As before, the Evangelist interrupts his story about Jesus to tell us how John the Baptist bore witness to him. But once again, he reminds us that he is not the Messiah.

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Section 3 – The Choice

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And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (1:16–17)

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Just as God gave the Israelites the law—his Word—through Moses, we have now received the fulness of his gift through Jesus Christ. God’s law was a great gift of love. It told the Israelites what God expected from them, but it didn’t enable them to live it. God’s grace, on the other hand, is superior because it empowers us so that we can live according to his will. It creates us anew, as his children, capable of sharing in the divine life. So, John contrasts the two and the reader is left to choose between them.

 

That which John describes poetically in one sentence, Paul developed more systematically.

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Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on your hearts, to be known and read by all men; and you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

 

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our sufficiency is from God, who has qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, not in a written code but in the Spirit; for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives life.

 

Now if the dispensation of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such splendor that the Israelites could not look at Moses’ face because of its brightness, fading as this was, will not the dispensation of the Spirit be attended with greater splendor? For if there was splendor in the dispensation of condemnation, the dispensation of righteousness must far exceed it in splendor. Indeed, in this case, what once had splendor has come to have no splendor at all, because of the splendor that surpasses it. For if what faded away came with splendor, what is permanent must have much more splendor.

 

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not see the end of the fading splendor. But their minds were hardened; for to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds; but when a man turns to the Lord the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor 3) 

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We can now know God and receive his grace and contemplate his glory. This is possible thanks to the fact that someone who was with God and has seen him has become incarnate and come to us to revealed God to us. It has taken John 17 verses to build up to the moment in which he finally reveals his name. This person, Jesus Christ, is the incarnate Word of God through whom we receive the grace to be created anew and become God’s children. Just as John witnesses to Jesus, so too does Jesus Christ witness to God.

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Assignments

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• Describe the structure of the Prologue.

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• Explain the meaning of the images of Jesus as the Word of God and Jesus as the Son of God. 

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• Show how John used imagery taken from the creation and exodus accounts to say that in Jesus, we have a new creation and a new exodus.

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