March 8, 2014: John Chapter 1

The Gospel According to John Chapter 1

Originally posted Thursday, April 3, 2008

General Comment: The Gospel according to John is unique among the Gospels. Its images of Jesus bear little resemblance to the Synoptic Gospels. Its sources are different except for certain passages which may be found in Luke's special source and even then John edits the material for his own community. John frequently uses words with double meanings, taking advantage of the richness of the Aramaic language which Jesus spoke. His time line for Jesus' ministry is three years instead of one and includes a number of visits to Jerusalem including at least two Passover celebrations. There are no parables as such but he does use many beautifully crafted metaphors in his multi-layered image of Jesus. The Kingdom of God is rarely mentioned. Much of the material is drawn from an eyewitness then reworked for a changing environment of preaching and teaching. In most cases the geographical references and mention of Jewish practices and Temple worship are more accurate than the other Gospels. These are but a few of the unique aspects we will encounter in these twenty one Chapters.

The Gospel was written in its final form in the time frame of 95-100 CE, probably in Ephesus. More than one writer and a final editor were involved, usually referred to as the Johannine School which also produced the three letters attributed to John as well as Revelation. The primary eyewitness source of the underlying oral tradition is the "Beloved Disciple" whose name is unknown and typically referred to as "the one whom Jesus loved" or the "other" disciple. The names of all four Gospels were added to manuscripts in the latter part of the second century.

One of the keys to understanding much of the dialog in John is the animosity that existed between John's community and the leadership of the Synagogues. We will read examples of harsh rhetoric reflecting the acrimonious nature of that relationship. There is a constant tension evident as they compete - battle, over who has the authority to speak for God, Moses or Jesus.

John Chapter 1:1-18 The Poem of Incarnation

Vss. 1-2 God's Time

The Prologue, as these verses are called, was written and added last by the final editor of the Gospel. They represent a preliminary summary of God's saving initiative in the world of humanity. One point is very clear in John: it is a Gospel about what God is doing. The instrument of the doing is Jesus.

John has reached into the depths of Jewish Wisdom literature including the book of Proverbs, Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon to develop the concept of the Word (Logos). This Word was in the beginning, meaning a time before time. It is no coincidence that the first words, "In the beginning" echo Genesis 1:1 for this is the story of a new creation and a new world. "The Word was with [the] God." It is important to note that being "with" God implies both relationship and separation. The Word is unique in and of itself. "And the Word was God." The better translation would be "And what God was the Word was." With the defining confirmation given in vs. 2, "He was in the beginning with God," John clarifies that while there is a relationship and identification between the Word and God they are not the same. Word is not another way of saying God. The Church will have to wait approximately two hundred and thirty years before the Trinitarian doctrine declares that in essence and substance Jesus is God and God is Jesus.

We can best interpret John's use of "Word" by looking at the word "memra" which is Aramaic for "Word" and is used by John to develop his meaning in vs. 1.  The "memra" is the presence of God but not God. They share a unity of purpose. God's purpose is expressed through the "memra." This is how John understands the Word, as the presence of God working in the world. For John, Jesus as the Word means he is the "memra," the presence of God working in the world. He does what God does. He says what God says. To see Jesus is to see God present and at work. To hear Jesus is to hear the words of God spoken. A helpful Old Testament example is the burning bush on Mount Sinai. It is the presence of God through which God speaks to Moses but it isn't God.

Vss. 3-13 Creation and the Gift of Life

John writes that all things (creation) came into being through the Word and not one thing came into being except through Him. "Through Him" means the Word is an agent of creation and not the creator (see Col. 1:15-20).

What came into being through Him was Life. There are two Greek words for life: bios for existing biological life and zoe for eternal life. The latter always means eternal life and wherever "life" appears in John it will have that meaning. The implication is that in the context of creation John writes that eternal life came into being as part of creation itself in and through the Word. He would equate this with the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, a symbol of the availability of eternal life for all humanity from the very beginning (Gen. 2:8-9).

This eternal life that came into the world through the Word was the Light of all people. In John "light" will generally mean revelation and specifically revelation of God and God's working presence in the world. When we put these concepts together we have John's most important statement about the Word. In Jesus is eternal life. That life is the revealing light for all people. The light reveals the human choice between good and evil, eternal life and eternal death. Everyone is faced with the choice and Jesus is the light that reveals - shines on the choices. This light shines in the darkness (the fallen world of expulsion from the Garden of Eden) but the darkness did not overcome it (vs. 5). Even the sin of Adam and Eve and their expulsion did not extinguish the availability of eternal life which is now present in and through the Word (Jesus). From this assertion John will later write for Jesus, "I am the way, the truth and the life" and "I am the light of the world."

This true light that enlightens everyone of their choices came into the world (of humanity) and the world did not know him (vs. 10). He came to his own (Israel) and they did not accept him (vs. 11). But those who did believe were empowered to become God's children born of God (vs. 12-13).

Vss. 14-18 The Incarnation

John brings together all the elements of the Word - God's presence, creation, life, light and choice. This Word became flesh and lived among us (vs. 14). The English translation leaves much to be desired. That the Word became flesh does not mean or imply that the Word possessed a body of flesh, as if it were some divine spirit independent of the body. John is specific in the use of "became." The Word came into being as flesh and that flesh was called Jesus. The Word "lived among us" in the Greek is "Tabernacled" or "pitched his tent among us." For John, then, this Word which was with God and in whom is eternal life has come into the world as Jesus. Not only that, he equates the Word become flesh with the Tabernacle, the Hebrew Tent of Meeting in which the Shekinah, the very presence of the Glory of God resided. If we can drink this heady new wine we will understand John's doxological song, "and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a Father's only Son, full of grace and truth (John uses grace for God's love)." In the Word that became flesh (Jesus) will be seen as the Glory of God. Although the Law came through Moses, through Jesus came grace (God's love) and [God's] truth. and it is the only Son of God who has made God known.

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In vs. 16 John uses the double expression "grace upon grace." John seldom uses the word "grace" and when he does it means God's love. Used in a double form it is John's way of combining two Old Testament terms, "hesed" and "emet," representing God's loving kindness and enduring love. This is the character of God which is brought among us in and through the Word made flesh.

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John Chapter 1:6-8, 15, 19-34 John the Baptist - The Witness

John the Baptist serves one purpose in the Gospel. He is the first witness to the coming of the Messiah, and the first to proclaim his presence. There is an interesting sub-theme in all verses about John: the writer carefully positions John as he relates to Jesus as the lesser in importance of the two. In vs. 8 John is not the light, but came to testify to the light; in vss. 15, 30 Jesus ranks ahead of John because he came before John; in vss 19-22 John answers the priests' question of his identity "confessing" he is not the Messiah, Elijah or the Prophet foretold by Moses. He is the messenger for the one who is to coming after him. He is not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.

The next day Jesus appears and is announced by John the Baptist as the Lamb of God who takes away the Sin of the world. Here the singular "Sin" is not the sins we commit. It is the human condition from which Jesus has come to liberate us. Sin is existence apart from God also characterized by John as an existence apart from believing in Jesus as the one sent by and the revealer of God. 

In vs. 29 the term "Lamb of God" can be applied to Jesus in two ideas. The first is the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, with a particular reference to vs. 7 which was cited as relating to Jesus' pacifist arrest, trial and crucifixion. Second is the Passover Lamb which is the lamb whose blood the Hebrews placed on their door ways so the angel of death would pass over. This is not a sacrificial lamb since the lamb is given back to the family for the Passover meal. Only the blood is used by the Temple priest. It is not for the forgiveness of sins. In combination perhaps John's view is that the Lamb of God is the one who suffers a death in which he gives himself to his family - the Church.

John Chapter 1:35-51 The First Disciples of Jesus

The first disciples that follow Jesus are not called by Jesus as they were in the Synoptic Gospels. They are disciples of John the Baptist who have heard John's testimony about Jesus and decide to follow him. It is widely held that many of Jesus' first disciples were previously John's. Here the two ask Jesus, "Teacher, where are you staying?" Jesus says, "Come and see." In John words have secular/literal and spiritual meanings. The typical response is to think in secular terms. In John that is almost always wrong. Here, "staying" is similar to "abiding" which means "what is your belief?" As an example, one can be said to be staying in obedience to and relationship with God. "Seeing," in a spiritual sense, means to understand and to believe. We use that in a typical response to an explanation of something, "I see." Later in the Gospel the visiting Greeks say they would "see" Jesus, meaning they believe in him.

In the "collecting" of disciples we also note an interesting model at work. One of the two was Andrew. Andrew finds his brother, Simon (Peter) and tells him he has found the Messiah. Andrew brings Simon to Jesus who promptly gives him a nickname, Cephas - Aramaic for "Rock." So far we have Andrew, Peter and one unnamed but generally considered to be the one who becomes "the one whom Jesus loved." After this Jesus and this limited band of followers go to Galilee. Somewhere along the way Jesus finds Phillip and invites him to become a follower. Phillip finds Nathaniel who is from Cana and tells him they have found the one Moses spoke of - the Prophet who was to come on the last day. Nathaniel's retort about nothing good coming out of Nazareth may be based on a feeling of competition between Cana and Nazareth, two towns probably involved in pottery making and other crafts to be sold in the larger cities.

What is interesting in these cases is that most of the followers are not the result of Jesus' call. They become followers because of the testimony (witness) of others. John the Baptist was a witness as was Andrew and Phillip. Most studies of church growth indicate that this model of sharing and inviting is the most effective method of evangelism and it is available to us all. Of course, we need a reason to invite and something to share. If being a Christian has been a positive part of our lives and if worship, fellowship and service are integrated facets of our own discipleship then we have what we need to share and to invite. To leave this important work to others, or to the "professionals," is to misunderstand the point of God's "free" grace. It may be free, but it isn't cheap.

The last verse of this passage is the first mention of the Son of Man. Based on John's Christology of Jesus as the Word who comes down from heaven he is the revealer of God, John uses the Jewish understanding of the Old testament story of Jacob's ladder on which the angels descend and ascend. The ladder was a metaphor for the connection between heaven and earth and the bringing of God's word to Israel. For John, Jesus, as both Word and Son of Man, is the one who is from heaven and brings God's word in himself to all those who will receive it.