And The Word Became Flesh: An Exposition Of John 1:1-18

In the Creation account, the Word is spoken, “Let there be light!” Where there is light, the darkness must recede. The sun rises in the morning and darkness disappears. Darkness cannot overcome light, but light always overcomes darkness. Darkness only occurs where there is no light. The Word is said to shine in this darkness. The darkness must retreat. But what if people are blind. There the light shines in darkness, and yet it is not perceived. The word “katelabon” has several meanings, two of which have been described above. Should it be translated “overcome,” as in “the darkness was unable to stand up to it?” Or is it “comprehend” as in which says that even though the light was clearly shining, humankind was blind and could not understand. It seems from the rest of the prologue which says “His own people did not receive Him” seems to favor the latter.

We now come to a major break in the revelation of the Word. The witness of John the Baptist breaks into the sequence. We must ask the question, “Why.” Is John disorganized? It seems that it would be good form to talk about the Word in its entirety and leave all the statements about John the Baptist to Chapter 2. Or is John deliberately placing it here which seems likely. What would a deliberate intrusion of John the Baptist mean? The answer to this is that if you want to draw attention to something, put it out of place. If one comes to work with their sweater on inside act, does it not draw attention? If someone who is habitually late to a meeting comes early, does it not draw attention. If one wants to attract attention to their social media profile, one could put his or her picture upside-down. The attention drawn might not be flattering, but it does draw attention.

The use of dislocations in writing or speaking have the same effect. Greek is very flexible with word order. The general use of word order prevails, so when a particular word is put out of place, usually to the front, it attracts attention and emphasis. We already saw this in verse 3” “And God was the Word.” The same technique can be used to put sentences and even paragraphs out of order. In this case, it puts emphasis upon the role of John the Baptist in the plan of God above that which it would have had if John had waited to chapter 2 to introduce Him. John has not ended His exposition of the Word but interrupts it for John’s role as a witness.

John left off with the Light shining in the darkness of fallen humanity, and that the people were blind to the light. In order to be able to appreciate that the Light had been shining all along, they need to have their sight restored. All of the cosmic words by which John introduce the Logos mean nothing without eyes to see and ears to here. So the witness of John the Baptist comes front and center. The importance of witness is one of the key themes of John’s gospel. In fact, his stated purpose is that the readers might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that through this belief might have eternal life through His name.