Everything for humans depends on getting Jesus right. We have to understand who Jesus is. What he came for. What he accomplished. And what he wants. If we get this wrong, we end up outside of God's kingdom, looking in. We end up darkness. We perish.
But if we get all of this right, and do what Jesus wants, we inherit God's kingdom. We live in the light. We receive life.
So we have to get Jesus right.
The gospel of John begins by telling us almost everything we need to know about Jesus. But it does this, using poetic language. We read chapter 1, and find ourselves struggling to understand it. We grasp for its truth, only to feel parts of it confusing, or slip away from us.
That's okay, for now. We aren't supposed to read chapter 1, and totally understand it. But we are expected to read this, and remember it. John will come back to bits and pieces of chapter 1 over and over throughout the rest of his gospel. John 1 is the framework that gives us, as readers, an edge over everyone else that Jesus meets and talks to in the gospel. We already know about Jesus, what everyone else in the book has to figure out.
And the really cool thing about this passage, is that if you go back to it in about a year, and reread it, you'll marvel at how much better you understand it.
So let's start by simply reading verses 1-3:
(1) In the beginning, the Word was,
and the Word was (turned) toward God,
and God, the Word was.
(2) This one was in the beginning turned toward God.
(3) Everything through him [happened/came/was created],
and apart from him not one thing [happened/was created] that has [happened/been created].
What do these verses teach us about this mysterious "Word"?
(1) The Word existed before the beginning of the world. "In the beginning, the Word was." At the beginning of creation, the Word already existed (John 17:6). The Word is not part of creation; the Word precedes creation.
(2) The Word was "turned toward" God. "Pros" can mean "with," and that's how every English Bible translates this. But classically, when it's used with an accusative the idea is of motion or direction toward an object. So it's not that the Word is just "with" God. It's not just an association or connection. The Word is in some way independent of God, distinct from God, but the Word is also turned toward God.
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Westcott:
The idea conveyed by it is not that of simple coexistence, as of two persons contemplated separately in company (e??a? µet?, 3:26, &c.), or united under a common conception (e??a? s??, Luke 22:56), or (so to speak) in local relation (e??a? pa??, ch. 17:5), but of being (in some sense) directed towards and regulated by that with which the relation is fixed (5:19). The personal being of the Word was realised in active intercourse with and in perfect communion with God.
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(3) The Word was God. Now, this statement is tricky. If you've ever talked to a JW, and tried to convince him that Jesus is God by pointing to John 1, he will have an easy answer. "God" here doesn't have a definite article in front of it-- there is no "the." So a JW will tell you that what John says here, is that "the Word was "a" God."
The issue is a complicated one. But it's also really important. Let me just scratch the surface of this, and say two things:
(1) Many scholars argue that John couldn't say, "The Word was the God." You cannot point to the Word-- to Jesus-- and say that Jesus is the entirety of who God is. "God" is bigger than that. "God" is more complicated than that. And proof of this is found in how the church eventually settled on Trinitarian language.
I'm not sure this is quite right, and I say this because of my second point:
(2) Let's turn to John 20:28. This in many ways is the high point of the book. Jesus, after rising from the dead, appears to Thomas, and this is what Thomas says:
"My Lord, and my God."
In the Greek, it's "the Lord of me and the God of me." "God" has the definite article.
Thomas here says nothing wrong. In fact, what Thomas says, is what people have been reaching toward the entire book. Here, at the end, we see someone finally reach the same depth of understanding that is found in the prologue.
So I'm reluctant to argue that the gospel of John is opening with a finely nuanced, subtle explanation of the Trinity that depends on the definite article. John doesn't have a problem with Jesus being called "the" God.
So why doesn't he simply say, "The Word was the God"?
The explanation is a little nerdy, and is based on discourse analysis. Greek word order is flexible, but it's not random or arbitrary. When Greek authors want to focus on some particular point, they place that point before the verb to draw attention to it. Here, Jesus' identity as GOD is given focus. So John isn't making some subtle point that "God" is bigger than Jesus, and that we can't simply identify Jesus with the Godhead. He's saying, Jesus is GOD.
The fourth thing the prologue teaches about the Word is this:
(4) The entire world was created by/through the Word.
It's at this point that we should pause. When John writes all of this about the Word, he is not really saying anything that the Bible hasn't already taught about the Word in the OT. What John is doing is reading the OT, in light of what he knows about Jesus. So let's turn to Psalm 33, reading through verse 9 (NKJV):
33 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
2 Praise the LORD with the harp;
[a]Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the LORD is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.
6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea together [b]as a heap;
He lays up the deep in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the LORD;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
Who created the world? God did. God is the source of life. And HOW did God do it? By his Word (Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2; 1 Cor. 8:6). The Word is the means by which God created. God spoke, and it was done. His word alone, was able to create everything.
Now let's turn to Genesis 15:1-5 (NKJV):
15 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, [a]your exceedingly great reward.”
2 But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I [b]go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one[c] born in my house is my heir!”
4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
7 Then He said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”
So here, the Word of Yahweh comes to Abram in a vision, and Abram calls this Word "Yahweh Elohim." This Word is God himself. Then, in verse 5, the Word of Yahweh, after "coming to Abraham," responds to Abram's protest by taking Abram outside. The Word is in the same room as Abraham.
In verse 6, Abram believed in.... who? In Yahweh. The Word of Yahweh is Yahweh.
And then the Word says, in verse 7, "I am Yahweh, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans."
So when John begins his gospel as he does, he isn't telling us anything new yet. All he is doing is summarizing what the OT teaches about the Word of Yahweh.
So let's reread John 1:1-3:
(1) In the beginning, the Word was,
and the Word was turned toward God,
and God, the Word was.
(2) This one was in the beginning turned toward God.
(3) Everything through him [happened/came/was created],
and apart from him not one thing [happened/was created] that has [happened/been created].
The idea in verse 3 is not just that the world was created through the Word. It's not actually the word "create" here (although it's what the LXX uses in Genesis 1). Everything God has done on earth, and for earth, he has done through his Word. And a good example of this, is that the Word brought Abram out from Ur.
John continues, in 1:4:
(4) In him was life,
and the life was the light of people,
The Word has within himself "life." He is life. And the really cool thing about this, is that the Word can give life to other people. The Word can heal people. The Word can raise people from the dead. And when the Word does these things, giving life, it gives light to people. They are able to see God, and the world, as they actually are. The Word is like a light switch that you turn on.
Verse 5:
(5) and the light in the darkness shines,
and the darkness didn't overcome/understand it.
When we think about light and darkness, we know that they are natural enemies. They cannot coexist; they naturally push on each other, and try to conquer each other.
The world, by nature, is dark (Gen. 1:2). And the world, in its evil, is often described as walking in darkness (Ps. 82:5; John 12:35; 1 John 1:5-6; 2:9, 11). But God, by nature, is light (1 John 1:5). And He, by nature, walks in the light.
And light, by nature, invades the realm of darkness (Westcott).
So the Word, as light, invaded the darkness. The darkness pushed back, and tried to overcome it. But the light won, and continues to shine.
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Westcott:
The relation of darkness to light is one of essential antagonism. If the darkness is represented as pursuing the light it can only be to overshadow and not to appropriate it. And this appears to be the meaning here. The existence of the darkness is affirmed, and at the same time the unbroken energy of the light. But the victory of the light is set forth as the result of a past struggle; and the abrupt alteration of tense brings into prominence the change which has passed over the world. It could not but happen that the darkness when it came should seek to cover all; and in this attempt it failed: the light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness overcame it not.
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Are we all a little confused? John will have much more to say about life, and light, and darkness. This will eventually make more sense. But when we read these verses, we should understand that this is a story of conflict, and victory. The light still shines. The Word still gives life, and light.
Understand that up to this point, we still haven't talked about Jesus at all. When we say "Jesus," we are getting ahead of ourselves. We are still talking about the Word of God/Yahweh.
In verse 6, John continues by suddenly talking about John the Baptist:
(6) A man happened/came,
having been sent from God.
His name was John.
(7) This one came as a witness,
in order that he would witness about the light,
in order that all would give allegiance through him.
(8) That one was not the light,
but [came] in order that he would witness about the light.
John is going to work very hard in his gospel to make sure you understand that John the Baptist is not the Light (he is a "lamp"; John 5:35). He is not the Life. He is not the one God wants everyone to give their allegiance to.
What is John? John is a witness. When someone comes to you making big claims about something, and you don't know who they are or what to think, how do you decide if you can trust them? What you need, is evidence. You need some sign that what that person is saying is trustworthy.
The gospel of John is going to make big claims about Jesus. It makes these claims, knowing that they aren't something you can or should blindly accept. You need evidence. John the Baptist is part of that evidence. In any lawsuit, you need witnesses. If someone is killed, and the actual act was caught on camera, or seen by someone, you have proof, right? If you find someone knife in hand, bloody, you know they did it. You need evidence to convict. Ideally, you have witnesses.
John is a witness. God knew that people would need to see evidence that this Word was who he said. And it's for this reason that God sent John the Baptist.
In verse 9, John transitions back to talking about the Word. Here, we learn that the Word reentered the world. We are no longer talking about creation, or the time of Abram. We are talking about recent history:
(9) He was the true light who gives light to everyone coming into the world.
(10) In the world, he was,
and the world through him happened/came/was created,
and the world didn't know/recognize him.
So the Word entered the world, but the world didn't recognize him. The world saw him, probably, but didn't understand what it was seeing.
Verse 11:
(11) To/for his own he came,
and his own didn't receive him.
John here is talking about the Judeans (=Jews). God's chosen people, throughout the OT, was Israel. Let's turn to Deut. 32:7-9 (ESV, which follows Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint):
7 Remember the days of old;
consider the years of many generations;
ask your father, and he will show you,
your elders, and they will tell you.
8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
when he divided mankind,
he fixed the borders[a] of the peoples
according to the number of the sons of God.[b]
9 But the LORD's portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted heritage.
Yahweh picked out Israel as his special portion. He contracted out the rest of the world to the sons of God, and let them rule over the nations (Psalm 82; Job 1, 2).
So if the rest of the world didn't recognize the Word of Yahweh, you'd maybe understand. But John thinks Israel (Judeans) should've recognized the Word. And the fact that Israel didn't, is a tragedy. This is a bitter note.
Verses 12-13:
(12) Now, as many as received him, he gave to them the right, children of God to become/happen-- to the ones giving allegiance to his name--,
the ones not from blood,
nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man,
but of/from God were born,
We just read, in verse 11, that his own-- the Judeans-- didn't recognize the Word. But this doesn't mean that all is lost. There are some who "received him"-- who "gave allegiance to the name of the Word." And it was these ones who became children of God. These ones have a birth "from God."
So how do we become God's children?
We become God's children, not by birth, and not through Judaism, but through the Word.
We are supposed to recognize Him, receive Him, and give our allegiance to his name.
Verse 14:
(14) and the Word, flesh it became,
and he pitched a tent among us,
and we observed his glory-- glory as of the unique one from the Father, full of favor/grace and truth.
In the OT, the Israelites, at times, saw God's glory. In the wilderness, the people saw God's glory in the cloud (Exodus 16:10). They saw his glory on Mt. Sinai, and were terrified (Exodus 24:16). God's glory settled on the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34) and on the temple Solomon built (1 Kings 8:11).
God's glory is the visible evidence that God is radically present among his people. But his glory is also a shield that protects people from actually seeing God. No one can see God and live (Isaiah 6:3). And so God, in kindness, uses smoke and fire and dark clouds to make sure that people don't actually see Him. Because we can't handle it.
What John says, in 1:14, is that the Word became flesh, and lived among us. "And we observed his glory-- glory as of the unique one from the Father."
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Cheat, or no?
John 17:5:
"And now, glorify me, Father, alongside yourself, with the glory that I had before the world existed, alongside you."
In the gospel of John, Jesus always had glory, like his Father. But he stripped off that glory when he became flesh (along the lines of Phil. 2:7). Here, in John 17:5, he asks his Father to give him the glory he used to have. And in the gospel of John, this glory was given when Jesus was exalted on both the cross, and ascension. This is when he was "lifted up." The cross is not a moment of defeat. It's not (in John) a moment of darkness. The cross is the moment of Jesus' glory. John says, "we observed his glory." We saw Jesus at the moment of his exaltation, and had the insight to understand what we were seeing-- Jesus, glorified, lifted up.
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Let's reread verse 14, and grab the last part:
(14) and the Word, flesh it/he became,
and he pitched a tent among us,
and we observed his glory-- glory as of the unique one from the Father, full of favor/grace and truth.
There was a fullness to the Word, and what the Word offered. The Word was full of favor/grace, and truth. What does this mean? John will explain this in a minute.
In verse 15, we find ourselves reading more about John the Baptist. So, another shift:
(15) John witnessed about him,
and he has cried out, saying,
"This one is whom I said,
"The one after me coming, before me has come,
because earlier than me he was,"
(16) because from his fullness we all received, even favor/grace in place of favor/gift,
(17) because the law through Moses was given.
The gift and truth through Jesus Christ happened.
Here, we finally discover that the Word was Jesus Christ. Jesus is the preexistent one. The one through whom everything was created. Jesus, is God himself.
And it's through Jesus that we received the "fullness" of God-- we received everything from God that there is to receive.
Let me reread verses 16-17:
(16) because from his fullness we all received, even favor/grace/gift in place of favor/grace/gift,
(17) because the law through Moses was given.
The gift and truth through Jesus Christ happened.
At an earlier time, the law of Moses was given. And this, truly, was a gift. It was a sign of God's favor. But now we have received a greater gift through Jesus Christ. John doesn't say what that gift is here, but if we put together all of chapter 1, we have a pretty good idea. The Word-- Jesus-- is Light and Life. So we read this, assuming that the gift is connected to these things. Jesus frees us from darkness, and he gives us life, and he makes us God's children. And there is a fullness to this gift that far surpasses the law of Moses.
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It's a really big deal that "anti" means "in place of," not upon. It's a grace in place of a grace. The grace Jesus gives, replaces the grace given through Moses. H/T Francis Moloney.
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John then closes this section, in verse 18:
(18) God, No one has ever seen.
The unique God -- the one at/toward the Father's chest -- that one has reported in full.
If you really want to know God, you do so through Jesus. Jesus told us everything there is to know about God. And since Jesus is God, to see Jesus, is to see God.
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Everything I've just, is a lot. Right? AJ (Author of John) moves us from thinking about one thing, to another. He uses small words, but he's describing big, complex realities. He expects a lot of us, and we feel our minds buckling under the weight of it.
It's okay if you can't remember it all. It's okay if it doesn't all make sense. You will remember more than you think. And we will find ourselves returning to the prologue, over and over.
But at the end of the day, what is this passage about?
It's about the most important question anyone will ever ask: Who is Jesus?
AJ tells us, up front, what he thinks. Jesus is the preexistent Word, come in human flesh. Jesus is God. Jesus is Life, and Light, and Truth. Jesus is the fullness of God, and he comes offering a greater gift than Moses did.
And if you want to be God's children, you have to go to Jesus. You have to accept that Jesus is who John says he is. You have to "receive" Jesus, and "give your allegiance" to Jesus.
And if you do this, you receive light, and life, and truth. You receive, out of God's fullness.
In the weeks ahead, as we get into the gospel of John, we will see people confronted with this basic choice, over and over. People see Jesus, and what he is doing (his signs/works), and some of them will come to the light/Light and give their allegiance to Jesus. Others will see Jesus, and reject him completely. And a third group will try to straddle these two options. They will give partial allegiance to Jesus and, at the same time, keep a toe in the darkness/world.
Everyone needs to make a decision about who Jesus is. And the gospel of John is written to push you to Jesus.
What John wants, is for you to recognize who Jesus really is, and receive him, and give your allegiance to him.
John has no desire to be impartial here. You can't be impartial, or neutral, when it comes to Jesus.
So the question you are going to have to answer is this: Do you believe all of this? Do you believe the author's testimony? Do you trust the testimony of John the Baptist?
And if you do, are you willing to take the next step?
Translation:
(1) In the beginning, the Word was,
and the Word was with/for God,
and God, the Word was.
(2) This one was in the beginning with/for God.
(3) Everything through him [happened/came/was created],
and apart from him not one thing [happened/was created] that has [happened/been created].
(4) In him was life,
and the life was the light of people,
(5) and the light in the darkness shines,
and the darkness didn't understand/overcome it.
(6) A man happened/came ,
having been sent from God.
His name was John.
(7) This one came as a witness,
in order that he would witness about the light,
in order that all would give allegiance through him.
(8) That one was not the light,
but [came] in order that he would witness about the light.
(9) He was the true light who gives light to everyone coming into the world.
(10) In the world, he was,
and the world through him happened/came,
and the world didn't know/recognize him.
(11) To/for his own he came,
and his own didn't receive him.
(12) Now, as many as received him, he gave to them authority, children of God to become/happen-- to the ones giving allegiance to his name--,
the ones not from blood,
nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man,
but of/from God were born,
(14) and the Word, flesh it became,
and he tabernacled among us,
and we observed his glory-- glory as of the unique one from the Father, full of gift/grace and truth.
(15) John witnessed about him,
and he has cried out, saying,
"This one is whom I said,
"The one after me coming, before me has come,
because earlier than me he was,"
(16) because from his fullness we all received, even favor/gift in place of favor/gift,
(17) because the law through Moses was given.
The gift and truth through Jesus Christ happened.
(18) God, No one has ever seen.
The unique son-- the one being in the bosom of the Father-- that one has reported in full.
