John 1- Andy's thoughts

Since I have gotten a little behind on my blog posts, I decided to hop into John 1 in order to keep up with the daily readings. I hope to go back and add posts on Luke 22-24 soon.

As some of you have already noted, this gospel is distinct from Luke. I agree with you Kathleen, it is encouraging to see the different ways that people talked about Jesus. I am reminded that it is good to have a variety of perspectives and styles of communication. I think this is a reminder for us that we should welcome and celebrate the plethora of ways that people talk about Jesus today (provided that it is in keeping with what the Bible actually says).

Overview of the Book
John’s gospel was most likely written towards the end of the first century. Christian tradition says that the disciple John, the brother of James, one of the several fishermen, is the author. Throughout the book we will see the phrase, “the disciple Jesus loved” or “the beloved disciple.” These phrases are probably referring to John himself.

The style of the book is different than the other three gospels. The other three (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are often referred to as the synoptic gospels. Synoptic comes from a Greek phrase- “syn” meaning together, and “optic” meaning seen. The synoptic gospels present a view of Jesus that is seen from a similar vantage point. John presents a slightly different view. The literary style is also distinct in that John tends to use much more metaphorical language and imagery. In contrast to Luke’s very systematic, chronological, academic style, John uses more of a story-teller, pictorial, philosophical style.

There are several themes that permeate the book too. Look for repeated words and phrases as keys to understanding the emphases of the gospel. John likes to use words such as- light, dark, law, word, grace, truth, believe, and “I am” throughout the book. This should prompt us to ask questions such as- “what does light signify?” and “what does it mean to believe?”

The Word
The beginning of the chapter is so full of theological references and ideas that I couldn’t begin to sum up all of them. I will note a few key ones that jump out at me. The first is the use of the word “word.” In Greek “word” is “logos.” Logos carried a rather extensive amount of meaning to Greek philosophers and Jewish theologians. At that time many believed in a logos that was reason or wisdom personified. It was a term associated with God but more as something distinct from God himself.

John says that this logos not only was close to God but in fact was God himself. John indirectly says that this logos is Jesus and that Jesus is God. There is also a whole discussion that can be had concerning how to translate the phrase “and the word was God.” This discussion is primarily over the use of a definite versus indefinite article before “God.” (do we say the word was” a god” or was [the] God”?) I won’t go into all of that here either, but good Greek grammarians assert that the text is best translated as “and the word was God.

I mention this discussion because Jehovah’s Witnesses will say that Jesus was only “a god” and not God himself. In their translation of the Bible (the New World Translation) this passage says the word is a god. The historical tradition of the Church and practically all competent Greek scholars refute this translation. If you ever get into a discussion with Jehovah’s Witnesses, this may be a point that is raised and you can tell them they have a very inferior translation that was deliberately altered to fit their bad theology.

John also chooses to open his gospel with the phrase, “In the beginning the Word...” I think that this intentionally parallels the opening of Genesis, “In the beginning God…” By doing this, John substitutes the “Word” for “God” as a means of identifying that the Word is equal to God. Throughout Genesis 1, there are ten occurrences of the phrase “God said.” God’s creative work is seen in His speaking the word. It may also be interesting to note that in Exodus, when God gives the Ten Commandments, the Hebrew actually reads, “the ten words.”Jesus is equated not only with God’s word of creation but also with God’s word of the Law.

I think that the gist of what John is saying in these first few verses is that Jesus was not only with God in the beginning of creation, he was the means by which all of creation came into existence. We are getting a very theologically driven introduction to the Trinity. God the Father creates and Jesus is the word that God spoke in order to create. (That could and would take a lifetime to ponder fully). Jesus is the Word of God.

The Light
The light is also a reference to Jesus. The phrase “did not overcome it” in verse 5 might be an intentional play on words. The Greek phrase is “katalaben” which can be translated as “overcome” or “apprehend” or “understood.” I think the idea might be that people either didn’t understand the light that Jesus brought or that they couldn’t conquer it. They could neither distinguish it nor extinguish it.

The word light is also used as a synonym for the Law or the Word of God. In Psalm 119:105 we read, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” John is systematically and elegantly building the case for the divine nature of Jesus. Jesus is the Light of the world.

Belief
John goes on to say that John the Baptist (not John the disciple) was not the light. John the Baptist pointed people to the light so that they might believe. When Jesus came to his own (the Jews) they did not believe in him. The Jews were known as the children of God. Yet in this gospel we learn that the true children of God are not those who have some type of special family heritage. The true children of God are those who believe in Jesus as the word and light of God.

It is very very interesting to keep track of the accounts of what people believe about Jesus and even how many times John records the disciples as “believing in him.” In contrast to the typical portrayal of conversion, John records the disciples as coming to faith repeatedly. I will explore this idea and its implications in later chapters.

The Word Became Flesh
Man. I love this part. Theologians like to call this the “incarnation” of God. This word comes from the Greek root- “carne”- which means flesh (think carnivore). This phrase introduces the humanity of Jesus. Not only was Jesus divine (equal to God in character) but he was also human (equal to people in form and nature). This is the part of the gospel where John really departs from the traditional views of Greek and Jewish thinkers.

I guess that there are really two main types of Greeks that thought about God or the gods. The first was the more superstitious folksy group. They would have believed in the stories of the pantheon of mythological gods like Zeus, Apollo, Dionysius, Hades, and Poseidon. This group did believe that the gods took on a human appearance. To them the gods were just like humans- having all of their vices and failings- but they also had superhuman abilities and immortality.

The second group was the more academic philosophical types. They would have rejected the myths of the Greek gods in exchange for a belief in an abstract existence of Reason (Logos). If you are familiar with Plato- think of the “forms” and how everything that existed was just a reflection of an idealized form that existed only in concept and not reality.

Perhaps we can make comparisons of these two groups to people today. I think that there are a lot of superstitious people who have deeply held religious beliefs about God. They may have constructed a view of God that is essentially one of a God who is a lot like us only a little bit nicer and a little bit stronger but still susceptible to our human failings. There may be others who pride themselves on their education. They may have constructed a view of God that is the model of Enlightenment Rationalism that is essentially a combination of Spock and Data (driven by reason and knowledge and yet torn by the pull toward emotionalism). (I’m totally stealing from Stan Grenz on that last train of thought).

I think that both of these groups would have had a hard time hearing that there is a true and powerful God who would take on human flesh and dwell among us as a compassionate being.

I think that the Jews of the time would have had a different take on it too. The language that John uses “lived among us” is literally “tabernacled among us.” This would have conjured up images of the way that God commissioned the Israelites to make a tabernacle (a huge tent) to house the ark (which held the Ten Commandments/ Ten Words). This tabernacle was understood to be God himself dwelling among the people as they traveled through the wilderness.

Jesus is God’s Word living among His people. When we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate God choosing to live among us not as a distant force or abstract concept but as a very personal God present among people. The same God who showed up to the Israelites more than 3000 years ago is still present among us today. And his name is Jesus.

The Lamb of God
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God. This is a reference to the Passover celebration. The Lamb of God was the sacrifice for the sins of the people. The Lamb of God died in the place of the people. The Lamb of God had its blood shed so that the judgment of God would “pass over” the people. Jesus is that Lamb of God.

Witnesses
The rest of the chapter shows how the witnesses to Jesus live out their calling as witnesses. As people see Jesus, they automatically want to bring other people to see Jesus. Andrew brings his brother Peter to see Jesus. Philip brings Nathanael to see Jesus. As we see Jesus, I think it is natural for us to want to bring others to see him too.

These disciples don’t wait years to understand everything about Jesus; they just go out and bring others to him. I think this is a beautiful portrayal of what we are called to do as witnesses. Pete, I like what you said about Nathanael’s response. “Can anything good come from there?” There is a certain incredulity that people have when they hear second hand about the way that God works. Yet when they see for themselves, they are forever changed.

Application:
• Do you believe that Jesus is the Word of God, the Light of the World, the Lamb of God?
• Are we bringing others to see Jesus for themselves?