John 1:1

John 1:1–28

5/14/2012

Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

As usual, I'm going to post some lengthy introductory material today. If you have any questions about the passage for today, be sure to ask in the comments!

How John is Different from the Synoptic Gospels

    A.      Matthew and Luke begin with Jesus’ birth, Mark begins with His baptism, but John begins before the creation.

    B.      John presents the full deity of Jesus of Nazareth from the first verse of the first chapter and repeats this emphasis throughout the Gospel. The Synoptic Gospels veil this truth until late in their presentations (“The Messianic Secret”).

    C.      Apparently John develops his Gospel in light of the basic affirmations of the Synoptic Gospels. He attempts to supplement and interpret the life and teachings of Jesus in light of the needs of the early church (late first century). He was the last apostolic witness.

    D. "In John we do not find: parables; demon exorcisms; healings of lepers; tax collectors; Sadducees; table fellowship with sinners; infancy Narratives; the temptation of Jesus; the Transfiguration; the material in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount; or the institution of the Lord’s Supper. On the other hand, the following material is in John, but not in any of the Synoptics: Jesus’ baptismal ministry at the Jordan; the encounters with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman; the “I am” sayings, coupled with long discourses; most of the material in chapters 7–11, and 14–17; the footwashing; and Jesus’ conversation with Pilate. Of the Johannine miracles only the feeding of the five thousand is found in the other Gospels." [1]

How John is Structured

    A.      A philosophical/theological Prologue (1:1–18) and a practical Epilogue (chapter 21)

    B.      Seven miracle signs during Jesus’ public ministry (chapters 2–12) and their interpretation:
      1.      changing water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana (2:1–11)
      2.      healing the son of the officer of the court at Capernaum (4:46–54)
      3.      healing of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem (5:1–18)
      4.      feeding of about 5,000 in Galilee (6:1–15)
      5.      walking on the Sea of Galilee (6:16–21)
      6.      healing of the man born blind in Jerusalem (9:1–41)
      7.      raising of Lazarus in Bethany (11:1–57)

    C.      Interviews and dialogue with individuals
      1.      John the Baptist (1:19–34; 3:22–36)
      2.      disciples
         a.      Andrew and Peter (1:35–42)
         b.      Philip and Nathanael (1:43–51)
      3.      Nicodemus (3:1–21)
      4.      woman of Samaria (4:1–45)
      5.      Jews in Jerusalem (5:10–47)
      6.      crowd in Galilee (6:22–66)
      7.      Peter and disciples (6:67–71)
      8.      Jesus’ brothers (7:1–13)
      9.      Jews in Jerusalem (7:14–8:59; 10:1–42)
      10.      disciples in upper room (13:1–17:26)
      11.      Jewish arrest and trial (18:1–27)
      12.      Roman trial (18:28–19:16)
      13.      post-resurrection conversations, 20:11–29
         a.      with Mary
         b.      with the ten Apostles
         c.      with Thomas
      14.      epilogue dialogue with Peter, 21:1–25

    D.      Certain worship/feast days
      1.      the Sabbaths (5:9; 7:22; 9:14; 19:31)
      2.      the Passovers (2:13; 6:4; 11:55; 18:28)
      3.      the feast of Tabernacles (chapters 8–9)
      4.      Hanukkah (festival of lights, cf. 10:22)

    E.      Use of “I Am” statements
      1.      “I am ‘He’ ” (4:26; 6:20; 8:24, 28, 54–59; 13:19; 18:5–6, 8)
      2.      “I am the bread of life” (6:35, 41, 48, 51)
      3.      “I am the light of the world” (8:12; 9:5)
      4.      “I am the door of the sheepfold” (10:7, 9)
      5.      “I am the good shepherd” (10:11, 14)
      6.      “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25)
      7.      “I am the way, the truth and the life” (14:6)
      8.      “I am the true vine” (15:1, 5)

I'll be continuing to point out important themes and other things as we make our way through John, but this is a good start.

Questions? Comments?

[1] Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight and I. Howard Marshall, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 374.
[2] All other introductory material taken from: Robert James Dr. Utley, vol. Volume 4, The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John, Study Guide Commentary Series (Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International, 1999), 4-5.

Andrei

5/14/2012 06:17:26 pm

Wow, so interesting. So different. I was wondering why it starts off with the 'Word.' The 'Word' is mentioned even before God, though it says that the 'Word was God.' Why does he choose to start it off with the word, 'Word'? It didn't seem like there was anything like that in the other Gospels. Was wondering what that was about.

Greg

5/15/2012 02:15:50 am

A couple of thoughts:

"In the beginning" I think is clearly intended to mirror Genesis chapter 1. Just as God SPOKE and there was light, so God is sending light into the dark world in Jesus. The rest of our reading confirms the light and darkness theme. Additionally, Genesis says that God spoke and there was light, and here we have the Word (Jesus) in the beginning. From other passages (especially Colossians 1) we know that Jesus is the one that creates and sustains all things. He is the Word that God "spoke" to create. That's a little philosophical, but don't think about it too hard.

"Word" was a common thought/vocabulary for readers at the time:

"John begins by introducing Jesus as “the Word” (logos) and is building here on much contemporary Jewish thought, where the word of God took on personal creative attributes (Gen. 1; Ps. 33:6, 9). In the New Testament period it was personified (Wisd. Sol. 7:24; 18:15–16) and known by some as the immanent power of God creatively at work in the world (Philo). John identifies this Word as Jesus Christ. As such John can attribute to him various divine functions, such as creation (John 1:3, 10) and giving of life (1:4, 14, 16).
But John goes further. He is ready to infer some personal identity between the Logos and God. “And the Word was God” (1:1). John often employs similar Greek verbs in order to develop a contrast of themes. The Greek words ginomai (to become) and eimi (to be) have similar nuances, but John frequently uses them together to make a point. For instance, in 8:58 Jesus says (lit.), “Before Abraham was [ginomai], I am [eimi].” The first verb suggests “coming into being,” such as Abraham’s birth; the second implies ongoing existence. Thus in 1:6 John writes, “There came [ginomai] a man sent from God.” In 1:1 John carefully writes, “In the beginning was the Word”—“the Word was with God”—“the Word was God.” In each case he uses eimi. John is making an absolute affirmation about the eternal existence of the Word. It did not come into being nor was there ever a time when “the Word was not.” Whatever we can say about God, we can and must say about the Word." (Gary M. Burge, NIV Application Commentary: John (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000), 54-55.)

John was bringing together a lot of different ideas, both Jewish and "secular" together to show that Jesus is the fulfillment not only of the Old Testament, but also of the philosophy of the time. He does this right at the beginning of the book - he doesn't hold anything back or reveal slowly like the Synoptic Gospels do.

I hope that helps! If you need any further clarification let me know.

Andrei

5/15/2012 06:28:27 pm

Oh aiighttt. I think that helps the understanding of it; thanks a lot.

Josiah

5/22/2012 03:22:27 pm

*Gasp*, May 14th, and it's may 22nd. I need a plan

Comments are closed.

John 1:1–28

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