The identity of the Word
- John’s opening paragraphs are both enigmatic and profound. At a first reading we might wonder about who ‘the Word’ is intended to be, but as each sentence unfolds his identity becomes clearer.
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1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
- This majestic opening statement is reminiscent of the first sentence of the whole Bible “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). It places the Word on a par with God himself. This sweeping description reveals that the Word was “with” God (implying they were together but distinct from each other), “was” God (implying identity in their divine nature) and was “in the beginning” (implying that both the Word and God pre-existed the cosmos as we know it). So when our world was brought into being the Word was integral to the creative process to the extent that no part of creation eluded his influence (1:3).
- John then adds a further dimension to his description of creation. The Word was not only part of the process of physical creation but also the originator of sentient life. The life we experience is the life given by the Word (1:4) who is also able to bring illumination to man’s inner being. The Greek words behind “has not understood it” carry the idea of not being able to overcome the light (the same concept is used in 12:35). No matter how dark human life can appear, God’s light still brings illumination and can never be extinguished.
A prophetic announcement
- How then was the Word to be recognised by humanity? John introduces us to another person carrying his name – John the Baptist.
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6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.
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7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.
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8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
- John the Baptist is introduced as God’s ambassador and the text concentrates on his place in God’s plan rather than his family background or character (Luke has the same emphasis in Luke 1:5-24). He is sent as a “witness” (a word distinctive of this gospel’s author) to herald the arrival of the light who will be the one in whom people will place their trust. Already John (the author) is implicitly identifying Jesus Christ as the Word and the light. Throughout the gospel it is only in Jesus Christ that people are urged to place their trust. Indeed John states this as the primary motive behind his writing “[these accounts] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31).
Our author is now careful to disassociate John the Baptist (the witness) from Jesus (the Word) particularly since his identity was a matter of some confusion (see on 1:19-20). Although these verses appear to be an interjection in the flow of the text, they are far from irrelevant as they make the connection between God’s plan to bring the Word to humanity and events on the ground as seen in John the Baptist heralding the arrival of Jesus Christ.
The arrival of the light
- The question which now arises is how will God’s light, in the person of Jesus, be received when he arrives on the earth?
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9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
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10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him.
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11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
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12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God–
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13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
- Jesus is identified here as the “true” light entering the world. This word ‘true’ (1:9) carries the sense of being ‘genuine’ and ‘real’ rather than merely the opposite of ‘false’. So Christ is the one who brings authentic spiritual illumination to every person who will receive him. It is not reflected glory he displays but an underived brilliance.
- But John immediately wrestles with the tragic paradox of the creation not recognising its creator (1:10). Just as previously there was a sharp divergence between darkness and light (1:5) so here there is a demarcation between acceptance and rejection. ‘His own’ is used in two different ways here: the first is a term which refers to his own house or property while the second indicates his own people or family. So Jesus experiences rejection from the very people and places where we would expect him to be warmly accepted. There is, however, a class of people who do accept him – those who ‘believe in his name’ (1:12) and this shows that believing in him and receiving him are equivalent. When we receive him a transition takes place as we ‘become’ children of God, indicating that we are not God’s spiritual children by natural birth; a theme which John will develop in Chapter 3.
The Word arrives in human form
- It is difficult for us to fully appreciate how radical these ideas would have been to a first century reader. We therefore need the illumination of ‘the light’ all the more.
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14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
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15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'”
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16 From the fulness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.
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17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
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18 No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
- John’s prologue tells us more about the significance of Jesus’ arrival than the other gospels, and the telling phrase “The word became flesh” (1:14) puts it succinctly. In verse 1 the Word “was” God and now the Word ‘becomes’ something different as he takes on human form. The word translated “made his dwelling” (1:14) was used of the temporary pitching of a tent. Therefore this change of state shows the true humanity of Jesus and points to the temporary character of Christ’s earthly life.
- This transition meant that the Word was now visible to real people – as John indicates with his description of Jesus “glory” as an experiential reality, not a mere philosophical concept. “Glory” carries the idea of a person’s reputation or even their ‘aura’ and is used frequently of Jesus (John 2:11, 8:54, 11:4, 17:5, 17:24)
- John the author now quotes John the Baptist to assert the supremacy of Christ. Even in this quotation the Baptist recognises the pre-existence of Jesus: “… he was (i.e. he existed) before me” (1:15) and that God’s numerous blessings to us are channelled through him (1:16).
- Another profound contrast now emerges with John setting “law” opposite “grace” (1:17). Grace (or undeserved generosity) was extended by God to humans beings who could not keep the demands of the law given to Moses by their own efforts. This idea will emerge repeatedly in the New Testament (see Romans 5:20-21 and Ephesians 2:8) and forms the fundamental basis of the Christian’s relationship with God.
- In verse 18 the first occurrence of “God” appears without a definite article in the original text so it may therefore be nuanced as ‘no-one has seen divinity’. This makes the final statement of the prologue nothing short of astounding. God has, of his own volition, made himself visible, poured out his grace and taken up residence in his own creation. So in Christ we are seeing the unobservable. To put it bluntly: if you want to see what God is like, look at Jesus.
