Chapter 1
Three
functions of chapter 1
1.
The prologue (1:1-18), in which Jesus is
introduced and described.
2.
John the Baptist before a Jewish committee
describes Jesus further (1:19-28)
3.
Three cameos of witness (1:29-51). Jesus provides testimony as to who he
is.
Word Study – “word”
Hebrew
1696 דָּבַר, דָּבַר, דָּבַר [dabar /daw·bar/] v. A
primitive root; TWOT 399; GK 1818 and 1819 and 1820; 1143 occurrences; AV
translates as “speak” 840 times, “say” 118 times, “talk” 46 times, “promise” 31
times, “tell” 25 times, “commune” 20 times, “pronounce” 14 times, “utter” seven
times, and translated miscellaneously 38 times. 1 to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn,
threaten, sing. 1a (Qal) to speak. 1b
(Niphal) to speak with one another, talk. 1c
(Piel). 1c1
to speak. 1c2
to promise. 1d (Pual) to be spoken. 1e
(Hithpael) to speak. 1f (Hiphil) to lead away, put to
flight.[1]
Greek
3056 λόγος [logos /log·os/] n m. From 3004; TDNT 4:69; TDNTA 505; GK 3364; 330
occurrences; AV translates as “word” 218 times, “saying” 50 times, “account”
eight times, “speech” eight times, “Word (Christ)” seven times, “thing” five
times, not translated twice, and translated miscellaneously 32 times. 1
of speech. 1a a word, uttered by a living
voice, embodies a conception or idea. 1b
what someone has said. 1b1 a word. 1b2
the sayings of God. 1b3 decree, mandate or order. 1b4
of the moral precepts given by God. 1b5 Old Testament prophecy given by
the prophets. 1b6 what is declared, a thought,
declaration, aphorism, a weighty saying, a dictum, a maxim. 1c discourse. 1c1 the act of speaking, speech. 1c2
the faculty of speech, skill and practice in speaking. 1c3
a kind or style of speaking. 1c4 a continuous speaking
discourse—instruction. 1d
doctrine, teaching. 1e
anything reported in speech; a narration, narrative. 1f matter under discussion, thing spoken of, affair, a matter
in dispute, case, suit at law. 1g the
thing spoken of or talked about; event, deed. 2 its use as respect to the MIND
alone. 2a reason, the mental faculty of
thinking, meditating, reasoning, calculating. 2b
account, i.e. regard, consideration. 2c
account, i.e. reckoning, score. 2d
account, i.e. answer or explanation in reference to judgment. 2e relation, i.e. with whom as judge we stand in relation. 2e1
reason would. 2f reason, cause, ground. 3
In John, denotes the essential Word of God, Jesus Christ, the personal wisdom
and power in union with God, his minister in creation and government of the
universe, the cause of all the world’s life both physical and ethical, which
for the procurement of man’s salvation put on human nature in the person of
Jesus the Messiah, the second person in the Godhead, and shone forth
conspicuously from His words and deeds. Additional
Information: A Greek philosopher named Heraclitus first used the term Logos
around 600 B.C. to designate the divine reason or plan which coordinates a
changing universe. This word was well suited to John’s purpose in John 1.[2]
λόγος, ου, ὁ related to λέγω (arrange
in order); (1) as a general term for speaking,
but always with rational content word,
speech (MT 22.46); often opposite ἔργον (deed) (1J 3.18); (2) with the specific
translation depending on a wide variety of contexts; (a) question (MT 21.24); (b) prophecy
(JN 2.22); (c) command (2P 3.5); (d) report (AC 11.22); (e) message, teaching (LU 4.32); (f) declaration, statement, assertion (MT
12.32), opposite μῦθος (legend); (g) plural, of words forming a
unity of expression discourse, speech,
teaching, conversation (MT 7.24); (h) of what is being discussed subject, thing, matter (MK 9.10); (3) of
divine revelation; (a) word, message
(of God) (JN 10.35); (b) commandment(s)
(MT 15.6); (c) of God’s full self-revelation through Jesus Christ the Word (JN 1.1); (d) of the content of
the gospel word, message (LU 5.1);
(4) in a somewhat legal or technical sense; (a) accusation, matter, charge; (b) account,
reckoning (RO 14.12); (c) reason,
motive (AC 10.29)[3]
John 1:1-5 (NASB95)
1 In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through Him,
and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the
Light of men.
5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not comprehend it.
V.1 – It is clear that
John is starting his witness of Jesus with a very clear statement of just
exactly what he thinks of Jesus and who he believes Jesus to be. Jesus is God.
No more, and no less. I say all
the time to my students that the one belief that Christians have that separates
us from literally every other faith on this planet is our belief that Jesus was
and is God. The thing that is so elusive
to us when we think of Jesus as God, however, is how He related to God the
Father in the beginning. When we read
about the Logos before he was sent to
earth as Jesus, we find that He existed as a spirit just as God existed. What was Jesus like before he had skin
on? How do we try and reconcile a
trinity in the very beginning when all three persons of the Trinity were all in
the same place?
Compare the very first
words of John 1 to Genesis 1:1.
Genesis 1:1 (NASB95)
1
In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
It is interesting how the word
for “Word” means a great deal about communication and command. The Hebrew word, dabar, means pretty much the same thing. In the OT, God is said to speak or is heard
from, which means his word went forth to instruct, correct, and judge his
people. Jesus is said to be the logos.
He was sent to instruct, correct, and judge his people, but mainly to
SAVE his people. God’s word was sent
forth to be nailed to a cross for our sins.
It is interesting how I can use words just like God can. My words are with me and even could be said
to “be me” in the sense that they represent my thought and intentions. The difference is that my words do not
literally create worlds. In the Old
Testament, the dāḇār of God is connected with God’s
powerful activity in creation (cf.
Gn. 1:3ff.; Ps. 33:6), revelation (Je. 1:4; Is. 9:8; Ezk. 33:7; Am. 3:1, 8) and
deliverance (Ps. 107:20; Is. 55:11).[4]
Three statements of verse 1:
1.
The Word has existed since the beginning.
2.
The Word has existed “with God” since that beginning. (Jesus exists separately/ distinctly from
God.)
3.
The Word has existed AS God since that
beginning. (Jesus co-exists in unity
with God).
V.2 – John sums up the
obvious from verse 1. The Word, which is
God, was with God in the beginning. From
these two verses, it is clear that the Word participates in the reality that we
call God. That Word was true
deity, and John wanted there to be no
doubt about it.[5]
What are we without the very words of God? God created by his very Words. He spoke into being all living things. How is it that those very words took on deity
and personality of their own? What a
mystery! In his pre-incarnation, was
Jesus God’s actual not yet embodied, spoken Word? Were God’s very Words just so powerful that
they take on personality? It’s amazing
to think about! Or was there a being
that was yet the expression of God that had its own personality in such a way
that it was a separate personality from God, yet of the same substance as
God? God spoke and deity came forth, but
it was not an original coming forth. He
speaks and deity that already existed eternally came forth! His words have the power to actually
CREATE! God’s words are more than just sound
waves that vibrate an eardrum and cause someone to hear. They are SO much more than that! God does not have vocal chords, but His words
still go forth. He doesn’t NEED vocal
chords to speak! Humans DO! That’s how limited we are! God can actually just WILL his speech into
existence. He can WILL his words to go
forth! These words, this WORD, somehow
just IS the very essence of God in a personal and distinct deity that IS
God! His words are ALIVE! D.A. Carson describes the Old Testament
concept of “word” by observing, “In short, God’s ‘Word’ in the Old Testament is
his powerful self-expression in creation, revelation and salvation, and the
personification of that ‘Word’ makes it suitable for John to apply it as a
title to God’s ultimate self-disclosure, the person of his own Son.”[6] Then there is this whole Holy Spirit that is
a completely other personality. Not
doubting their existence and “three-in-oneness”, I wonder sometimes what it
looked like for them to coexist prior to creation. It is much easier to fathom God the Father,
Jesus the Interceder and Savior, and Holy Spirit the Paraclete (each fully one
God, and fully separate in personality) than it is to envision the “Trinity”
when there was nothing. This is the
beauty of the mystery of God. I don’t
have to understand it. I can shake my
head at the wonder and know that God has that one under control and I need not
worry myself about it but so much. I'm
going to worry myself with that whole, "go into all the world baptizing
and teaching" thing and just do what I'm told to do and let God be
God.
V.3 – Clearly the Logos was present at the creation of the
world. Again, this takes us back to
Genesis 1 where we find God creating the world.
So this Logos, who is affirmed to be God, was present in the creation. This Logos was the part of the Godhead that
evidently did the creating of the universe.
V.4-5 – Life and light are juxtaposed against darkness
here. The concern would be that there is
a dualistic struggle in which darkness would actually have a chance to win over
the light. This is not what is suggested
in this passage, however. The light of
Christ was always going to win. The
observation that the darkness did not overcome the light in no way suggests
that the darkness ever COULD overcome the light. God is not worried about Satan somehow taking
over the cosmos and plunging it into some sort of eternal darkness. It just is not going to happen.
Word Study – “comprehend”
2898 καταλαμβάνομαι (katalambanomai), καταλαμβάνω (katalambanō): vb.; ≡ Str 2638; TDNT 4.9—1.
LN 57.56 acquire, obtain, implying effort (1Co
9:24; Mk 16:15 v.r.); 2. LN 39.48 attack, imply the gaining of control
over (Mk 9:18); 3. LN 37.108 seize, arrest (Jn 8:3, 4 v.r.); 4. LN 37.19 overpower, overcome, gain control over
(Jn 1:5; Jn 6:17 NA26), for another interp, see next; 5. LN 32.18 understand, comprehend, grasp (Ac 10:34;
Jn 1:5), for another interp, see prior; 6.
LN 27.10 (dep.) learn
about, find out
(Ac 25:25); 7. LN 13.119 (dep.) happen (1Th 5:4)[7]
καταλαμβάνω 2aor. κατέλαβον; pf. κατείληφα; pf. pass. κατείλημμαι; 1aor. pass. κατελήμφθην; (1) with κατά adding intensity seize, grasp with force (MK 9.18); overpower, gain control over (possibly JN 1.5); (2) with κατά adding suddenness catch, overtake, come on (1TH 5.4); (3) with κατά adding certainty to possession attain, win, make one’s own (PH 3.12b);
(4) middle, of intellectual appropriation find
out about, comprehend, understand (AC 4.13; perhaps JN 1.5 as active with a
middle sense)[8]
Some translations use the word “overcome” instead of
“comprehend. I find this to be a weak
and inaccurate rendering. The Greek word
is katalambano. The root of this word is lambano, which means “to grasp” or “take hold” of something. The sense of katalambano here is that the darkness can’t grasp what the light
even is. In other words, it is not that
the darkness did not “overcome” the light, but that the darkness did not
comprehend or understand the light. This
makes sense as to why there is conflict.
In a way, it suggests that the darkness/evil of the world could not
understand the light of Christ, so the darkness rejected the light of
Christ. On the other hand, it seems to
me to be wholly ignorant of the darkness to come against something of which it
has no comprehension. I mean, the
darkness does not even know what it is dealing with and it still opposes this
light. And why would darkness NOT oppose
the light. IF the darkness truly loves
the dark, then it would certainly not want its dark deeds and nature exposed by
the light.
There is another aspect of V.4 that
I would like to make a focus here. When
we put John 1:1-5 together with Genesis 1:1, we find a connection between Jesus
and the Logos as a creative entity
from the very beginning. Genesis 2:7 speaks
of God breathing into man’s nostrils and bringing life yet again.
Genesis
2:7 (NASB95)
7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living being.
Notice that God breathes into man’s nostrils and God’s
breath becomes life. In John 1:4, this
same creative being that brought life was also referred to as light. Now notice John 8:12, which says the
following:
John
8:12 (NASB95)
12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying,
“I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness,
but will have the Light of life.”
This same light that brought life shined into a darkness
that could not understand this Light.
The connection is clear. The
Logos would eventually put on the flesh of Christ and become the Light of the
world who would lead all of mankind from sin into salvation. I find it overwhelming that in the
very beginning in his pre-incarnate state, the Logos was a life bringer and a light bringer. When the Logos
was placed into human flesh as Jesus, He was STILL a life bringer and light
bringer! Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday and
today and forever (NASB95)”. How
interesting to think of the connection between what we know of the role of the
Holy Spirit in the birth of Christ and the truth of the life-bringing ability
of the Logos. We know that the Holy Spirit is God’s
manifestation in this world. The Holy
Spirit is, among other things, God’s very presence to humankind. I believe that
when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, God actually sent to Holy Spirit to speak
the Logos into Mary’s womb, thus
conceiving the God-man, Jesus!
Why is it important to allow the light of the Gospel and the
Word of God to shine light into our hearts?
Perhaps it is because that which is dark and evil within us is that
which suppresses truth as discussed in Romans 1. When light is shone in the darkness of our
lives, we begin to accept truth for what it is.
After all, when darkness comprehends light, then truth can be revealed,
right? When we turn the lights on in the
cellar, we can see to navigate. Then the
lost become found!
John 1:6-8 (NASB95)
6 There
came a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 He came aas a witness, to
testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.
8 aHe was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.[9]
VV.6-8 – John
the Baptist’s role is clearly identified.
It was important to the apostle John to point out that the apostle was
NOT the Messiah. While this may seem
silly, there may have already emerged a group of followers who would become the
later Mandeans. The Mandeans, while I
know not much about them, were a Gnostic sect who put a great deal of emphasis
on John the Baptist. Mandeans are still
active today.
In my opinion, it is not clear on
the surface of this passage as to whether this passage refers to John the
apostle or John the Baptist. It would
make more sense to me that it was John the apostle if John did not refer to
himself in other places of the gospel, as “the one Jesus loved”. He never referred to himself by name, so I am
not really sure that it is accurate to suggest that the Apostle is meant here. Whatever the case may be, most scholars (and
I) agree that this passage refers to John the Baptist.
In either case, the point is that
John was not the light. He was merely a
person pointing others to the light. As
human witnesses, we can never do anything to eclipse the work of Christ or
distract others from that work. We point
to the light of Christ so that others might be drawn to the light of Christ
(V.7). Jesus is light and we are
witnesses to the light.
V.6 – Could it be said of me,
“There was a man sent from God whose name was Dave.”? There is a bit of a test for how well I am
“going and telling” when I think about it.
Am I a witness concerning the light?
If so, am I an accurate witness?
Just something to think about, I suppose. The Greek word for “sent” is apestalmenos.
Word
Study – “sent”
649 ἀποστέλλω, ἐμπέμπω [apostello /ap·os·tel·lo/] v. From 575 and 4724; TDNT 1:398; TDNTA 67; GK 690 and
1852; 133 occurrences; AV translates as “send” 110 times, “send forth” 15
times, “send away” four times, “send out” twice, and translated miscellaneously
twice. 1
to order (one) to go to a place appointed. 2 to send away, dismiss. 2a to allow one to depart, that he may be in a state of
liberty. 2b to order one to depart, send
off. 2c to drive away. Additional Information: For synonyms see
entry 3992, pempo.See entry 5813 for
comparison of synonyms.[10]
The word apostello
is a compound word that means “send away”.
The word that we render as “apostle” comes directly from the Greek apostello. The point is that to be an apostle of Christ
means that one is sent. To be sent, one
must receive a call and instructions.
The one receiving these instructions must, in an act of obedience, set
out with the intention of fulfilling the instructions given.
Word Study – “witness”
3456 μαρτυρία (martyria), ας
(as), ἡ (hē): n.fem.; ≡ Str 3141; TDNT 4.474—1. LN 33.262 witness, through first hand knowledge
(Jn 1:7); 2. LN 33.264 testimony, the content of what a witness
tells (Mk 14:55); 3.
LN 33.265 reputation (1Ti 3:7)[11]
μαρτυρία, ας, ἡ as concrete and objective information given
in proof of something testimony; (1)
active giving of a witness, testimony,
declaration (JN 1.7); (2) passive, as the witness given testimony, evidence, record (JN 1.19);
(3) as facts presented in court evidence,
testimony (MK 14.55); (4) as a good report received reputation (1T 3.7); (5) as divine and human witness, with Christ
as the content testimony, witness (JN
3.33); as a formula for the gospel message μ. Ἰησοῦ
witness of (or about) Jesus (RV 19.10)[12]
The term for “witness” is an interesting
one. It is the word martyria, which means to give a testimony or declare information of
some type. Our English word, “martyr”,
comes directly from this Greek root. We
often think of a martyr as a person who dies for a cause, but a martyr is a
person who dies in such a way as to give credence to the cause by making it
worth his or her life.
To return to the question, “Am I receiving instructions and
acting in obedience to fulfill those instructions”? Christians obviously receive instruction,
insight, or enlightenment from the Lord.
The obedience of going in response to being sent is what becomes a
ministry. When we place this passage in
context with The Great Commission and passages such as the call of Isaiah we
get a clearer picture of exactly what the Apostle John is saying here.
Matthew
28:19-20 (NASB95)
19 “aGo therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I
commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Isaiah
6:8-9 (NASB95)
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord,
saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I.
Send me!”
9 He said, “Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive;
Keep on looking, but do not understand.’
When we
further take into account the passages that describe the gifting of the Holy
Spirit (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4), the picture of being “sent”
becomes a bit clearer. Believers are
clearly to act in obedience to the commands of God. What are we supposed to do when we go,
though? How are we to carry out the
Great Commission? The Holy Spirit gives
us supernatural abilities that will help us to make disciples. So, I give my life to the Lord. Now what?
Well, once I submit myself to God, I submit to a new way of life. This way of life is focused on making
disciples, which is just another way of saying that my primary mission is to
bring others into relationship with the Lord.
Of course I am not saving anyone.
The Lord does that. It’s simply
my job to ensure that, through my words and actions, those who are lost meet
with the One who finds. The Holy Spirit
will empower us in different ways to carry out this mission. Some people are teachers. Some are really good at evangelism. Some are merciful. Some are good organizers. You can go down the list of spiritual gifts
and see just how the Lord uses His people for His purpose. At the end of the day, the Great Commission
is a command to be witnesses for Jesus.
We declare what we know and have experienced with regard to Jesus and we
often gain credibility in other people’s lives by using the gifts that we have
been given and by obeying the command to Go!
What is an
apostle? An apostle is basically a “sent
one”. An apostle is a person who
receives a command with a message and goes to deliver the message by whatever
means necessary.
[2]
James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon
(Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
[3]
Timothy Friberg, Barbara
Friberg, and Neva F. Miller, Analytical
Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, Baker’s Greek New Testament Library
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 248.
[4] D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans,
1991), 115.
[7]
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic
Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.,
1997).
[9]
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update
(LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 1:6–8.
[10]
James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon
(Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
[11]
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical
Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos
Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
[12]
Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, Baker’s Greek New
Testament Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 254.
